The purpose of this project is to link theoretical/scholarly material about media effects and content to a “real world” case. You will select a case of interest to you that recently (the last year) played out via some type of media channel. This could include traditional news outlets, the blogosphere, various social media outlets, or some combination of these channels.
You will then critique and analyze the case from the theoretical frameworks and perspectives in the scholarly literature you have chosen. You can choose theoretical frameworks: situational crisis communication theory.
Your case study should conclude with a summary of lessons learned from the case and/or any communications recommendations you have for how the individuals and/or organizations involved could have used media more strategically to realize more favorable outcomes.
However, beforehand, you will write a proposal for your case study paper. This proposal should be a minimum of 4 pages, double-spaced, and a maximum of 6 pages, double spaced (excluding cover sheet and references). For your proposal, you will begin working on several sections of your case study paper (Introduction, a portion of the Literature Review, the Methodology, and a portion of the Media Review section). Your proposal should include the following: Proposal Components: 1. Introduction and Overview: Describes overall purpose of paper (includes description of case for background/context; briefly previews type of media content that will be analyzed and theoretical/scholarly literature that will be used; makes argument for why that area of scholarly literature is best suited to understanding the case). 2. Literature Review: Summary of theoretical/scholarly literature reviewed for the case (at least 5 sources cited – the full paper will require 10, but the proposal should have 5 at a minimum). Make sure to explain the theory you are using so its application to the case is clear.
3. Methodology: Identifies media content analyzed, provides rationale for media content selected, describes how media content was collected.
4. Media Review: Provides analysis of the chosen media that derives from insights related to the theoretical framework outlined in the literature review. Findings from analyzed media texts are written in a narrative/thematic/descriptive format with example quotes interspersed to serve as evidence. In other words, describe the media sources (videos, text, images, etc.) and themes, using quotes to illustrate, enough so that the reader can understand how these examples are related to the prior sections of the paper. For the proposal assignment, you should have at least two media sources. Remember, media sources are different than your literature review.
5. References: Provide your references in APA style. You should also use APA style for in-text citations. You do not need to include other elements of APA formatting such as a running header or abstract.
Scoring: You can receive up to 20 points by submitting a Case Study proposal that adheres to the guidelines described above by the due date.