Mutanatia stands at the door and hands each of you a syllabus with a shake of his hand. You all file into the lecture hall where he begins to speak. "Please open the syllabus." You do as he says.
He narrates as you read along. "Welcome to News and Current Events 201. This a semi-intensive course as it covers sources of news through the lens of the media. We will have ground-breaking events, some not-so ground breaking, and of course, once News and Current Events 301 (which I encourage you all to join as well!) kicks off, then we will go on a brief hiatus with a few fun 'detours' to cover the time. This course will run from June 29th to the following year at some point.
Real Time with Bill Maher
NPR It's All Politics
1st "Detour": NPR Sunday Puzzle
NPR World Story of the Day (These range from topics about Bin Laden to U.S. Espionage against Iran, to the rebellion in Tunisia, and so forth)
Second "Detour": The Onion Radio News
Third "Detour": Car Talk (People call up about their car problems and are made fun of for it:p)
7) NPR Wait...Wait...Don't Tell Me!
8) This American Life"
He paused, waiting for those there to turn the page.
"'Detours' do not require any actual work, but is there to break from the monotony of hard brainwork. Those will be 5 weeks at time. It should also be mentioned that each unit is 5 weeks long, with a different episode or story for each week.
A bit about the News Sources:
Bill Maher is an HBO comedian.
It's All Politics is an NPR show about U.S. politics
Sunday Puzzler is a brain teaser
Onion Radio News is Parody and comic
World Story of the day is a show about World News
NPR Wait...Wait...Don't Tell Me is a news show that lampoons newsmaker
This American Life a Chicago Public Radio show that yields a powerful narrative about the subject matter they are discussing.
There will be three essays, assigned throughout the course. Essays consist of an intro, three well-written paragraphs of 3 or more lines, and a conclusion. I want you to think about the essays now, so below are the topics.
ESSAY 1:
After the Real Time with Bill Maher episode, and due at the end the end of the detour, discuss the dangers of taking Bill Maher (And blogs for that matter) as "fact." Should these sources be presented as "news" or simply "opinions about the news?" Explain your answer.
ESSAY 2:
After the NPR World Story of the Day episode, and due at the end of the second detour, please describe the difference between U.S. Political News and World News. Does one affect the other in only one direction, or do they affect each other? Do news from other nations differ from our nation's news? If so, how?
ESSAY 3:
At the end of the course, discuss the various sources of news, how each should be treated, and how each figures into our overall picture of the world."
He waited for the groans as students turned the page.
"GRADING RUBRIC:
Participation will count for 95% of your grade, since this is an online course. To participate, please answer the homework questions through PM, and also answer the discussion question in class (read: in thread). 5% of your grade will be the essays."
FINALLY: Above all else, the point is to have fun. If real life gets in the way, I won't hold it against you. But please provide a sentence or two discussing why you can't do the discussion for this week, about 2-3 days before the lesson goes up. If the work load is too much, we can lessen it, but let's start out with this. Have fun!"
As the students closed their textbooks, the professor looked up. "Are there any questions?" He asked.
1. Agree , "It was a brave thing because he had to take on the muscle of the oil industry". I agree with this statement as it can be difficult for incumbents to go up against big organisations, especially in an election year.
ReplyDelete2. Disagree, "Heres one thing that trumps Money;Debates. The debates exposed Rick Perry as an idiot and made Newt Gingrich viable". I disagree with this statement, just because hes not very eloquent, especially in debates doesn't make Rick Perry an idiot. Newt Gingrich was a fair candidate as he had a lot of experience behind him so he may have been viable before the debates.
Homework:
1. "What else can you say about a Republican debate where the rich guy who is avoiding taxes -- what they like -- gets booed, and the fat creep into three-ways gets a standing ovation?". No conclusive proof that the 'fat creep' (I assumed this was Ginigrich) is into 'three ways' Romney also stated he paid his full taxes.
2. It would be bad for innovation and will stiffle freedom that the internet provides.
3. Hes a liberal and is extremely Pro-Obama. His agenda will be to raise support for Obama and possibly the Democratic Party
- Mark