COMM Mini Media ResearchThere are five steps involved in this assignment:
1. You will select a case to for your project. If you want to include social media data, the case needs to be recent and significant, so you can generate significant data in (near) real-time mode. For a case that’s not recent, it still needs to be significant so you can generate significant media (not social media) data from the archives. (Read below: you can re-use a global event essay case)
2. You will familiarize yourself with various tools (see TOOLS below) that can be used to analyze media data.
3. You will select tools to be used in your data collection and analysis. You can use one, two, or more tools. Generally the use of multiple tools will generate richer data.
4. You will use the tools of your choice to collect data and analyze the case.
5. You will write down your interpretation and analysis of the data.
A CASE
You’re free to choose your own case but it needs to be a global event. You can re-use the event you chose in the global event essay.
To use the tools, you need to be familiar with the case. E.g. to be able to use social media tools you need to recognize keywords or hashtags associated with the event.
Examples:
• If your case is “Charlie Hebdo”, examples of your keywords would be: #jesuischarlie, #charliehebdo. You can also choose to analyze the dynamics that emerged in the margins using less popular keywords such as #jesuisahmed and, possibly, comparing it with the more popular ones (#jesuischarlie).
• If your case is “Boko Haram”, examples of your keywords would be: bokoharam, “boko haram”, #bringbackourgirls.
• If your case is “Ottawa Shooting”, examples of your keywords would be: #ottawashooting, #ottawastrong, #canadastrong.
To be able to use newspaper headline coverage tool (http://pageonex.com/), your case needs to be significant/important nationally and globally that it would make it to headlines (in national/international newspapers). If you used newspapers as your choices of media in the global event essay, you can re-use them and use PageOneX to generate comparative data of headline coverage of the event. It’s best to use PageOneX to generate data within a certain range of dates rather than a single data (e.g. one week after the ‘date of incident’).
TOOLS (you need to create an account to access and use some of these tools)
• http://netlytic.org
• http://pageonex.com/
• https://global-factiva-com.proxy.library.carleton.ca/
• https://twitter.com/search-advanced
• http://www.socialbearing.com/
• http://www.talkwalker.com/

DATA & ANALYSIS
You’re expected to analyse how your case/event is either (or both)
(a) covered by media — PageOnex can be used to compare headline coverage of various major newspapers in the world and Fativa can be used to compare general online media coverage.
(b) discussed by social media users — social media tools such as Netlytic, Twitter advanced-search, Social Bearing and TalkWalker can be used to generate data on this matter.
In other word, the analysis can be similar to the one in the global event essay. However, in this assignment, you analysis and argument(s) needs to be supported by systematic data (collected by the tools).
To include the graphs of the data in your paper, you can use screenshots.
How to take a screenshot in Windows see: http://www.wikihow.com/Take-a-Screenshot-in-Microsoft-Windows
How to take a screenshot in Mac see: https://support.apple.com/en-ca/HT201361
FORMAT (2,000-2,500 words, not including references)
APA style preferredhttps://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/, but MLA or Chicago style is also allowed.
The word counts are provided here just to illustrate. You are not strictly bound to these numbers.
• Title. A thoughtful title that captures the essence of the case study.
• Abstract (100-120 words). (or Summary) A one- or two-paragraph statement summing up the study (e.g. what, why, when, where, how, and who). This summary introduces the project, questions, hypothesis, and highlights of the important findings.
• Introduction (200-250 words). (or Background). Describes what you did, and why it was of interest—opens the door to the case study and tries to get the passersby to enter. Typically several paragraphs that includes background information about the case and why it is interesting to study.
• Research questions (100-150 words). Presents and describe the question(s) that is the basis of your investigation, explains why the question was framed as it was. Include a series of inquiry questions (sub or smaller questions) that would logically help you in answering the questions. These will logically serve as stepping-stones for the methodology.
• Methodology (200-250 words). Describes the step-by-step procedure employed and explains why it is appropriate to this case study, provides details (e.g. how, what, when, where, and who).
• Data (400-500 words). Presents the data that were collected (so the reader can make a judgment about your work based on same information you used); the data should be organized and processed to some extent for clarity but should not be just a summary.
• Analysis (750-1000 words). An explanation of what the information you collected. The results (above) are just “facts;” the analysis is your interpretation (or opinion) of what the facts mean.
• Conclusions (200-250 words). A fairly concise statement of what the case study found and what you have learned.
• References. Provide a list of applicable references; generally include only citations to materials that were critical to your case study (i.e., not a long bibliography). Should include at least 5 readings from the course. There’s no maximum limit.
CRITERIA:
• quality of questions posed
• appropriate research method
• use of literature
• analysis of findings
• communication/writing
PLEASE SUBMIT IN .DOC or .DOCX
If you don’t have MS Word:
• OpenOffice, LibreOffice and Pages will save as / export to Word formats
• Google Docs — will also save as Word formats
• Computer labs have MS Word
Event Description
The event chosen is the refugee crisis that roiled Europe in 2015. In the last ten years, experts focused on writing books having titles that focused on the supremacy of Europe in the 21st century. Lindsay (2015) points out that, in 2015, Europe rarely appeared capable of addressing its own issues, let alone being the supreme continent in the world. In this year, a wave of approximately one million refugees hit Europe, while it still struggled to arise from a deep economic slump. Most of these refugees were seeking to flee the terrors associated with the Syrian Civil War or violence and instability in other conflict-hit nations. However, some refugees happened to be economic migrants pursuing better employment opportunities. The inflow of refugees presented heart-wrenching pictures of individuals desperate to arrive in Europe. This influx uncovered the porous borders of Europe, emphasized differences within Europe in terms of handling immigrants, and granted a novel life to the several anti-immigrant and nationalist parties of Europe. Besides, the refugee crisis established political issues across the Atlantic. (2015) asserts that in September 2015, the Obama government proclaimed that it would receive at least 10,000 refugees from Syria in 2016. Nevertheless, after the San Bernardino and Paris attacks, compassion immediately swung to interest, and the local, state, and federal political move to barricade Muslim refugees from immigrating into the U.S or relocating their people. According to Lindsay (2015), provided the civil war of Syria continues and many job-seekers are attracted to the European economy, the pressure of migrants and refugees on Europe will endure.

Justification for the Choice of Media Channel (i.e. BBC and Al Jazeera)
Aljazeera and BBC were selected because they belong to two different/opposing, major categories of media flow and have a global appeal and news coverage. Studies mapping the complexity associated with the present day’s satellite channels embrace the notion of complexity and diversity of universal/global media flows (Haaviston & Maasilta, 2015). According to Klein (2015), the global media flow can be divided into two groups, which are the dominant media networks’ flow and global media’s contra flows. While the dominant media networks’ flow traffic from European nations, Britain, and U.S, and global media’s contra flows trafficking from Western region such as Middle East, China, Korea, and India. Klein (2015) points out that Al Jazeera is among the principal players of transnational networks of media belonging to the contra-flow category. On the other hand, the BBC belongs to the dominant group of international media. Furthermore, the two networks of media are prominent for objective reporting that challenges the voices of elites and grants opposition factions the chance to engage in their reporting/news. BBC is a global 24-hour channel of news, and is accessible to more than 200 million residential places across the world (Haaviston & Maasilta, 2015). The respect and credibility that the BBC possesses isolates it from the mainstream media of the U.S and possess profound influence, thereby making the BBC a super-alternative medium of news. On the contrary, the 24-hour, English channel of Al Jazeera has been labeled as a counter-hegemonic practice, which rebelled from the custom of the state-owned, nationwide channels that existed within the Arab world (Kasmani, 2013). Considering the robust reputation that the BBC and Al Jazeera possess, their selection was considered vital.
Analysis of the Coverage of the Event in BBC and Aljazeera
Several issues can be noted in the manner of reporting executed by Aljazeera and BBC, in relation to the refugee crisis that hit Europe in 2015. According to Klein (2015), practices of journalists are heavily defined by the shared professional philosophy by which journalists recognize themselves with each other and give credibility and legitimacy to their activities. Klein (2015) points out that studies in communications and media have established similarities/resemblances within the professional characteristics of journalist across different media types in diverse nations. Haaviston & Maasilta (2015) add that many journalists share-overriding principles associated with the professional culture of the Anglo-American journalism such as reporting based on evidence/fact, and consider themselves disseminators or propagators of objective and neutral information. This argument is evident in the manner in which the BBC and Al-Jazeera reported the refugee issue in Europe in 2015. The two channels of media back-up their arguments/claims with similar statistics, justifying the reliability of their information. For example, both media channels allude to the fact that the number of refugees that entered Europe in 2015 exceeded one million.
Klein (2015) informs that the emergence of professionalism within global journalism has a close association to the theorization of shared professional ideology. Moreover, the notion that, journalists in various part of the world embrace the same belief concerning strategies, values, and practices, characterizes their occupation. This claim can be justified in the word employed by the two channels of media such as “migrant crisis” and “refugee crisis,” implying that they perceive the refugee issue with negativity. The occupational ideology embraced by the tow media channels forms the base of journalism identity. Haaviston & Maasilta (2015) inform that occupational/professional identity can perceived as a beliefs’ system, which characterizes a given group, with the inclusion of, but not restricted to the general practice of generating ideas and meanings. According to Haaviston & Maasilta (2015), in journalism, the idea of ideology is an academic process in which a given group’s collective views and ideas, majorly on political and social matters are shared and shaped by its members. BBC and Al-Jazeera demonstrate this argument by employing the same terminologies in framing the refugee issue that hit Europe in 2015.
Haaviston & Maasilta (2015) assert that global journalism is associated with the epistemology described as “global outlook.” Global outlook at aims at comprehending and explaining how ecological, social, and political practices, issues, and processes in various parts of the world impact each other, share commonalities, or are interlocked. In relation to this, it can be noted that BBC and Al-Jazeera embrace the global outlook in reporting the refugee issue that his Europe in 20015. These media channels explain how issues or conflicts in other continents affect Europe, justifying their embracement of the global outlook epistemology.
According to Klein (2015), global journalism is a system of news collection, edition, and distribution, which is not founded on regional or national borders where it is anticipated that the shared community or national citizenship serves as the common reference uniting audiences, journalists, and newsmakers. In reporting the refugee issue, the tow news channels demonstrate the aspect of global journalism.
Despite exhibiting similarities in their reporting of the refugee issue, BBC and Al-Jazeera display certain differences in their reporting of this issue. In relation to the element of tone, Al-Jazeera’s tone to the refugees seems to be a favorable (Kasmani, 2013). This argument can be justified using the terminologies the Al-Jazeera employs in framing the refugees such as “lifeless child.” Besides, the Al-Jazeera’s nature of sentence construction, “…the disproportionate way the stories are covered, given the number of immigrants involved” (Al-Jazeera, 2015). This statement reveals Al-Jazeera’s concern for the plights of refugees. It can be noted that the positive attitudinal approach that the Al-Jazeera gives the refugee issue demonstrates a high sense of modernity. On the other hand, the terminologies employed by BBC in framing refugees bear some elements of negativity, and exhibit the aspects of despair and militarism. For example, the BBC employs terms such as “asylum seeker “and “come from war zones” in framing the refugee issue. The BBC also employs the statements below in describing the refugee issue:
“…huge influx of migrants has caused significant political rifts within the EU” (BBC, 2015)
“…many migrants and refugees are pressing to be allowed to settle in richer northern countries like Germany and Sweden” (BBC, 2015)
Contrary to BBC’s reporting, Aljazeera seem to contend the stereotyping of refugees and employment of discriminative terminologies such as “security menace,” existential threats to national values, and “pity undeserving leaches” against refugees. Rosique-Cedillo & Barranquero-Carretero (2015) assert that contextual objectivity describes a situation in which networks of news aim at covering the news in an objective manner, but continue to be influenced by the domestic context though social/cultural factors or legislation. As such, it can be argued that the aspect of contextual objectivity must have influenced Al-Jazeera’s approach to the refugee issue, considering that most of these refuges come from the Arab world. Nevertheless, the tow news channels managed to grant the refugee issue that hit Europe in 2015 the best coverage.
Reference
Aljazeera (2015). Reality Check: Europe and the Refugee Crisis. Retrieved January 26, 2016 from <http://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/upfront/2015/09/reality-check-europe-refugee-crisis-150905084518848.html>
BBC (2015). Migrant Crisis: One Million Enter Europe in 2015. Retrieved January 26, 2016 from < http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-35158769>
Haavisto, C., & Maasilta, M. (2015). Towards a Journalism of Hope? Compassion and Locality in European Mediations of Distant Suffering. Critical Arts: A South-North Journal of Cultural & Media Studies, 29(3), 327-341.
Kasmani, M. F. (2013). The BBC and Al Jazeera English: The Similarities and Differences in the
Discourse of the Pre-Election Coverage of the 2009 Iranian Election. International Journal of Communication, 7, 22.
Klein, G. (2015). Vigilante Media: Unveiling Anonymous and the Hacktivist Persona in the Global Press. Communication Monographs, 82(3), 379-401.
Lindsay J. (2012). The World Events that Mattered Most I 2015. The Atlantic Monthly Group, Retrieved January 26, 2016 from http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2015/12/world-events-news-2015/421545/
Rosique-Cedillo, G., & Barranquero-Carretero, A. (2015). Slow Journalism in the Immediacy Era. Experiences in Ibero-America. El Profesional de la Información, 24(4), 451-462.

Week 2 THEORIES & CONCEPTS
1. Chapter 1 (Tsan-Kuo Chang) in Golan, G., Wanta, W., & Johnson, T. (2009) International Media Communication in a Global Age, p. 17-33. http://www.tandfebooks.com.proxy.library.carleton.ca/isbn/9780203881286(available via Carleton library website).
2. Stohl, C. (2005). Globalization theory. In S. May & D. Mumby (Eds.), Engaging organizational communication theory and research: Multiple Perspectives (pp. 223-262). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Week 3 GLOBAL NETWORK SOCIETY
3. Castells, Manuel (2011) A Network Theory of Power. International Journal of Communication. http://ascnetworksnetwork.org/wp01-content/uploads/2010/02/IJoC-Network-Theory-2011-Castells.pdf
4. Castells, Manuel (2008). The new public sphere: Global civil society, communication networks, and global governance. The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science,http://prtheories.pbworks.com/w/file/fetch/45138545/Castells_2008_The_New_Public_Sphere.pdf

Week 4 GLOBAL MEDIA SYSTEM
5. McChesney, R. W. 2001. Global media, Neoliberalism, and Imperialism. http://monthlyreview.org/2001/03/01/global-media-neoliberalism-and-imperialism/
6. Shah, Anup. “Media Conglomerates, Mergers, Concentration of Ownership.” Global Issues. 02 Jan. 2009. Web. 08 Jan. 2015.http://www.globalissues.org/article/159/media-conglomerates-mergers-concentration-of-ownership.
7. Wilkins, K.G. & Enghel, F. (2013). The privatization of development through global communication industries: Living Proof? Media, Culture & Society, 35(2), 165-181.http://mcs.sagepub.com/content/35/2/165.full.pdf+html

Week 5 GLOBAL NEWS: IMPACTS, BIASES, & LANGUAGES
8. Chapter 4 (Lim & Barnett) in Golan, Wanta & Johnson (2009)International Media Communication in a Global Age.http://www.tandfebooks.com.proxy.library.carleton.ca/isbn/9780203881286
9. Chapter 10 (Ghanem) in Golan, G., Wanta, W., & Johnson, T. (2009) http://www.tandfebooks.com.proxy.library.carleton.ca/isbn/9780203881286 (available via Carleton library website).

Week 6 IDENTITY & SOCIAL STRUGGLES (nationalism, religious fundamentalism, ethnic movements, localism and regionalism)
10. Khatib, L. 2003. Communicating Islamic Fundamentalism as Global Citizenship. Journal of Communication Inquiry 27:4 (October 2003): 389-409 http://iis-db.stanford.edu/pubs/23874/Journal_of_Communication_Inquiry_article.pdf

11. Caren, Jowers, and Gaby. 2012. A social movement online community: Stormfront and the white nationalist movement. Media, Movements, and Political Change Research in Social Movements, Conflicts and Change, Volume 33, 163–193.http://nealcaren.web.unc.edu/files/2012/05/smoc.pdf.
Week 8 ART, MUSIC & GLOBAL FLOWS
12. Phil Rose, Musical Counter-Environments: Media Ecology as Art Criticism, IJOC. http://ijoc.org/index.php/ijoc/article/view/2270.
Week 9 LOCAL-GLOBAL DYNAMICS – VIEWS FROM ARAB WORLD
13. Lim, M (2013) Framing Bouazizi:’White lies’, hybrid network, and collective/connective action in the 2010–11 Tunisian uprising. Journalism.
14. Lim, M. (2012) Clicks, Cabs, and Coffee Houses. Journal of Communication.
Week 10 LOCAL-GLOBAL DYNAMICS – VIEWS FROM ASIA
15. Qiu, Jack Linchuan. 2010. Mobile Phones, the bottom of the pyramid and working-class information society in China. www.ejisdc.org/Ojs2/index.php/ejisdc/article/download/745/338.
16. Uy-Tioco, Cecilia. 2007. Overseas Filipino Workers and Text Messaging: Reinventing Transnational Mothering. (21)2. p.253 – 265.
Week 11 LOCAL-GLOBAL DYNAMICS – VIEWS FROM NORTH AMERICA & EUROPE
17. GERALD SUSSMAN & LAWRENCE GALIZIO (2003) The Global Reproduction of American Politics, Political Communication, 20:3, 309-328
18. Rachel R. Mourao, Joseph Yoo, Stephanie Geise, Jose Andres Araiza, Danielle K. Kilgo, Victoria Y. Chen, Thomas Johnson (2015) European Public Sphere| Online News, Social Media and European Union Attitudes: A Multidimensional Analysis,IJOC http://ijoc.org/index.php/ijoc/article/view/2990

Week 12 LOCAL-GLOBAL DYNAMICS – VIEWS FROM AFRICA
19 Akpan-Obong, Thomas, Samake, Niwe, & Mbarika (2009) An African Pioneer Comes of Age: Evolution of Information and Communication Technologies in Uganda, Journal of Information, Information Technology, and Organizations Volume 4, 2009.https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Victor_Mbarika/publication/228672467_An_African_Pioneer_Comes_of_Age_Evolution_of_Information_and_Communication_Technologies_in_Uganda/links/545a3eac0cf2bccc491338f5.pdf
20. Alozie, Akpan-Obong, Foster (2011) Sizing Up Information and Communication Technologies as Agents of political Pevelopment in Sub-Saharan Africa, http://repository.upenn.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1000&context=ictafrica
Week 13 LAST DAY OF CLASS
21. MARSHALL GOLDSMITH, Global Communications and Communities of Choice, http://www.marshallgoldsmithlibrary.com/docs/books/Gbl_Communication.pdf
22. SANDRA BRAMAN, From the Modern to the Postmodern, https://pantherfile.uwm.edu/braman/www/bramanpdfs/032_mod_to_postmo.pdf