How a story’s visuals raise ethical questions
Order Description
This project calls for an analytic research paper on a topic of your choice related to visual storytelling in journalism. Your completed paper should contain 6-8 pages of double-spaced text, plus whatever accompanying visuals you wish to include.
THE ASSIGNMENT: This project calls for an analytic research paper on a topic of your choice related to visual storytelling in journalism. Your completed paper should contain 6-8 pages of double-spaced text, plus whatever accompanying visuals you wish to include.
You may select your topic and structure the paper however you see fit. The only rules are these:
• Focus on international, national, or local news. No sports, entertainment, or feature stories, please.
• Find subject matter that generates plenty of visual coverage.
• Set forth a clear and specific argument.
• Back up your argument with examples from your research.
• Make sure the writing is polished and accurate.
CHOOSING A TOPIC: Start by figuring out which aspects of visual journalism interests you: layout and design, still photography, informational graphics, charticles, multimedia, videography, video editing, typography, editorial cartoons, animation, video and audio news, documentaries, etc. – any of the topic areas we are dealing with in class.
From there, narrow your focus and develop a particular angle that you can analyze in a few pages. In other words, apply your area of interest to a specific topic. Don’t take too general an approach, but zero in on a single theme that in some way relates to visual journalism.You may wish to look at how a particular story is treated pictorially by different media in the course of a single day. Or you might want to compare how the principal subject(s) of the story present themselves visually to the media. Or discuss the photographic or design aspects of the coverage. Or how informational graphics are used to report a story. Or how a story’s visuals raise ethical questions. These are just suggestions to get you started – I am very open to creative ideas.