Group Project

This project is a combination of your last speech and your final exam. The project is worth a total of 175 points. 100 points for the test and 75 points for the speech. This is the breakdown:


Brief proposal due: April 6th
Speech: Proposal/Outline due: April 15th

This speech is based on each group choosing a media format and creating a presentation of the ways in which that media influences society. I am giving alot of freedom with this project. I do insist that you incorporate material from chapter 13 You must work with at least 7 of the following concepts.

Mass media (one to many messaging over technical channels)
social media (interactive media)
Prevalence of media in our lives (influence individual and cultural life)
*Uses and gratification theory (mass comm gratifies us- entertains, fulfills etc.)
*Agenda setting (tells us what to think about- "brings our attention": not what to think)
*Gatekeepers: reporters, editors, owners, Gov't, advertising- political: interested-invested parties)
*Cultivation Theory: assumption that certain forms of media reflect reality (television, film, music etc.) via mainstreaming (stabilizes public opinion)and resonance (the ways that media depictions align with personal experience: make sense therefore enhance the ease of believability)
*Ideological reinforcement: the ways that the media reinforces dominant ideas in society or ideas supported by elite parties with control


Social media
*: is interactive not merely produced and consumed
*: alters conceptions of space (internet)
*: invite supersaturation: unlimited access to information and people: "so many sites/links, so little time"
*: encourage multitasking (texting, emailing, downloading- multiple pages)
*:promote visual thinking: the progress of computer screens etc.

Media Literacy:
*understand influence
*access to media
*analyze media
*critically evaluate
*respond actively


100 points:


25- scholarly and reliable sources (5)- concept usage (7)
25- proposal/ outline (organization and preparation)
25- presentation (equal representation -participation, time, and physical factors)

25- brief one page summary about what you learned from chapter 13 in application to your assigned format.

The group report should: (read chapters 10- 12 for accuracy on terminology)

1.Identify the Style of leadership (laissez faire: non-directive, authoritarian:dictatorial, democratic;:guided not controlled)

2.Include the features of your group (cohesion:closeness, size, power structure: over or to) be specific.

3.Identify the kinds of group communication and use specific examples (task: issues, procedural:agenda oriented, and climate: constructive, egocentric: dysfunctional)

4.Describe the decision making methods (consensus: agreement on one decision, compromise: satisfy majority needs, voting:majority wins etc.)

5.Include cultural influences on decision making (individualism; each member is valuable and should be recognized for their contributions, equality: no clear division of class or position- prominent in Western society, assertiveness: high value on individualism, progress, change, and speed: etc.) Westerners operate with the quickness and efficiency. Risk and Uncertainty: need for progress and something new: innovative. Informality: relaxed atmosphere or conditions.


6.Identify limitations and strengths of the group (downfalls:conformity, time) (perks:presources, thoroughness, creativity)

7.Identify and analyze the types of conflict you and your group faced and how your group dealt with these situations (constructive, disruptive)


75 points : Individual essay

40- content (did you follow the criteria, were you thorough and specific and use support from the text)
15- organization: main points/ examples for each:( bullet points): at least 3 pages!!!
20- engagement, details, application