Possible Essays for Final Exam.  

Remember: There will be one required essay and two or three optional essays.  You must attempt the total amount of points possible on the essay portion of the exam which will be 50 points. So if you write on one essay for 30, you must write on one more for 20 or two for 10.....Many of you didn't do that last time. 

STUDY SESSION:

7:00 Thursday, May 8th at Dr. Mc's. 

Maps are on her office door.  Bring soft drink and a finger food or snack.

1.    Discuss the concept of "conflict of interest" as it is discussed in the internet articles articles linked in your notes.  Explain the situations presented and why they pose a conflict of interest.  How are these situations complicated or facilitated by "synergy"  and what, if any, concerns do you have that the development of mega media companies is contributing to serious conflict of interest problems?

2.    What parallels can you draw between the coverage of the hijacking of TWA Flight 847 and the coverage 9/11/01 or the Iraq war?  What differences are there in the coverage and why?

3.    What are the differences between concerns about morally offensive content and concerns about content from a cultural paternalistic perspective?  Discuss each of these as they apply to the MTV program "Jackass" or to the recent film release "Real Cancun."

4.    What are the harms associated violent pornography and how were they illustrated in Ted Bundy's last interview?  What points made in that interview were the most powerful for you? Why?  What did he suggest should be done? What do you see the role of the media practitioner to be regarding this issue?  

5.   What issues of conflict of interest are involved in coverage of the 9/11/01 events, the subsequent War on Terrorism and coverage of the Iraq War.    Be specific.

6.   What are the ethical issues surrounding the portrayal of police officers in The Shield?   Apply specific ethical philosophies to the program content and discuss how law enforcement officers, children, and others might be affected by that portrayal. 

7.  What are the ethical issues associated with the issue of violence in films, music and television programming?  What ethical philosophies are employed by those who depict graphic violence? What ethical philosophies are employed by those who oppose it?  What do you think should be done about the issue of violence in movies and television? Why? 

8.  What questions should one ask when trying to make an ethical decision.  Use the Bob Steele article on Poynter.org  "Ask These 10 Questions to Make A Good Ethical Decision". at  http://www.poynter.org/column.asp?id=36&aid=4346 as the basis for your essay.. Be able to apply those 10 questions to the May 1, 2003 issue of the Flor-Ala. 

NOTE:  Many of these essays require THOUGHT on your part.  They are not designed for you to just give me back facts and definitions, though I expect you to support what you say with concepts we discussed in class.  Be sure you make clear associations between the concepts and the media content or behavior.  (Many of you did not do that in your paper.)  Merely stating what the egregious content is is not sufficient; you must tell me WHY you believe it to be unethical and what the appropriate ethical behavior should be based on specific ethical principles found in your text or in class discussion. 

This final test will be of the same format as previous exams and should take you no longer to do. I will have a couple of extra-credit questionnaires for you to fill out during that period, and we will also do course evaluations,   The extra credit questionnaires will concern the books you have read outside of class and your use of the web site and will take no more than five minutes to complete.  You might jot down titles and publisher info, if you think about it and bring that with you if you still have it.  I'll put that info on the web with your recommendation about the book.  I may have those forms in class for you next week if I can get them done, so you can fill them out at home and bring them back to the final.

Best of luck on all of your final exams!!!