In about 2,500 words, advance and defend a hypothesis about media ethics and technology. In other words, state a specific claim or point of view and back it up. Take a basic idea – such as, “the increasing ability to sort and manipulate information changes the nature of that information, and justifies making some data that used to be considered ‘public’ more private” – and lead it through several steps
Abstract
Introduction.
Examples to back up the introduction.
Examination of historical and philosophical precedent, citing a variety of sources and integrating those sources into your discussion.
Examination of the current issue, related to the precedent. Use current examples.
Your view of the current issue.
Your argument and analysis. Be sure to refute competing claims.
Conclusion and implications for the future.
The options are almost limitless. You might argue that the federal government should re-implement the Fairness Doctrine, or that bloggers should be required to disclose their names, or that news organizations should implement more precise rules on use of anonymous sources, or that the availability of instant information makes censorship obsolete and no (or very few) documents should be classified (think: WikiLeaks). Privacy, of course, offers endless permutations useful for you in choosing a topic.
Be sure to integrate technological change into the argument. The paper doesn’t have to be about technology, but it must include technology’s effect as part of the discussion.
