Essay Titles for News Business Module:

1. Is media Theory of use to journalists?

- I have to say that this initially strikes me as a dull question - and that the answer is fairly simple: it depends what kind of journalist you want to be. If you want to be savvy about the struggles of the left and right, both historically, and philosophically, you should be well versed in theory. Journalists are 'gut instinct creatures' but that doesn't excuse ignorance, and all too often 'gut instinct' exists in ignorance and does not serve the greater good.

2. "Political journalists are much more comfortable confronting individuals than taking on their arguments: they direct attention to the game and its players rather than what's is at stake." Discuss.

- Hmm.. this is actually interesting. It always annoys me when journalists aim for the easy points rather than  enlightening viewers to a certain policy strategy.. but I think I can go without answering this question. Kinda seems a  bit like I'll end up going round in circles.

3. Since September 11th, has patriotism trumpet dissent and fairness in the British press?

- This is a fairly interesting question. I'm a total conspiracy nut, I have watched every half-hacked documentary from 'loosechange' to 'JFK - The Bush Connection'... and deeper. I'd like to attack this question, but I'm not sure that this is quite the angle I want to focus on. It sort of assumes the British press was fair before 9/11. I will have to think about this one.

4. "Every journalist who is not too stupid or too full of himself to know what is going on knows that what he does is morally indefensible." Can one case even begin to justify Janet Malcolm's claim?

- This is a good question. Not only is it about an interesting book/case but also it's incredibly polemical, and obviously the answer is a resounding 'NO!'. Of course journalists can be honest, fair, decent and moral. The question I suppose is: Who? I'll probably end up doing this question...

5. "A reporter is someone faithful to sources, attuned to the conventional wisdom, serving the political culture of media institutions, and committed to a narrow range of public literary expression." Discuss.

- That's um.. obvious isn't it? I don't know about this question.

Because I know least about this question, and it seems at first the least interesting, I'm attracted to it in retrospect. Looking at how the sentence is couched, I realise that this is exactly what defines a real reporter/journalist: that they're faithful to sources, attuned to conventional wisdom, serve the political culture of media institutions and are committed to a narrow range of public literary discussion. 


This question lends itself to semantic analysis of traditional and archetypical reporters. I might well do this, as research, discussion and analysis will be a joy to do, not a nebulous octopus like Chomsky or 9/11. 

6. Are Noam Chomsky's ideas relevant to the press in modern Britain?

- This is another favourite of mine, and I might well do this question. Chomsky is easy to read, easy to understand and a great favourite of mine (along with every other student no doubt). But do his ideas apply to the British press? Well, yes and no. They do in that Chomsky talks about 'western media' but the coverage of Israel is different in the UK than in the US. This would be a meaty essay to get into, and I would feel on comfortable ground to begin with, but I'll have to read 'manufacturing consent' again before I think about tackling it seriously.

7. "This business of giving people what they want is a dope-pusher's argument. the job of the journalist is to take what's important and make it interesting." Discuss

- That's a good essay title. That really is. Could talk about the Sun and page three, John Pilger and East Timor, The War on Terror and Oil prices.. really this covers so much media spin, this would probably be the most fun essay to do, although maybe the least focussed?

8. "The difference between the real journalist and the blogger is that the journalist is the public's ambassador." - Discuss

- Well yes, I think I probably should discuss this one. Journalists train in order to serve the public good. We train in how the government works, how the legal system works. We train in history, politics and media theory. But I'm a blogger/journalist - I'm a new model, a video journalist/VJ/designer.. I should do this question. Hmm...