Select an historical event from the list provided. Research media coverage of the event and write a five-paragraph essay in whic
h you discuss each of the following:
The type of media used to cover the event and its relationship to technology of the time
The impact of media coverage on public opinion
The impact of public opinion and other factors (such as political or corporate motives) on the media coverage
Refer back to the sample and rubric provided in the project.
Here are four historical events from which you may choose:
The Assassination of President John F. Kennedy (November 22, 1963): President John F. Kennedy was fatally shot as his open limousine moved through a crowd of supporters in the streets of downtown Dallas. He was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital. Within an hour of his death, police had taken Lee Harvey Oswald into custody as their prime suspect. Two days later, as TV cameras rolled, Jack Ruby, a Texas nightclub owner, stepped through the crowd and shot Oswald. Though a government commission ruled Oswald responsible, Kennedy's death is still shrouded in mystery. To this day, many wonder who shot the President and why.
The Exxon-Valdez Oil Spill (March 24, 1989): An oil tanker carrying 52 million gallons of oil ran aground at Bligh Reef in Alaska. More than 10 million gallons of oil spilled into Prince William Sound. The area was home to salmon, seals, sea otters, and sea birds. Hundreds of thousands of animals died in the spill. The remote location and sheer size of the spill made clean-up very difficult. The environmental effects are still felt today. The event sparked several legal battles and debates about the ethics of the oil industry.
The Y2K Scare: Y2K is the name given to the so-called "millennium bug" or "Year 2000 Problem." Early computer design programming would not support "00" as a date. In the late 1990s, computer experts discovered the problem. It meant, in theory, that older computer systems (like those used by banks, power companies, and the government) would stop working correctly at midnight on January 1, 2000. The fear was that the crash of computers would cause chaos as bank errors and power outages overtook the entire world. As part of the Y2K scare, companies worldwide upgraded their systems to avoid fallout, and no serious issues were reported.
The Indian Ocean Earthquake and Tsunami (December 26, 2004): An undersea earthquake off the coast of Sumatra, Indonesia, caused a series of tsunamis (tidal waves) across Southeast Asia. The waves destroyed coastal villages in parts of Indonesia, Thailand, Sri Lanka, and India. Approximately 250,000 people were killed as a result of the earthquake and the tidal waves that followed. The disaster sparked a massive humanitarian effort.
