PURPOSE OF ASSIGNMENT: THIS ASSIGNMENT HAS 4 PARTS: Each section requires a response, but you should put ALL 5 parts into one single paper for submission. FORMAT: Double-space your paper and use 1 inch margins all around (it makes it easier to read). The purpose of this assignment is for you (a member of the public) to review a station’s performance to determine whether it is living up to its licensing requirement TO SERVE THE PUBLIC’s INTEREST, CONVENIENCE or NECESSITY (PICON). PICON was introduced as a licensing requirement from the beginning (Communications Act 1934). It was mentioned over 100 times so it wasn’t just some off-the-cuff, empty promise made to the public. So let’s do a little research to find out if your station is fulfilling its PICON promise. STATION PROFILE Choose a television station or a radio station (NOT BOTH) to be the subject of your station review. Here is a list of BAY AREA STATIONS (Links to an external site.), (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_radio_stations_in_the_San_Francisco_Bay_Area) but you do NOT have to choose one of these. You can choose ANY station ANYWHERE in ANY state or country. The assignment (except for the programming part) will be exactly the same regardless of whether you choose a radio station or a television station. PART 1 RESEARCH YOUR STATION ONLINE Find out what you can about our chosen broadcast station/organization. Specifically, focus on getting answers to the following questions: 1. Mission: What are the stated goals of the organization? What do they stand for? What do they hope to achieve? 2. Economics: Who sponsors them? Viewa few hours of programming on your chosen broadcast station. Identify at least 10 of the station’s advertisers/sponsors (., watch the commercials). Provide a list of these sponsors. Who is their target market or target audience? How do these advertisers attempt to persuade the people they are targeting? 3. Ownership: Who owns the station/organization? Trace the ownership foodchain up to the corporation or conglomerate that owns the station. 4. Affiliations: Are they affiliated with other groups? If so, which ones? If you can judge a person by the company they keep, what do these affiliations tell you about the organization you have chosen to research? 5. Involvement: How can you participate with this organization? List any actions this groups suggests you might take to become more involved with media. PART 2 MEDIA WATCHDOG PROFILE This is the same assignment as Part 1 but you will do it on a non-profit, Media Watchdog will become familiar with a media “watchdog” organization of your choice (see list below). These organizations exist to improve media. So you can use the information you learn about their expectations to “judgee or evaluate”; your station and, MOST IMPORTANTLY, come up with your own definition of THE PUBLICS’ INTEREST by which you will judge your station’s performance. Provide the following information about your chosen watchdog organization that you will find on its web site. If the information isn’t there, just indicate that in your answer. Specifically, you will provide the following information about your chosen media watchdog organization: 1. Mission: What are the stated goals of the organization? What do they stand for? What do they hope to achieve? 2. Economics: Who sponsors them? Viewa few hours of programming on your assigned broadcast station. Identify at least 10 of the station’s advertisers/sponsors (., watch the commercials). Provide a list of these sponsors. Who is their target market or target audience? How do these advertisers attempt to persuade the people they are targeting? 3. Ownership: Who owns the station/organization? Trace the ownership foodchain up to the corporation or conglomerate that owns the station. 4. Affiliations: Are they affiliated with other groups? If so, which ones? If you can judge a person by the company they keep, what do these affiliations tell you about the organization you have chosen to research? 5. Involvement: How can you participate with this organization? List any actions this groups suggests you might take to become more involved with media. 6. PICON Definition: What expectations does this group set for media? How does this group define PICON? Serving the Public Interest Convenience Or Necessity. Most important: Your paper must end with what will be your concrete definition of PICON. You will use this definition as the deciding criterian to “judge” your station’s performance. Here is a brief list of media-watch groups. (Links to an external site.) (Links to an external site.) (Links to an external site.) (Links to an external site.) Fairness & Accuracy In Reporting (Links to an external site.) The Center for Media & Public Affair (Links to an external site.) The Center for Public Integrity (Links to an external site.) Accuracy in Media (Links to an external site.) Free Press (Links to an external site.) Media Education Foundation (Links to an external site.) Media Research Center (Links to an external site.) Independent Media Center (Links to an external site.) (Links to an external site.) (Links to an external site.) (Links to an external site.) International Freedom of Expression Exchange (Links to an external site.) (Links to an external site.) (Links to an external site.) (Links to an external site.) (Links to an external site.) (Links to an external site.) (Links to an external site.) (Links to an external site.) (Links to an external site.) (Links to an external site.) (Links to an external site.) (Links to an external site.) PART 3 PROGRAMMING GRID You will create/list of one day’s worth of programming (a program schedule grid/chart) for your assigned broadcast station. You must list ALL programs, the times they are scheduled, (24 hours of the day). Check online for existent programming grids or check your TV Guide. You will write a brief (one sentence) description of each program. You will identify the target audience for each program (who is the audience for this program?) You will briefly evaluate (a few sentences) the positive or negative effects this program might have on culture (make sure to point out stereotypes that may be presented by the program.) This can be done in any format you wish. PART 4 FINAL PAPER PICON ARGUMENT ANALYSIS This is the most important part of this assignment. Based upon the information you discovered about your station (profile, programming, communication, etc.), you will write a brief summary of findings (2 pages max) making the case for or against the license renewal for the station in terms of: How it is (or is not) serving PICON the Public’s Interest, Convenience or Necessity especially in terms of localism (serving the local people it is licensed to serve) You cannot make this determination without a thorough presentation of how you are defining culture and the concept of “the public’s interest” (based upon your Media Watchdog review).
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