tests your critical thinking skills and the ability to connect sections of the assigned reading material

This writing assignment tests your critical thinking skills and the ability to connect sections of the assigned reading material and develop an argument that examines the changing relationships between the individual, society, and the communications media.

Explain how the changes from the television culture of the 1950s through the 1970s to the internet and streaming culture of today affected relationships between individuals and American society and how an individual’s place in society affects experiences, values, or choices. (1) Begin with a brief description of over-the-air television’s common-denominator programs, emphasizing corporate control and the attention-selling model of making money. (2) Then describe how this model works with the range of streaming and social media fare available these days. (3) Finally, write about how an individual’s place in the social hierarchy of American society affects experiences, values, or choices.

In writing about the shifting communications structure from over-the-air television to cable to streaming to social media sites, you should connect your answer to other concepts we’ve been exploring. These include the ethics and underlying premises of racial categories, gender roles, or pertinent aspects of media law. For example, you can write about racial representations, changing gender roles for men and women, or the dilemma created by Section 230 of the 1996 Telecommunications Act. The material for your response should come directly from the assigned reading—but be entirely in your own words. Your answer should be in three distinct, clearly identifiable parts with a total of no less than 500 and no more than 600 words. Each section of your three-part answer should be separated and labeled.