In his seminal work Understanding Media The Extensions of Man (1964), Marshall McLuhan writes,

In a culture like ours, long accustomed to splitting and dividing all things as a means of control, it is sometimes a bit of a shock to be reminded that, in operational and practical fact, the medium is the message. . . . This fact, characteristic of all media, means that the "content" of any medium is always another medium. . . . the message of any medium or technology is the change of scale or pace or pattern that it introduces into human affairs. (19-20)

While McLuhan uses the term "medium" more broadly than just the common parlance meaning (modes of mass communication), his insight still applies to these media. Often obscured by the content it presents, the medium itself "is the message" and conveys a powerful message to alert consumers.

Throughout the twentieth century and continuing in our current century, the media that have presented the news to us have changed greatly. From familiar newspapers, the news expanded to radio broadcast and, later still, television broadcasts. For much of the last half of the last century, though television was a dominant news medium, that medium itself changed, expanding from the original CBS Evening News in 1948-- broadcast nightly for 15 minutes--to twenty-four hour news networks such as CNN, which first went on the air in 1980, and Fox News Channel. Today, in addition to the traditional media of newspapers, radio, and television, the media bringing us the news have extended on the Internet with web sites, blogs, and RSS and news aggregators.

For your second paper, we will move beyond the newspapers of Paper #1 and analyze the media that bring us the news today. Select a news medium--ranging from radio broadcasts to individual news blogs--and analyze how McLuhan's statement that "the media is the message" applies to this particular medium of news. Looking beyond content, what are the distinguishing features of this medium? What is the inherent message of this medium? What is the "change of scale or pace or pattern" that this medium "introduces into human affairs"? When this medium is used for news, what are its advantages and assets and what are its limitations or disadvantages?

While we will examine a variety of media in class, for your second paper, you may focus on the news medium of your choice. To get started, you may want to visit some of the news sites on the Resources for News page.

Your final version of paper #2 should be approximately four (4) pages. If you have any questions about this assignment, please raise them in class so that we all may benefit from the answers. I am happy to meet with you at any time to assist you in developing, drafting, and revising your paper. Please feel free to arrange a conference with me.