Regardless of the specific media product you choose to analyze, you should keep all of the following in mind:
1) Your essay should have a specific thesis that is unique to your analysis. It isn’t enough to simply say that Cosmopolitan is targeted towards women or Spike TV is targeted towards men. You should offer a more focused analysis that gets at the unique ways in which your media product targets some more specific group. In clarifying this for your paper, it might be useful to name the specific brand identity you explore. If you can attach an interesting, specific label to the identity sold alongside Clay Aiken, then you are likely on track to a specific argument and analysis.
2) Your essay should make use of specific primary sources to demonstrate your argument. Your first essay used historical newspapers as their primary sources. For this essay, your primary sources will be the media products that help demonstrate the brand identity you are exploring. If you decide to analyze Spike TV, your primary sources will likely be television programs from the network, specific advertisements included during these shows, the network’s website, advertisements for the network on other networks or in magazines, and so forth. If you choose to analyze Cosmopolitan, your primary sources will likely be selected articles and advertisements from specific issues of the magazine, the magazine’s websites, advertisements for the magazine, and other related marketing material. Finally, if you decide to analyze Clay Aiken, your primary sources will be songs he has recorded, cover art for his albums, selections from his music videos, his personal website, myspace page, and so forth. Be creative! Select a range of sources that help you make your argument in a clear, convincing manner.
3) Your essay should include at least two peer-reviewed secondary sources that support your arguments in one manner or another. As with your first essay, you should draw on at least two peer-reviewed journal articles that help you make your case. These might be articles about marketing practices, essays that demonstrate the consequences of particular ideological messages, or some combination of these or other points. These sources should be incorporated in, and properly cited in the body of your paper (in APA or MLA style) as well as on a reference page.
4) Your essay should demonstrate a basic understanding of the economics of the media product you discuss. What company owns the record label for Clay Aiken? Who owns Spike TV? What company produces Cosmopolitan? What are some of the ratings for programs on the network you analyze (this (Links to an external site.) is a farily good source for this information)? Although this shouldn’t be the focus of your essay, you should incorporate this basic information into your discussion at some point, particularly where it is especially relevant to your argument.
