University of Wisconsin Madison Media and Political Polarization Essay

I’m working on a political science writing question and need a sample draft to help me understand better.

Purpose: To empirically understand how politically-polarized media outlets portray political issues differently.

Instructions:
Pick a topic from below:
• Coronavirus pandemic
• State of Georgia, voting rights law
• Climate change
• Black Lives Matter

2 Go to FoxNews.com and MSNBC.com and find three articles related to your chosen topic for each outlet (six (6) articles total, none more than 30 days old)

3 Read the articles and note important differences in coverage patterns.
A How is the issue framed? Positively, negatively? Give specific examples. Be sure to look at headlines, text, and images.
B Is the positivity or negativity of the article different based on the outlet?Why or why not?
C Does the media source disparage the “other” side, or cheerlead for “their” side?Give specific examples of “taking sides.” If you do not see this playing out, how does the outlet try to establish its credibility (you might look for statistics, interviews with experts, etc.)?

4 Write two pages (or approximately 500 words) double-spaced (12 pt font) detailing your findings from the analysis, being sure to specifically reference the articles you read for the assignment. Include a bibliography/references list at the end of your paper. Make sure to put direct quotations in quotes and cite the author/article in-text when using a quotation. Be sure to identify which topic you have chosen to study.
Grading rubric:
A 10-pt essay will –
• Identify six sources (three from Fox News and three from MSNBC) with a bibliography
• Provide detailed responses to all of 3A, 3B, and 3C
• Consider issues of framing by highlighting specific examples (referencing text, image, and headlines)
• Be written in complete sentences with proper spelling, grammar, paragraph breaks and transitions.
• Use appropriate citation