Midterm exam answers and feedback

Dear Students,

Overall, you did well on the exam, with an average score of 7.5 and a median (half were higher, half lower) of 8.0. What follows are the questions and then a student answer that I thought was very good. However, this was not the only way the question could have been answered. 

This exercise was designed to give you the time (almost a week) to synthesize and summarize your thoughts into a concise, well crafted answer with specific examples within the limit of 900 characters. Students lost points for not providing specific examples.

Q1. The old media monopoly has ended. New digital media have arrived. What are five ways that the consumer experience of digital media is different from a printed newspaper? Your answer should not exceed 900 characters (about 150 words).

One student's answer:

Amount of information: print media are more limited in size than digital media, so the selection of topics must be precise and the writing concise.
Information speed: Digital media are much faster than the printed press, information goes at an almost immediate speed, while print media has a slower process.
Information quality: A consumer may perceive the printed press as more precise or detailed, since the high speeds faced by digital media mean that they lose precision and depth.
Interaction: The digital press has hyperlinks, multimedia content, and the possibility for users to give their feedback through comments or reactions.
Dependence on the network: It is not a disadvantage, but a reality, the consumer of digital media needs the help of the Internet to access the information they want. In the case of the printed press, this dependence does not happen.

 

Q2. In different ways, Brian Stelter, Malu's Closet, and Chumel Torres’s El Pulso de la República are examples of developing a personal brand. What tools and tactics would you use to develop your personal brand? Your answer should not exceed 900 characters (about 150 words). 

One student's answer:

 When building a personal brand, authenticity and passion are most important. My personal touch can distinguish my brand from others. I have to burn for the subject. It is also important to find an uncovered niche and be unique in it. This is how I can offer my readers added value. To do this, I need to know who my readership is and what interests them. I would interact with my readers to establish a dialogue. My blog must always be up to date, both technically and in terms of content. I have to provide the reader with a pleasant reading experience. Additionally, I need to build credibility, which is a priority especially nowadays. To do this I would refer to other blogs, news portals, etc. and check facts before posting them. And last but not least: I have to be patient, write regularly, communicate my joy to the readers and stay tuned. A personal brand does not become famous overnight.

Note and recommendation: Some students misread the question to mean how would they promote a product like shoes or clothing. This question is about a personal brand: the person's work and experience is their product. For all of you, a portfolio of your best work during your four years at university could be the beginning of establishing your personal brand. 

 

Q3. You see a video online of a crowd of people beating a helpless cripple, and the text says that it occurred in Pamplona. How would you go about verifying this information? What steps would you take? Mention tactics, web sites and tools. Your answer should not exceed 900 characters (about 150 words). 

One student's answer:  

In order to verify this, I would try to look at existing images or videos from the area and see if they look similar. I would also look for weather reports or shadows to see if those conditions fit with the claimed date and time. Second, I would check clothes, buildings, languages, license plates, vehicles, signs or any other elements of the video to see if they support what the video claims to be. I could also go to the place in Pamplona where the video claims to be filmed, and see for myself if they look similar. Additionally, I would review the uploader’s history and location to see if they have shared content in the past, and ask them if they have more content they produced at that time to compare the two. Lastly, there are tools such as Amnesty International’s YouTube Dataviewer and the InVid browser extension, that allow us to get more information about the origins of the videos.  

 Note and recommendation: The best answers to this question included elements of verifying the source, examining the images for clues, seeing if other sources have reported this, and using various tools to verify the information. 

Q4. If you were the editor of a digital publication, where would you put three hyperlinks in the news story below? Remember, the goal of hyperlinks is to offer readers further information to enrich their experience. To answer this question, you will need to copy and paste the news story onto a document and then underline the words that you would use for the three hyperlinks. Then, in the space below the news story, explain the type of content that you would provide with each of the three links. Then upload your document here. This is the news story: "President Enrique Peña Nieto of Mexico heavily plagiarized the thesis for his law degree, according to an investigation by a local news outlet, Aristegui Noticias. The online report was based on an analysis of the embattled president’s thesis by a group of academics. The news website is run by journalist Carmen Aristegui, who in 2014 reported that Peña Nieto’s wife was purchasing a house with financing from a government contractor. The first lady eventually gave up the house and in recent months Peña Nieto has said he understands why the so-called 'White House' scandal upset so many Mexicans." 

 One student's answer: 

Click on the image to enlarge it.

 Note and recommendation: Linking to the biographies of Peña Nieto or his wife are less likely to lead a reader to the specific material about the scandals, or to the links to specific documents. So, following the notion of enriching the experience of the reader, an editor should provide links to material that is less easily discovered in an online search, such as the actual plagiarized thesis, the analysis by academics of the thesis, the investigation by Aristegui, or the material about the White House Scandal. Background on the president and his wife will surely appear in the articles about the plagiarism and the White House scandal. Also a good choice would be to link to the biography of Carmen Aristegui or her website to provide background that would enhance her credibility as a source.