Media Studies Subject Guide

Media Cloud-- "Allows users to compare and contrast news coverage in three ways in up to three sources."

Jerry Beck's Cartoon Research-- Author's blog offers a steady stream of well-informed news, thoughtful reviews, trivia, comments, and cartoon clips.

Citizen Media Law Project-- "CMLP's mission is to provide assistance, training, research, and other resources for individuals and organizations involved in online and citizen media." 

From "Voice of the Shuttle"

• General Resources for Media Studies

• Media Theory and Theorists

• Media Histories

• TV

• Film/Video

• New Media

• Journalism

• Radio

• Comics

• Telecom Issues

• Consumerism & Advertising

• Censorship

• Departments, Programs, Professional Associations

Web sites are of varying quality. It is essential that you evaluate the Web sites you find, assessing them in the same way you would a paper resource. Remember to evaluate Web resources critically. Use the following criteria:

• Authority: Can the author of the page be readily identified and are his/her qualifications for providing the page clearly stated?
   
• Accuracy: Are there any spelling errors? Is the source of factual information clearly documented?
   
• Objectivity: Is the information relatively balanced or does it promote a particular viewpoint?
   
• Currency: When was the page written or last updated?
   
• Coverage: Is the topic explored in depth? Is there considerable content on the page? Are entire articles or items provided or just excerpts from larger works? Does the site point you to other sites?

For more information consult the following useful sites:

Evaluating Web Pages: Techniques to Apply & Questions to Ask by John Kupersmith at the University of California, Berkeley.

Thinking Critically about World Wide Web Resources by Esther Grassian, UCLA College Library.

Evaluating Internet Research Sources by Robert Harris, Professor of English, Vanguard University of South California.