Mass Media and Society Extra Credit possibilities

1. Go to the Huntington Library in San Marino and view the Gutenberg Bible. BEFORE
GOING, CALL to make sure the Gutenberg is on display. There are times when it is taken off
display and I don’t want you going all that way if you’re not going to see it. Also examine the
other rare books in the Rare Books Library, including the manuscript of Chaucer’s Canterbury
Tales and the first folios of Shakespeare. When you return, do the following:
A. Describe your feelings upon seeing the Gutenberg Bible and the other rare books.
Was it what you had expected? Did you feel surprised, moved or awed by standing in front of a
copy of a Bible that you know was part of an invention that changed human history? Was it
anything like what you had anticipated it to look like? As for the other rare books, let me know
what you thought of them and whether anything in the Rare Books Library impacted you in any
way. Be detailed and specific.
B. Tour the grounds and find out something about this man, Huntington. Tell me
what you found out about the man for whom the Library is named. What role did he play in
Southern California history? Bring some friends and explore the 15 gardens here. Bring a lunch
or buy something there, but whatever you do, tell me about your experiences on the grounds.
C. Write at LEAST two full pages (double-spaced) on Questions A and B. Staple
your ticket stub and/or program from the day’s events onto the page and turn it in. This is worth
between 10 and 20 extra credit points, depending upon the detail of your paper.
The Huntington Library is at 1151 Oxford Road, San Marino, (626) 405-2100.
Admission is $6 for students, so bring your student ID. Admission is FREE the FIRST
THURSDAY of every month. It’s open Tuesday through Friday from noon to 4:30 p.m.,
Saturday and Sunday from 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and is closed Mondays and all major
holidays. Please call ahead to make sure this information is correct, or go to the museum’s
website at: www.huntington.org. Deadline: May 23

2. Go to the Paley Center for Media in Beverly Hills. The Museum has a variety of monthly
special exhibits, but the key to this experience is its television and radio program collections. The
Museum has more than 100,000 historic TV and radio programs you can view or listen to in its
library. The collection covers news, drama, public affairs programs, documentaries, sports,
comedy, etc. When you get there, ask someone at the front desk in the lobby to help you. If you
want to listen to or view any programs, you must make a reservation to use the Library when you
arrive, so be sure to do so. You can get further info at the Museum’s website,
www.paleycenter.org
Please plan on spending several hours here if you go; if you cannot spend at least three
hours at the museum (not three hours total roundtrip from your home and back to your home, but
three hours at the museum itself), then don’t bother doing this assignment.
Your task is to watch or to listen to a historic or a cultural event. Please do NOT watch
something that you can easily watch on TV today or programs lacking historical or cultural
significance. You also cannot listen to radio programs like ESPN or football games or anything
without historical or cultural significance. What I want you to watch is a historic or a cultural
event. Items that I consider cultural or historic events are all of the following: Martin Luther
King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech; the TV coverage of the Civil Rights Movement; the landing
of the first man on the moon; the first TV newscast; the Kennedy/Nixon debates; the “Maude”
program when Maude had an abortion; “Roots;” the “Ellen” sitcom when Ellen came out as a
lesbian; the assassination of Lee Harvey Oswald; the news coverage of the John Kennedy
assassination; Edward R. Murrow’s “See It Now” program where he took on Sen. Joseph
McCarthy during the Red Scare; the first CNN news program; the CNN news coverage of
Hurricane Katrina during that first Monday after the storm struck; the first ESPN sports program;
the news coverage of the Vietnam War; the news coverage of the Nixon impeachment; the news
coverage of the Watergate hearings, etc.
When it comes to radio, the following are examples of what to listen to: some of Franklin
Roosevelt’s “Fireside Chats;” the announcement of when the Hindenberg exploded; any of
Edward R. Murrow’s reports from London during World War II; “The War of the Worlds”
program broadcast on Halloween in 1939 by Orson Welles and the Mercury Theater actors, etc.
Things I do not consider historic include: Anything you can see on TV reruns, anything
you can see on TV Land (except for that Maude program mentioned above), the first
“Simpson’s” program, the first “MTV” program, the first “90210” program, etc. Programs that
you CANNOT watch for ANY reason include: “The Brady Bunch,” “Starksky and Hutch,” “The
Wonder Years,” “Thirty-something,” “Batman,” Gilligan’s Island,” etc. If you’re going to do
this as extra credit, you need to watch or listen to something that was pivotal or important in this
nation’s history so that you can see or hear for yourself a slice of history.
Once you’ve figured out how to use the Museum, answer the following questions for
extra credit. Your answers must be typed, double-spaced and be at least two pages. Make sure
you staple your program from the day’s events or your parking stub to this paper when you turn
it in. This is worth up to 20 extra credit points, depending upon the detail of your paper. Then
answer these questions:
A. What TV or radio program or programs did you watch or listen to? Why did you
choose this material? Please be specific in this answer. Exactly what did you learn from
watching/listening to this/these program(s)? Describe your feelings upon watching/listening to
this program, describe the importance of this program to you, etc. Please be detailed and
specific.
B. In addition to watching or listening to at least two TV or radio programs while at
the Museum, what else did you do there? Did you look around at some of the exhibits, did you
watch a radio program being aired? Be specific and tell me what else you did and what you
thought of that experience. If you did nothing else while there, why not?
C. Wander around the facility and tell me why it was built and when. I want to know
who has funded this Museum and why. What is the mission statement of the Museum? Do you
agree with its mission statement (its purpose)? Why or why not? Tell me something about who
founded this Museum and why?
D. Any final thoughts on the Museum, what you got out of it and whether you would
recommend it for others would be greatly appreciated.
The Museum of Television and Radio is at 465 N. Beverly Drive in Beverly Hills. There
is a Museum parking lot with two hours of free parking (two hours will not be enough to get the
most out of this assignment; if you can’t be there more than two hours, don’t bother doing this
extra credit assignment) with Museum validation. It is open Wednesdays through Sundays from
noon to 5 p.m. and Thursdays from noon to 9 p.m. (Check these times before heading out there,
though, as things could have changed.) Admission is free, but there is a suggested contribution
of $8 for students. The telephone number is (310) 786-1025 Deadline: May 20
3. Attend a book reading or a lecture by an author or an expert at a local bookstore. Barnes
and Noble and Borders hold book lectures or readings as do dozens of other bookstores both
inside and outside the South Bay. You can check the Sunday Los Angeles Times in the Book
Review section to get a complete listing of the upcoming week’s book readings and lectures. Do
NOT go to just a book signing; you need to go to a lecture or a reading. To get the points, you
must:
A. Write a report about what happened and what you learned. Include the date of the
event, the name of the bookstore, the exact time of the event, the title of the book, the name of
the author and the publisher of the book. I also want to know what the author or the expert said
about the book. Be specific. Tell me approximately how many people were in the audience.
B. What did you learn from this experience? Did you gain some insight into the
author? If so, what? If not, why not? Would you purchase this book? If so, why? If not, why
not? Why did you pick this particular book reading or lecture? Did the topic interest you or
were you just looking for the quick extra credit points? Be honest.
C. What did this teach you about the book publishing industry? Were you surprised
to find out how many of these events there? Do you think this is an effective way to generate
publicity about a book? If so, why? If not, why not? Any other thoughts on this experience?
This is worth up to 15 points. Deadline: May 27

Extra credit is NEVER accepted late, so make sure it’s in by the deadline.