In Media Analysis assignments, you need to identify fact from opinion and recognise various forms of media bias. You may need to give examples of what has been said or shown in the media about a particular group or issue.  To do this, you may be given specific resources to analyse, or you might be asked to  look at a wide range of media, including television, radio transcripts, newspapers, films, blogs, and social media. 

In addition to providing examples of how a group or issue is shown in the media, you need to critically analyse this representation.  Some questions to help you with this are:

• Is the group/issue accurately portrayed? 
• Does the group like the way it is portrayed?
• Is the group/isssue portrayed in a positive way, a negative way, or a mixture?
• How do people feel about the way the group/issue is portrayed?
• Are there different perspectives or opinions presented about this group/issue in the media, or just one?
• Who talks about this group/issue in the media?  Are they part of the group/issue or outside it?
• Are there positive outcomes from the way this group/issue is represented in the media?
• Who benefits from these positive outcomes?
• Are there negative outcomes from the way this group/issue is represented in the media?
• Who suffers from these negative outcomes?
• Are there outcomes that are negative for some people but positive for others?

Find out more about writing a media analysis in the guide below.