For this Midterm Project, you will start by viewing the talk titled Lauren Zalaznick: The Conscience of Television below or by reading the TED Talk interactive transcript.
Take careful notes on her ideas; you will need them to foreground your study. Think closely – do you agree with what she argues? If so, with what elements do you agree and disagree? Regardless of how you fall in relation to her ideas, you will collect evidence to see if her thesis holds up in light of your personal viewing habits.
Once you have a sense of Zalaznick's argument, you will conduct a study of television over the course of 3-4 days of regular viewing. Keep notes on what you watch, and be sure to include:
the names of the shows
the number of minutes/hours you watch
the commercials you see
Take strong notes so you can remember what the shows and ads were about. Once you complete this step, look closely at your data for interesting trends, patterns, and other evidence that either supports or refutes Zalaznick's ideas.