Introduction to Mass Communication, Media Literacy and Culture by Stanley J. Baran

Worksheet 9-3 Online PR Wars

The vignette that opens chapter 9 in the text centers on the public relations battle being waged over global warming. You can stay with this issue or choose another controversy in which you are more interested. Now, put yourself in the shoes of our vignette’s protagonist – you are intensely interested in this issue, but confused by the competing claims. Use the Web to resolve this dilemma for yourself by answering the following questions.

  1. What is the issue you’ve chosen? What are the primary arguments of the competing side?


  2. Find five Web sites representing each of the competing views of your chosen controversy. What are their URLs and who is the creator and owner of each?


  3. Select those that are, in your opinion, the best representatives of each group. Explain what criteria you used in making your choices.


  4. What types of evidence do these sites offer to support their positions?


  5. How forthcoming are these sites in identifying their sponsors? For example, it isn’t enough to identify a site’s creator as The Global Climate Coalition. Literate Web users should be able to determine exactly who funds and supports this group.


  6. Detail your reactions to the online PR war you investigated. Did you learn more about the issue under consideration than you knew before, or did you come away more confused? In your mind, which side won the debate, and why?
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