MCM517 Assignment 1 Solution and Discussion

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Online Journalism MCM517
Department of Mass Communication
Virtual University of Pakistan FALL 2019
ASSIGNMENT NO.1 MARKS: 15
Online Advertising & Ethics Related to Cyber Medium (Lesson# 2 & 4) Learning Objectives:
• To develop the understanding of the effects of online advertising.
• To develop the understanding of ethics of online journalism.
Background:
Q.1 Do you get attracted by the advertisements during watching a program, drama or film on YouTube? What are the advantages of placing this kind of online advertisement? (7.5 Marks)
Q.2 Why credibility is more important for an online journalist? What are the challenges he has to face? (7.5 Marks)
Learning Outcomes:
• Students will be able to know the role of advertising and its effects on consumers.
• Students will be able to understand the importance of following ethics of journalism.
• Note: Copied material will be graded “Zero”
Schedule
Opening Date and Time November 20, 2019 at 12:01 A.M (Mid-Night)
A Floating ad is a type of rich media Web advertisement that appears uninitiated, superimposed
over a user-requested page, and disappears or becomes unobtrusive after a specific time period
(typically 5-30 seconds).

Due Date and Time November 28, 2019 at 11:59 P.M (Mid-Night)
Note: Only in the case of Assignment, 24 Hrs extra / grace period after the above mentioned due date is usually available to overcome uploading difficulties which may be faced by the students on last date. This extra time should only be used to meet the emergencies and above mentioned due dates should always be treated as final to avoid any inconvenience.
Important Instructions:
Deadline: Make sure that you upload the solution file before the due date. No assignment will be accepted through e-mail once the solution has been uploaded by the instructor.
Formatting guidelines:
• Use the font style “Times New Roman” and font size “12”.
• It is advised to compose your document in MS-Word.
• Use black and blue font colors only.
Solution guidelines:
• Use APA style for referencing and citation. For guidance search “APA reference style” in Google and read various website containing information for better understanding or visit http://linguistics.byu.edu/faculty/henrichsenl/apa/APA01.html
• Every student will work individually and has to write in the form of an analytical assignment.
• Give the answer according to question, there will be negative marking for irrelevant material.
• For acquiring the relevant knowledge don’t rely only on handouts but watch the video lectures and use other reference books also.
Rules for Marking:
Please note that your assignment will not be graded or graded as Zero (0) if:
• It has been submitted after due date
• The file you uploaded does not open or is corrupt

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Sol Idea: Assignment No.1 MCM-517
Q.1 Answer
It is a fact that floating ads captures audience attention, advertisers can use eye catching imagery or visually engaging graphics and content for higher click through rates. This kind of advertisement have proven to increase the brand exposure. They can be seen by large number of people. Advertiser can also reach or target the specific audience for whom the ad has been positioned. They have proven to be more memorable and also have tracking capabilities.
But there are also drawbacks of this kind of online advertisement: as you may have also experienced that while watching a drama/movie/political talk show, we get irritated by the floating ads which requires minimum 5 seconds for skipping. The other drawback is that user can add ad blocking tools in their web browser to stop seeing the ads. But this kind of online advertisement have proven to increase the brand awareness and also the sales.
Q.2 Answer
Online journalist has to be very careful in gathering the information from sources. There are many problems that online journalist has to face in gathering and reporting the information like unreliable sources, inaccurate information, manipulation of data, fairness and balance etc. It has been seen that online reporters take less time to check their stories. They struggle with credibility and also objective reporting. Online journalist has to be more careful than journalist working in print and electronic media because of above mentioned problems.
Online journalist should not report the news story in a hurry just to get higher clicks and more traffic to their respective organization’s websites. The other big challenge is the role of gatekeepers; in online medium the role of responsible media professionals has become more important as it is disappearing day by day in online medium. The information is not filtered before it comes to public which has very bad effects on society.