Preamble:

It is the fall of 1971. The United States has been through several tumultuous years of civil unrest, protests of various sorts, and is still emerging only slowly from the quagmire of Vietnam. Abruptly, the nation's attention – and the world's – are focused on a small town in upstate New York, Attica, the home of a state correctional facility, a prison.

Write:

You are a magazine writer, seeking to make sense of the events at Attica in the context of the 1960's, the decade just completed. You are especially interested in the role television news played in those events. Write a 4-5 page story about the five day events.

Be sure to consider and address the following in your magazine story:

• What role did the news media play?
• What role did the civil rights movement/uprisings play?
• In your piece, remember that you are trying to help readers understand the context of what might have contributed and led to Attica.
• Make reference to inmate conditions nationally at that time, and to whatever you can find about the exposure these conditions received in the news media?
• Should the American people have been surprised by Attica?

Hints: Feel free to use UD's library online Nexis-Lexis database of news articles in your research. As with your report on the quiz show scandals, keep in mind that this course is about TV news documentary; how might the events of Attica have affected the TV public's mood or attitude toward inmate conditions?

Tip: If you find yourself writing about Beatle John Lennon, you're in the wrong era.