You will be preparing an essay on an assigned topic, but this does not mean you can't form the topic into a thesis or research question. It also does not mean that the topic should not be narrowed or refined.
You will need a research topic that is not too broad. You can start with a broad topic and narrow it down by thinking of some of the issues associated with it. Then turn your broad topic and issue into a debatable argument.
MASS MEDIA CHANNEL = Film
Film Era : Early films/Golden Age; Realism of 70s-80s; Small screen film industry/Netflix (disruption)
Focused Genre: ; Action/Adventure; Science Fiction; Drama; Animated; Oscar Winners; Comedies; etc.
Focused Issue/Phenomenon: "Realism" versus "Fantastical"; Musicals; Counterculture on film/Generational rebellion; Horror films and; Fear of Nuclear War (80s); Dystopian films of 90s-2000s; Disney/Pixar shaping American Culture; Hero/American Individualism and the American Western; Immigration on film; Racial stereotypes and racism/sexism in films
Particular Films: Hunger Games; Star Wars; Stephen King's "IT" and others; "Out"; Disney Princesses; Mulan
Media Channel + Era/Genre/Phenomenon/Particular Film = Topic
Media Channel + Point In Time/Focused Event/Phenomenon + YOUR EVALUATION (WHAT WAS CULTURAL EFFECT) = Thesis
Channel FILM
Topic: The Hunger Games franchise as a statement about American's economics.
Channel : The Hunger Games like other dystopian science fiction, reflects a growing power divide in our real society between the haves and the have nots.
Channel TELEVISION
Topic: PBS's Sesame Street and valuing early childhood education.
Thesis: Sesame Street, established by the Children's Television Workshop in the late-1960s, and other education-focused shows, made a significant contribution to improving literacy and inter-cultural understanding in the United States.
Channel Gaming
TOPIC: Multiplayer games ("Among Us") and Creating Community.
Thesis: During our pandemic era, virtual worlds and games like "Among Us" from Innersloth act as virtual town squares where people of all walks of life can create community with each other.
The following databases are excellent places to browse for a topic and begin your research. Log-in when off campus using your MyWCC username and password.
You might try finding a documentary or a short program on your subject. There is a wealth of high-quality programming on the history of media, new media, and culture of communication. The library subscribes to a collection of Academic videos that may provide you with a starting point for your topic.
Introduction to Mass Communication by 
