"research a controversial issue, either comtemporary or historical, and explain how the audience is positioned by newspapers to view the issue."

Question

can someone please tell what "how the audience is POSITIONED by newspapers" mean?

It's very rare lately that you get news without a commentary attached to it as to how we're supposed to think or feel about what the article is reporting.

For example, someone against the war in Iraq might take the death of a soldier in a car accident while on leave in the US and print at the end of the article "That leaves the total amount of soldiers that died during the war at xxxx."

So pick a topic. Find as many news articles from different papers as you can. Then present how the differences in the articles make you feel a certain way. That's how the newspaper article positions its audience.

At least that's how I read it.

Matt