I have chosen to do Option #3:

3. Analyze the coverage of a particular historical event in comparison to history books'
interpretation of that event.

I will cover the space race between 1957 and 1969 and the three main events that led to the Moon landing: Launch of Sputnik, Gagarin's flight, Shepard's flight, and Apollo 11.

New York Times:
Soviet Fires Earth Satellite Into Space, 10/7/1957, p. 1
187-Mile Heigh[t], April 12, 1961, p. 1
Nation Exults Over Space Feat; City Plans to Honor Astronaut 5/5/1961, p. 1
Astronauts Land on Plain; Collect Rocks, Plant Flag, 07/21/1969, p. 1

These are not the only articles I will read. There are several more after the date of each event.
I am attempting to see bias in reporting the news. Since these events happened during the cold war, there is bound to be some leaning towards the US side of things; same happened on the other side of the border. I will try to get the Soviet side of things, but I doubt this will happen since it's hard to get those archives.