3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27


Section 1: Multi-media convergence and the future

Homework before class 2 (Chapter 2 and Convergence)

  • Log on to BBVista. Click on "Discussion." Click on "Discussion Assignment: Biographical Introduction." Tell us a little about yourself, especially anything that has to do with communication. Then click on one other person's posting and reply to that person.
  • Read our Convergence Web site for a brief introduction to this new multimedia trend.
  • Read Chapter 2 of Media and Culture called New Technologies & Media Convergence

Homework before class 3 (Chapter 2 and Convergence)

  • Go to the section on our Convergence page in which you examine various convergence sites.
  • Read the directions for the BBVista Discussion Question.
  • Go to BBVista. Click Discussions. Choose the discussion called "Convergence Sites." Write your response to this question: Pick one site you really like from the list. Write an explanation of what you find especially moving or insightful about your site and why you picked it. Then, in some detail, explain what communication skills you think the people who made the site needed to develop (tricky question because some of the technological ones will be obvious but other types of skills may be less obvious but as important or more so). Go to BBVista to do this assignment. Use the Discussion called "Convergence Sites."

Homework before class 4 (Chapter 2 and Convergence)

  • Read the section on our convergence site called "Group Work to prepare for class discussion and paper." Each group should prepare thoughts and various points of view regarding the five bullet points on the "Group Work" section. In class 4 each group will present their thoughts to the class. When your group is not presenting, you will be expected to engage the current presenters by questioning them or offering them alternative viewpoints.

Homework before class 5 (Chapters 2 Convergence)

Section 2: Individual media

Homework before class 6 (Chapter 5 Television)

  • Study Chapter 5 Television.

Homework before class 7 (Chapter 6 Cable and Specialization of Television)

  • Study Chapter 6 Cable
  • Go to BBVista. Click Discussions. Choose the discussion called "Cable." Write your response to these questions:
    • q. 1 – How did cable pose a challenge to broadcasting, and how did the FCC respond to cable’s early developments?
    • q. 2 – How did the Telecommunications Act of 1996 change the economic shape and the future of cable industry?
    • q. 3 – In terms of fostering democracy, what are the main advantages, if any, of cable and DBS over traditional broadcasting?
    • q. 4 – CNN and MTV have changed our society as well as the global culture. Do you agree or disagree and why

Homework before class 8 (Chapters 3 & 4 Recording and Radio)

  • Study Chapters 3 & 4 Sound Recording and Radio

Homework before class 9 (Chapter 8 Newspapers)

  • Study Chapter 8 Newspapers.
  • Go to BBVista. Click Discussions. Choose the discussion called "Newspapers." Write your response to these questions:
    • q. 1 – How did newspapers emerge as a mass medium during the penny press era? What societal elements changed to impact newspapers reach and importance?
    • q. 2 – Why did interpretive forms of journalism develop in the modern era? What is, or should be, journalistic objectivity?
    • q. 3 – Explain the distinction between the business and news operations of a newspaper?
    • q. 4 – What is the impact of a JOA on the business and editorial divisions of competing newspapers?
  • Read this article on what the Washington Post is doing to transition into the future.

Homework before class 10 (Chapter 9 Magazines)

  • Study Chapter 9 Magazines.

 

Section 3: Journalism and the 1st Amendment

Homework before class 11 (Chapter 14 Journalism)

  • Study Chapter 14 The Culture of Journalism.

Homework before class 12 (Chapter 14 Journalism)

  • Read our Journalism Web site: "What Makes Something Newsworthy" and "The Freedom of Information Act."
  • Read two of these five investigative journalism stories and think about how these stories benefit society.
    1. Soldiers Face Neglect, Frustration At Army's Top Medical Facility and Continuing coverage of Walter Reed Hospital after the first report.
    2. The Gray Zone: How a secret Pentagon program came to Abu Ghraib. by Seymour M. Hersh
    3. Torture At Abu Ghraib by Seymour Hersh.
    4. For Mentally Ill, Death and Misery
    5. The Widow-Maker
  • Log onto BBVista. Click on Discussions for Class 12 Journalism. The question you will answer is this: The media today have been accused of manufacturing controversy. Some say the media are too aggressive in their coverage of events. News organizations are chastized for chasing stories that increase their rating numbers. Some people feel that reporters should trust government and corporations. Consider the two articles you read on Walter Reed Army Hospital, the mental institutions, the Iraq prisons, and the Harrier jet program. These stories are examples of reporters taking a critical look at government and corporations. In your BBVista discussion:
    • Explain how each if these stories is newsworthy, according to the criteria you have learned.
    • Discuss the effort that journalists must put in to reporting a significant story, especially how they had to get information from reluctant officials. Do you think they had to use the Freedom of Information Act?
    • Describe how much work is typically involved in the investigative reporting process. Explain the process you see journalists going through in order to provide us with a comprehensive understanding of the newsworthy issue.
    • Evaluate the benefits of the aggressive, critical reporting of these journalists. (To post your entry, click on "Create Message" and label it "Journalism - Your Name.")

Homework before class 13 (Chapter 14 Journalism)

  • View "All the President's Men." Library has copies for viewing there.
  • Refer to our Watergate site.
  • Refer to the Washington Post Watergate site. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/national/longterm/watergate/front.htm
  • Log on to BBVista. Go to Discussion for All the President's Men. Here are the questions to answer:
    • Woodward and Bernstein served as watchdogs of our government officials. What are some of the challenges they confronted as reporters unraveling the Watergate story? (3+ sentences)
    • What personality traits made them good watchdogs of the government? (3+ sentences)
    • How would you characterize Woodward and Bernstein's reporting process? In what way did their actions exemplify the ethical standards listed in the SPJ Code of Ethics on p. 490 in your textbook? (3+ sentences)
    • How did The Washington Post's publisher and editors support Woodward and Bernstein? (3+ sentences)
    • What lessons does The Washington Post's coverage of Watergate provide to journalists and the news media today? (4+ sentences)
    • What is the role of the news media? Should the news media monitor the government and hold government officials accountable, or is it “anti-American” to do so? Should the news media defer to its government officials in times of crisis (ie, the Vietnam War, the War on Terror) and not jeopardize support for our nation’s leaders? What do you think? Every media consumer needs to deeply consider the role of the news media as it reports on our nation’s leaders. (8+ sentences)
    • (To post your entry, click on "Create Message" and label it "ATPM - Your Name.")

Homework before class 14 (Chapter 14 Journalism)

Read the section on our Journalism site called "Group Work to prepare for class discussion and paper." Each group should prepare thoughts and various points of view regarding the seven bullet points on the "Group Work" section. In class 15 each group will present their thoughts to the class. When your group is not presenting, you will be expected to engage the current presenters by questioning them or offering them alternative viewpoints.

Homework before class 15 (Chapter 14 Journalism)

• Paper 2 due.

• Prepare your "Works Cited" page according to APA Style and APA for online resources. You will submit this document to your professor prior to your presentation.

Homework before class 16 (Chapter 16 Legal Controls and Freedom)

  • Study chapter 16 in Media & Culture: p. 546-579 and our Web site on Freedom.
  • Log on to BBVista. Click on "Discussion." Click on "Law." Write your response to these questions:
    • What issues are at stake when 1st Amendment and 6th Amendment concerns clash?
    • The government and the courts view print and broadcasting as different forms of expression. What are the major differences?
    • Why is the Internet a potentially more democratic form than broadcasting?

Homework before class 17 (Chapter 16 Legal Controls and Freedom)

• Study the The Elements of Journalism and The Nine Principles http://www.journalism.org/node/72

Homework before class 18 (Chapter 17 News Media and War)

Homework before class 19 (Chapter 17 News Media and War)

  • Log on to BBVista. Click on "Discussion" of Trends. Click on http://www.journalism.org/ . Choose "State of the News Media" and select the most recent year. Find the section called "Major Trends" and discuss three major trends as they apply to your life, career, and contemporary society.

 

Section 4: Advertising and Public Relations

Homework before class 20 (Chapter 11 Advertising)

  • Study chapter 11
  • Go to BBVista. Click Discussions. Choose the discussion called "Advertising 1." Write your response to these questions:
    • 1. Whom did the first ad agents serve?
    • 2. What is commercial speech?
    • 3. What is product placement?
    • 4. What are some of the major issues involving political advertising?

Homework before 21 (Chapter 11 Advertising)

Homework before class 22 (Chapter 11 Advertising)

  • Write: Go to BBVista and do the discussion for Chapter 11, Advertising 2, on Advertising: Regulate vs. Leave it Alone? To post your entry, go to BBVista > Discussions and click on "Create Message" and label it "Advertising - Your Name.")
  • Class discussion on Advertising

Homework before class 23 (Chapter 12 Public Relations)

  • Study chapter 12
  • Go to BBVista. Click Discussions. Choose the discussion called "Public Relations." Write your response to these questions:
    • 1. What is a pseudo-event?
    • 2. What are the two approaches to organizing a PR firm?
    • 3. What are press releases, and why are they important to reporters?
    • 4. What is the difference between a VNR and a PSA?

 

Section 5: The media are businesses

Homework before class 24 (Chapter 13 Economics and Media Consolidation)

  • Study chapter 13

Homework before class 25 (Chapter 13 Economics and Media Consolidation)

Homework before class 26 (Chapter 13 Economics and Media Consolidation)

Write: Go to BBVista and do the discussion for Chapter 13 on Media Consolidation. The media industry is a consolidated one. Just look at CJR's "Who Owns What" website and you'll understand the power and influence of these major media "senders" - meaning, the content producers and distributors. How did these companies grow to become so big? The political landscape and deregulatory measures such as the TCOM Act of 1996 fostered a "merger mania" that has redefined the media industry in the United States. Regardless of whether or not you aspire to seek a role in the field of communications in the future, you will always be a media consumer. So, let me ask you: Are you in favor of consolidation or against it? Offer arguments in favor of consolidation if you agree with it, or against consolidation if you disagree with the ever-merging media landscape. Once you have stated whether you are "for" or "against" consolidation and why, I'd like you to consider the government's role in consolidation. Specifically, what role should the government play in leveling the media playing field? Should it regulate against further consolidation? Should it relax restrictions on mergers and acquisitions further so as to encourage competition? Has consolidation affected our access to information and our right to know? Use Clear Channel Communications to illustrate the points in your reply to these questions. To post your entry, go to BBVista > Discussions and click on "Create Message" and label it "Consolidation - Your Name.")

• Class Discussion on Ownership.

Homework before class 27

  • Course Wrap-up

Homework before class 28, (just sections A & B)

  • Course Wrap-up

Instructions for final paper/presentation

Paper to be uploaded to BBVista, named lastnameCom101YourSectionFinal.doc, for example, SimpsonCom101Final.doc