Instructor: Jim Stovall, 216 Miller, 944-6889
jstovall@ehc.edu

This course introduces students to the structure and function of the mass media in the United States, with special attention given to news and information. It is designed to introduce mass communication majors to the field and various media industries, and it will help all students become more informed and discerning media consumers.

Text: Joseph R. Dominick, The Dynamics of Mass Communication, McGraw Hill, 2005.

Expectations

Students are expected to attend class and to keep up with readings and other assignments. Because learning is primarily the responsibility of the student, they should be prepared, maintain an interest in the topic at hand, and actively engage in class discussions. Those discussions should be civil, and class members should always be considerate of their colleagues.

Assignments, tests and grading

Students should read chapters and articles and complete other assignments before they come to class. Final grades for the course will be assigned on the following basis:

            Attendance and in-class assignments (20 percent)

            Two term exams (30 percent; 15 percent for each exam)

            Class paper/presentation (guidelines) (30 percent)

            Final exam (20 percent)

Attendance is a particularly important part of this course. Students should be on time, in their seats and attentive when the class begins. If a student misses four classes, we will stop considering the student to be a part of the class. That means that the student’s attendance will not be officially recorded and no further work that the student does will be graded. The course attendance policy can be found at this link.

Schedule of topics (always subject to adjustment)

This schedule lists only reading assignments from the text, but other assignments may be added.

August 26 – First day, introduction to the course

Week 1 – Aug. 29

            Mass media, Dominick, chapters 1, 2
            Introduction to media lecture notes

Week 2 – Sept. 5

            News and information, Dominick, chapter 12
            Lecture notes

Read the following articles:
• Jack Shafer (Slate.com), The Rebellion of the Talking Heads
• Jack Shafer (Slate.com), News You Can Lose: What I Hate about Cable TV Journalism
• Howard Kurtz (Washington Post), At Last, Reporters’ Feelings Rise to the Surface

Week 3 – Sept. 12

Newspapers, Dominick, chapter 4
Lecture notes

Week 4 – Sept. 19

Books, Dominick, chapter 6
Lecture notes

Week 5 – Sept. 26

Magazines, Dominick, chapter 5
Lecture notes

Week 6 – Oct. 3

Radio, Dominick, chapter 7
Lecture notes

Week 7, 8 -  Oct.  10, 17 (Fall break begins Oct. 11, 5 p.m.)

Television, Dominick, chapter 10
Lecture notes

Week 9 – Oct. 24

The Web, Dominick, chapter 11
Lecture notes
The following are some links for reading about the Judy Miller/New York Times case:
The Miller Mess: Lingering Issues about the Answers by Byron Calame, public editor fo the New York Times (10/23/2005)
Woman of Mass Destruction by Maureen Dowd, New York Times columnist (10/22/2005)
New York Times: The Miller Case (10/16/2005)
Miller recounts her grand jury testimony (10/16/2005)

Week 10 – Oct. 31

Advertising, Dominick, chapter 14
Lecture notes

Week 11 – Nov. 7

Test 2, Monday, Nov. 7

Public relations, Dominick, chapter 13

Week 12 – Nov. 14

Term paper due, Monday, Nov. 14

Media and the law, Dominick, chapter 15
Lecture notes
First Principles of the First Amendment -- This is a short set of principles about the First Amendment articulated by the First Amendment Center of the Freedom Forum.

Week 13 – Nov. 21 (Thanksgiving break begins Nov. 22, 5 p.m.);
Week 14 - Nov. 28

Ethics, Dominick, chapter 16
Lecture notes

Presentations and review

Week 15 – Dec. 5

            Presentations and review

            (Last day of classes, Friday, Dec. 9)

Final exam - Monday, Dec. 12, 8:30 a.m.
Final exam review