JOU 110 - Intro to Mass Media

1. Examine the history of the mass media: print, sound recording, film, radio, television, video games, the internet, social media, and smartphones
   1. Outline the evolution of print and its place in the media today
   2. Compare how different types of electronic media evolved
   3. Illustrate how the internet has changed the distribution model for different types of media
   4. Summarize notable figures in mass media, including Philo Farnsworth, David Sarnoff, Joseph Pulitzer, Nelly Bly, Ida B. Wells, Grace Hopper, and Steve Jobs
2. Appraise the contemporary status of the mass media
   1. Examine the functions and dysfunctions of each medium in contemporary society
   2. Give examples of technological and economic convergence
   3. Explain what it is to be media literate
   4. Define cultural convergence and oligopoly
3. Appraise the various contemporary and enduring issues relating to the media
   1. Outline the ethics of journalism
   2. Differentiate between ethical and unethical advertising and public relations
   3. Explain legal issues in the media, including libel, copyright, invasion of privacy, shield laws, and the role of the FCC
   4. Review laws and court cases that have helped define our legal media landscape, including NY Times v. Sullivan and the Telecommunications Act of 1996
4. Critique the media as a source of information
   1. Compare and contrast news sources
   2. Explain methods of propaganda
   3. Define media framing
   4. Define media bias
5. Assess media effects
   1. Compare and contrast types of mass media research, including surveys, experiments, focus groups, and case studies
   2. Evaluate one’s own media usage
   3. Differentiate mass media theories, including Direct Effect, Cultivation, Agenda Setting, and Uses and Gratifications
   4. Give examples of stereotypes and their effects
6. Explain how media content is produced
   1. Break down different jobs in the mass media
   2. Explain the relationship between journalism and public relations
   3. Summarize how the smartphone has changed media production, especially newsgathering
   4. Define gatekeeper
7. Examine diversity in the media
   1. Point out how media ownership influence media content
   2. Review examples of diversity (and the lack thereof) in the media through history
   3. Discuss harmful effects of stereotypes in movies, TV, and advertising
8. Compare and contrast global media models
   1. Point out countries that do not have freedom of the press
   2. Characterize media ownership in other countries such as England and China
   3. Make sense of the relationship between the government and the media in developing nations