PGLA
CMST&102 - OL - 13615 - W22 - Intro to Mass Media
Intro to Mass Media – CMST 102
Instructor: John Knowlton
Classes: This is a virtual hybrid class that meets at 10 a.m., PST, each Wednesday in Zoom sessions but also is online with no meetings arranged.
Credits: 5
Instructor’s office: Zoom; Phone: 253-833-9111 ext. 4201
Office hours: Online and available by appointment.
E-mail: jknowlton@greenriver.edu
What's this course about?
CMST 102 is designed to give you an overview of the wide variety of mass media available to audiences yesterday, today and tomorrow. Ranging across our needs for information and entertainment, the course will examine each medium and the industry built upon it.
We will examine how audiences use media and, in turn, how the media use audiences. We will look at the purposes and ethics of all media and their influence on our government and culture. Through interactions with speakers active in their fields, you will also gain insight into some of the careers available in the communication business and something about people whose job it is to create, edit, produce and distribute media products. We will also include video presentations and group discussions.
Course description from GRC catalogue: Examines newspaper profession, radio, television, magazines, public relations and films with specialists from the field as guest lecturers. Satisfies humanities/fine arts/English distribution requirement for AA degree.
Instructional method: Because people have different learning styles, this course will use a combination of live Zoom sessions, videos, readings, guest speakers and online resources at the publisher's website.
Course Outcomes
Students who successfully complete this class will be able to:
1. Discuss the development of the mass media landscape, which may include advertising, public relations and the demassification of the media.
2. Evaluate the technological advances of the major mass media industries.
3. Identify prominent people responsible for key developments in mass media industries.
4. Assess the impact of media power, control or responsibility on our society.
5. Discuss major influences on mass media, including social, political, technological or regulatory forces.
6. Explain the impact of evolving media on the mass media landscape.
Critical thinking: You will be expected to think critically about media systems, how they operate and what impact they have on U.S. culture and other cultures around the world. Special emphasis will be geared toward effects of media practices and trends such as globalization, consolidation, demassification and media melding.
Demonstrated by: Students will be expected to demonstrate their ability to think critically through active reading and listening skills, discussion of media-related current events and use of effective reasoning to evaluate information. Students will also be expected to provide reasons for the conclusions they reach and assess the relevance and adequacy of those reasons.
Do we need a book?
Yep! Plunk down your life savings and buy this: Revel for Media of Mass Communications Access Card. You can order it from the college's online bookstore or, alternatively, you can drill down at Pearson.com to buy the access code. It will cost you $44.99, plus an additional $20 if you want a hard copy of the text mailed to you. We will be using the 12th edition of the Media of Mass Communications by John Vivian. This is considerably revised from earlier editions. Because of that, previous editions of the text will NOT work for this class. Revel is a digital interactive eBook that contains important assignments and resources we will use throughout the term. Click on the "Invite link from Revel" Announcement in the left-hand navigation bar to access Revel. This class will also use the Canvas course management system, which you can find at the college website
What if I need help?
Ask for it by e-mailing or when I am online or in a Zoom meeting. Here are the keys to success in this class:
1. Read the chapter early each week. The class is structured so you have to complete the Revel quizzes by midnight Wednesday, and to do well on those quizzes you will need to have read the material first.
2. Pay attention to the sidebars in each chapter. Those are the short items that are related to the chapter's main theme.
3. Examine the media with a critical eye. Read one online publication daily. The college’s library subscribes to several newspapers. Some papers, such as The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times, do an especially good job of tracking the media industry. You might try USA Today as an alternative. Watch at least one TV newscast per week. I recommend The News Hour on public television. With the dramatic growth in "fake" news out there, it is especially important that you approach media content thoughtfully.
4. Troll the Internet for credible information sites. There are plenty of media-related web sites to check out. National Public Radio has a show specifically on "How the media shapes our world view" from WNYC 'On the Media' - ( https://www.npr.org/podcasts/452538775/on-the-media (Links to an external site.) ) Here’s a personal favorite: https://www.journalism.org/daily-briefings/ (Links to an external site.) When you’re trolling the web in search of other media-related sites, determine if you can believe the "facts" on these sites.
What's the workload for this course?
· Regular reading. All assigned reading for the week should be completed early in the week. Our text is meaty, and there’s plenty of interesting sidebar information such as case studies, profiles of people, timelines and thematic chapter summaries. There will be additional reading or viewing assigned to coincide with current media issues. That will add another 1-200 points you can earn.
· Quizzes. There will be weekly graded quizzes at Revel that are due by midnight each Wednesday. You can take the more difficult weekly quizzes on Canvas starting at noon Friday until 11:59 p.m., Sunday. There are 15 questions for each Revel quiz, with each question worth 5 points initially. You get three attempts per question, and the number of points decrease with each incorrect response. These quizzes are essentially practice quizzes that prepare you for the more challenging questions in Canvas later in the week. For best results when taking the quizzes at Revel, use Chrome, Firefox or Safari web browsers. Again, you can take the quizzes on Canvas anytime from noon Friday until 11:59 p.m., Sunday. You cannot make up missed assignments.
· Posting assignments. We will use posting assignments in Canvas that will require you to research and comment on important mass media topics. Please look at these as mini-research papers. Topics and deadlines will vary throughout the quarter.
· The final. This will be a writing assignment requiring an in-depth examination of a topic in this class.
Important: Students enrolling in the class after graded assignments have been turned in will NOT be able to make up those assignments. Further, you cannot make up missed assignments unless preapproved by the instructor at least 24 hours in advance of when assignment goes "live." CMST 102 requires good grammar, syntax and vocabulary. All grading of written assignments will cover your use of English. If you want help on this, please ask.
Here's the formal grade breakdown:
Revel quizzes......................................................1,125 points
Syllabus assignment……………….…......................20 points
Reflective essay……........…..…....…................…...75 points
Posting assignments..............................................300 points
Canvas quizzes...................................................2,250 points
Final...............................................................….......800 points
Total points 4,570 points
Academic dishonesty: All written assignments in this class will automatically be filtered through an anti-plagiarism software program. The student handbook is clear about plagiarism and cheating. Here is what it says:
(1) “Any student who, for the purpose of fulfilling or partially fulfilling any assignment or task required by the faculty as part of the student’s program of instruction, shall commit plagiarism or otherwise knowingly tender any work product that the student falsely represents to the faculty as the student’s work product, in whole or in part, shall be subject to discipline.”
(2) “Any student who knowingly aids or abets the accomplishment of cheating, as defined in subjection (1) of this section, shall also be subject to discipline.”
COURSE SCHEDULE
WEEK ONE
Reading: Chapter 1. Mass media literacy. We’ll look at the ubiquity of the mass media and what constitutes media literacy. The first homework assignment is available in the Assignments section to the left, and is due by midnight Tuesday. We will have a Zoom meeting at 10 a.m., Wednesday, where I will answer any questions you may have about this class, and review the Power Point presentation over Chapter One. You also need to watch the documentary film: Operation Infektion. This is an excellent, well-sourced documentary on Russia's long-established disinformation campaign. To watch it, please point your browser here:
Part I: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tR_6dibpDfo&t=1277s (Links to an external site.)
Part II: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S-4iwYkAivA (Links to an external site.)
Part III: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h5WjRjz5mTU (Links to an external site.)
Reminder: The Revel quiz over Chapter 1 will be due by midnight Wednesday, Jan. 5. The deadline is the same time and day for all subsequent weeks. You can take the Canvas quiz anytime from noon Friday to 11:59 p.m., Sunday.
WEEK TWO
Reading: Chapters 2 and 3. Media technology and media economics. We will examine the role technology plays in the ever-changing world of the mass media. To that end, you need to watch the outstanding documentary, The Social Dilemma. I am working with the producers to see if everyone can watch it for free. Last quarter there was a free window for my students, but that seems to have been closed. If I can ensure everyone can watch it for free, you should be prepared to answer several questions about it in the Canvas quizzes. In Chapter 2 we will also cover the financial foundations of the media systems, both here in the U.S. and overseas. Chapter 3 also takes a look at new media models that have been established in response to the major upheaval in the long-established mix of revenue streams for mainstream media. You have until midnight Jan. 13 to turn in your reflective essay. You have until midnight Jan. 12, to take the Revel quizzes for Chapters 2 and 3. You can take the Canvas quizzes anytime from noon Friday, Jan. 14 to 11:59 p.m., Sunday, Jan. 16.
WEEK THREE
Reading: Chapter 4. Cybermedia. Browsers, twitters, blogs – oh my! The new-media landscape is filled with tools that are shifting the power of mass communication to the people. We’ll take a look at those tools this week, and examine how, through a convergence process, the relationship between media consumers and mass media is being dramatically transformed. Remember: You have until midnight, Wednesday, Jan. 19, to take the Revel quizzes. You can take the Canvas quiz anytime from noon Friday, to 11:59 p.m., Sunday.
WEEK FOUR
Reading: Chapter 5. Legacy Media. As a sign of the times, the Ink-on-paper, Sound Media and Motion Media industries are all wrapped up into one chapter. Guest speaker, Erik Krema of Hubbard Radio will talk at 10 a.m., Jan. 26, on Zoom. Use the regular Zoom link for this class. Special movie: “Money For Nothing: The Business of the Pop Music Industry.” Yes, the movie is 20 years old but much of the points made there ring true even today. Point your browser here to see that movie: Money for Nothing: Behind the Business of Pop Music (2001) (Links to an external site.) Quizzes will be online.
WEEK FIVE
Reading: Chapter 6 and 7. News, and Entertainment. Journalistic traditions and the changing nature of journalism are the focus this week. Guest speaker Stephen Silha, co-founder of Journalism That Matters, will be available in Zoom on Feb. 2. I will provide a link and password the week before his presentation. In addition to news, we will learn about technology’s effects on entertainment. Quizzes will be online.
WEEK SIX
Reading: Chapter 8 and 9. Public Relations, and Advertising. We will examine the history and mission of public relations, plus the advertising industry that is vital to a consumer economy and essential to a prosperous society. Movie: “Killing Us Softly 4.” Point your browser here to watch this video: https://vimeo.com/142100425 (Links to an external site.) Quizzes will be online.
WEEK SEVEN
Chapters 10 and 11. Mass Audiences, and Mass Media Effects. Movie: "Tough Guise 2: Violence, manhood and American Culture." Point your browser here to watch this video: https://login.ezproxy.greenriver.edu/login?qurl=https%3a%2f%2fgreenriver.kanopystreaming.com%2fnode%2f93038Links to an external site. Quizzes online.
WEEK EIGHT:
Reading: Chapter 12. Governance and Mass Media. We take a look at the relationship between the media and democracy in the U.S. Quizzes will be online.
WEEK NINE:
Reading: Chapter 13. Global Mass Media. We learn about how the world’s nations and media systems fall into competing, philosophically irreconcilable systems. Quizzes will be online.
WEEK TEN:
Reading: Chapter 14. Mass media law. We also look at First Amendment rights, and an in-depth examination of the Citizens United decision and corporate “personhood.” Quizzes will be online.
WEEK ELEVEN:
Reading: Chapter 15. Mass media ethics. We will watch the movie "A fragile trust: Plagiarism, Power and Jayson Blair at The New York Times." Quizzes will be online.
Final assignment will go “live” on March 8 and will be due by midnight March 18.
ADA Statement: If you believe you qualify for course adaptations or special accommodations under the Americans With Disabilities Act, it is your responsibility to contact the Disability Support Services Coordinator in the LSC and provide the appropriate documentation. If you have already documented a disability or other condition through the GRCC Disability Support Services Office, which would qualify you for special accommodations, or if you have emergency medical information or special needs I should know about, please notify me during the first week of class.
Notice of Alternative Format: This document is available in alternative formats to individuals with disabilities by contacting Disability Support Services at 253-833-9111, ext. 2631; TTY 253-288-3359; or by email at dss@greenriver.edu. Green River College is an equal opportunity educator and employer. Learn more at www.greenriver.edu/accessibilityLinks to an external site. .
Mandatory Reporter Statement: GRC faculty and staff are mandatory reporters of child abuse and neglect and must report suspected abuse or neglect to the proper authorities.
Reasonable Accommodations for Religion/Conscience: Students who will be absent from course activities due to reasons of faith or conscience may seek reasonable accommodations so that grades are not impacted. Such requests must be made within the first two weeks of the course and should follow the procedures listed under Student Procedures on the College Holiday and Leave Policy website https://www.greenriver.edu/campus/policies-and-procedures/student-affairs-policies/sa-91-college-holiday-leave-policy/Links to an external site. . Please note that requests must be made to the office of the Vice President of Student Affairs in addition to your instructor.
Accessibility Statement: Green River College is committed to creating a positive, accessible environment for its students, employees, and visitors. The College continues to increase the accessibility and usability of all college resources to meet the needs of its diverse community.
Accommodations Statement: Green River College is committed to providing access to all who visit, work and study on campus. The College will provide reasonable accommodations for individuals with disabilities, with advance notice of need. If you require accommodations, please contact Disability Support Services as soon as possible to determine eligibility and/or request accommodations.
Accommodations are determined on a case-by-case basis. Please contact Disability Support by email at dss@greenriver.edu; by phone at 253-833-9111, ext. 2631; TTY 253-288-3359; or in person at the Student Affairs and Success Center, Room 210, to request accommodations. For additional information, please visit https://www.greenriver.edu/dssLinks to an external site. .
The accommodations authorized on your forms should be discussed with your instructor. All discussions will remain confidential. Accommodations are not provided retroactively, so it is essential to discuss your needs at the beginning of the quarter. Additionally, only accommodations approved by Disability Support Services will be provided. This syllabus is available in alternate formats upon request.
Green River College is an equal opportunity educator and employer. Learn more at https://www.greenriver.edu/accessibility-disclaimer/Links to an external site. .
**The schedule and procedures in this course are subject to change in the event of extenuating circumstances.