COURSE OUTLINE, SCHEDULE, READING ASSIGNMENTS (Subject to change)
Part I: The Media – What It Was, What It Is, and Where It’s Going
7/23 Introduction
The Historical Evolution of Mass Media in the United States (all readings also available on course website)
Media Power in Politics: Ch. 4 by Michael Gurevitch, Stephen Coleman, and Jay G. Blumer, pgs. 45 – 53 (Download: Media Power ch 4 Gurevitch Coleman Blumer)
“Introduction: The Ideal of Objectivity,” in Discovering the News: A Social History of American Newspapers by Michael Schudson, pgs. 3 – 11 (Download: Schudson The Ideal of Objectivity)
“The Social and Technological History of Political Communication Change,” in The Only Constant is Change: Technology, Political Communication, and Innovation Over Time by Ben Epstein, pgs. 25-48 (Download: Epstein Social and Tech History of Pol Comm Change)
Recommended readings:
Media Power in Politics: Ch. 1 by Bruce Bimber, pgs. 7 – 17 (Download: Media Power ch 1 Bimber information shapes pol institutions)
7/25 Media as a Political Institution (all readings also available on course website)
Course Website: “Ch. 1: Media Power and Government Control,” from Mass Media and American Politics by Doris Graber and Johanna Dunaway, pgs. 2 – 21. (Download: Graber Dunaway ch 1)
Course Website: “Guides for Analyzing Political Arguments,” from Thinking Critically About Media and Politics by Donald Lazere, pgs. 17 – 21. (Download: Lazere guides)
Course Website: “Predictable Patterns of Political Rhetoric,” from Thinking Critically About Media and Politics by Donald Lazere, pgs. 48 – 49. (Download: Lazere Patterns)
Recommended Reading:
Media Power in Politics: Ch. 33 by W. Lance Bennett and William Serrin, pgs. 395 – 404 (Download: Media Power ch 33 Bennett Serrin watchdog role)
News Making and News Reporting
Bennett, W. Lance. 2012. “How Journalists Report the News” in News: The Politics of Illusion, Tenth Edition. Chicago: U of Chicago Press. 124-153.
“The State of the News Media 2018: “Fact Sheets for (1) Cable News, (2) Network News, (3) Local TV News, (4) Hispanic and African American News, (5) Audio and Podcasting, (6) Digital News, and (7) Newspapers” from the Pew Research Center’s Project for Excellence in Journalism: http://www.pewresearch.org/topics/state-of-the-news-media/
Recommended Reading:
“Clowns to the Left of Me, Jokers to the Right: The Actual Ideology of the American Press,” by Jay Rosen. http://pressthink.org/2010/06/clowns-to-the-left-of-me-jokers-to-the-right-on-the-actual-ideology-of-the-american-press/
7/30 Media and Journalism Today, and Hopefully Tomorrow
“Ch. 2: Ownership, Guidance, and Regulation of Media,” from Mass Media and American Politics by Doris Graber and Johanna Dunaway, pgs. 26 – 51. (Download: Graber Dunaway ch 2)
Media Power in Politics: Ch. 3 by Michael Schudson, pgs. 33 – 43 (Download: Schudson ch 3 Unlovable Press)
Media Power in Politics: Ch. 5 by Alex S. Jones, pgs. 57 – 65 (Download: Alex Jones ch 5 Losing the News)
Ch. 3: “No Such Things as Objective News,” from Making Sense of Media and Politics by Gadi Wolfsfeld, pgs. 47 – 71. (Download: wolfsfeld ch 3)
Recommended Readings:
Course Website: “The State of the News Media 2018: “Fact Sheets for (1) Digital News, (2) Newspapers, and (3) Public Broadcasting” from the Pew Research Center’s Project for Excellence in Journalism: http://www.pewresearch.org/topics/state-of-the-news-media/
Course Website: “Amid Criticism, Support for Media’s Watchdog Role Stands Out” from the Pew Research’s Center for the People and the Press
Part II: Politics, Media, and Elections
8/1 The Regulation of Media: What it Means for Politics, and for the Public
Media Power in Politics: Ch. 31 by Irene Wu, pgs. 369 – 380 (Download: Irene Wu ch 31 What Makes a Communication Regulator Independent)
Media Power in Politics: Ch. 32 by Patricia Aufderheide, pgs. 383 – 393 (Download: Aufderheide ch 32 Communications policy)
The Media vs. Political Institutions: News From the President and Congress
Course Website: Ch. 1: “Political Power and Power over the Media,” from Making Sense of Media and Politics by Gadi Wolfsfeld, pgs. 9 – 21. (Download: wolfsfeld ch 1)
Course Website: “How the News Media Helped to Nominate Trump,” by Julia Azari in Political Communicaiton 33:4, pgs. 677 – 679
Course Website: “What We Should Really Be Asking About Media Attention to Trump,” by Regina Lawrence and Amber Boydstun in Political Communication 34:1, pgs. 150 – 152
“Did We Create Trump,” by Jack Shafer in Politico, also available at https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2016/04/did-media-reporters-create-trump-2016-campaign-213840
Recommended Readings:
Mass Media and American Politics by Doris Graber and Johanna Dunaway: Ch. 3: Press Freedom and Law, pgs. 56 – 68, 78 – 97.
8/6 The Media vs. Political Institutions (continued)/ Mid-term exam review
Course Website: “Who Gets Covered? Ideological Extremity and News Coverage of Members of the U.S. Congress,” by Michael Wagner and Mike Gruszczynski in Journalism and Mass Communications Quarterly pgs. 1 – 18
The Media and Elections
Mass Media and American Politics: Ch. 12: pgs. 386 – 420 (download: Graber Dunaway Ch 12 Elections in the Digital Era)
8/8 The Media and Elections (continued)
Media Power in Politics: Ch. 15 by Thomas E. Patterson, pgs. 193 – 200 (Download: Patterson ch 15 Miscast Institution)
Media Power in Politics: Ch. 16 by Rachel Gibson, pgs. 203 – 213 (Download: Gibson ch 16 New Media and the Revitalization of Politics)
Course Website: “Did Social Media Ruin Election 2016,” by Sam Sanders, also available at https://www.npr.org/2016/11/08/500686320/did-social-media-ruin-election-2016
Part III: Mass Media and the Public
8/13 The Media and the Public: The Role of Media in Democratic Societies
Media Power in Politics: Ch. 12 by Markus Prior, pgs. 153 – 163 (Download: Prior ch 12 Audience Fragmentation)
Media Power in Politics: Ch. 35 by Jarol B. Manheim, pgs. 421 – 429 (Download: Manheim ch 35 News Shapers)
Course Website: “Political News in the News Feed Learning Politics from Social Media,” by Leticia Bode in Mass Communication and Society 19:1, pgs. 24 – 45.
The Media and the Public: Political Voices from Outside of Government
Media Power in Politics: Ch. 22 by Doug McAdam, pgs. 275 – 282 (Download: McAdam ch 22 Strategies of the Civil RIghts Movement)
Recommended Reading:
Course Website: “Our Demand is Simple: Stop Killing Us,” Jay Caspian Kang in the New York Times Magazine, https://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/10/magazine/our-demand-is-simple-stop-killing-us.html
8/15 The Internet and Politics Today and Tomorrow (RESEARCH PROJECT DUE)
Media Power in Politics: Ch. 36 by Helen Z. Margetts, pgs. 431 – 441 (Download: Margetts ch 36 Internet and Public Policy)
Course Website: “Political Polarization & Media Habits,” by Amy Mitchell, Jeffrey Gottfried, Jocelyn Kiley, and Katerina Eva Matsa at the Pew Research Center. (available at: http://www.journalism.org/2014/10/21/political-polarization-media-habits/)
Recommended Reading:
Course Website: “Curated Flows: A Framework for Mapping Media Exposure in the Digital Age,” Communication Theory Vol. 26 (2016), by Kjerstin Thorson & Chris Wells.
How the Public Shapes the Media in the Internet Era
Course Website: “Information Disorder: Definitions,” by Hossein Derakhshan and Claire Wardle. Pgs. 5-12. (available at: https://firstdraftnews.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/The-Disinformation-Ecosystem-20180207-v2.pdf)
Course Website: “People Don’t Trust News Media – and This is Key to the Global Misinformation Debate,” by Richard Fletcher and Rasmus Kleis Nielsen. Pgs. 13-17. (available at: https://firstdraftnews.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/The-Disinformation-Ecosystem-20180207-v2.pdf)
Recommended:
Media Power in Politics: Ch. 24 by Richard Davis, pgs. 293 – 300
Media Power in Politics: Ch. 26 by Robert M. Entman, pgs. 315 – 323
8/20 The Future of Media and Politics/ Final Exam Review
Mass Media and American Politics: Ch. 14: Current Trends and Future Directions, pgs. 458 – 485. (Download: Dunaway and Graber ch 14 Current Trends and Future Directions)
3/19 FINAL EXAM 2:30 – 4:45pm (Tuesday)
Not required for the summer course:
Media as a Policy Maker
Mass Media and American Politics: “Ch. 6: Media as Policy Makers,” from Mass Media and American Politics by Doris Graber and Johanna Dunaway, pgs. 190 – 214.
Media Power in Politics: Ch. 29 by May G. Kennedy, Ann O’Leary, Vicki Beck, Katrina Pollard, and Penny Simpson, pgs. 343 – 352
8/15 How the Media Shapes Public Opinion
Course Website: Ch. 5: “The Media Get You When You’re Not Paying Attention,” from Making Sense of Media and Politics by Gadi Wolfsfeld, pgs. 97 – 118. (Download: wolfsfeld ch 5)
Course Website: “Attention as a Valuable Resource,” by Natalie Stroud in Political Communication 34:3, pgs. 479 – 487
Recommended Reading:
Course Website: “Red Media, Blue Media, and Purple Media- News Repertoires in the Colorful Media Landscape,” by Staphanie Edgerly, Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, 59 (1), 2015. Pgs. 1-18
Media Power in Politics: Ch. 7 by Benjamin Page, Robert Shapiro, and Glenn Dempsey, pgs. 85 – 98
Media Power in Politics: Ch. 10 by Frank D. Gilliam Jr. and Shanto Iyengar, pgs. 129 – 138
Media Power in Politics: Ch. 11 by Jill A. Edy and Patrick C. Meirick, pgs. 141 – 149
Mass Media and American Politics 