DISCUSSION: We discussed the First Amendment and laws that affect media, including laws on defamation, privacy, intrusion, appropriation, copyright, trademark and information gathering. We discussed "Net Neutrality" and the many ways that the Internet is regulated, in spite of many claims that it's a free-for-all.
MUSIC PLAGIARISM: We discussed the case of "He's So Fine"/"My Sweet Lord" in which former Beatle George Harrison was sued for using a recognizable riff
from a 1960s girl group song. He ended up paying $1.6 million or so. Another classic case is "I'll Take You There"/"Liquidator". When rappers first started sampling, it was open season. But now they pay royalties to the original songwriters of the samples they take.
EXTRA CREDIT GUEST SPEAKER:
Tuesday June 11, 4:45-5:45 p.m.
Room L-42
Award-winning sports columnist Mark Purdy of the San JoseMercury News has covered 11 Olympic Games and more than 25 Super Bowls. He was
on the Mercury News staff that won the 1989 Pulitzer Prize for coverage of the
1989 “World Series” earthquake. He will be guest speaker in the journalism
class that produces La Voz Weekly. For up to 40 points of extra credit, write one-to-two page double-spaced report on what he talked about and your reaction.
BLOG TOPIC:
Week 9:
Media Ethics/Media Law (20)
Describe a
media law or media ethics case from 2012-13 (not discussed in class) involving one or more of the
following: First
Amendment/censorship, libel, privacy/intrusion, copyright, Federal
Communications Commission, misappropriation
Include
a user-friendly link to a site about the case. Add your brief comments.
The VALS Framework described in the textbook segments U.S. adults into eight distinct types—or mindsets—using a
specific set of psychological traits and key demographics that drive
consumer behavior. Marketers use the information to target their advertising in a way that will reach you.
What type are you? Thinker? Achiever? Maker? Take the VALS Survey, and then compare the result to the brands you buy and how you think about yourself. Does the result seem valid to you? If so, can you think of any examples of techniques marketers use to reach your "type" specifically? Write about it as an alternative blog topic.
PUBLIC
RELATIONS: We viewed videos about Edward Bernays and about various
aspects of public relations. We discussed greenwashing, pinkwashing, astroturfing,
crisis management and celebrity image make-overs.
ADVERTISING: We viewed older TV and TV ads
aimed at particular demographics. We discussed brands and . We
discussed the VALS framework, which is an example of how advertisers
target and respond to the demographics the clients want to reach. We
discussed viral advertising and viewed examples from epipheo, a marketing company specializing in online/viral marketing.
FOR MONDAY: Read Chapter 14 - Media, complete workbook.
ALSO MONDAY: Re-turn in Annotated References with corrections.
IN CLASS: Quiz 5 covering Chapter 12 - Public Relations and Chapter 13 - Advertising Blog topic: Propaganda in Advertising/PR (20)
Look up “Propaganda techniques” on wikipedia.org,
then find an advertisement online that uses at least two propaganda
techniques. Explain what the techniques are and how they are used Add a
link to the ad.
OR
Alternative - VALS framework. See above
OR
Alternative - Evaluate a local business's online presence. Choose a local business (not a chain) such as a nail salon, dentist's office or Mom and Pop restaurant or coffee shop. Search the business in Google to find its website, Facebook page, Yelp reviews and anything else that comes up. How effective is the business's online presence? What suggestions would you make for improvement?
DISCUSSION: We discussed the history of electronic news, from radio to newsreels to TV to Internet/social media. We talked about how we first heard the news of big events like 9/11, the death of Michael Jackson and the killing of Osama Bin-Laden. We viewed this British video satirizing the typical news
ANNOTATED REFERENCES: Due Monday June 3. The assignment is on the navigation bar above. Find three items you might use in your Research Paper, including one from a peer-reviewed academic/scholarly journal.
RESEARCH PAPER TOPICS: If you are having problems finding research sources, or if you want to change your topic, please email me and I will be happy to help.
BLOG 7 topic (Internet):
Have you used the Internet for shopping, gaming or dating,
or do you know someone who has? Do you know anyone who has developed an addiction
(or time-consuming habit) of one of these activities? Explain how it affected
their lives and how they put a stop to it, if they did. Include user-friendly
links to any specific sites you mention.
ALTERNATIVE TOPIC for BLOG 7: LinkedIn
I mentioned in class last week an alternative blog topic, LinkedIn.com. It's a social media website specifically for professional purposes such as seeking a job, networking and keeping up with business acquaintances. Students should get started while still in school, according to this article. So the assignment is to join LinkedIn, post a profile, invite people you know to link including me, and join at least three groups that might help you network or that relate to your major or career goals. If the group is closed, request to join. Here are some examples:
If you choose this alternative and you link to me, you don't need to do a blog post. I will see your profile in LinkedIn. If you don't want to link to me, post on your blog that you joined LinkedIn, how many people you invited to link and which groups you joined or requested to join.
DISCUSSION - We talked about the history of the Internet and three ways of making money from the internet (paid content, advertising and e-commerce). We discussed Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs), a current topic in higher education. San Jose State Plus is offering five classes as MOOCs this summer -- online, lower tuition, no interaction with profs or classmates. "Mentors" will be available, SJSU says. We also talked about the Dot-Com bust and how the stock prices of current online companies are doing.
FOR WEDNESDAY: Research Paper topics are due (see assignment on top navigation bar). Bring a printout of an article if you have one.
DISCUSSION: We discussed our favorite TV shows, how people watch TV, whether it was restricted when they were younger, stereotypes and anti-stereotypes on TV, and the FCC. We viewed clips from "I Love Lucy" "Seinfeld" and "Scrubs" and looked at Nielsen TV ratings for last week.
MY BAD: I had assumed the "Freakin' FCC" episode of "Family Guy" had not aired on broadcast TV, but in fact it aired on Fox (although the song we watched might have been altered for TV). Upon further research, I found out that the FCC (Federal Communications Commission) has greatly relaxed its policies on language and body parts since the Janet Jackson wardrobe malfunction at the Superbowl. In fact, last year, the Supreme Court ruled that the FCC cannot impose fines for words or obscenity. I learn something from my students every day.
MAKEUP QUIZZES: Instructions are at http://faculty.deanza.edu/deckcecilia/stories/storyReader$53. You can make up 100 quiz points for the quarter. So far, we've had three quizzes, each worth 40 points, and we will have two more. The makeups for the first three will be due May 29 - hard copy, either handwritten in very clear writing or typed.
RESEARCH PAPER: Topics for the Research Paper are due next week, on Wednesday May 22. The Research Paper assignment is posted on the navigation bar (above). What's due Wednesday is only the topic (typed or hand-written), but you should begin your research first and show me a copy of an article you plan to use. The topics are the topics of the Chapter Openers and Close-Ups, but your topic needs to have an up-to-date angle and more research. Banned topic: Women/teenager body image and the media. I have read too many of these!
GRADING: I have made a change to the grading ... the Research Paper will be worth 100 points, the Presentation will be worth 50 points and the Final Exam will be worth 50 points. I think this will benefit most students.
DISCUSSION: We
discussed the history of the telegraph and radio. Radio had an elite phase when it was used for military and nautical purposes (e.g. the Titanic's distress call); a popular phase during its golden age in the 1930s and 1940s when families listened to radio dramas, quiz shows and music together (see "Radio Days" trailer, above); and a specialized phase after TV became popular. Today, most radio stations follow strict formats -- either news/talk or specific types of music. The exception is campus radio stations like KFJC at Foothill College and KSJS at San Jose State, which have quirky disc jockeys and shows.
SHOW
AND TELL: We looked at old radios, a script for "Amos and Andy," and telegraph supplies.
ASSIGNMENT: Mass Communications on the Web (see above on navigation bar) is now due Tuesday May 15 at midnight.
QUIZ MAKEUPS: Go to my De Anza faculty page for information. Quiz makeups for Quizzes 1-3 will be due May 29. Quiz 3 will be returned on Wednesday.
BLOG TOPIC (Due Sunday at midnight): Television (20 points)
Find and describe an online video (from YouTube or another
video site) that explains or explores topics that are mentioned in the
textbook. Videos should be under 10 minutes in length and should not be one
that a classmate has already posted OR that we have viewed in class. Embed the video in your post and write:
·The length
of the video
·A
description of the video in your own words
·The name of
the corresponding chapter in our textbook
·A course
related quiz question to go along with the video
Length: 4:22 Description: Stats and facts concerning Social Media's accelerated
assimilation into mainstream culture. Chapter 2: Media Impact, Chapter 10: Internet, other chapters. Quiz Question: In comparison to Facebook, which reached 100 Million
users in a matter of months, how many years did it take for Radio to reach 50
million users? Answer: 38 years
DISCUSSION (Wednesday) - We discussed the history of recorded music. Students listed the genres of music they listen to, and we talked about how recording helped people share music and new genres to develop. We looked at the format wars in recording technology, from Edison's cylinder, through vinyl records, cassette tapes, CDs and finally mp3s.
DISCUSSION (Monday):
Students listed the movies they had seen over the weekend in any
format. Several had seen movies on the Silver Screen (in the
theater). We discussed the MPAA (Motion Picture Association of
America) and its rating system. SHOW
AND TELL: We discussed the concept of "persistence of vision" by
passing around a deck of cards and viewing Eadweard Muybridge's horse
photos. We also looked at scripts and a story board for Star Wars. POWER
POINT: We looked at clips from "Birth of a Nation" "The Jazz Singer,"
and "pre-Code" movies. We also watched thethree movies worst ever made(from the DVD 50 Worst Movies ever made),movie cliches and product placement. FOR MONDAY: Read and complete the workbook page for Chapter 8 - Radio DUE MONDAY at MIDNIGHT on Turnitin.com: "Mass Communications on the Web" (see toolbar above). If you need login information for Turnitin, please email me. BLOG (due Sunday at midnight): Movies or Recordings (20) AND comment on other students' posts.
Write 2-3
sentences about your favorite movie of 2012-2013 and why you liked it. Write
1-2 more sentences about your all-time favorite movie and why you like it. In
which format(s) did you first see these movies? Add a user-friendly link to the
movie in RottenTomatoes.com. Find and embed a trailer for one or both of the
movies.
OR
Write 2-3
sentences about your favorite sound recording of 2012-2013 and why you liked
it. Write 1-2 more sentences about your favorite oldie and why you like it. In
which format(s) did you first hear these recordings? Add or embed user-friendly
links to Amazon.com, YouTube.com
or other sites where others can listen to your recordings (or samples).
DISCUSSION: We discussed how people are influenced by images in magazines. We discussed the three stages of media development, which apply to magazines and to other media we are studying:
Elite stage -- Only the most wealthy, most educated have access
Popular stage -- Most people have access, but choices are limited
Specialized stage -- Everyone has access, but choices are fragmented
SHOW
AND TELL: We looked at examples of different types of magazines: Trade, public relations,
consumer; and academic and professional journals, as well as Batman comics then and now. MAGAZINE COVERS: You can find out what was on the cover of Time on your birthday or any other day, here.
QUIZ 3 - Print (Chapters 3, 4 and 5) quiz will be on Wednesday. What to study: Books: Printing Revolution, Paperback Books, New Forms of the Book, Types of Books, The Reader, Censorship. Newspapers: The First Newspapers, Zenger Case, The Associated Press and Objectivity, Yellow Journalism, Ida B. Wells-Burnett, Tabloids, Canons of Journalism, Alternative Press, Ethnic Press, Wire Services, The Reader: Changing Patterns, Magazines: Latina, Magazine Evolution, Muckrakers, Mass Circulation Magazines, Special Interest Magazines, Adapting to New Media, Types of Magazines, Promotion, New Product Development, The Reader, Impact of Images, Editorial Independence.
Write
a proposal for a new magazine (either a print magazine or an online
magazine), as if you were going to submit it to a publisher. Your
proposal should include:
·Name of magazine
·Concept – how is your magazine different from existing magazines?
·Readers
– demographics and psychographics (may include age group, gender,
ethnicity, income level, interests, self-image, self-identification,
etc.)
·Other
magazines serving this demographic (your competition) – your investors
will want to know how your magazine is different or better?
·Five advertisers who you think would like to reach your readers
·Five articles you might include in your premier issue
·Describe the cover of your premier issue (photo, graphics, color, words, etc.)
·Draw
(or create electronically) your proposed cover, including the name of
the magazine and highlighting top articles, and post it on your blog
and/or bring it to class. Stick figures are OK. Here's a template to create a cover electronically. You can also use PhotoShop, InDesign, etc.
TIPS:
—Envision a group of people
interested in a particular lifestyle or issue
—Think about their lifestyle and
buying habits
—Which magazines do they already
read?
—Which advertisers would like to
reach them?
I will give prizes for the best magazine proposal (most original and feasible) and for the most artistic.
"Biography" named Johannes Gutenberg, inventor of the printing press, as the most influential person of the second millennium. Do you agree?
DISCUSSION: Students discussed which books they consider influential on the whiteboard. Books included:The Bible, the Koran, 1984, To Kill a Mockingbird, Shakespeare playsand the Torah.
POWERPOINT: We
looked at images and video illustrating the history of books, paper and
printing. The Bible (in Latin) was the first book printed on the
Gutenberg Press in the mid-1400s. Until that time, Bibles had been
hand-copied by Christian monks. We watched “Introducing the Book”
about a monk struggling to keep up with the "new" technology.
SHOW & TELL: Books mentioned in the text and historical books:
A reprint of an ornate manuscript from pre-printing
Satanic Verses ( a death sentence was placed on the author by an Iranian leader)
Captain Underpants
Where’s Waldo (a beach scene had a partially bare woman's breast; the book was reissued with a bikini top drawn on her.
FOR WEDNESDAY:
Read Chapter 4, complete Workbook Chapter 4.
BLOG 3 Due Sunday night:
Name three
books you have read (OR that someone read to you as a child) that had the most influence on you. In 2-3 sentences,
describe why each one was influential. (Write in more detail than saying, “It
was good” or “it made me laugh.” Say why
it was good or made you laugh and how it stayed with you after you read it.)
Add friendly links to the books on Amazon.com or another online bookseller, or authors’ Websites.
POWERPOINT: We reviewed key concepts from the textbook:
* Research methodology to measure media impacts (some borrowed from scientific research)
* Social science perspectives
* Flow theories
* How new innovations move through society
* Marshall McLuhan's philosophies about media impact
Also videos about Dr. George Gerbner's research on TV movie
violence and Dr. Frederic Wertham's flawed research on comic books.
QUIZ: Ch. 2 Media Impact
FOR MONDAY: Read and complete workbook activities for Chapter 3 (Books).
BLOG: Media Impact (15)
After reading Chapter 2 on Media Impact, can you think of a different
example (not in the book or the videos we watched) you have heard about
when someone blamed media for real-life problems? Describe the situation
and find a website or web video that explains it more fully. Embed or
use a friendly link. Include your comments on the validity of the claim.
OR
Theorize about a mass media device using McLuhan's theory of
"Technological Determinism" and its the four effects (don't use one we
examined in class). Technological Determinism in clearer language means
"we shape our tools and they, in turn, shape us." You can chose older
developments (printing press, photography, movies, radio etc.) or newer
(iPad, electronic book reader, GPS, etc.) Here are the four
effects:
OR
After reading Chapter 2 on Media
Impact, propose a media research project based on what you learned in
the chapter. You can research any aspect of how media impact people.
E.g. Advertising, reality TV, movies, cartoons, magazine images, etc.
Describe your project in 4-5 sentences, using some of the theories and techniques from the textbooks and our class discussion. What are you researching? What
methodology would you use? How would you test your hypothesis? What
results do you predict?
"GET YOUR S--- TOGETHER" - We discussed the many dimensions of an email a New York University business professor sent to a student who showed up late on Day 1 of his class in 2010.
- Encounter in class - person to person and group, not mediated
- Email to prof/prof's reply - Mediated, person to person/Internet
- Prof shares email with entire class - Mediated, person to group/Internet
- A former student of mine posts a link to this blog post about the professor story on Facebook -Mediated, person to group OR mass audience/Internet (depending on his privacy settings
- I comment - Mediated person (creator) to mass media/Internet
- I overhear two professors discussing the case, wondering if it's real and if the professor will face any consequences - Not mediated, person to group
- I tell them that the story is three years old - same as above
Now one more:
- I find a story on New York Magazine's website that says that the prof's words became a slogan and his business students put out a T-shirt - story is mediated, magazine/Internet (converged)
What about the T-shirt?
Sender: Person wearing the T-shirt
Media (device): T-shirt
Receiver: Group (unless the wearer is in a photo or video that's published, posted online or broadcast .... then it becomes a mass audience).
DUE MONDAY: Read Chapter 1, fill in workbook for Chapter 1.
QUIZ MONDAY: Chapter 1.
BLOG DUE SUNDAY MIDNIGHT: Media Autobiography. See syllabus or previous post. Email me your blog address!
Buy the textbook -- Rodman - Mass Media in a Changing World 4th ed. -- at
the De Anza Bookstore or at the bookstore across Stevens Creek
Boulevard in the Oaks shopping center. You can also buy the online
version at http://coursesmart.com
IN CLASS: We did introduction exercises, discussed the greensheet and
assignment calendar (see tabs above) and discussed mass communications
and media literacy.
DUE WEDNESDAY: Complete the Media Log on p. 3 of the Handbook and #1 on p. 4. Bring textbook to class. The concept of "media literacy" and the questions to ask yourself about media messages are discussed by the first speaker. on the YouTube above.
BLOG POST 1 (due Sunday April 14 at 11:59 p.m.)
Create your blog as described on the Greensheet. Please email me your blog address after you have posted your first post.
MediaAutobiography
Write
your short media autobiography. This should be a short essay (about 200-300
words) about you and your relationship with the eight types of mass media we
are studying in this class: Books, Newspapers, Magazines, Movies, Recordings
(Audio/Music), Radio, Television and the Internet.
oUse bullets
(point form) to discuss your background with each of these media, your experiences (use/habits) with them, your
likes and dislikes and which ones are important to you now and when you were
growing up.
oTell if you have,
had or would like a job or career in the media.
oIf you have lived
in another country, talk about the media there.
oMention your
major, if it is related to the media, and the name of the university you want
to transfer to, if appropriate.
oDo not write
about other aspects of your life, unless they relate to the media.
MUSIC PLAGIARISM: We discussed the case of "He's So Fine"/"My Sweet Lord" in which former Beatle George Harrison was sued for using a recognizable riff
from a 1960s girl group song. He ended up paying $1.6 million or so. Another classic case is "I'll Take You There"/"Liquidator". When rappers first started sampling, it was open season. But now they pay royalties to the original songwriters of the samples they take.
