Mass Media 2004-2005

UNIT 1. Living With Media 1. A Defense of Reading, Marie Winn, from The Plug-In Drug: Television, Computers, and Family Life, Penguin Books, 2002 In this chapter from the 25th anniversary edition of The Plug-In Drug, Marie Winn compares mental processes associated with reading and listening to the radio to those used when viewing television. 2. Parents or Pop Culture? Children's Heroes and Role Models, Kristin J. Anderson and Donna Cavallaro, Childhood Education, Spring 2002 The authors report on a survey of 179 children, ages 8 to 13, investigating the influence of media on choice of heroes and role models. 3. Media Violence and the American Public: Scientific Facts Versus Media Misinformation, Brad J. Bushman and Craig A. Anderson, American Psychologist, June/July 2001 Over the past 50 years, news reports of the link between media violence and aggression have changed from claims of a weak link to a moderate link and back to a weak link. In this article, two Iowa State University researchers analyze statistical findings of scientific studies, and they conclude that the link, which has strengthened over time, is clearly a positive one. 4. The Whipping Boy, Jib Fowles, Reason, March 2001 Jib Fowles argues that the belief that television violence causes hostile behavior is "a whipping boy, a stand-in for other clashes, real or imagined." He sums up social conflicts that add to misdirected antitelevision violence crusades. 5. Black Angels, Krin Gabbard, The Chronicle of Higher Education, June 6, 2003 Krin Gabbard, a professor of comparative literature and English, provides his interpretation of conflicted social values reflected in casting black actors in angelic roles, from The Matrix to The Simpsons. 6. Reading Between the Lines, Alina Tugend, American Journalism Review, March 2003 In 1998 only four states specified media literacy objectives for public schools. In 2002 all 50 states referred to media literacy in their curriculum recommendations. This article summarizes the movement and its alternate subtexts. 7. The Remote Controllers, Marshall Sella, New York Times Magazine, October 20, 2002 Mass media are often criticized as being one-way communication, responding at best to delayed receiver feedback. This article describes the influence of consumer message boards on the shaping of content in entertainment television. 8. Why Reality TV Is Good for Us, James Poniewozik, Time, February 17, 2003 While reality TV's recent ratings hits The Bachelor, Fear Factor, and their dozen cousins are rarely praised as "good television," James Poniewozik takes a counter spin on social criticism of the genre and finds prosocial lessons beneath the humiliation. UNIT 2. Covering News 9. The Pentagon Is Fighting and Winning the Public Relations War, Robert S. Pritchard, USA Today Magazine (Society for the Advancement of Education), July 2003 This article provides an analysis of news coverage of military conflict in Iraq, including historical context, perspectives on censorship in reporting from war zones, and embedded journalists. 10. TV: A Missed Opportunity, Paul Friedman, Columbia Journalism Review, May/June 2003 Paul Friedman contends that the embedding of more than 600 journalists in dozens of armed forces units in Iraq yielded mixed quality and fragmented understanding. 11. Baghdad Urban Legends, Lori Robertson, American Journalism Review, October/November 2003 Is the news media to blame for the mistaken perceptions of people when considering their opinions on the Iraq war and its aftermath? 12. The View From Abroad, George A. Krimsky, American Journalism Review, January/February 2002 George Krimsky describes differences in spin and emphasis between U.S. and foreign media coverage of the war on terrorism. 13. High Anxiety, Lori Robertson, American Journalism Review, April 2003 Focusing on news coverage of the terror alert of February 2003, Lori Robertson analyzes decisions, actions, and hindsight lessons of the panic-fueled run on duct tape and plastic sheeting. 14. Where TV Has Teeth, Neil Hickey, Columbia Journalism Review, May/June 2001 Neil Hickey looks at investigative journalism and its yield of outstanding, expensive, time-consuming efforts that could trigger significant social change. 15. Myth of the Liberal Media, Eric Alterman, Utne Reader, July/August 2003 Analyses of journalists' personal politics have for decades identified left-leaning ideology among many who investigate and report news. Not surprisingly, the content they bring to media has been frequently criticized as reflecting liberal bias. Eric Alterman refutes that assumption. 16. "Live" With TAE: Bernard Goldberg, John Meroney, The American Enterprise, March 2002 The American Enterprise associate editor John Meroney interviews longtime CBS news correspondent Bernard Goldberg about his book Bias: A CBS Insider Exposes How the Media Distort the News. 17. Up Close and Personal, John Temple, American Journalism Review, December 2002 Most analyses of newspaper reporting and news businesses focus on the "big press." This article acknowledges the role, and unique challenges, of small newspapers that reflect close-to-home decisions in serving community markets. 18. The Real Computer Virus, Carl M. Cannon, American Journalism Review, April 2001 The Internet provides access to an immense cache of information that anyone, including reporters, can access and that anyone can post. Journalists have not been immune to picking up and passing on misinformation. This article examines the case for and state of fact checking. 19. Imagine, Liz Cox, Columbia Journalism Review, January/February 2003 Based on discussions with 13 groups of young journalists recruited from 18 newspapers, Liz Cox reports their perceptions of the kind of newspaper they would like to work for and the kind of news that would attract people under 30 to reading newspapers. UNIT 3. Players and Guides 20. Behind the Mergers: Q&A, Neil Hickey, Columbia Journalism Review, May/June 2002 Michael Powell began his term as chairman of the Federal Communications Commission with a hard look at rules limiting media ownership and a proposal for relaxation of those limits. Neil Hickey provides his perspective on implications of changing rules on cross media ownership and market research. 21. Media Consolidation: What Now?, Michael M. Epstein, Television Quarterly, Winter 2002 Michael Epstein, a media lawyer, interviews Andrew Jay Schwartzman of the Media Access Project, a Washington-based advocacy group, about deregulation. Topics for discussion include economic and political forces, vertically integrated media companies, antitrust laws, and public interest obligations. 22. Media Rules Rollback Unlikely: Markey: Efforts Being Blocked, Jay Fitzgerald, Boston Herald.com, September 23, 2003 This article updates changes in FCC ownership rules, as this collection of readings was being compiled. The FCC, the House, the president, the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, and the Senate have all weighed in on this debate. Who will have the last word? 23. Media Money: How Corporate Spending Blocked Political Ad Reform & Other Stories of Influence, Charles Lewis, Columbia Journalism Review, September/October 2000 Charles Lewis examines the influence of the media industry on FCC policy and the progress of legislation dealing with issues such as intellectual property, violence, "must carry" provisions, media ownership, and political advertising. 24. Children, Entertainment, and Marketing, Rhoda Rabkin, Consumers' Research, June 2002 In April 2001, Senator Joseph Lieberman introduced a bill to prohibit the marketing of "adult rated media" to young people under the age of 17. Rhoda Rabkin summarizes the history of voluntary regulation of media, from the Hollywood Hays Code to self-regulation of comic books and music, then raises concerns about current attempts to identify the entertainment industry as a health threat to young people. 25. Ethically Challenged, Lori Robertson, American Journalism Review, March 2001 Lori Robertson looks at recent cases of plagiarism and fabrication in news reporting, exploring why reporters cross the line, fact-checking policies, and potential consequences of cut-and-paste journalism. 26. The Information Squeeze, Charles Layton, American Journalism Review, September 2002 Charles Layton explores current tensions in distinguishing government secrecy from protection of privacy, as they influence access to information available through the Freedom of Information Act. 27. All About the Retrospect, Jill Rosen, American Journalism Review, June/July 2003 In April 2003, Jayson Blair's ambitious career at the New York Times came to a halt amid revelations of the pervasive use of fabricated quotes, details, and contacts. In this article, Jill Rosen considers why and how this high-profile lapse of personal ethics and media oversight occurred. 28. Important if True, Jill Rosen, American Journalism Review, August/September 2003 Jill Rosen discusses fallout from the Jayson Blair case, including a review of policy regarding ethical use of anonymous sources. UNIT 4. A Word From Our Sponsor 29. The Myth of '18 to 34', Jonathan Dee, New York Times Magazine, October 13, 2002 Jonathan Dee discusses the cause and effect of conventional advertising wisdom that places a premium on companies' attracting consumers ages 18--34 to their commercials by supporting media that attract that demographic. 30. The Thinking Inside the Box, Lynn Hirschberg, New York Times Magazine, November 3, 2002 A discussion among Chris Albrecht, chairman of HBO, Leslie Moonves, president and CEO of CBS, and Jeff Zucker, president of NBC, provides an inside look at how business decisions influence television content. 31. The Big Money Guys, G. Jeffrey MacDonald, The Christian Science Monitor, April 8, 2003 This article debates pros and cons of supporting public broadcasting's children's programming through merchandising revenue. 32. Virtual Product Placement, Damian Ward Hey, Television Quarterly, Winter 2002 Virtual product placement is digitally inserting a product or product logo into a live or prerecorded program where that product or logo does not in physical actuality exist. It has been around since the early days of television but is attracting new attention in light of technological advances in both ease of editing and ease of consumers' bypassing traditional commercial messages. 33. Going Long, Going Deep, Scott Sherman, Columbia Journalism Review, November/December 2002 Scott Sherman's profile of The Atlantic Monthly provides insight into how this magazine approaches editorial decisions that maintain its high-quality reputation, but at the expense of profitability. 34. Pay for Play, Eric Boehlert, Salon.com, March 14, 2001 Eric Boehlert describes the influence of payola, independent record promoters, and deregulation of radio station ownership on what songs are played and how hits are made. 35. Cents and Sensibility, Adelle Waldman, Slate, http://www.slate.msn.com, April 2, 2003 In 2001, Nielsen BookScan, an outgrowth of the TV ratings firm, began electronically tracking book sales. Adelle Waldman describes how the Nielsen numbers are compiled and why they do not capture the steady sale of classic books. UNIT 5. The Shape of Things to Come 36. Interactive Television: Is It Coming or Not?, John Kelly, Television Quarterly, Winter 2002 In this article, John Kelly helps readers interpret how "interactive TV" will ultimately be defined and what it will mean to consumers as TV's one-way, analog infrastructure is replaced with two-way digital delivery. 37. Separate and Not Quite Equal, E. J. Heresniak, Across the Board, May/June 2003 E. J. Heresniak discusses the convergence of television with computer and digital technology, arguing that the notion of interactive participation is unrealistic because of incompatible expectations for the separate technologies. 38. It Adds Up (and Up, and Up), Rob Fixmer, New York Times, April 10, 2003 This article looks at the increasing proportion of disposable income being spent on media/communication services, "network creep," and the potential implications of a slower economy on the continued use and growth of new technologies. 39. HDTV's Acceptance Picks Up Pace as Prices Drop and Networks Sign On, Eric A. Taub, New York Times, March 31, 2003 As the United States comes within years of its formal transition to a high-definition television (HDTV) standard, shopping and installation remain confusing. In the past year, receiver prices have come down, a plug-and-play standard has been accepted by manufacturers, and availability of programming is expanding. 40. Searching for Online Gold, Doug Brown, American Journalism Review, June/July 2003 Online publishing is still an experiment, searching for avenues for profitability. This article examines the potential of subscription and registration models as means of attracting advertiser revenue. 41. Low Power, High Intensity, Laurie Kelliher, Columbia Journalism Review, September/October 2003 Low power FM radio licenses were introduced by the FCC in 2000. Despite legislative challenges that have stalled expansion, 220 stations are on the air, run largely by volunteers dedicated to serving niche audiences. 42. Exposure to Other Viewpoints Is Vital to Democracy, Cass Sunstein, The Chronicle of Higher Education, March 16, 2001 Cass Sunstein discusses "personalized media" in terms of its implications for democracy: a need for increased understanding of the meaning of free speech, a need for encounters with topics and points a consumer may not choose him- or herself, a need for citizens to share a common range of experiences.