Meets:	M, W, F 1-150 p.m. in 221 Allen Hall
Instructor:	Dr. Debra Merskin
Office:	205 Allen
GTFS:	K.K. Chang & Jing Lin
Office Hours:	M & W 2-4 p.m.
Phone:	346-4189
Email:	dmerskin@darkwing.uoregon.edu
Texts:	The media of mass communication- John Vivian
	Taking sides-Alexander
	Being There--Jersey Kosinski

Course Objectives:

This course is designed to give you an overview of the wide variety of mass media available to audiences yesterday, today, and tomorrow. From print and broadcast journalism to photography, advertising, public relations, television, and film we will explore some of the ways that the media reflect and form our culture. Sometimes we willl look at the past, other times at the present, but always looking toward the future. We will examine how audiences use media and, in turn, how audiences are used by the media industries. We will explore how governments and institutions regulate and control the form and content of the media. It is my hope that you will develop an understanding of the media and related industries to help you become a critical consumer. In addition, many of you will become media professionals who I hope will apply this same critical eye to your craft. By interactions with speakers who are 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.

The content of this course will be organized around three broad questions:

1- How is it that American mass media have come to be organized in the way that they are?

2- How do the mass media actually function?

3- What effect, if any, does this flow of information from media to audiences have on us, both individually and collectively? Click here to Link to Course Description

Meeting deadlines is critical in communications. Assignments will not be accepted after their due dates. If some illness or real emergency makes it impossible for you to meet a deadline, get in touch with the instructor or graduate assistant before the day the assignment is due to determine whether it will be accepted late and under what conditions. You can call, come by during office hours, or send an email to either of us. Also, the door will be shut 5 minutes after an exam is to begin. You must be on time, otherwise you will not be able to take the exam (unless you have made previous arrangements). In the interests of politeness, as well as getting all announcements and information, please do not be late or leave early for any classes.

Getting complete information is critical in communications. Try to be on time for classes and to attend them all. Important announcements are often made at the beginning or end of class. Some of the lectures will cover material discussed in the text, but most will supplement these readings. Videos will be used and guest speakers will present. This is the kind of information you can only get by being in class, not from other people's notes.

Note: If you have a documented disability and anticipate needing accommodations in this course, please make arrangements to meet with me as soon as possible. Please request that the Counselor for Students with Disabilities send a letter verifying your disability.

Academic Dishonesty. The likely penalty for academic dishonesty (e.g. cheating, plagiarism, furnishing false information to an instructor and so forth) is a NO PASS for the course. The University rules on academic honesty are published in the Time Schedule of Classes and at the University web site. Be sure to visit the web site (http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/~stl/conduct.html) if you have any questions.

Grading

Grades will be tentatively evaluated in the following manner:*

	Points
Exams (3 @ 100 points each)	300
Taking Sides Discussion	100
Quizzes (10 @ 10): TBA	100
Quiz (on Being There):	50
Paper	200
Total	700

* Final course grades are non-negotiable except in the case of mathematical error. As a matter of policy, extra credit assignments are not given in this course.

Description of Assignments and Exams

Exams

Three exams will be given. These exams may be multiple choice or short essay (you will be told in advance).

Taking Sides Presentation

Students will be divided in to teams. There will be sides assigned to an issue. It is up to each group to prepare a convincing position on the topic and present a brief 10-minute argument. Generally these will be presented during the final week of class.

Quizzes To help keep you on track with the readings, throughout the course there will be 11 unannounced quizzes on material from your reading for that day. These will be short answer questions and are worth 10 points each. The lowest scored quiz will be thrown out, resulting in 10 that count toward your final grade.

Paper

All assignments must be typed, required length observed, papers must be double-spaced using regular type size (12 pt. Times font for example) = not requiring a magnifying glass to read or poster size. Use 1" margins. The idea for this paper is to look at an issue in mass communications that has at least 2 sides, gain perspective on each and come up with your own educated opinion on the subject. All papers must be organized according to an accepted style book- for example Turabian A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations, Chicago Manual of Style, or Publication Manual for the American Psychological Association.

All of these books are available in reference at the Knight Library and provide a format for you to follow-including how to deal with footnote, how to properly cite a source (that is any information in your paper that is not your own), how to number pages, set margins and so forth. You will be required to use such sources in all your college papers, so now is a very good time to become familiar with them. The final paper assignment will be handed out separately.

Class	Topic	Readings: TS	MMC*
Jan.04	Intro.
Jan. 06	Evolution of Communication	12	1, 16
Jan. 08	Issues/Technology		9,14

Week 3	S O U N D S
Jan. 18	No Class- MLK Birthday
Jan. 20	I heard it on the radio		5,7
Jan. 22	Social issues

Week 5	Pictures
Feb. 01	Photojournalism
Feb. 03	You Oughta be in Pictures: Movies		6
Feb. 05	Social Issues/ Being There (quiz)

"It is quite possible that by the 1990s, a half-dozen large corporations will own all the most powerful media outlets in the U.S."-Ben Bagdikia

Week 6	Business
Feb. 08	Global/ Local	14
Feb. 10	Just do it! : Advertising	10	12, 13
Feb. 12	Social Issues	7,17

Week 7 Feb. 15	Put a Spin on it! Public Relations		11
Feb. 17	Social Issues
Feb. 19	Exam 2

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Week 8 Feb. 22		3	10,17
	Culture of Journalism
Feb. 24	Legal Controls	6	18
Feb. 26	Social Issues	8, 9, 11

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Week 9	Social Effects
Mar. 01	Short-term effects	2
Mar. 03	Long-term effects	4, 18	19
Mar. 05	Media & Race	5
	>Paper Due today<