COMM 340: Current Issues in Mass Media

Spring 2009 Syllabus

Mons., Weds., 11 a.m.-12:20 p.m.

Whipple Hall, Room 215

Adjunct Professor Richard C. Lewis

Office Hours: Send an email to schedule a meeting
Phone: 401-662-6336 (please leave a message with your phone number)
E-mail: rlewis1@ric.edu (I will let you know when I get a RIC e-mail address)
NOTE: This syllabus cannot be used in any form without permission from the author

Course Description

News is everywhere, and in these times, the issues being reported are as important as they ever
have been. Don’t believe it? Let me give you some examples: We have the beginning of a
historic U.S. presidency; our nation is engaged in two wars; our economy is mired in perhaps the
worst recession since the Second World War; people are losing their homes, even as they are
socked with rising gasoline and fuel prices; and our environment is increasingly tainted by
neglect and inaction.

Internationally, we have a world tumbling into an economic downturn; a balance of power

shaken by the reemergence of Russia and the rise of China and India; and a changing climate that
the scientific community blames largely on human actions.

In Rhode Island, we have a state suffering under a crushing budget deficit; regular bouts of civic
corruption; a near-unicameral state legislature; and a power struggle between entrenched unions
and a governor.

In Current Issues in Mass Media, we will cover many of these topics – stories that are the heart
of what is being covered by broadcast and print journalists. We will seek to better understand
these stories and examine them in the context of how the media cover them. Was coverage fair
and balanced? Was it accurate? Why is it a story? How deep should the media delve into a public
figure’s life? What information should be made public or kept private? Is free speech threatened?

We also will discuss what is news at a time when the media are going through cataclysmic
changes, rocked by mass layoffs at traditional broadcast and print companies and seeking how to
be profitable online. In this shifting news landscape, how do you know what news to trust and
what news to treat skeptically?

I want this course to be lively, entertaining and informative – and fun. Above all, I hope you will
come away from this course with a broader understanding how journalism is practiced and the
issues the media cover, so you will be a more educated and discerning news consumer.

Course Objectives

The media are the primary collectors and disseminators of information in our society. Chances
are a story that you’ve read, heard or viewed originated with the media. And often those stories
affect us in some way. They shape the decisions we make, the relationships we have and with
whom and the way we choose to live. A robust, independent and free media is a key pillar to a
democracy.

And we are, or should be, participants in our democracy. It is important to know what is going on
– locally and in the world – because events and the people who make them influence our lives.
The more we understand these current issues and can judge their value, the more effectively we
can participate in society.

To that end, you will become aware of current issues in the mass media by:

• Reading The New York Times daily. (http://www.nytimes.com)

• Watching NBC’s “Meet the Press” program weekly. Watch live on WJAR-TV (Ch. 10) or
watch shows online at http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3032608/ (click on “Netcast” to view the
most recent show)

• Answering my weekly questions posted on the class blog

• Preparing and presenting a class discussion on a topic of your choice

• Researching and writing a paper on a topic of your choice

Required Texts

There are no required textbooks for this class. However, you will be required to read the news
daily and watch “Meet the Press” weekly. I also will assign readings – either by handout or
posting them on the class blog, http://riccomm340spring2009.blogspot.com/. You will need to
check the class blog regularly to keep track of reading assignments and to answer the weekly
questions.

Course Policies

1. Participation/Readings. Please come prepared for class by doing the assigned readings and be
ready to discuss them. I reserve the right to call upon students at will. A bonus to being prepared
is we’ll have more lively discussions, and you’ll learn much more.

2. Attendance. I am not a police officer, so please don’t force me to act like one. Attend class. If
you cannot make a class, I ask you to send me an email or leave a phone message beforehand
explaining why. You are responsible for all the material presented in class on missed days, and
you will be given a grade of zero for any tests that you may miss. Arrange to have someone in
class take notes for you and ask them to pick up extra copies of any materials distributed in class.

3. Office Hours: Office hours are by appointment. To make an appointment, email me at

richclew@gmail.com.

4. Academic honesty: Plagiarism is representing someone else's work as your own. It includes
(but is not limited to) submitting a paper someone else has written, copying from a friend or
roommate, buying a paper on the Internet and taking copy from books, magazines or other
sources without attribution. Fabrication is making up quotes or other information in a story or
paper. Recycling is submitting the same assignment to two different courses. You will fail the
course if you breach any of these standards.

NOTE: The same guidelines apply for electronic assignments and for tests. Any sharing of
information, code, etc. that interferes with my ability to assess your learning as your own will be
grounds for failing the course. This applies to tests, quizzes and out-of-class work.

5. Tests. I do not offer makeup tests. If you miss a test, you receive a grade of zero. The only
exceptions are for a family emergency, school cancellation or a natural disaster. If you have a
valid excuse and miss a test, you are required to discuss alternatives with me.

6. Cell phones and other classroom courtesies: Please remember to turn off your cell phone
before class begins. Do what you need to do – snacks, bathroom breaks, phone calls, etc. –
before class begins. Class time is my time, and I expect you to respect that.

Grading

Attendance & Participation 15 percent

Weekly Discussion Board 20 percent

(Due by midnight on Tuesdays – See Class Calendar for more information)
Snap Tests* 10 percent

Research Presentation 20 percent

Research Paper 35 percent

*These will be given if I determine the class is not keeping up with the coursework or
participating satisfactorily in the class discussions or with weekly posts. Otherwise, the
percentage will be rolled into my determination of the final grade.

Course Schedule

The course schedule includes a snapshot of what will be discussed in class that day and your
assignment for the next class. All readings or assignments are to be completed for the class
indicated.

Presentation and Paper: Please note the deadlines for research topic approval, draft outline of
your paper, and the date when your research paper is due.

Note: I may amend the course schedule as events and time warrant. I will send you a revised
syllabus if any major changes are made.

Class Calendar

Jan. 21 Introduction, Syllabus Review

Assignment for next class: Read Associated Press story and Project for
Excellence in Journalism analysis (see class blog for links)

Jan. 26 What Is News and Why Should We Care?

Assignment for next class: Watch You Tube clip of inauguration (see class
blog for link)
Reminder: Weekly class post due by midnight Tuesday

Jan. 28 A New President for a Historic Time

Assignment for next class: TBA

Feb. 2 A Nation at a Crossroads – Issues Confronting the Obama Administration

Assignment for next class: Read NY Times analysis (see class blog for
link)
Reminder: Weekly class post due by midnight Tuesday

Feb. 4 The Recession and How It Happened

Assignment for next class: TBA
Feb. 9 Obama’s Economic Stimulus Plan
Assignment for next class: IPCC Executive Summary
Reminder: Weekly class post due by midnight Tuesday

Feb. 11 Global Warming – Myth or Fact?

Assignment for next class: TBA

Feb. 16 An Inconvenient Truth

Deadline for Research Topic Approval
Assignment for next class: TBA
Reminder: Weekly class post due by midnight Tuesday

Feb. 18 An Inconvenient Truth (cont.) and Discussion

Assignment for next class: TBA

Feb. 23 How the media have covered climate change

Assignment for next class: Read news release from RI.gov (see class blog
for link)
Reminder: Weekly class post due by midnight Tuesday

Feb. 25 Rhode Island and the Environment

Assignment for next class: TBA

March 2 Renewable Energy in Rhode Island

No Assignment

March 4 Celebrities vs. the Media

Research Paper Outline Due
No Assignment

March 9 No class – Spring Recess

March 11 No class – Spring Recess

March 16 Wild Card

Assignment for next class: TBA
Reminder: Weekly class post due by midnight Tuesday

March 18 The State of the Media

Assignment for next class: TBA

March 23 The Information Dance: Media vs. Public Officials

Assignment for next class: TBA
Reminder: Weekly class post due by midnight Tuesday
March 25 The World of PR
Assignment for next class: TBA

March 30 Wild Card

Assignment for next class: TBA
Reminder: Weekly class post due by midnight Tuesday

April 1 Wild Card

Assignment for next class: TBA

April 6 Wild Card

Assignment for next class: TBA
Reminder: Weekly class post due by midnight Tuesday

April 8 Wild Card

Assignment for next class: TBA

April 13 Wild Card

Assignment for next class: TBA

April 15 Wild Card

No Assignment

April 20 Individual Presentations

April 22 Individual Presentations

April 27 Individual Presentations

April 29 Individual Presentations

May 4 Last Class

Research Paper Due