Journalism, Advertising, and Media Studies 101

Introduction to Mass Media

Fall 2013
Lecture: Monday and Wednesday, 3:00 3:50 PM, BOL 150
Professor Elana Levine
Office: 131 Johnston, 229-4718
E-Mail: ehlevine@uwm.edu
Office hours: Monday and Wednesday, 1 2:30PM

Teaching Assistants
Megan Connor, mconnor@uwm.edu, JOH 317, 229-6308, sections 606, 612, 615
Office hours : W, 12 :45 2 :45PM

Shawn Glinis, smglinis@uwm.edu, JOH 332, 229-6308, sections 602, 608, 614
Office hours : Th 2 4PM

Stephen Kohlmann, kohlman6@uwm.edu, JOH 332, 229-6308, sections 604, 607, 610
Office hours: T & F, 1 2PM

Leslie Peckham, lpeckham@uwm.edu, JOH 317, 229-6308, sections 605, 611, 618
Office hours: T 4 5PM ; Th 12 1PM

Katrina Schwarz, schwarzk@uwm.edu, JOH 317, 229-6308, sections 603, 609, 616
Office hours: M & W, 2 3PM

Cole Stratton, stratt22@uwm.edu, JOH 332, 229-6308, sections 601, 613, 617
Office hours: M & W, 2 3PM

Course Description:
This course is an introduction to the most significant forms of media in society, including
newspapers, magazines, radio, television, film, video games, and the internet. It
considers media as both news and entertainment, in commercial and non-commercial
form, of the past and present. The course is organized topically, centering on three central
functions of media in western (and primarily American) society: as a business, as a
shaper of identity, and as civic culture. Readings, lectures, and discussions will provide
both historical background and present-day understandings of media from these three
perspectives.

Course Objectives:
By the end of this course, you will:
1) Understand the function of media as a business
2) Understand how media participates in shaping identity
3) Understand the place of media in civic culture
4) Improve your media analysis skills, both oral and written
5) Improve your ability to read and understand media studies scholarship
6) Further develop a critical perspective on your own relationship to media
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Readings:
Available via Library e-reserve:
Aubrey, Jennifer Stevens, Scott Walus and Melissa A. Click, Twilight and the Production of the
21
st
Century Teen Idol. In Bitten by Twilight: Youth Culture, Media and the Vampire
Franchise, Melissa A. Click, Jennifer Stevens Aubrey, and Elizabeth Behm-Morawitz,
eds. (New York: Peter Lang, 2010) 225-242
Baym, Geoffrey. The Daily Show: Discursive Integration and the Reinvention of Political
Journalism. Political Communication 22.3 (2005) 259-276
Croteau, David and William Hoynes. Introduction and selections from The New
Media Giants: Changing Industry Structure. In The Business of Media:
Corporate Media and the Public Interest, 2nd ed. (Thousand Oaks: Pine Forge
Press, 2006) 1-8, 75-90, 96-110
Dahlgren, Peter. Media, Citizenship, and Civic Culture. In Mass Media and Society 3rd ed.,
James Curran and Michael Gurevitch, eds., (London: Arnold, 2000) 310-328
Draper, Jimmy. Gay or Not?! Gay Men, Straight Masculinities, and the Construction
of the Details Audience. Critical Studies in Media Communication 27.4 (October
2010) 357-375
Gabler, Neal. The Republic of Entertainment. Life: The Movie: How Entertainment Conquered
Reality (New York: Vintage, 2000) 11-52
Hilmes, Michele. Selection from Radiating Culture. In Radio Voices: American
Broadcasting, 1922-1952 (Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1997), 11-
33
Leonard, Devin. Nightmare on Madison Avenue: Media Fragmentation, Recession, Fed-
Up Clients, TiVoIts all Trouble, and the Ad Business is Caught Up in the
Wake. In The Advertising and Consumer Culture Reader, Joseph Turow and
Matthew P. McAllister, eds. (New York: Routledge, 2009) 150-158
Levine, Ed. TV Rocks with Music. New York Times (8 May 1983)
Mittell, Jason. Selections from Screening America and Representing Identity. In
Television and American Culture (New York: Oxford University Press, 2010) 269-
276, 305-314
Schudson, Michael. National News Culture and the Informational Citizen. The Power of News
(Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1996) 169-188
Schudson, Michael. The Revolution in American Journalism in the Age of Egalitarianism: The
Penny Press. Discovering The News: A Social History of American Newspapers (Basic
Books, 1980) 12-60
Stole, Inger L. Advertising. In Culture Works: The Political Economy of Culture,
Richard Maxwell, ed. (Minneapolis: U of Minnesota P, 2001) 83-106
Stross, Randall. Introduction. In Planet Google (New York: Free Press, 2008), 1-19.
Tobin, Joseph. Conclusion: The Rise and Fall of the Pokmon Empire. In Pikachus Global
Adventure: The Rise and Fall of Pokmon, Joseph Tobin, ed. (Durham: Duke University
Press 2004) 257-270
Thompson, Kristin. Sequel-it is. In The Frodo Franchise: The Lord of the Rings and
Modern Hollywood (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2007) 1-13
Wasko, Janet. The Disney Empire. In Understanding Disney: The Manufacture of
Fantasy (Cambridge, UK: Polity, 2001) 28-69
Available on the web:
All-Star Thinkers on Wikipedia's 10th Anniversary, The Atlantic January 13, 2011,
http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2011/01/all-star-thinkers-on-wikipedias-
10th-anniversary/69523/ [follow links to read all 8 essays]
The Economist, Bulletins from the Future. Special Report: The News Industry, July 7, 2011,
3
http://www.economist.com/node/18904136
The Economist, Julian Assange and the New Wave. Special Report: The News Industry, July 7,
2011, http://www.economist.com/node/18904166
The Economist, A Little Local Difficulty. Special Report: The News Industry, July 7, 2011,
http://www.economist.com/node/18904190
The Economist, The People Formerly Known as the Audience. Special Report: The News
Industry, July 7, 2011, http://www.economist.com/node/18904124
The Economist, Reinventing the Newspaper. Special Report: The News Industry, July 7, 2011,
http://www.economist.com/node/18904178
Eisen, Marc. Paperless Future: Overtaken by the Web and Battered by Recession, Wisconsins
32 Dailies are in a World of Hurt. Wisconsin Interest 18.2 (March 2009),
http://wpri.org/WIInterest/Vol18No1/Eisen18.1.html
Fuller, Jennifer. Dreadful Locks: Shear Genius and the Limits of Multiculturalism. Flow
(October 2, 2008), http://flowtv.org/?p=1975
Fuller, Jennifer. In the Maelstrom with Flavor of Love. Flow (July 11, 2008),
http://flowtv.org/?p=1503
Klein, Amanda Ann. Welfare Queen Redux: Teen Mom, Class, and the Bad Mother. Flow 13.3
(November 12, 2010), http://flowtv.org/2010/11/welfare-queen-redux/
Klein, Amanda Ann. The Hills, Jersey Shore, and the Aesthetics of Class. Flow 13.12
(April 22, 2011),
http://flowtv.org/2011/04/the-hills-jersey-shore-and-the-aesthetics-of-class/
Melndez, Elisa. What Its Like for a Girl Gamer. Slate (August 13, 2012),
http://www.slate.com/articles/double_x/doublex/2012/08/sexual_harassment_in_the_gamin
g_world_a_real_life_problem_for_female_gamers_.single.html
Rheingold, Howard. A Slice of Life in My Virtual Community. In The Virtual Community:
Homesteading On The Electronic Frontier (Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley, 1993),
http://www.cs.indiana.edu/docproject/bdgtti/bdgtti_18.html
Wikipedia, Citizen Journalism. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citizen_journalism

Evaluation:
Exams - 45% total (15% each)
There will be three (3) exams across the semester, at the end of each unit. Each
exam will cover the material since the last exam and will be made up of multiple
choice questions and one essay question. Students will receive review sheets to
help prepare for exams. Exams will cover all lecture and discussion section
materials and all reading assignments. Makeup exams will be given only for
students who have a legitimate religious observance. If you cannot be present on an
exam day for any other reason, please do not take this course. No early exams will
be given for any reason.

Quizzes on reading assignments 10%
There will be 14 total quizzes across the semester, including a practice quiz. Your
top 10 quiz scores will be included in your final grade (each quiz included is worth
1% of your final grade). All quizzes will be taken on D2L by lecture time (3PM)
on the assigned day. Quizzes may cover any readings assigned since the last quiz,
including the readings assigned for that days lecture. Quizzes will be made up of
multiple choice and true/false questions. No late quizzes will be allowed for any
reason.

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Papers 30% total (10% each)
There will be three (3) papers due, one in each unit of the course. Each paper will
be 500-600 words long and submitted electronically as an MS Word file to the D2L
dropbox. Papers are always due at 9 AM on their due dates. Papers may not be
submitted via email. Your TA may also require you to hand in printed copies of
your paper. Papers will receive a 5% penalty for every day they are late up to one
week from the due date. If papers are not received by one week from the due date,
the assignment will be permanently incomplete and you cannot pass the course.

Discussion Section 15%
All students are expected to contribute to class discussion, to listen attentively to
fellow students, and to put thought into their comments and questions. Students
will be evaluated on the frequency and quality of their contributions to class
discussion. Students who rarely or never participate in section discussions may be
given a failing section grade at the TAs discretion. Students are required to bring
course readings to discussion section and to have done readings before class. Those
who habitually do not bring their readings to section or who have not read the
assigned readings may be given a failing section grade at their TAs discretion.

Attendance policy: Attendance is expected at each discussion section and lecture.
Students are responsible for all materials covered in those sessions. Students are
granted one discussion section absence without penalty. This is not a freebie, but
is designed to allow for illness or unforeseen circumstances. For a second absence,
the discussion section grade will be lowered by 5%. Any student with 3 or more
absences in section will be given an automatic failing grade for the course.
Every three days that a student is late to section will count as one absence.

In order to pass the course, all papers and exams must be completed. If you do not
submit a paper or if you miss an exam, you will automatically fail.

No extra credit assignments will be given for any reason to any student. Please do
not ask your instructor about extra credit.

Please check the D2L site for this class regularly. It will have announcements,
assignments, questions to guide your reading, quizzes, lecture slides, grades, and
links to useful resources. Please contact the Help Desk in Bolton 225 at
GetTechHelp@uwm.edu or (414) 229-4040 if you have trouble accessing or using
D2L.

Academic misconduct/Plagiarism
Students are responsible for the honest completion and representation of their work, for
the appropriate citation of sources, and for respect of others academic endeavors. Any
instances of academic misconduct, including plagiarism, will receive the full penalties,
per the policies and practices of the Department of Journalism, Advertising, and Media
Studies, the College of Letters & Science, and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

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Special accommodations
If you need special accommodations in order to meet any of the requirements of this
course, please contact your TA as soon as possible, preferably during the first week of the
semester. You must have a Student Accessibility Center visa to receive any
accommodation: http://www4.uwm.edu/sac/.

Students will be allowed to complete examinations or other requirements that are missed
because of a religious observance.

For university policies on these and other matters, please see
http://www4.uwm.edu/secu/facdocs/1895B.pdf .

Allocation of student time for the semester:
Time in the classroom (face-to-face instruction): 26 hours
Time in discussions (online and/or in person): 14 hours
Time taking exams: 4 hours
Time completing assignments: 70 hours
Time for preparation and study: 30 hours
Total: 144 hours

GER Distribution Requirements and Learning Goals
To satisfy GER distribution requirements for the Social Sciences, Fac. Doc. 1382 lists 5
criteria. Courses must make at least one of these their intellectual focus. JAMS 101 will
emphasize the following two instructional purposes:

a) The study of intrapersonal, interpersonal, and/or socio-cultural factors associated
with individual behavior, collective action, or societal development.

b) The study of human collectivities, organizations, institutions, and cultures, their
infrastructures and interrelationships.

In addition, JAMS 101 will contribute to the following Core Knowledge and Skill areas:
- Foundations of Social and Cultural Analysis
- Textual Analysis and Interpretation

Learning Goals:
When you complete this course, you will:

-Understand the socio-cultural factors associated with the development of a society and
culture in which media are omnipresent features of everyday life that participate in
shaping individual and social beliefs and behaviors at local, national, and global levels.

-Understand the media industries as institutions with specific infrastructures, which
influence individual and social experiences of media.

In addition, JAMS 101 will lead you to the following Essential Learning Outcomes:
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- Critical thinking: the comprehensive exploration of issues, ideas, artifacts,
and events through challenging assumptions and using multiple theories and
perspectives before arriving at conclusions.
- Information literacy: ability to identify, locate, evaluate, and productively
and responsibly use and share diverse kinds of information for the problem at
hand.
- Civic knowledge and engagement: understanding and appreciation of the
individuals role in enhancing the public good, including active participation
in communitieslocal and global.
GER Assessment:
To assess the success of this course in meeting these learning goals and outcomes, your
instructors will assess your learning of the courses material by quizzing you regularly on
your understanding of the reading materials, administering three exams to test your
mastery of reading, lecture, and discussion section materials, and assigning you three
papers. By reviewing the classs work, your instructors will know the extent to which the
class as a whole has achieved its goals. A review of the course assignments will reveal
elements of the course that are being communicated well and those that are not. This will
enable your instructors to make changes to the course to increase success in those areas
where improvement is desired.
Weekly Schedule
Week One
9/4/13 Introduction

PART I: MEDIA AS BUSINESS
Week Two
9/9/13 A Commercial Media System
Croteau & Hoynes, Introduction
Practice Quiz by 3PM
9/11/13 Strategies of the Media Conglomerates
Selections from Croteau & Hoynes, The New Media Giants

Week Three
9/16/13 Profile of a Media Company: Disney
Wasko, "The Disney Empire
Quiz #1 by 3PM
9/18/13 Profile of a Media Franchise: The Lord of the Rings
Thompson, Sequel-itis

Week Four
9/23/13 What is Advertising for?
Stole, Advertising
Practice Dropbox Assignment due by 9AM
Quiz #2 by 3PM
9/25/13 The Changing Business of Advertising
Leonard, Nightmare on Madison Avenue
Quiz #3 by 3PM
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Week Five
9/30/13 The History of MTV
Levine, TV Rocks with Music
10/2/13 Google and the Sale of Information
Stross, Introduction
Quiz #4 by 3PM
Paper #1 due by 9AM

Week Six
10/7/13 Exam 1

PART II: MEDIA AS SHAPER OF IDENTITY
10/9/13 Representation, Reality, and Identity
Mittell, Selections from Screening America and Representing Identity

Week Seven
10/14/13 - Cultures of High and Low: The History of US Entertainment
Gabler, "The Republic of Entertainment"
Quiz #5 by 3PM
10/16/13 Cultures of High and Low: The Docu-soaps of MTV
Klein, Welfare Queen Redux and The Hills, Jersey Shore, and the Aesthetics of
Class [web]

Week Eight
10/21/13 - Broadcasting and National Identity
Hilmes, Selection from Radiating Culture
Quiz #6 by 3PM
10/23/13 The Global and the Local
Tobin, Selection from The Rise and Fall of the Pokmon Empire

Week Nine
10/28/13 Race and Reality TV
Fuller, Dreadful Locks and Into the Maelstrom with Flavor of Love [web]
10/30/13 Magazines and Identity: The Gay Male Audience
Draper, Gay or not?!
Quiz #7 by 3PM
Paper #2 due by 9AM

Week Ten
11/4/13 Gaming and Gender
Melndez, What Its Like for a Girl Gamer [web]
11/6/13 Twilight and Girl Culture
Aubrey, Walus, and Click, Twilight and the Production of the 21
st
Century Teen Idol
Quiz #8 by 3PM



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Week Eleven
11/11/13 Exam 2
PART III: MEDIA AS CIVIC CULTURE
11/13/13 Media for Citizens
Dahlgren, Media, Citizenship and Civic Culture
Quiz #9 by 3PM

Week Twelve
11/18/13 The History of Newspapers and their Public
Schudson, The Revolution in American Journalism in the Age of Egalitarianism
11/20/13 News Culture and New Technologies
Schudson, National News Culture and the Informational Citizen
Quiz #10 by 3PM

Week Thirteen
11/25/13 News as Entertainment
Baym, The Daily Show
Quiz #11 by 3PM

Week Fourteen
12/2/13 Digital Publics
Rheingold, A Slice of Life in My Virtual Community [web]
12/4/13 Citizen Media
Wikipedia, Citizen Journalism; The Economist, The People Formerly Known as the
Audience and Julian Assange and the New Wave [web]
Paper #3 due by 9AM
Quiz #12 by 3PM

Week Fifteen
12/9/13 Wikipedia
All-Star Thinkers on Wikipedia's 10th Anniversary (eight short essays on Wikipedia,
follow links to read each one) [web]
12/11/13 Newspapers in Crisis
Eisen, Paperless Future; The Economist, Bulletins from the Future, A Little Local
Difficulty, and Reinventing the Newspaper [web]
Quiz #13 by 3PM

Final Exam Wednesday, December 18, 3PM - 5PM

Grading scale
93-100 A 73-76 C
90-92 A- 70-73 C-
87-89 B+ 67-69 D+
83-86 B 63-66 D
80-82 B- 60-62 D-
77-79 C+ less than 60 F