Chapters from Converging Media by John V. Pavlik and Shawn McIntosh.
Chapter 1
1.
Differentiate the three types of convergence.
2.
In what way do hyperlinks represent the significant changes that have occurred in the media?
3.
Discuss viral marketing and peer-to-peer file sharing and how this represents a
“distribution of the balance of power.”
4.
What is meant by “The Daily Me”. Discuss current, practical examples of this phenomenon.
5.
What is media consolidation and what is meant by an “oligopoly” structure?
6.
How have communication careers changed because of convergence?
7.
Discuss how media convergence affects global media, including economic, political and cultural effects?
8.
Define interpersonal and mass communication and discuss how current media developments fit into neither category.
9.
Discuss the functions of mass communication: surveillance, correlation, cultural transmission and entertainment.
10.
Describe the Shannon and Weaver model as well as the Schramm model of communication.
11.
How does cultural studies differ in its theoretical approach to understanding communication?
Chapter 2
1.
How has the fragmentation of media channels influenced American culture in positive and negative ways. How does this relate to YouTube and its method of distribution?
2.
How may corporate media interests conflict with democratic goals?
3.
What are strategies that allow for-profit media to make a profit? In what ways is the broadcast television industry profitable?
4.
Describe product placement and corporate sponsorship.
5.
Describe Ben Bagdikian's argument against media conglomeration.
6.
What is meant by media oligarchy? Why is it significant?
7.
What is meant by the term: "culture industry?"
8.
What are strategies that media companies follow to save money?
9.
What is meant by "cultural imperialism?" Give an example.
Chapter 3

1.
Describe what bits and bytes are and why this is the method for storing digital information?
2.
How do digital media differ from analog media, technically?
3.
Discuss the “concepts” of digital media: multimedia, interactivity, automation and ethereality.
4.
What is the value of a network in distributing digital media?
5.
Discuss the importance of the following topics:
1.
Pervasive media
2.
Fluid media
3.
Active audiences
4.
Trust, transparency, and reputation
5.
Privacy
6.
The Digital Divide
6.
Discuss the legal, ethical, economic, and knowledge dissemination effects of “deep linking.”
7.
Why is a protocol (TCP/IP) for internet communication necessary?
8.
What is the difference between the web and the Internet? What is HTML and XML?
9.
What was the first popular browser? What was (and is) the most popular browser—and why? What browser is currently winning 1/5 of the browser “market?”
10.
How is digital content distributed? (What is bandwidth?)
11.
How are TVs and PCs merging?
12.
What are the differences between DTV and HDTV? What are the capabilities of DTV?
13.
How does the open source movement affect the media industries?
14.
What are models for creating revenue with digital media?
Chapter 4
1.
What is meant by “the medium is the message?”
2.
How do print media (and all media) transmit definitions/aspects of a given culture?
3.
How did the development of moveable type (Guttenberg being the most well-known to
Western culture) change the overall structure and roles in society?
4.
How do textbooks reflect a dominant culture (hegemony)?
5.
What role did the dime novel and paperback have in spreading literacy?
6.
How does the function of mass-market paperbacks resemble iPhones and Blackberries?
7.
Describe the three major trends of the book industry?
8.
What is the primary function of newspapers? What are defining characteristics of a newspaper?
9.
How do local newspapers serve a community?
10.
Name three major daily newspapers? Why is each significant?
11.
Who were the audiences of the first commercial presses? Why?
12.
How did the partisan press of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century resemble cable news programming of today?
13.
How was the business model for the penny press different from early newspapers?
14.
What are the pros and cons of a joint operating agreement between newspapers?

15.
What is “pass-along readership?” How does circulation differ from actual readership?
Are newspaper audiences increasing or decreasing?
16.
What are advantages and disadvantages of the growth of newspaper chains?
17.
Considering issues of newspaper economy (ownership, production costs), discuss the chances for the long-term survival of print newspapers.
18.
How do magazines offer surveillance, correlation, entertainment and marketing opportunities? Give examples.
19.
How do magazines differ from newspapers?
20.
Have specialized magazines helped or hurt magazine revenue? Why?
21.
Why might magazines cease publication of print editions, relying on online distribution only? What do you think of this practice?
22.
Explain (some of) the changes in the top ten magazines between 1972 and 2000.
23.
How are magazines classified ? List the top ten classifications.
24.
Discuss the future of magazines. Will they survive?
Chapter 5
1.
What makes radio so easy to use and access?
2.
Summarize the timeline of audio recording technology.
3.
What are the four major labels? What’s the significance of there only being four?
4.
What percentage of recordings are released by major labels? What percentage of sales are earned by major labels?
5.
Describe the recording industry’s business model. Which of these has changed significantly in the last decade.
6.
Discuss the meaning and significance of the “long tail”.
7.
How could reconsidered pricing structures encourage more legal purchasing of music?
8.
Discuss the effectiveness of the Digital Rights Management strategies.
9.
How has the music industry mismanaged attempts to prevent illegal downloading.
10.
What is the difference between AM and FM?
11.
Why is satellite radio different from typical broadcast radio?
12.
What are the different functions of radio?
13.
Who is widely considered the inventor of radio? What was the form of the message he transmitted? Whose design was used to develop AM radio? Who developed an actual device to transmit voice?
14.
What helped to promote radio to a larger audience in the early 1920’s?
15.
Why was there a need for the Federal Radio Commission (and the Radio Act of 1927).
What was the effect on who was allowed to broadcast?
16.
What is NPR? How does it differ from most radio stations?
17.
What are the two most popular radio formats?
18.
Discuss the trend toward and away from consolidation.
19.
What is satellite radio? Discuss reasons for its success (or lack of it).
20.
What do you think the future holds for the radio industry.

Chapter 6
1.
In what ways are photographs more meaningful or effective than text?
2.
What was Matthew Brady’s significance to journalism?
3.
What genre were the earliest films and how were they exhibited to an audience?
4.
Discuss the advances made by Méliès, Griffin, Flaherty, Murnau and Eisenstein?
5.
Discuss the changes to the industry that occurred as a result of the development of sound in films.
6.
Describe the Hollywood Star System and discuss how some of its characteristics exist today.
7.
What are the major film studios and who owns them?
8.
Why do films cost so much to produce?
9.
How have movie executives tried to change the decisions made by directors for marketing purposes? Describe some examples.
10.
How are films profitable through different stages of their release?
11.
How will digital technology affect movie distribution?
12.
How much time is spent watching television (by kids) per day and for the average person across a lifetime?
13.
What is time shifting? Give examples.
14.
Name three people who share the honor of inventing television.
15.
Outline the growth of television viewers in the 1950’s.
16.
What is the significance of emergence of flat panel displays?
17.
Describe five current distribution methods for television.
18.
What are the two physical methods of carrying a television signal through a cable?
19.
What effect did deregulation have on the cable industry?
20.
What are the different tiers of cable service?
21.
Why was the creation of HBO and WTBS significant?
22.
What are the implications of an entirely digital signal and transmission system?
Chapter 7
1.
Discuss longevity, capacity, portability, accessibility, and reproducibility.
2.
Consider the importance of increasingly portable means to transport information and ability to record live events.
3.
What is a byte?
4.
Discuss miniaturization and increased capacity (exponential growth).
5.
What is nanotechnology?
6.
Why have Flash drives replaced floppy discs?
7.
How does compression work, generally?
8.
What is product placement? Give examples of this.
9.
What is search engine optimization?
10.
What are the four problems of the user interface? Explain.

11.
How did the development of remote controls change viewing habits?
12.
How is the aspect ratio of TV and monitors influenced by the content displayed?
13.
Describe different ways to interact with a computer and consider how advances in this technology may continue to develop into the future.
14.
Is the “desktop metaphor” the most efficient way for a user to view a computer’s content? Elaborate.
15.
What are the elements of interactivity?
16.
How might location or the means in which one receives media content change the meaning?
17.
What are some effects on content that occur with interactive media (page 214)?
18.
Discuss issues of free speech that result from interactivity.
19.
Discuss ethical issues surrounding the use of metatags.
Chapter 8
1.
What's meant by time-space compression?
2.
How does government control of a communication medium generally differ from private control?
3.
What is meant by universal service? Why is this so important for successful communication nationwide (and worldwide)?
4.
Why are satellites important for communication?
5.
What is Al Jazeera's role in Middle Eastern news?
6.
What is Sarnoff's Law, Metcalf's Law, and Reed's Law, and why is the latter the most significant?
7.
Contrast a P2P model vs. a Client/Server model.
8.
What are benefits of wireless connections?
9.
Why are connectivity and quality of service important (think net neutrality)?
10.
Discuss the characteristics of digital distribtution:
1.
Distributing bits
2.
Low distribution costs
3.
Perfect infinite copies
4.
Instantaneous distribution
5.
New distribution dynamics
11.
Trace the history of Napster.
12.
What's the legal significance of centralized vs. decentralized file sharing?
13.
Why does Limewire and Bit Torrent continue to exist succesfuly?
14.
What is Freenet?
15.
Discuss distributed computing and SETI@home.
Chapter 10
1.
How does journalism fulfill the four main functions of mass communication?
2.
What are pseudo-events? How does this relate to the construction of news?
3.
What is meant by agenda setting?
4.
How did the creation of the Associated Press lead to greater objectivity in news?
5.
What type of journalism did Hearst and Pulitzer create? How did they eventually differ?

6.
What were muckrakers?
7.
Who was Edward R. Murrow?
8.
What do you think of Murrow's quote: "Television in the main is being used to distract, delude, amuse and insulate us."
9.
Describe the mandate by the Hutchins Commission.
10.
Does fairness and balance seem like a reasonable alternative to objectivity?
11.
What is meant by "framing the news?" How is the notion of expert sources suspect?
12.
How has front page content changed?
13.
What may determine what the TV news covers?
14.
What are "beats?"
15.
What is platypus or backpack journalism?
16.
What are common themes determining what is produced and how the content is distributed?
17.
What are new journalism, literary journalism, advocacy journalism, alternative journalism, public journalism, and citizen journalism?
18.
Discuss the relevance of citizen journalism to Web 2.0.
19.
How may journalists vary worldwide in how they practice the profession?
20.
How is internet news different from other news channels? Discuss the 24/7 new cycle, nontraditional news sources, online users' media habits, personalization, contextualization of news, and convergent journalism.
21.
Consider/read about ethical practices. We will discuss in class.
Chapter 11
1.
Television : Discuss some memorable shows of early television to the 1970's.
2.
How has MTV changed the music industry?
3.
How has cable become more international in scope?
4.
Why can HBO shows be "edgier" then broadcast network shows?
5.
How is PBS funded?
6.
What has happened to soap operas and game shows in recent years? Why has this occurred?
7.
Why are sports so popular on television? Why are extreme sports also popular?
1.
Movies : Where do ideas for films typically come from today?
2.
How has Netflix changed movie consumption?
1.
Video Games : What are the most popular games?
2.
How do MMORPGs relate to the concept of Web 2.0?
3.
What are serious games?
1.
Music : Give examples of the pervasiveness of music.
2.
What were the roots of rock music? How does rock music tend to reflect the time in which a given song is released?
3.
What are issues with the importance of music videos? Are they still relevant?