BTMM 5021 – Media Institutions
Temple University
Fall 2011
Tues & Thurs 11 a.m. – 12:20 p.m.
301 Annenberg Hall
Professor: Katrina Flener
e-mail: kflener@temple.edu
Office hours by appointment only: (available before or after class on Tu/Th plus other times)
Official course listing:
History and societal role of the mass media with an emphasis on the internal structure and
workings of the mass media industries and their interaction with government and the public.
Overview of the course and objectives:
The mass media are among the most influential institutions in contemporary western culture.
This course will introduce some of the theoretical frameworks and methodological approaches
that have been used to investigate institutional practices and cultural characteristics of the
media industries. Much of the focus of this course will be on the political economy of the media,
including: considerations of the history of the cultural industries; the role of government
regulation, law and policy; the impact of large media conglomeration ownership, both within the
United States and globally; the importance of the commodity form and other economic factors;
and the role of new technology and architectural factors in shaping cultural products. In addition
to these broader, structural considerations of media influence, we will also consider media
institutions and cultural production from the level of practice.
The purpose of this course is to encourage you to think critically about some of the “black
boxes” that often conceal or naturalize how the cultural industries function in today’s global
society.
Required Text:
McChesney, R. W. (2004). The Problem of the Media: U.S. Communication Politics in the
Twenty-First Century. New York: Monthly Review Press
ISBN: 978-1583671054
Optional Texts: (We will be reading about 5 articles from reader. If you do not purchase text, it
is your responsibility to make copies or scan readings from my copy)
Duffy, B. E. & Turow, J. (Eds.) (2009). Key Readings in Media Today: Mass Communication in
Contexts. New York: Routledge.
ISBN: 978-0415992053
(We will most likely read an excerpt from the following, which I will make available, but you may
want to buy as used copies are relatively inexpensive)
The Filter Bubble: What the Internet Is Hiding from You (2011)
by Eli Pariser
ISBN: 978-1594203008
Additional reading will be made available through Blackboard or Course Reserves at Library
Course Format, Requirements and Breakdown of Grading:
This course will operate primarily as a seminar in which students will be active participants, not
only in the discussions of readings but also at times by presenting and leading discussions.
There will be a fair amount of scholarly texts that all students will be required to read, discuss,
and at times write about through response papers. Additionally, there will be some weeks when
certain students will be responsible for additional readings and will then present material to the
class and help lead discussion. In addition to the scholarly readings, students will be
responsible for following certain news and trade press sources in order to be aware of current
institutional news stories. Finally, the end goal for each student will be to write a conferenceworthy paper about a media institutions related topic that incorporates original research.
The overall breakdown of coursework grading is as follows:

50% Final Research Paper (which includes a required outline/rough draft)

50% Class Participation (broken down as follows):
o
25% of course grade (or half of participation score) is for your in-class
presentation, which will include a written component and will require you to lead
class discussion. Details regarding expectations will be provided
o
25% of course grade (or half of participation score) is for all other aspects of
participation, which includes attendance, a few reading response papers, and
participation both in the class and online through the class Tumblr page.
Policies
Contacting me: Don’t be afraid to schedule an appointment to meet with me during office
hours. I will be on campus Monday afternoons and before and after our class on Tuesdays and
Thursdays. The best way to reach me is via e-mail. I try to check my e-mail fairly regularly and
will usually be able to respond to your e-mail within 12 hours.
Blackboard and e-mail: We will rely on Blackboard in this class. You are responsible for
regularly checking your e-mail account that corresponds with your Blackboard account as I will
often send e-mails to students via Blackboard. This means that you either need to check your
Temple e-mail account regularly or you should set up your Blackboard account to send e-mails
to a preferred address (the helpdesk can help with this). You should always check Blackboard
for detailed descriptions of the reading and homework assignments.
Special Needs: Please talk with me privately if you have a need for any special
accommodations based on the impact of a disability. You can also contact the Office of
Disability Resources and Services (DRS), Room 100, Ritter Hall Annex, 215-204-1280. Their
website is: http://www.temple.edu/disability/
Sensitivity: Media issues and content cannot be thoughtfully and rigorously discussed without
an occasional reference to unpopular ideas or to offensive material. We will not hide from the
hard questions and harsh language, but students and the instructor alike are expected to remain
sensitive to individual differences. The diversity of a multicultural society requires that we
discuss differences with no anger, arrogance or personal attacks, and without perpetuating
stereotypes about gender, age, race, religious affiliation, sexual preference, national origin,
dialect or disability.
Cell Phones and other devices: Unless you have a legitimate reason to leave them on,
please turn off (or at least silence) your phones. Please do not text during class unless it is
absolutely necessary. While I respect that occasionally there are legitimate reasons to use your
phone (e.g., if you have a babysitter at home), I generally find it disruptive and rude. If you need
to answer your phone for an urgent reason, please step outside the classroom.
If you prefer to use and take notes on a laptop, fine. But, if I find you abusing this privilege by
constantly checking Facebook, Twitter, etc., I will require that you turn it off.
Keep in mind that participation is a large portion of your final grade and I will not perceive a
student that is constantly texting to be actively participating in the class.
Food/Drinks/Gum: Drinks are okay. Just don’t leave a mess. Food and Gum are NOT okay.
I know we are all adults, and I realize that this may seem petty, but I personally find the sound of
people eating and chewing gum very distracting (not to mention the smell of food is disruptive).
I am sorry if you don’t like it, but I will enforce this rule.
Attendance: On-time attendance is expected is both expected and required in a graduate level
course. More than one absence (without a legitimate reason) and persistent lateness will hurt
your final grade in the course.
Academic Honesty and Plagiarism: Academic dishonesty is not worth it. I would like to
assume that plagiarism and academic dishonesty are not a problem in a graduate level course.
However, disappointingly, I have been assured that it does exist. You will most likely fail the
course and possibly see worse consequences, including expulsion from the university, if you are
found to have violated standards of academic honesty. Unfortunately, I have discovered
instances of academic dishonesty in almost every undergraduate class that I have taught or
assisted, suggesting that the behavior is far more common than it should be. Students are often
shocked when they have to accept the negative consequences. Some students engage in
academic dishonesty even when they do not realize it. Plagiarism is a problem that seems to
happen easily with the ease of cut & paste.
Academic dishonesty can range from having unacknowledged help with a paper or assignment,
to submitting your own work that was already submitted to another class, to copying text from
the Internet without acknowledgement. I understand that there may be some confusion over
what is acceptable and what is not, and so I strongly encourage you to ask me if you have any
uncertainty.
Please take the time to familiarize yourself with what is considered academic dishonesty
according to Temple University’s rules and regulations, available at:
http://www.temple.edu/bulletin/Responsibilities_rights/responsibilities/responsibilities.shtm.
Grading Standards:
An A means your work is outstanding. A work goes above and beyond expectations and shows an
astute intellect. B work is better than average and demonstrates excellent effort and satisfactory
understanding of coursework. B- work meets expectations and demonstrates a general understanding of
material and an average effort. Graduate school standards indicate that a C represents seriously flawed
work. This might mean a misunderstanding of fundamental concepts, presenting them unacceptably in
writing, and/or a lack of constructive participation in class discussion. A D cannot be assigned in graduate
course. An F illustrates a failure to adhere to policies of academic honesty.
Incompletes are strongly discouraged and will only be given if the student makes specific arrangements
with the instructor before the end of the semester.
Tentative Readings
Always see Blackboard for details regarding reading and response paper expectations. The list
provided here is subject to change. Additionally, students will be assigning readings to
complement their presentations. So for weeks that there are presentations, you will have 1-2
readings assigned by the instructor and 1-2 readings assigned by your fellow students.
Week 2: Introductory readings: Why study media institutions.
Silverblatt, A. (2004). Media as social institution. American Behavioral Scientist, 48(1), 35-41.
Kellner, D. M. & Durham, M. G. (2006). Adventures in media and cultural studies: Introducing the
keyworks. In M. G. Durham & D. M. Kellner (Eds.), Media and cultural studies: Keyworks (Rev.
Ed.) (pp. ix-xxxviii). Malden, MA: Blackwell.
Golding, P. & Murdock, G. (2005). Culture, communications, and political economy, chapter 4. In J.
Curran & M. Gurevitch (Eds.), Mass Media and Society (4th Ed.) (pp. 60-83). New York:
Routledge.
Havens, T., Lotz, A. D., & Tinic, S. (2009). Critical media industry studies: A research approach.
Communication, Culture & Critique, 2, 234-253.
Week 3: Political Economy vs. Cultural Studies
Garnham, N. (1995, March). Political economy and cultural studies: Reconciliation or divorce? Critical
Studies in Mass Communication, 12(1), 62-71.
[read above and also read 2 of the following 4]
Grossberg, L. (1995, March). Cultural studies vs. political economy: Is anybody else bored with this
debate? Critical Studies in Mass Communication, 12(1), 72-81.
Carey, J. W. (1995, March). Abolishing the old spirit world. Critical Studies in Mass Communication,
12(1), 82-89.
Murdock, G. (1995, March). Across the great divide: Cultural analysis and the condition of democracy.
Critical Studies in Mass Communication, 12(1), 89-95.
Garnham, N. (1995, March). Reply to Grossberg and Carey. Critical Studies in Mass Communication,
12(1), 95-100.
Plus: Ch. 1 of McChesney (which is Ch. 4 in Key Readings)
Week 4: The Commodity Form
Ch 5 of Key Readings: [C. E. Baker, “Not Toasters: The Special Nature of Media Products,” pp.
90-101]
Smythe, D. W. (1997). Communications: Blindspot of western Marxism. In F. Golding & G. Murdock
(Eds.), The political economy of the media, Volume I (pp. 438-464). Brookfield, VT: Edward
Elgar. [Reprinted from Canadian Journal of Political and Social Theory, 1(3), pp. 1-27, 1977]
[read above 2 and also read 2 of the following 5]
Murdock, G. (1997). Blindspots about western Marxism: A reply to Dallas Smythe. . In F. Golding & G.
Murdock (Eds.), The political economy of the media, Volume I (pp. 465-475). Brookfield, VT:
Edward Elgar. [Reprinted from Canadian Journal of Political and Social Theory, 2(2), pp. 109119, 1978]
Meehan, E. R. (1984, June). Ratings and the institutional approach: A third answer to the commodity
question. Critical Studies in Mass Communication, 1(2), 216-225.
Jhally, S. & Livant, B. (1986, Summer). Watching as working: The valorization of audience
consciousness. Journal of Communication, 36(2), 124-143.
Andrejevic, M. (2002, June). The work being watched: Interactive media and the exploitation of selfdisclosure. Critical Studies in Media Communication (19), pp. 230-248.
Gandy, O. H. (2004). Audiences on demand. In A. Calabrese & C. Sparks (Eds.) Toward a political
economy of culture: Capitalism and communication in the twenty-first century (pp. 327-341).
Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.
*NOTE: Weeks 5-11 will have additional readings assigned by student presenters
Week 5: Print Media
Ch 2 of McChesney
Ch 7 of Key Readings: [G. Tuchman, “Making News: Time and Typifications,” pp. 125-144]
Week 6: History of Broadcasting Regulation
Campbell, A. J. (2006, June). A public interest perspective on the impact of the broadcasting provisions
of the 1996 Act. Federal Communications Law Journal, 58(3), 455-476.
Week 7: Television Industry and Conglomerations
Ch 5 of McChesney
Ch 28 of Key Readings: [J. Turow, “Rethinking Television in the Digital Age,” pp. 413-425]
Week 8: Hollywood, Images and Representation
Ch 18 of Key Readings: [J. Wasko, “Promoting the Industry,” pp. 287-302]
Ch 24 of Key Readings: [H. Jenkins, “Quentin Tarantino’s Star Wars? Digital Cinema, Media
Convergence, and Participatory Culture,” pp. 360-378]
Week 9: Digital Culture, Digital Policy; Social Media
Ch 6 of McChesney
[OR an excerpt from The Filter Bubble: What the Internet Is Hiding from You (2011) by Eli
Pariser]
Week 10: The Music Industry; Video Games
Wall, T, (2004). The political economy of Internet music radio. The Radio Journal- International Studies
in Broadcast and Audio Media, 2(1), 27-44.
Week 11: Advertising/PR; Media Literacy
Ch 4 of McChesney
Week 12: Global Media
Reading TBD
Schedule
Week
1
2
Date
Tues
8/30
General Topic/Due Dates
Overview of course
Thur
9/1
Why study Media Institutions
Tues
9/6
Intro Readings (& Rich Media Poor
Democracy screening)
Thur
9/15
Thur
9/22
Thur
9/29
3
4
5
Pol Econ v. Cultural Studies
6
Television, Conglomerations
Thur
10/13
Thur
HK (PE of sports television)
Laura (Children's TV)
Tim (Technology & Youth)
10/20
Rachel (Independent media)
10/27
Digital Culture & Digital Policy;
Social Media
10
The Music Industry; Video Games
Thur
Julia (public v. commercial media)
Jared (Animation)
9
Thur
Patrick N (print & digital copyright)
Hollywood, Images,
Representation
8
11/3
11
Advertising/PR; Media Literacy
Thur
11/10
Thur
11/17
Tues
11/22
Thur
11/24
Tues
11/29
Thur
12/1
Tues
12/6
Rough draft/outline of Final
Paper Due Tuesday 11/22 at 5
p.m. (via e-mail) NO CLASS
One-on-one meetings/movies
(Tues &/or Thurs: we can decide
later what works best for most)
Last class: Share Final Papers
Thur
12/8
FINAL PAPERS DUE
12
15
Print Media (History of Journalism)
10/6
7
14
Commodity Form
History of Broadcasting Regulation
Thur
13
Student Presenters
Global Media; and catch-up
Stephanie (marketing to teens)
Megan (Social media)
Patrick P (music industry)
Timur (video game industry)
Melody (food & media)
Kenzo (TBD)