California State University, Long Beach
JOURNALISM 418
Media History
Fall Semester 2012
Instructor:
Class Meets:
Office Hours:
Judith Frutig
Tuesdays & Thursdays, 2-3:15 p.m., SSPA-029C
Mondays & Wednesdays from 2-3 p.m.; Tuesdays & Thursdays from 1-2 p.m.; other
times by appointment.
Office:
SPA-026 (two doors down from the Journalism and Mass Communication office)
E-mail:
JKFrutig@aol.com. Every time you email me, please include the following phrase in the
subject line: JOUR 418 [Your first and last name inside these brackets]
Office Phone: 562-985-5361 (Please e-mail first)
Class Website: www.beachboard.csulb.edu/webapps/login/
“When a nation goes down...or a society perishes, one condition may always be found. They
forgot where they came from. They lost sight of what had brought them along.”
~Carl Sandburg, journalist, poet and Lincoln biographer
“Were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers, or
newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter.
~Thomas Jefferson, third President of the United States (1801-1809) and principal author of
the Declaration of Independence (1776)
“History ought to be part of everyone’s education. It is essential to understanding who we are,
how we got to be where we are, and why we are the way we are.”
~David McCullough, two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning historian and author of John Adams
and 1776
“News is the first rough draft of history.” ~Philip Graham, 1975, Washington Post publisher
CATALOG DESCRIPTION
This course gives students an overview of the development of the mass media in the United States and
around the world. Major media figures, trends and industries are examined. The course examines how
individuals’ interpretations of past historical events affect their sense of the present and what should
occur in the future.
COURSE OVERVIEW
“Society not only continues to exist by transmission, by communication, but it may fairly be said to exist
in transmission, in communication,” writes the philosopher John Dewey in Democracy and Education (New
York: Macmillan Co., 1915, p. 4). “There is more than a verbal tie between the words common,
community, and communication. Men live in a community in virtue of things they have in common; and
communication is the way in which they come to possess things in common.”
For Dewey, communication was a vital ingredient in forming communities and shaping the political and
social fabric that links its members. Our aim this semester is to study the development of the mass media
in American society and their role in shaping the nation we live in today.
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We will explore the political, social, cultural and economic environments that have led to today’s mass
media. We will analyze the interaction between technology and social change in which each generation
creates its own, new form of journalism. And we will access how the news media have shaped American
history. Along the way we will see how these inter-relationships have led to a convergence between
media organizations, big business, and government at all levels.
This class is designed to meet once a week in an extended session. Our main focus will be on the early
development of newspapers, film, radio, television, and the “new media” that began to emerge in the
1990s. We will start with an in-depth look at the earliest roots of American journalism in order to better
understand the elements that are driving the online media world of the 21 st century.
COURSE GOALS AND LEARNING ASSESSMENT
Upon successful completion of this course, you will be able to:
1.
Understand and apply First Amendment principles and laws appropriate to the professional practice
of journalism and know why media organizations are for-profit businesses protected by the First
Amendment.
2.
Demonstrate an understanding of how the news media have shaped American history and
determined the way we communicate with each other.
3.
Identify the major British philosophers and their ideas that the colonists drew upon to establish
British America’s legal, political and communication systems.
4.
Discuss the fundamental ingredients of a free press and the role it played in igniting the American
Revolutionary War.
5.
Identify the reasons behind the transformation of the press from “views-papers” to the beginnings of
mass communication.
6.
Classify the various definitions of sensationalism from the Penny Press to today’s media.
7.
Evaluate the role of Civil War newspapers in provoking and prolonging the “War of Secession.”
8.
Understand the rise of metropolitan newspapers in post-Civil War America, the evolution of the
landmark era we call “yellow journalism,” and the significant role of press titans Joseph Pulitzer,
William Randolph Hearst and Adolph Ochs.
9.
Describe the impact of investigative and muckraking magazines on the rise of public relations as a
profession.
10. Explain the development of the film industry and its impact on the political and social fabric of the
nation and the wider world.
11. Discuss the promise of early radio and show how the broadcasting industry has transformed
American politics, changed its social habits and created an international culture of mass
communication.
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12. Assess the evolution of television as a source of entertainment, news and reality shows. Understand
the influence of media giants David Sarnoff and William S. Paley, the role of broadcast giants Edward
R. Murrow and Walter Cronkite, and appreciate their collective impact on 21 st century commerce and
culture.
13. Demonstrate an understanding of the importance of diversity in the mass media, and its
consequences and benefits for the world at large.
14. Analyze the changing values of journalism and journalists and their impact on the future of
democracy.
15. Explain the development of the computer, Internet, World Wide Web and the social media, and their
impact on the cultural, political and economic fabric of the nation – and the world.
REQUIRED TEXTS
Wm. David Sloan, The Media in America: A History, 8th edition. (Northport, AL: Vision Press, 2011).
Rodger Streitmatter, Mightier than the Sword: How the News Media Have Shaped American History, 2nd
edition. (Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 2008)
WEB ACCESS, E-MAILING YOUR INSTRUCTOR AND IMPORTANT INTERNET SITES
1.
Web access: You will need frequent online access throughout the semester, and it is a good idea to
check into our class Website between sessions, especially just before the one days we will meet. If
you do not have access at home, be sure to allow enough time to check new announcements and
other Beachboard postings, and to complete your assignments on campus.
2.
E-mails: I am frequently online (except Sundays) and my policy is to respond to student e-mails
within 12 hours. If you don’t hear from me by the next morning, please resend your message and
note that it is your second attempt. These exchanges are best for quick clarifications and to schedule
meetings. I do not discuss grades on-line or over the phone but you are welcome to talk to me during
my office hours or by appointment. E-mails also should not be used to inquire into what you missed
if you were not in class. If your absence was excused, I will work with you to help you catch up.
However, if your absence was unexcused, you must get any information you missed from a
classmate.
3.
Important Internet sites: The following sites are designed to advance your learning process:
http://www.beachboard.csulb.edu/webapps/login. This is our class website. It contains the syllabus,
weekly announcements, assignments, class documents, lecture notes, and running grade scores.
http://www.cengage.com/masscomm/fellow/americanmediahistory2e. This is the book’s companion
site, which offers study guide questions, tutorial quizzes, Web links, practice exams and
communication links. Readings, study guide questions and tutorial quizzes should be completed
before class. I do not collect or grade the tutorial quizzes, but highly recommend that you use them to
sharpe your understanding of the course material.
LEARNING ASSESSMENT AND GRADING CRITERIA
JOUR 418 fall2012 – Frutig syllabus –- Page 4 of 14
1.
Examinations: Three exams (60 points apiece) will be administered. The content will be objective
(multiple-choice and true/false questions). There will be no comprehensive final but each exam will
address the material covered during the weeks leading into it. These exams must be taken on the
scheduled date. Arrangements will be made only for emergencies. You will need a Scantron (882-E)
answer sheet and a sharp #2 pencil.
2.
Chapter Quizzes (15 points apiece): Two announced quizzes will be administered. The content will
be objective (multiple choice and true & false). If you miss a quiz and have an excused absence, you
must make it up within one week.
3.
Checkups (10 points each): Up to ten, short pop quizzes will be administered at the start of class
sessions, and will cover that week’s reading material. The short answer questions are listed in the
Class Schedule section. The two lowest scores will be dropped, so no make-ups will be given.
4.
The “’Daily’ Afternoon Report” (30 points). Many of you are fans of Comedy Central’s “The Daily
Show With Jon Stewart” and the Colbert Report with Stephen Colbert in which the comedians poke
fun at the foibles of American politicians and popular culture, and the miscues of the media covering
them. At one session during the semester you and two classmates will take a close look at the
coverage of an ongoing news event or issue and report this as a “News of the Day in an
Unconventional Way.” You will illustrate your report with online news stories and video clips from
Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert, You Tube or another major media website you find appropriate. No
later than Friday of your presentation week, your team will submit by e-mail a written report that
summarizes your presentation. (More detailed assignment information will be posted on Beachboard
under Assignments.) We will begin to select “Afternoon Report” teams at our second session. In all,
11 reports will be presented (provided the class enrollment remains at 35).
5.
Yellow Journalism Reaction Paper (40 points). The press era of “yellow journalism” still carries an
unenviable reputation. But as practiced more than 100 years ago, “yellow journalism” wasn’t all
awful or completely deplorable. One example of the high-quality writing of that era is a provocative,
detail-rich article by Richard Harding Davis, which was later titled “Death of Rodriguez.” Davis—a
star war correspondent in the late nineteenth century—wrote the article in early 1897 during an
assignment to Cuba for William Randolph Hearst’s New York Journal. Davis tells about the firingsquad execution of a Cuban insurgent who was captured during the rebellion against Spanish rule.
(More detailed assignment information will be posted on Beachboard under Assignments. The article
will be posted under Class Documents.) Your papers are due at the beginning of class during Week 8.
6.
Attendance and Participation (40 points): Weekly attendance is mandatory and the more you
participate, the more interesting the class will be. At the beginning of each session, an attendance
sheet will be passed around, and it is your responsibility to make sure your signature and student ID
number appear on it. Your presence is also important because every session will incorporate video
and DVD clips, online and lecture material that may appear on your quizzes and exams, but do not
appear in the textbook or on the lecture notes posted on Beachboard.
EXTRA CREDIT OPPORTUNITIES
Extra scoring opportunities will include: “History Jeopardy,” our media history blog, and a discussion
meeting outside our class time.
1.
History Jeopardy is a review of the chapter material from the previous class. During these sessions
you will compete with your classmates to earn extra credit points. A student who gives a correct
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answer will be awarded one point if called on. The answers-and-questions will focus on some of the
most important material, and you will want to incorporate them into your individual study guide for
quizzes and examinations.
2.
Discussion Meeting (10 points): Every student is invited to meet with me outside class time at least
once during the semester. This will give you the opportunity to talk about your progress in the course
and in your major, and to ask me any questions you may have. Your office visit must be completed
before Midterm Examination #2.
GRADING
Final grades will be based on the total grade score you earn over the course of the semester. This
university does not use a plus/minus grading system, so students receiving 100-90% of the maximum
available points will receive an A; 89-80% will receive a B; 79-70% will receive a C; 69-60% will receive a
D; anything lower will receive an F.
Your work will be scored according to the following grading rubric:
Three Exams
Two Chapter Quizzes
Check-Up Quizzes
Daily News Report
Yellow Journalism Reaction Paper
Attendance and Participation
Total Possible Points
@ 60 points
@ 15 points
@ 10 points
@ 30 points
@ 40 points
@ 35 points
180 points
30 points
60 points maximum
30 points
40 points
35 points
375 points
CLASS PROCEDURES
Class time: Our sessions will include an interesting and informative mix of lectures illustrated by video,
DVD and online clips; class discussions; presentations; and History Jeopardy competitions.
Reading Assignments: All reading assignments must be completed before class. The readings, quizzes
and questions are meant to deepen your understanding of the course content and add to your study
guide for quizzes and exams.
Participation and Tolerance: All students are encouraged to ask informed questions, and contribute to
the discussion. At the same time, tolerance, respect for diverse opinions and good will toward others is
crucial to every aspect of successful journalism and you are expected to join in to a spirited, civil
exchange of ideas, opinions and general knowledge that will be generated over the course of our 15
instructional weeks. Your contributions should be substantive and not superficial observations or
emotional reactions; this is why you must be familiar with the reading material.
Class Time and Work Time: Talking is a gradable commodity in this classroom and you can only speak
up if you are here. The rest of our weekly attendance policy is inspired by professional media
organizations. You are expected to arrive on time, be ready to participate, and deliver your work before
the deadline. Most of you hold down either part-time or full-time jobs, and you should treat our class
time the same responsible way you treat your work time. When the session starts, it’s your job to be here.
Excused Absences: Everyone experiences challenges, and if an emergency should arise, or you must miss
a class because of a job conflict, a campus sports event, family emergency, or a religious holiday
(Department policy on absences is explained in the addendum to this syllabus), you are expected to leave
me a detailed e-mail message before class begins to explain what is keeping you away. At the next session
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you must provide some kind of documentation, for example, a receipt from the campus clinic, verifying
that an emergency appointment or situation conflicted with our class time.
Unexcused Absences: An unexcused absence means that you did not show up for class, did not sign the
daily attendance sheet, did not alert me in advance that you were not coming, or did not provide the
required documentation. Excused absences follow university policies; but to be excused, an absence must
be documented. You are allowed to take one unexcused absence with no penalty, but two unexcused
absences will reduce your attendance and participation score by 50-percent; three or more unexcused
absences are considered excessive in a 15-week instructional semester and will reduce your attendance
and participation score to zero. If you miss a scheduled presentation, you will receive a zero score, and it
cannot be made up. Friendly warning: unexcused absences can lead to a failing grade.
Responsibility for Course Content: If you miss a class, you are still responsible for the information that
came out of it, whether your absence is excused or unexcused. If your absence is excused, I will give you
any notes or handout material you missed. However, if your absence is unexcused, you must get the
information or documents from a fellow student. In any case, you may always ask me for clarification of
any material from any class that you either missed or do not understand.
Writing Proficiency: In mass communication, mechanical correctness is essential to good writing, and the
use of correct language is critical. When you write your papers, pay attention to the details. If you aren’t
careful, points will be deducted for any mechanical errors (spelling, grammar, punctuation, etc.). If you
need assistance with language usage, please ask me for advice. That’s what I’m here for.
Typing: All assignments must be delivered as Word documents and not handwritten on a sheet of
paper. The only exceptions are our in-class, pop quizzes.
Late work: You will receive no credit for work turned in late. Work is considered late if it is not turned in
at the time I collect it. The check-up quizzes will be given at the beginning of the class. Any student
arriving after the question has been announced will receive a zero score for the quiz.
Making up a Quiz or an Exam: If you miss a quiz or an exam, you can only make it up if you inform me
beforehand that you have a valid, emergency reason. If your absence is unexcused, please don’t ask for a
make-up! I reserve the right to compensate students who make the effort to attend class and fully
participate.
CLASSROOM CONDUCT
Class participation: Bonus points will be given for superior contributions and the quality of your
participation will be determined by your positive contributions. While evaluating them will be subjective,
the process will include such things as asking insightful questions, speaking up in an informed manner,
and attending class without absence. On the other hand, points may be deducted for failure to make
positive contributions to the class.
Take good notes: You may record our class proceeding for personal use, but please advise me in
advance.
Laptops: I know it’s fashionable, and in many cases even useful, to use personal computers in the
classroom. However, in seminars like this one, which are designed to encourage discussion, laptops can
be distracting. You can’t be fully engaged if you have drifted into Facebook, You Tube, IM, online
gambling or unrelated Web browsing. For these reasons, I am not allowing the use of personal
computers in this classroom. You are welcome to bring them, though, as I might ask you to log on to look
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up something in class.
Put away your cell phones and iPods. Cell phone interruptions are not tolerated in business meetings
and are not permitted here. If your phone disrupts the class, you will lose participation points.
Cell phones are banned during check-ups, chapter quizzes and exams. All cell phones must be closed
inside a backpack or purse during the practicum, quizzes and exams. If I see one during a test time, you
will received a zero score.
Excessive side conversations and inattentiveness are inappropriate in a university classroom. The size
and configuration of this room means that anything you say will most likely be heard around the room,
so if you have unanswered questions, please talk to the whole room. Inattentiveness signals to the rest of
us that you are not taking your college education – and fees - seriously.
Be aware of the consequences of walking out of class: Since we meet only once a week, our sessions are
longer than in classes that meet on two days. We will stop at the mid-point for a 10-minute break, which
means you should not have to walk out of class during the lectures and discussion. Students who leave
mid-lecture for any reason disrupt the class and are a distraction. If you have a valid reason for leaving
early, you must inform me before the session begins. If you don’t, I may treat excessive walk-outs as an
“early departure,” which is the same thing as an unexcused absence.
A WORD ABOUT ACADEMIC INTEGRITY AND GREAT EXPECTATIONS
The Journalism and Mass Communication Department is committed to the highest standards of academic
integrity and excellence, and we expect you to have enough self-respect that the idea of cheating or
plagiarizing is beyond the range of consideration. Plagiarism is defined as using someone else’s ideas or
written work and representing them as your own, including information you may find on a website. Any
student found guilty of plagiarizing a paper, or cheating on our check-ups, weekly quizzes or exams will
receive a failing grade. There are no exceptions to this policy.
ACADEMIC ACCOMMODATIONS
Any student requesting academic accommodations based on disability should notify me as soon as
possible. Please go to Brotman Hall, Room 270, to obtain the necessary papers. If you need a stenographer
or want to take your exams at Disabled Student Services, I will work with you. You may call DSS at 562985-5401.
FINALLY…
Visit me in my office as early and often as you want. Every one of you has earned your seat at this
university and in this course. I am interested in your progress and want all of you to do good work.
Don’t wait until the final weeks to talk about any problems. If you come in early enough I can work with
you, but I have little sympathy for people who come to me at the end of the semester – or after the
posting of final grades - asking for mercy.
ABOUT YOUR INSTRUCTOR
Judith Frutig is an award-winning journalist and communications consultant. Before joining the
journalism faculty in 2005, she worked for three decades in the related fields of print and broadcast
journalism, corporate communications and political public relations.
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As a print journalist, she served as a reporter for some of the most notable news organizations in the
United States, at The Christian Science Monitor (as a bureau chief and senior correspondent in Los Angeles
and Chicago), at the Detroit Free Press (as a general assignment reporter specializing in local politics and
investigative reporting; and at Newsweek magazine (as office manager and part-time writer in the Detroit
editorial bureau while earning her bachelor’s degree in journalism at night at Wayne State University).
In broadcasting, she was the managing editor and host of “On the Record with Judy Frutig,” a weekly,
one-hour public affairs program on KPLS (830-AM) radio in Los Angeles. The program aired for two
years across Southern California and in western regions of Arizona and Nevada when the wind was
right.
In corporate communications, she served as an executive speechwriter and spokesperson for the Irvine
Company of Newport Beach, the largest private landowner and developer in Southern California, and it
was there that she developed her interest in media history and ethics. For ten years, as owner of Judith K.
Frutig/Corporate Communications, she served as a consultant for local government entities,
environmental organizations, large-scale real estate developers, and high profile Fortune 500 corporations
and executives in Southern California and Oklahoma.
In political public relations, she worked as a press secretary for two California election campaigns (a U.S.
Senate primary, and a ballot initiative to tax the profits of major U.S. oil companies with operations in Los
Angeles to upgrade the state’s public transportation system), three regional initiatives (including a highprofile battle for the commercial future of El Toro MCAS) and numerous local candidates and ballot
issues (mostly in Newport Beach). She also served as communications director for one of the largest
unified public school districts (K-12) in the state.
She was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize for “America’s Ten Most Livable Cities,” a 10-part feature series
published in The Christian Science Monitor. Her writing skills have been honored by the Detroit Press
Club Foundation, and Orange County chapters of the Public Relations Society of America (OCPRSA) and
International Association for Business Communication (HELIOS).
She co-wrote a screenplay for the CBS network under contract to Warner Brothers Television. She has
authored chapters in three books: American Media History, by Anthony R. Fellow (2005), the textbook used
in her media history class; Of Sneetches and Whose and the Good Dr. Seuss: Essays on the Writings and Life of
Theodor Geisel, edited by Thomas Fensch (1997); and Newport Beach: The First Century, 1888-1988, edited by
James P. Felton (1995). Her syndicated byline has appeared in major metropolitan newspapers from
Alaska to Maine. She has written op-ed pieces for The Christian Science Monitor, Los Angeles Times and
Orange County Register, and feature stories for Sunday magazines published by the Detroit Free Press
and the Cincinnati Enquirer. She also contributed the entry for the Encyclopedia Britannica (1980) on the
construction of the trans-Alaska pipeline, which she witnessed firsthand.
A NOTE TO MEDIA HISTORY STUDENTS: OUR CONTRACT
I hope you see how much I enjoy teaching this course. It probably comes from my passion for journalism
and politics, and my sense of the need for all of us to understand where we’ve come from. I think it is
important to understand how the mass media have evolved, and how past media practices have affected
the social, political and economic fabric of the world we live in today, right now, at the end of the first
decade of the 21st century.
I know some students find history to be tedious; others wonder about its relevance. In any case, we are
finding that many Americans, at every stage of life, have little sense of our historical footprints. This may
help to explain why we, as a country, continue to repeat the mistakes of our past. Think about the George
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W. Bush vs. Al Gore presidential election campaign of 2000, then go back and look at the Hayes-Tilden
race a century earlier when the Florida results determined that Hayes was the winner. Think about the
damage Sen. Joseph McCarthy (R-Wisc.) inflicted on our entertainment industry and political system
during the blacklisting period of the 1950s, and then consider the FCC sanctions under George W. Bush
that altered the face of television and the voice of radio. Consider the Washington Post’s sensitive and
successful use of anonymous sources in the Watergate investigation and compare it to the case of former
CIA agent Valerie Plame, in which federal prosecutors pressured high-profile Washington reporters to
reveal their anonymous White House sources – or go to jail. Most recently, there are all those rumblings
that say the president wasn’t born in the United States. Who fiddled with his birth records? Who was
really a foreigner, so shouldn’t have risen to the White House. President Obama? Actually, that stuff
about his being born in Kenya is spurious. The real “birther” issue involved Chester A. Arthur, the first
(and still only) Canadian-born President of the United States.
So, as the historian David McCullough said: “We are what we are because we were what we were.” My
wish is that every one of you will come out of this class with a deeper appreciation of the media pioneers
who developed our communications systems and made such sizable contributions to this great nation we
call America.
Getting to the truth is essential for working journalists, but it is also important to the day-to-day life of
every democratic consumer of American news. The central purpose of American journalism is to tell –
and sometimes to warn – people about what we need to know to remain free and self-governing. This
syllabus is our contract and I expect you to take your responsibility as students with the same level of
commitment that I bring as your instructor. The next section of this syllabus sets out the details of our
class schedule.
CLASS SCHEDULE AND TOPIC OUTLINE*
(*subject to change)
WEEK 1
Aug. 28
Aug. 30
WEEK 2
Sept. 4/6
INTRODUCTION TO MEDIA HISTORY IN WHICH WE GET ORGANIZED
We review the course syllabus, talk about our weekly class sessions, exam schedule, study
guide questions, History Jeopardy chapter reviews, class presentations, research papers and
basic department policies.
Why study history? What relevance does media history hold to American education in the 21 st
century and to the journalism curriculum at this university? History has been an on-again, offagain subject in American schools, but it has finally taken its place at the center of the
education process.
Reading Assignment for Thursday: Media in America, Introduction, pp. xi-xiv; Mightier than
the Sword, Introduction, pp. 1-5.
BEFORE THE AMERICAN EXPERIENCE
Reading Assignment: Media in America, Chap. 1, “Origins of Mass Communication,” pp. 1-15;
Chap. 2, “Printing in America,”pp. 17-33; Chap. 3, “The Colonial Press,” pp. 35-49
Check-up Questions:
1) What was acta diurna? Do any modern counterparts exist today?
2) What impact did Gutenberg’s invention have on the medieval world? How did European
authority cope with this new invention?
3) What impact did the writings of John Milton, Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, and Cato have
on the founding fathers and the media system that evolved from it?
4) What contributions did Benjamin Harris make to American journalism? Why did Publick
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Occurrences cease publication after just one issue?
5) What contributions did Benjamin Franklin make to American journalism? Why were his
publications popular? Does his formula for readership say anything about the way the
media try to attract readers or viewers today?
We select “Afternoon Report” teams.
WEEK 3
Sept 11/13 THE NEW WORLD’S FIRST INFORMATION REVOLUTION
Reading Assignment: The Media in America, Chap. 4, “The Revolutionary Press,” pp. 51-64;
Chap. 5, “The Party Press,” pp. 69-93. Mightier Than the Sword, Chap. 1, “Sowing the Seeds of
Revolution,” pp. 7-24
CHAPTER QUIZ 1, covering the Introduction and “Before the American Experience”
Check-up Questions:
1) Why does Streimayer say the American Revolution was an “extremely reluctant revolution
from the beginning”?
2) Samuel Adams has been called “the master of puppets,” the man who pulled the strings to
begin the American Revolution. How did Adams incite the revolution? What were his
techniques? Where can you see them in play today?
3) Why is the post-war, nation-building period called “the dark ages of American
journalism?”
4) George Washington was a target of Anti-Federalist editors and he developed an ambivalent
attitude toward the press. What were his views? What did he think about “managed news”?
5) Thomas Jefferson did more for freedom of the press than any other president. Why? Did he
believe press freedom and an orderly government were compatible?
“Afternoon Reports” begin.
WEEK 4
Sept 18/20 DEMOCRATIZATION, CAPITALISM AND THE MEDIA
Reading Assignment: The Media in America, Chap. 7, “The Penny Press, pp. 121-139.
Check-up Questions:
1) Are there any similarities between what people wanted to read in the 1830s and what they
are reading (and watching) today?
2) What radical changes in structure and influence did the great Penny Press editors bring
about?
3) How did James Gordon Bennett’s journalism differ from Horace Greeley's? What were
Greeley's contributions to American journalism?
4) What contributions did Henry Raymond make to American journalism?
5) Of all the major Penny Press personalities, who would you select for the following
newspaper positions: publisher, editor, managing editor, city editor, and editorial page
editor? Why?
WEEK 5
Sept 25
Sept 27
WEEK 6
Oct 2/4
DEMOCRATIZATION, CAPITALISM AND THE MEDIA (Con’t)
EXAMINATION #1, covering material from Weeks 1-5
AMERICA’S CIVIL WAR
Reading Assignment for Tuesday: The Media in America, Chap. 8, “The Antebellum Press”;
Mightier Than the Sword, Chap. 2, “Abolition.”
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Reading Assignment for Thursday: The Media in America, Chap. 9, “The Press and the Civil
War, 1861-1865,” pp. 160-173.
Check-up Questions:
1) Why were William Lloyd Garrison and Frederick Douglass important to Civil War
journalism? What were their aims?
2) What was President Abraham Lincoln’s relationship with the press?
3) What was the central source of military/press conflicts during the Civil War - and how is
this still playing out today?
4) What means were used to muffle and silence the press during the Civil War?
WEEK 7
Oct. 9/11
THE PEOPLE’S PRESS
Reading Assignment: From The Media in America, Chap. 12, “The Age of New Journalism,”pp.
223-248. From Mightier Than the Sword, “Journalism as Warmonger,” pp. 75-92.
Check-up Questions:
1) What contributions did Joseph Pulitzer make to American journalism? What was his
success formula? Do you consider him a positive or negative force?
2) What were William Randolph Hearst’s contributions to the development of American
journalism? Do you consider him a positive or negative force?
3) How did the term “yellow journalism” develop?
4) What contributions did Adolph Ochs make to modern American journalism? How did his
journalism differ from Pulitzer’s and Hearst’s?
5) What was the Spanish-American War about?
WEEK 8
Oct 16/18 THE GOLDEN AGE OF REFORM JOURNALISM
Reading Assignment for Tuesday: The Media in America, Chap. 16, “The Media and Reform,”
pp. 309-323; Mightier Than the Sword, Chap. 6, “Muckraking,” pp. 93-108.
Reading Assignment for Thursday: The Media in America, Chap. 22, “Public Relations,” pp.
432-449.
Check-up Questions:
1) What is meant by muckraking? What was the aim of muckrakers? Why were they so unique
to American journalism?
2) What specific contributions did Ida Tarbell, Lincoln Steffens, David Graham Phillips and
Upton Sinclair bring to the social and political fabric of the nation?
3) What were the lessons of Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle?
4) How did progressivism, and especially its journalism, undermine the ritual of political
participation?
4) What brought about the decline of the muckraking movement?
5) Compare and contrast Ivy Lee and Edward Bernays’ philosophies of public relations. Why
is Bernays recognized as the “father of public relations”?
“Yellow Journalism” reaction paper is due.
WEEK 9
Oct. 23/25 RISE OF THE ENTERTAINMENT MEDIA
Reading Assignment for Thursday: The Media in America, Chap. 19, “The Entertainment
Media,” pp. 375-395;
Check-up Questions:
1) The motion picture did not become a well-developed entertainment medium overnight.
What were the five major phases of its development?
JOUR 418 fall2012 – Frutig syllabus –- Page 12 of 14
2) What contributions did the following men make to the development of American film?
a. Eadweard Muybridge; b. Thomas Edison; c. Warner brothers
3) Why do media historians say that the innovations of David W. Griffith is the story of the
development of film as both an entertainment and artistic medium? What innovations did
Griffith make toward the development of the modern motion picture? What impact did
Griffith’s ideas have on popular culture?
4) What were the early attempts at film censorship?
5) What threats do you see to the motion picture business today?
WEEK 10
Oct 30TECHNOLOGICAL ACHIEVEMENTS AND PROMISES
Nov 1
Reading Assignment: The Media in America, Chap. 18, “Radio Comes of Age,” pp. 349-371;
Mightier Than the Sword, Chap. 8, “Father Coughlin,” pp 126-141
On Tuesday: CHAPTER QUIZ #2, Chap. 8, “American Film”
Check-up Questions:
1) What scientific contributions did these men make to the development of radio: Morse,
Edison, Bell, Marconi, Hertz, Fessenden, De Forest, and Armstrong?
2) How and why did the Radio Corporation of America develop? Of all the corporations
within RCA, which had the most power?
3) How did the networks develop? What contributions did David Sarnoff, William S. Paley,
and Edward J. Noble make to radio’s development?
4) How did the regulation of radio develop?
5) What was radio’s impact on 20th century America? Is radio relevant today?
WEEK 11
Nov 6/8 Catch-up and Review for Midterm Exam #2.
On Thursday, MIDTERM EXAMINATION #2
WEEK 12
Nov. 13
VETERANS’ DAY HOLIDAY – NO CLASS
Nov. 15
TECHNICAL TRANSFORMATIONS IN AN AGE OF DECEPTION
Reading Assignment: The Media in America, Chap. 23, “The Media in Transition, pp 451-474”;
Mightier Than the Sword, Chap. 10, “Exposing Joe McCarthy: Journalism’s Finest Hour,” pp.
157-173
Check-up Questions:
1) What caused the early battles between Philo Farnsworth, Vladimir Zworykin and RCA over
television patents? Who was eventually declared the “father of television”?
2) Which television executive was “star driven”? Who was “technology driven”? How was
William S. Paley able to “rob” stars from NBC?
3) Why was exposing Sen. Joseph McCarthy considered journalism’s finest hour? On the other
hand, why was the senator’s career considered an example of the weaknesses of traditional
journalistic objectivity?
4) What charges did Edward R. Murrow level against television in his October 1958 speech to
radio and television news directors? What do you think Murrow would say about today’s
television programs?
WEEK 12
Nov. 20
TECHNICAL TRANSFORMATIONS IN AN AGE OF DECEPTION (Con’t)
Nov. 22
THANKSGIVING HOLIDAY, CAMPUS CLOSED – NO CLASSES
JOUR 418 fall2012 – Frutig syllabus –- Page 13 of 14
WEEK 13
Nov 27/29 CRISES IN CREDIBILITY AND ASSESSING THE AMERICAN MEDIA
Reading Assignment: Mightier Than the Sword, Chap. 24, “The News Media, 1974-2000” pp.
477-495; Mightier Than the Sword, Chap. 12, “The Vietnam War,“ pp. 192-209 and Chap.
13, “Watergate Forces the President to his Knees,”pp. 210-22.
Check-up Questions:
1) What major controversies developed during the Vietnam War between American war
correspondents and the government, and between war correspondents and the public?
2) Why did cooperation unravel between the media and the military?
3) Why did Time Magazine attack the Saigon press corps?
4) What impact did CBS correspondent Morley Safer’s “The Burning of the Village of Cam
Ne” have on the public?
5) What impact did the Tet offensive have on the American television audience?
6) What role did Walter Cronkite play in Vietnam and Watergate?
7) What was the “sin” of Watergate?
WEEK 14
Dec. 4-6 THE INTERNET & THE INFORMATION EXPLOSION: WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?
Reading Assignments: The Media in America, Chap. 25, “The Contemporary Media, 2000present,” pp. 497-511; Mightier Than the Sword, Chap. 16, “How the News Media Have
Shaped American History,” pp 256.
Check-up Questions:
1) What was the initial purpose of computers?
2) How did computers develop? What role did President Eisenhower play in their
development?
3) How did the World Wide Web develop?
4) What are the social and political implications of the Internet?
5) How strong is the ethnic and alternative media of today?
6) What are the consequences of five families owning all media?
WEEK 15
Dec. 13
FINAL EXAMINATION #3 covering Weeks 12-14 (Thursday from 12:30 to 2:30 p.m.)
IMPORTANT DATES TO MARK ON YOUR CALENDAR
Aug. 27
Sept. 3
Sept. 10
Sept. 10
Sept. 17
Sept. 24
Nov. 12
Nov. 16
Nov. 22-23
Dec. 7
Dec. 10-15
Dec. 10
Dec. 20
First day of instruction
Labor Day – Campus Closed
Instructor Drop deadline – 10 PM
Deadline for students to add and drop using MyCSULB and to drop without a ‘W’ grade
– 10 PM
Deadline for students to enroll using the Late Registration Request form – without a $10
missed deadline fee
Census – Deadline to add a class – with a $10 missed deadline fee
Veteran’s Day Observed – Campus Closed
Last day to drop a course without Dean’s signature
Thanksgiving Break – Campus Closed
Last day to drop a class (three signatures required & approval from Provost)
Final Exam Week
Grade Rosters available on-line
Grades due to CLA
JOUR 418 fall2012 – Frutig syllabus –- Page 14 of 14