Assigned Readings
These are the readings you were assigned. If you haven’t gotten to them, don’t worry. There will be plenty of time on Sunday to catch up!
Week 1
May 4th – http://www.tcf.org/list.asp?type=NC&pubid=1190
“Media and Journalism: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow” by Peter Osnos
May 7th Movie recommendation – Good Night and Good Luck
Week 2
May 11th – www.slate.com/toolbar.aspx?action=print&id=2084685
“Correct Me If I’m Wrong: Errors and the culture of correction in American
newspapers” by Jack Shafer
May 14th Movie Recommendation – Shattered Glass
Week 3
May 18th – www.slate.com/toolbar.aspx?action=print&id=2216786
“The Fake Sheikh: Are reporters allowed to misrepresent themselves?” by
Christopher Beam
May 21st Movie Recommendation – State of Play
Week 4
May 26th – www.foreignpolicy.com/story/cms.php?story_id=4776&print=1
“The List: Look Who’s Censoring the Internet Now” by Joshua Keating
May 28th Movie Recommendation – All the President’s Men
Week 5
June 1st – www.slate.com/toolbar.aspx?action=print&id=2154678
“Chronicle of the Newspaper Death Foretold” by Jack Shafer
June 4th Movie Recommendation – The Paper
Week 6
June 8th – http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2006/03/myths_of_iraq.html
“Myths of Iraq” by Ralph Peters
June 11th Movie Recommendation – Live From Baghdad
Week 7
June 15th – http://www.poynter.org/content/content_view.asp?id=59603
“Celebrities in Journalism: The Ethics of News Coverage” by Victor Merina
June 18th Movie Recommendation – Almost Famous
Week 8
June 22nd – www.minyanville.com/articles/print.php?a=21535
The Gods of Retail: The Washington Times by Scott Reeves
June 25th Movie Recommendation – Network
Week 9
June 29th – www.stateofthemedia.org/2009/printable_yearinthenews_ethnic.htm
“A Year in the News” Analysis of News Media coverage to African- and
Hispanic-Americans by State of the Media.org during 2008, mainly
reflecting election reporting
July 2nd Movie Recommendation – Frost/Nixon
Week 10
July 6th – http://www.spj.org/ethicscode.asp
Society of Professional Journalists Code of Ethics
http://www.spj.org/rrr.asp?ref=77&t=ethics
“The bad and the ugly: An examination of ethical lapses of the past year”
by Christine Tatum
July 9th Movie Recommendation – The Insider
Nightly Reading Assignments
Sunday –
“Press Freedom in 2007: A Year of Global Decline” by Karen Deutsch Karlekar
www.freedomhouse.org/uploads/fop08/OverviewEssay2008.pdf
An assessment of press freedoms worldwide
“Extensive Press Coverage of 9/11 Study” contact, Malini Doddamani
A deluge of national media coverage followed publication of a March 28 New England Journal of Medicine study that measures the psychological impact of Sept. 11 on New Yorkers.
“The State of the News Media, Overview, Major Trends” by The Project for Excellence in Journalism
www.stateofthenewsmedia.org/2009/printable_overview_majortrends.htm
A summary of the changes and innovations in the News Media
“Front Page for Sale: Newspapers go back to the future” by Jack Shafer
www.slate.com/toolbar.aspx?action=print&id=2149176
So hidebound and dimwitted are U.S. newspapers that it’s predictable that their idea of breaking all the rules is something U.S. newspapers were doing a century ago. The latest example is running ads on Page One and section fronts, as the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal now do, with more papers to follow.
Monday –
“New Media as the Message” by Alexis Simendinger
www.nationaljournal.com/njmagazine/cs_20080419_9525.php
Internet videos, news, and citizen-generated media are having an impact, but it’s not certain that they are powerful enough yet to be game changers.
“The New Media Ethics: Will Money Speak Louder?” by Jeff Bercovici
www.portfolio.com/views/blogs/mixed-media/2009/04/03/the-new-media-ethics-will-money-speak-louder
Media institutions and the people who work at them alike are under unprecedented financial pressure, and it’s causing them to reevaluate long-held assumptions about how insulated business aims ought to be from editorial concerns.
The State of the News Media, Special Reports, New Ventures” by The Project for Excellence in Journalism
www.stateofthemedia.org/2009/printable_special_newventures.htm
Innovations in news media
“Kindling our Newspapers” by Elizabeth Kimbell
http://www.examiner.com/x-7995-New-Media-Examiner~y2009m4d19-Kindleing-future-newspapers
E-readers caught the public eye again when online retailer Amazon released
Kindle, with its E Ink digital revolution.
Tuesday –
Obama’s First 100 Days
How the President Fared In the Press vs. Clinton and Bush
http://www.journalism.org/files/100%20DAYS.pdf
Comparing press coverage of Obama’s first 100 days to Bush and Clinton
“Compare and Contrast Magazine Cover Activity #1” Frank W. Baker.com
www.frankwbaker.com/comparing_magazine_covers.htm
An interactive activity comparing Time Magazine covers of McCain and Obama during the election.
“The New Washington Press Corps” by Journalism.org
www.journalism.org/analysis_report/new_washington_press_corps
Read the headlines and it would be easy to conclude that as the new Obama Administration takes power, facing an array of domestic and international crises, it will be monitored by a substantially depleted Washington press corps.
“The Platform: A Visit to Politico” by Peter Osnos
http://www.tcf.org/list.asp?type=NC&pubid=2285
In Washington, Politico (www.politico.com) is now an established and respected competitor in news and comment about its subject. Lots of media entries in the Internet age have started strong and faded when they were unable to convert online audiences into cash flow or to find a buyer who could. Politico seems to be different, and it may have one of the vaunted new models for journalism so desperately being sought these days.
Wednesday –
“The Platform: Toasting C-Span at 30” by Peter Osnos
http://www.tcf.org/list.asp?type=NC&pubid=2264
There is so much financial distress and diminished content in the media landscape these days that the thirtieth anniversary of C-SPAN (Cable Satellite Public Affairs Network) is an occasion worthy of breaking out the bubbly. While the focus now is on new models for news and information, C-SPAN is a venerable enterprise, albeit unique, that demonstrates what ingenuity can accomplish.
“Rumor Detectives: True Story or Online Hoax?” by David Hochman
Giant dogs? One-winged airplanes? Death by Pop Rocks? Sounds like a case for Snopes.com.
Nearly One-third of Younger Americans See Colbert, Stewart As Alternatives to Traditional News Outlets
Nearly one-third of Americans under the age of 40 say satirical news-oriented television programs like The Colbert Report and The Daily Show with Jon Stewart are taking the place of traditional news outlets.
Thursday –
“Citizen Based Media” by The Project for Excellence in Journalism
http://www.stateofthemedia.org/2009/narrative_special_citzenbasedmedia.php?cat=0&media=12
To get a better sense of what citizen journalism sites (both news sites and blogs) offer and how they differ from websites tied to legacy media, a team of researchers from Michigan State University, the University of Missouri and the University of North Carolina embarked on a two-part study
“Keeping J-School Relevant” by David Moltz
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2009/03/25/journalism
Despite the recent demise of a handful of newspapers around the country, applications to Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism have risen by about 40 percent since last year.
“The State of the News Media, Overview, Public Attitudes” by the Project for Excellence in Journalism
http://www.stateofthemedia.org/2009/printable_overview_publicattitudes.htm
The public retained a deep skepticism about what they see, hear and read in the media. No major news outlet – broadcast or cable, print or online – stood out as particularly credible. There was no indication that Americans altered their fundamental judgment that the news media are politically biased, that stories are often inaccurate and that journalists do not care about the people they report on.
“Dan Gillmor says the future of journalism depends on active citizens” by Fiona Morgan
http://www.indyweek.com/gyrobase/Content?oid=oid%3A394257
There are those who want to save newspapers and those who suspect the future of journalism lies elsewhere.
Questions will be assigned with the nightly readings. Readings, for the most part, will cover ideas and points of interest that the students will encounter during events the following day.
Filed under Uncategorized | Comment (0)
Speak your mind