ZUR589l Media Transformations in Contemporary European Societies

Faculty of Social Studies
Spring 2015
Extent and Intensity
1/1. 8 credit(s). Type of Completion: zk (examination).
Teacher(s)
PhDr. Monika Metyková, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Mgr. Jana Ježková (assistant)
Mgr. Pavel Sedláček (assistant)
Guaranteed by
prof. PhDr. Jiří Pavelka, CSc.
Department of Media Studies and Journalism – Faculty of Social Studies
Contact Person: Ing. Bc. Pavlína Brabcová
Supplier department: Department of Media Studies and Journalism – Faculty of Social Studies
Timetable
Mon 9:45–11:15 PC54
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is only offered to the students of the study fields the course is directly associated with.

The capacity limit for the course is 15 student(s).
Current registration and enrolment status: enrolled: 0/15, only registered: 0/15
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
Course objectives
The course critically examines ways in which media are transformed in contemporary European societies. It focuses mainly on the following key areas:
media organizations, audiences and media professionals.
The course explores developments in these areas, focusing in particular on the influence of technological developments. Students will also have the opportunity to explore a variety of media contents.
Upon completion of the course students will have knowledge of the major critical approaches to the study of media transformation. They will also be able to critically analyze media contents and they will gain insights into the impact of economic, technological and organizational influences on the conduct and practices of media professionals.
The course will be delivered in the form of lectures, seminars and online activities.
The main component of the assessment will be a 2,000-word essay submitted in the exam period, it will make up 80% of the final mark. The remaining 20% of the mark will be made up of a 500-word written assignment to be handed in at the end of the course and participation in seminar discussions.
Students will be provided with the readings for seminar discussions at the beginning of the semester and will be expected to read the texts listed as compulsory prior to attending the seminars.
Syllabus
  • Monday 20 April 2015 11:30 – 13 PC 54 (1 session)
  • Introduction: Theories of society and media
  • Compulsory reading:
  • ‘Chapter 3: Theory of Media and Theory of Society.’ In McQuail, D. (1994). Mass Communication Theory: A Reader. 3rd ed. London: Sage.
  • Recommended reading:
  • ‘Defining Media Events.’ In Dayan, D. and Katz, E. (1992). Media Events. Harvard: Harvard University Press.
  • Herman, E. (2000). ‘The Propaganda Model: A Retrospective.’ Journalism Studies, 1(1).
  • van Zoonen, L. (1996). ‘Feminist Perspectives on the Media.’ In Curran, J. and Gurevitch, M. (Eds.) Mass Media and Society. London: Arnold.
  • Tuesday 21 April 2015 11:30 – 13 PC54 (1 session)
  • Media professionals
  • Compulsory reading:
  • Preston, P. and Metykova, M. (2009) ‘Individual influences on the news: Journalists’ values and norms.’ In Preston, P. Making the news: Journalism and news cultures in Europe. London: Routledge.
  • Recommended reading:
  • Deuze, M. (2005) “What is journalism? Professional identity and ideology of journalists reconsidered,” Journalism, 6(4).
  • DeBruin, M. (2000) “Gender, organizational and professional identities in journalism,” Journalism, 1(2).
  • Chang, T. et al. (2012) “A changing world, unchanging perspectives: American newspaper editors and enduring values in foreign news reporting,” The International Communication Gazette, 74(4).
  • Wednesday 22 April 2015 9:45 – 13 PC 54 (2 sessions)
  • Media organizations
  • Compulsory reading:
  • Doyle, G. Chapter 1 ”Introduction to Media Economics.” In Doyle, G. (2005) Understanding media economics. London: Sage.
  • Recommended reading:
  • Williams, K. (2011) ‘The big three: The organizational structure of international journalism.’ In International journalism studies: Key texts. London: Sage.
  • Berkowitz, D. (1992) ‘Is all the news ours? Political violence, September 11 anf the War on Iraq.’ In M. Raboy and B. Dagenais (eds.) Media, crisis and democracy: Mass communication and the disruption of social order. London: Sage.
  • Hallin, D. and Mancini, P. (2004) ‘Chapter 4: Media and political systems and the question of differentiation.’ In Comparing media systems: Three models of media and politics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
  • Media contents
  • Compulsory reading:
  • Redden, J. and Witschge, T. Chapter 10 “A new news order? Online news content examined.” In Fenton, N. (ed.) (2009) New Media, Old News: Journalism and Democracy in the Digital Age. London: Routledge.
  • Recommended reading:
  • Yu, H. (2011) “Beyond gatekeeping: J-blogging in China,” Journalism, 12(4).
  • Who makes the news? The Global Media Monitoring project report. Available at: http://www.whomakesthenews.org/
  • Cooke, L. (2005) “A visual convergence of print, television, and the internet: charting 40 years of design change in news presentation,” New Media and Society, 7(1).
  • Thursday 23 April 2015 9:45 – 13 PC 54 (2 sessions)
  • Media Audiences
  • Compulsory reading:
  • Witschge, T. “Changing audiences, changing journalism?” In Lee-Wright, P. et al. (ed.) (2012) Changing journalism. London: Routledge.
  • Recommended reading:
  • Harrison, J. (2010) “User-generated content and gatekeeping at the BBC hub,” Journalism Studies, 11(2).
  • Metykova, M. Chapter 8 “A key relation: journalists and their publics.” In Preston, P.
  • (2009) Making the news: journalism and news cultures in Europe. London: Routledge.
  • Bennett, J. (2008) “Interfacing the nation: remediating public service broadcasting in the digital television age,” Convergence, 14(3).
  • Changing conditions of work
  • Compulsory reading:
  • Couldry, N. Chapter 8 “New online news sources and writer-gatherers.” In Fenton, N. (ed.) (2009) New Media, Old News: Journalism and Democracy in the Digital Age. London: Routledge. Recommended reading:
  • Deuze, M. (2004) “What is multimedia journalism?,”Journalism Studies, 5(2).
  • Dupagne, M. and Garrison, B. (2006) “The meaning and influence of convergence: a qualitative case study of newsroom work at Tampa News Centre,” Journalism Studies, 7(2).
  • Wallace, S. (2013) “The complexities of convergence: Multiskilled journalists working in BBC regional multimedia newsrooms.” International Communication Gazette, 75(1).
  • Friday 24 April 2015 9:45 – 13 PC 54 (2 sessions)
  • A New Symbiosis? Citizen vs. Professional Journalism
  • Compulsory reading:
  • Xin, X. (2011) ‘Web 2.0, citizen journalism and social justice in China.’ In G. Meikle and G. Redden (eds.) News online: Transformations and continuities. Basingstoke: Palgrave.
  • Recommended reading:
  • Thurman, N. (2008) “Forums for citizen journalists? Adoption of user generated content initiatives by online news media,” New Media and Society, 10(1).
  • Singer, J. (2005) “The political j-blogger: ‘Normalizing’ a new media form to fit old norms and practices,” Journalism, 6(2).
  • Goode, L. (2009) “Social news, citizen journalism and democracy,” New Media and Society, 11(8).
  • Conclusion: The Future of Journalism
  • Compulsory reading:
  • Curran, James (2009) “The future of journalism,” Journalism Studies, 11(1).
  • Recommended reading:
  • Lewis, S. and Usher, N. (2013) Open source and journalism: toward new frameworks for imagining news innovation. Media, Culture and Society, 35(5).
  • Bardoel, Joe (1996). “Beyond journalism: A profession between Information Society and Civil Society.” European Journal of Communication, 11(3): 283–302.
Teaching methods
lectures, seminars and online activities
Assessment methods
compulsory readings
2,000-word essay submitted in the exam period, it will make up 80% of the final mark
500-word written assignment to be handed in at the end of the course
participation in seminar discussions
Language of instruction
English
Further comments (probably available only in Czech)
Study Materials
The course is taught only once.
Information on course enrolment limitations: SOUHLAS
  • Enrolment Statistics (recent)
  • Permalink: https://is.muni.cz/course/fss/spring2015/ZUR589l