ZURb1607 Selected topics of current media development

Faculty of Social Studies
Spring 2026

The course is not taught in Spring 2026

Extent and Intensity
1/1/0. 3 credit(s). Type of Completion: z (credit).
Teacher(s)
Tae-Sik Kim, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Guaranteed by
Tae-Sik Kim, Ph.D.
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
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is only offered to the students of the study fields the course is directly associated with.
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
there are 35 fields of study the course is directly associated with, display
Abstract
Media development has been shown to play an important role in strengthening democracy, economic development, political discourse, and good governance. The course reacts to the current media development and communication characterized by new practices, new actors, and new arenas that are changing the media landscape. The course will also deal with the fact that access to information and to new technologies providing relevant information has become a major issue on every level – local, national, and international (e.g., referendums, elections, and events). The focus will be on the interconnected areas crucial to the outcomes of media development such as effectiveness, sustainability, innovation, freedom, ethics, and funding. The lecturers of the course will be mainly guests, foreign academics and journalists.
Learning outcomes
After completing the course, students will be able to better understand, explain, and critically analyse the explosion of access to technology and information, which has led to a rapidly evolving media environment. After completing the course, students will be able to successfully answer important questions such as: What are the new media practices in the 21st century? How is the media landscape changing? How can media development programs embrace new trends? How are media development programs designed and implemented? What are the tools used for diagnostics and evaluation? What is the impact of media development interventions? How do media organizations achieve financial independence? How do media development programs create a standard of professionalism? What are the funding models for media development? Student will understand scholar terminology in English and will be able to interpret English scholar literature.
Key topics
Schedule: Effectiveness, sustainability, innovation, freedom, ethics and funding of media. Oligarchism of media. Freedom and independence of media. News gathering. The New Gatekeepers: Controlling Information in the Internet Age. Media market faces a hypercommercialization. New media technologies. Differences between traditional and social media coverage of current events. Journalists and their roles in connection to infotainment and soft news.
Study resources and literature
  • ATTKISSON, Sharyl. The smear : how shady political operatives and fake news control what you see, what you think, and how you vote. First edition. New York: Harper, an imprint of HarperCollins publishers, 2017, 294 stran. ISBN 9780062468178. info
  • LEVITIN, Daniel J. Weaponized lies : how to thingk critically in the post-truth era. First edition. Dutton: Penguin Books, 2017, xviii, 294. ISBN 9780241312421. info
  • RANDALL, David. The universal journalist. Fifth edition. London: Pluto press, 2016, ix, 292. ISBN 9780745336763. info
  • GUTSCHE, Robert E. Media control : news as an institution of power and social control. First published. New York: Bloomsbury, 2015, x, 383. ISBN 9781501320132. info
Approaches, practices, and methods used in teaching
Lectures, seminars, workshops. Presentations and debates with experts, the course will be taught by experts who will share with the course participants their experience working in/for media.
Method of verifying learning outcomes and course completion requirements
1. final students’ presentations; 2. essay/project; 3. attendance.
Language of instruction
English
Further Comments
The course is taught annually.
The course is taught every week.
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