Communications 1003, Introduction to Mass Communication, Spring 2013 Professor: Dr. Holly Kruse Office: Baird Hall 221D Phone: 918-­‐343-­‐7879 Email: hkruse@rsu.edu Class meetings: Monday & Wednesday, 12:00-­‐1:15 p.m. Office hours: 10:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m., Monday & Wednesday 10:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m., Tuesday & Thursday Texts Pavlik, J.V., & McIntosh, S. (2013). Converging media: A new introduction to mass communication. 3rd ed. New York: Oxford University. ISBN: 978-­‐0199859931. (PM in course schedule below) Online readings to be announced Course Description An introductory survey of the role of mass media in modern society with particular emphasis on critical evaluation of the press, radio and television; a study of the scope, history, growth, development, practices, ethics, and legal concerns of mass communication. Special attention is given to radio and television, FCC, federal regulatory agencies, and station/network operations Learning Objectives This course is intended to provide the student the knowledge and understanding of the strong social, economical, and psychological effects the mass communication field has on society. Objectives are: 1) students will be able to define and/or describe key mass communication theories, developments, regulations, and career fields; 2) students will be able to identify and describe important historical mass communication changes; and 3) students will be able to appropriately analyze and understand technology and convergence in the mass communication field. Assignments Points Possible Attendance/Participation 25 Assignments 25 Media Use Diary (5 entries, 20 points each) 100 Papers (3 worth 50 points each) 150 Midterm Exam 100 Final Exam 100 500 2 This syllabus constitutes an agreement between student and professor. By remaining in this class, you are agreeing to abide by the rules described in the syllabus. Attendance and Participation: Regular attendance and participation are required. Frequent absences and tardiness, and failure to participate in class discussions, will hurt your grade. This course can only really work with the consistent attendance and participation of all class members. In-­‐class exercises are important parts of your participation grade and cannot be made up, so it is in your best interest to attend regularly. Frequent absences and tardiness, and failure to participate in class discussions without undue prompting, will be severely penalized. If you miss class, it is your responsibility to get the assignments and lecture notes from a classmate. You will be allowed two unexcused absences: after that, unexcused absences will result in a point deduction from your grade, as will excessive tardiness. If you arrive after attendance is taken, it is your responsibility to come to me after class and let me know that you are present: otherwise you will be counted absent. Also, only leave in the middle of class if there is a dire emergency. Do not leave the classroom to, for instance, talk on your cell phone. If you expect to need to leave class, please let me know before class starts. Always treat your classmates and your professor with respect: when they are speaking, and when you are speaking, Cell Phones & Other Devices: You must turn off and put away your cell phone and/or any other electronic devices during class. Using such devices in class will result in a deduction of participation points, and if you continually try to use these devices, I will ask you to leave the classroom. If you wish to take notes on a laptop computer, please ask me first for permission (and be prepared to be subject to in-­‐class scrutiny). Any allowed laptops are for note-­‐taking only. Internet use is not allowed. Assignments & Quizzes: There may be a number of assignments and possible quizzes during the semester. If students do not seem to be doing the required readings, then you can expect to be subject to credit/no-­‐credit pop quizzes. If you put reasonable effort into doing an assignment and turn it in on time, you will get credit for it. However, if you turn in an assignment into which was put very little effort or thought, or, of course, if you fail to turn in an assignment, you will not receive credit for the assignment. No late papers or assignments will be accepted unless you discuss the situation with me first, and even then acceptance is not guaranteed. Papers and assignments will be considered late if they are not ready to be turned in at the beginning of the class period—in hard copy form—on the day that they are due. You will be required to provide documentary evidence of any emergency situations that keep you from turning in work on time. In addition, some assignments will be in-­‐class exercises and cannot be made up, so you must attend regularly. 3 Exams: There are two exams in this class: a midterm exam and a final exam. Both are comprised of multiple choice and short answer questions. Media Diary: On five days during the semester, you will keep a 24-­‐hour diary of your media use and post it to e-­‐campus. Papers: During the semester you will write three essays on topics relevant both to your experience and to subject matter covered during the previous several weeks of class. You will turn in your papers using e-­‐campus. Your papers must be well written to receive good grades. I strongly suggest using the Writing Center as a resource. Writing Center The RSU English and Humanities’ Writing Center is in Baird Hall 206. There, you may access free writing help with any paper at any point of time while you are a student at RSU. Call 918-­‐343-­‐7838 to set up an appointment. The Writing Consultants are friendly and professional and can help you with any writing issue. There’s more information at: http://www.rsu.edu/academics/eng-­‐
hum/writing-­‐center.asp School of Liberal Arts Tutoring There is also more general tutoring available through the School of Liberal Arts, located in Prep Hall rooms 204 and 205. You can contact Aaron Jordan, SLA advising and retention specialist, at 918-­‐343-­‐7571 and/or ajordan@rsu.edu. If you are going to miss an exam or assignment because of a sanctioned school activity or another legitimate reason, you must make up the exam or turn in the assignment in advance. Do not assume that your coach or someone else associated with your activity has provided me with a schedule of your activities. You need to provide me with one, and you must let me know in advance when you will miss class because of a university-­‐
sanctioned activity. Any emergencies that prevent you from taking an exam with the class must be documented. Always make and keep copies of each completed assignment, and back up your computer files. Grades Letter grades will not be assigned to individual assignments; you will simply receive a point total. In general, you can assume that if you receive 90% or more of the total points on an assignment, you are in the “A” range; 80-­‐89% would be the “B” range; 70-­‐
79% would be the “C” range; and 60-­‐69% would be the “D” range. At the end of the semester I will total all the points and assign final course grades. In this class, grades will mean the following: A = Clearly superior work, showing keen insight into the material and a firm grasp of concepts. “A” work is free of obvious writing and reasoning errors. 4 B = Above average, competent and clearly written work, demonstrating a good understanding of material. “B” work is largely free of writing and reasoning errors. C = Work that demonstrates some understanding of material, but may not be clearly written and/or may not directly complete all portions of the assignment. “C” work contains obvious writing and/or reasoning errors. D = Work that fails to complete the assignment, demonstrates little grasp of material, is poorly executed, and contains many errors. F= Poorly conceived and executed work that fails to follow the assignment and shows no understanding of material. “F” work contains many serious errors. Email Policy You are required to access your RSU email and e-­‐campus in this class. Please note that Title 24 of the Student Code, “Student Email Policy,” states: “Each student will be assigned an official University email account upon initial enrollment. The account will remain active while the student is enrolled at Rogers State University. A University assigned student email account is one of the University's official means of communication with Rogers State University students. Students are responsible for all information sent to them via their University assigned email account. The University has the right to expect that such communications will be received and read in a timely fashion. Official email communications are intended only to meet the academic and administrative needs of the campus community…. “Expectations regarding student email: Students are expected to check their email on a frequent and consistent basis in order to stay current with University-­‐related communications. Students have the responsibility to recognize that certain communications may be time-­‐critical. Email returned to the University with ‘mailbox full’ or untimely access of an email account are not acceptable excuses for missing official University communications via email. Plagiarism and Misconduct Plagiarism of any kind will not be tolerated in this class, and plagiarized assignments will be severely penalized. You will receive a “0” on the assignment and may well receive an automatic “F” in the course. Please realize that plagiarism does not merely consist of turning in someone else's work and presenting it as your own, or of directly quoting a source in an assignment without properly citing it. Any time you summarize, paraphrase, or quote ideas that are not your own or information that is not common knowledge and fail to cite the source (in accordance with the rules of a recognized style sheet) it is plagiarism. I will not accept any excuses for turning in plagiarized work. 5 Note that the RSU Student Code of Responsibilities and Conduct, Title 12, includes the following as academic misconduct, which is banned: “Cheating: the use of unauthorized materials, methods, or information in any academic exercise, including improper collaboration…. Plagiarism: the representation of the words or ideas of another as one’s own, including: 1) direct quotation without both attribution and indication that the material is being directly quoted; e.g. quotation marks; 2) paraphrase without attribution; 3) paraphrase with or without attribution where the wording of the original remains substantially intact and is represented as the author’s own; 4) expression in one’s own words, but without attribution, of ideas, arguments, lines of reasoning, facts, processes, or other products of the intellect where such material is learned from the work of another and is not part of the general fund of common academic knowledge.” Also included are “Fabrication: the falsification or invention of any information or citation in an academic exercise…. Fraud: the falsification, forgery, or misrepresentation of academic work, including the resubmission of work performed for one class for credit in another class without the informed permission of the second instructor; or the falsification, forgery or misrepresentation of other academic records or documents, including admissions materials and transcripts; or the communication of false or misleading statements to obtain academic advantage or to avoid academic penalty.” It is the responsibility of each student to read and become familiar with the policies of The Student Code (http://www.rsu.edu/student-­‐affairs/docs/student-­‐code.pdf). Accommodations for Students with Disabilities From RSU Student Disability Services: “Americans with Disabilities Act – Rogers State University is committed to providing students with disabilities equal access to educational programs and services. Any student who has a disability that he or she believes will require some form of academic accommodation must inform the professor of such need during or immediately following the first class attended. Before any educational accommodation can be provided, it is the responsibility of each student to prove eligibility for assistance by registering for services through Student Affairs. “Students needing more information about Student Disability Services should contact the Director of Student Development in the Office of Student Affairs at Rogers State University, 1701 W. Will Rogers Blvd., Claremore, OK 74017 (918) 343-­‐7707.” Extra Credit No extra credit work is available in this class. If you request it, I will tell you that you need instead to focus your attention on doing a good job on the required work in the class: keep up with the readings, meet with me to discuss problems or questions with the material, form an effective study group for exams, and/or visit the Writing Center or work with a writing tutor. Questions: Please feel free to set up an appointment if you have any questions. Week 1, January 14 Week 2, January 21 “Old” Media Week 3, January 28 Week 4, February 4 Week 5, February 11 Digital Media Week 6, February 18 Week 7, February 25 Industries & Applications Week 8, March 4 Week 9, March 11 Week 10, March 25 6 Tentative Course Schedule Overview Media Literacy MEDIA DIARY ENTRY #1 DUE Print Audio Video MEDIA DIARY ENTRY #2 DUE Networks PAPER #1 DUE Social Media MIDTERM EXAM Journalism MEDIA DIARY ENTRY #3 DUE Entertainment Advertising & Public Relations Course Syllabus PM, Chapter 1 PM, Chapter 2 PM, Chapter 3 PM, Chapter 4 PM, Chapter 5 PM, Chapter 6 PM, Chapter 7 PM, Chapter 9 PM, Chapter 10 PM, Chapter 11 Society Week 11, April 1 Week 12, April 8 Week 13, April 15 Week 14, April 22 Week 15, April 29 Final Exam Week 7 Ethics PAPER #2 DUE Law & Regulation MEDIA DIARY ENTRY #4 DUE Theory PM, Chapter 12 Politics PAPER #3 DUE Catch-­‐up & Review MEDIA DIARY ENTRY #5 DUE FINAL EXAM Monday, May 6th 12:45-­‐2:45 p.m. PM, Chapter 15 PM, Chapter 13 PM, Chapter 14