International Media Systems
           

International Media Systems will examine the mass media around the globe. It will look at their economic structures, the ways in which they are regulated, their roles and functions and their professional standards. The course will also examine international news flow and the barriers that impede it.

The required text is John C. Merrill's Global Journalism: Survey of International Communications (3d ed.; White Plains, NY: Longman Publishers, 1995).

A list of selected sources for studying international media, both printed materials and Web links, is posted below.

Classes will consist of discussions of topics in the text, occasional guest lectures and student presentations.

Two examinations are scheduled. The first, in class on Feb. 20, will cover chapters 1-8 in the text, and other readings and material presented in class before the test date. The second, a take-home exam, will cover chapters 9-15, and other readings and material presented in class between the two test dates. It will be due no later than 1:30 p.m., May 10.

Your term project is to construct a media profile of a country other than the United States. The country should be one in which you have a special interest -- a country from which your ancestors immigrated or one you have visited or have dreamed of visiting. Preferably, it should be one whose language you have studied. You must decide on which country's media you will focus on by Jan. 25.

The project is to be completed in sections throughout the semester, and reports of 500-750 words each are to be submitted by the dates noted:
1. Country demographic, political and economic profile. This should include the numbers and characteristics of the population, a snapshot of the country's political system and a summary of its economic structure. Due: Feb. 1.
2. Media profile. Detail how many print and electronic media outlets the country has and provide a summary view of the advertising and public relations businesses. List the most important media outlets and, where possible, provide Web links to them. Due: Feb. 15.
3. Economic structure of the media. Detail the ownership of the country's media, whether governmental or private. Show any foreign ownership. Due: Mar. 8.
4. Status of media freedom. Describe the legal status of the media, including the extent to which the media are regulated and the forms regulation takes for the various media. Due: Mar. 22.
5. Status of media professionalism. Describe the education and training of media practitioners, the availability of media education and the professional organizations to which media practitioners belong. Due: Apr. 5.
6. The final report should be an overall assessment of the media of the country you have chosen. Due: Apr. 26.

In addition to handing in a written report, you will also be called on to make a brief presentation on your findings to the class.

Papers are to be typed, double-space, in 12-point Times, and pages should be numbered. Use footnotes or endnotes, and include a bibliography with each report.

Spelling, grammar and neatness will be considered in the evaluation of each report. Be sure to proofread your paper to catch any spelling or typing errors (keeping in mind that your computer's spelling and grammar checker will not catch all problems).

Attendance is crucial. If you have perfect attendance, you will receive a five-point bonus when grades are figured. More than one absence will be penalized: one point for the second cut; two points for the third; three points for the fourth; four points for the fifth (absences, of course, will also negatively affect your class participation grade). For every cut over five you will be penalized 10 points. Arriving late will cost you 1/2 point.

Grades will be assigned as follows: project, 65 percent (segments 1-5, 10 percent each, and segment 6, 15 percent; exams, 20 percent (10 percent each); class participation (quantity and quality), 10 percent; class presentations, 5 percent.

The university's policy on academic integrity will apply to all work. (University Bulletin, 1999-2001, pp. 45-6)

The listserv for this course is cmmna473001, Everyone should subscribe to it and regularly check for messages.

To subscribe, send a message to majordomo@loyno.edu. Do not write anything on the subject line. In the body of message write: subscribe cmmna473001. You will get two messages back from majordomo telling you that you are subscribed.

Send E-mail to: cmmna473001@loyno.edu. Everyone who is subscribed will get the message.

To get a list of majordomo commands for help, address a message to majordomo@loyno.edu. In the body of the message write the word "help."

Men: do not wear your hat in class, please.

The calendar for the semester is shown below. We will adhere to it as best we can. You will be expected to have read the chapters in Merrill by the dates shown. That's important so that you can intelligently take part in the discussion of the topics.

Jan. 16 Introduction to the course
Jan. 18 The context for international media
Jan. 23 Global media philosophies (Merrill 1) Submit country choice
Jan. 25 Survey of media systems (Merrill 2)
Jan. 30 World news flow (Merrill 3)
Feb. 1 Barriers to media development (Merrill 4) Report 1 due
Feb. 6 Media freedom (Merrill 5)
Feb. 8 Media ethics (Merrill 6)
Feb. 13 Global advertising and p.r. (Merrill 7)
Feb. 15 Continuing controversies (Merrill 8) Report 2 due
Feb. 20 Exam: Merrill 1-8; other reading; course material
Feb. 22 The Internet: the eighth medium knows no boundaries
Feb. 27/Mar. 1 Mardi Gras holiday
Mar. 6 Western Europe (Merrill 9)
Mar. 8 Western Europe, cont'd. Report 3 due
Mar. 13 East Central, Southeastern Europe, Russia,
& newly independent states (Merrill 10)
Mar. 15 East Central Europe, etc, cont'd
Mar. 20 Middle East, North Africa (Merrill 11)
Mar. 22 Middle East, cont'd Report 4 due
Mar. 27 Sub-Saharan Africa (Merrill 12)
Mar. 29 Sub-Saharan Africa, cont'd
Apr. 3 Asia, the Pacific (Merrill 13)
Apr. 5 Asia, etc, cont'd Report 5 due
Apr. 10/Apr. 12 Easter holiday
Apr. 17 Latin America, Caribbean (Merrill 14)
Apr. 19 Latin America, etc, cont'd
Apr. 24 North America (Merrill 15)
Apr. 26 Report 6 due
Apr. 26, May 1, May 3 Presentation and discussion of summary reports
May 11 Final exam due (1:30 p.m. deadline)

Selected sources for studying international media

The sources listed below are, by no means, exhaustive; a complete bibliography of the literature on international communication would fill a book in itself. But these works will help get you as you put together your study of the media of the country you have chose. The printed sources will also supplement the readings in the text (there are some overlaps with the text's bibliographies, but many of these sources have been published since the text was written.

Printed sources:

Books:
Cole, Richard R. (ed.). Communication in Latin America: Journalism, Mass Media and Society (Wilmington, DE: Scholarly Resources Books, 1996).
Cooper-Chen, Anne. Games in the Global Village: A 50-Nation Study of Entertainment Television (Bowling Green, OH: Popular Press, 1994).
__________. Mass Communication in Japan (Ames: Iowa State University Press, 1997).
Culbertson, Hugh and Ni Chen (eds), International Public Relations (Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum, 1996).
Emery, Michael. On the Front Lines: Following America's Foreign Correspondents Across the Twentieth Century (Washington, The American University Press, 1995.
Fortner, Robert S. International Communication: History, Conflict and Control of the Global Metropolis (Belmont, Calif., 1993).
Goodwin, Craufurd D., and Michael Nacht (eds.) Talking to Themselves: The Search for Rights and Responsibilities of the Press and Mass Media in Four Latin American Nations (New York: Institute for International Education, 1995).
Hachten, William A. The Growth of Media in the Third World: African Failures, Asian Successes (Ames:The Iowa State University Press, 1993).
Hamelink, Cees J. Trends in World Communication: On Disempowerment and Self-Empowerment (Penang, Southbound and Third World Network, 1994).
Hawk, Beverly (ed) Africa's Media Image (New York: Praeger, l991).
Head, Sydney W. World Broadcasting Systems: A Comparative Analysis (Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Publishing Co, 1985).
Herman, Edward S. and Robert W. McChesney, The Global Media: The New Missionaries of Global Capitalism (London, Cassell, 1997).
Hess, Stephen. International News and Foreign Correspondents (Washington: The Brookings Institution, 1996).
Kim, Young C. Japanese Journalists and Their World.
Mohammadi, Ali (ed.). International Communication and Globalization (London: Sage, 1997). Noam, Eli M. Televison in Europe.
Orme, William A., Jr. (ed.) A Culture of Collusion : an Inside Look at the Mexican Press.
Sinclair, John. Latin American Television : A Global View.
Snoddy, Raymond. The Good, the Bad and the Unacceptable : The Hard News About the British Press.
Stewart, Robert. CNN: Making News in the Global Market (Luton Press, UK: 1997).
Vanden Heuvel, Jon and Everette E. Dennis. Changing Patterns: Latin America's Vital Media (New York: The Freedom Forum Media Studies Center, 1995).
__________. The Unfolding Lotus: EastAsia's Changing Media (New York, The Freedom Forum Media Studies Center, 1993).
Weaver, David H. (ed.). The Global Journalist (Cresskill, N.J., Hampton Press, 1998).

Articles:
Arnett, Peter. "Goodbye, World," American Journalism Review 20:9 (November, 1998), 51-67.
Culbertson, Hugh. "Government public relations in mainland China: two varied approaches." With Ni Chen. Public Relations Quarterly 37, 3:36-42 (1992).
__________. "Guest Relations: A Demanding but Constrained Role for Lady Public Relations Practitioners in Mainland China." With Ni Chen. Public Relations Review, 22(3):-279-296(Fall 1996).
Paterson, Chris A. "International Television News Agency Coverage of Conflict," Journal of International Communication 4:1 (1997), 50-66.
Riffe, Daniel. "The 'shrinking foreign newshole' of the New York Times." With C. Aust, T. Jones, B. Shoemake and S. Sundar. Newspaper Research Journal 15: 74-88 (1994).
__________. "The stability of 'bad news' in Third World coverage: 22 years of New York Times foreign news." International Communication Bulletin 28:3-4; 6-12 (1993).
__________. "International news and borrowed news in the New York Times: an update." With C. Aust, L. Viall and H. Yi. Journalism Quarterly 70:638-646 (1993).
Rothkopf, David. "In Praise of Cultural Imperialism?" Foreign Policy 107 (Summer 1997), 38-53.
Stempel, Guido. "Media images of Canada." With D. Flournoy, D. Mason and R. Nanney. Ohio Journalism Monograph Series 3 (1992).
__________. "Contrast in U.S. Media Coverage of Two Canadian Elections." With L. Paul Husselbee. Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly (Autumn, 1997).

WWW links

General resources:
Globalbeat.
Refdesk.com.

Newspapers:
Chicago Tribune.
Christian Science Monitor.
Los Angeles Times.
Miami Herald.
The New York Times.
Washington Post.

Electronic:
BBC.
CNN.
MSNBC.
ForeignTV.com.

News magazines:
The Economist.
Newsweek.
Time.
U.S. News & World Report.
World Press Review.

News agencies:
Associated Press.
United Press International. Find UPI news on http://www.refdesk.com
Reuters.
Agence France-Presse.

Academic sites:
Academic Communication Programs

Journalism reviews:
American Journalism Review Newslink.
Columbia Journalism Review.

Other journals:
Foreign Affairs.
Foreign Policy.

Organizations:
Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies
Committee to Protect Journalists.
European Journalism Page.
Institute for War and Peace Reporting.
International Advertising Association.
International Association of Business Communicators.
International Center for Journalists.
International Federation of Journalists.
International Press Institute.
International Public Relations Association.
One World.
Project for Excellence in Journalism.
Reporters Sans Frontieres
U.S. Institute of Peace.

Governmental agencies:
United Nations.
U.S. Government Printing Office, Online Bookstore.
U.S. State Department.

 

Back to Courses