Media Myths Quiz—The Answers

.
How Do We Know What We (Think We) Know?

The Media Myths (or Trivia) Quiz has been developed and updated over years as research and other studies have revealed scary, amusing, confounding and confusing facts about what we the people think we know about the world around us.

As you now know, much of our perception of the world—about people who are “different” from us, about race and gender and culture and beliefs—come to us from our contact with the mass media. The late great media scholar George Gerbner often said that siunce the advent of television, family and friends, church and school, teachers and mentors . . . all are less influential on how kids come to “know” the world than TV. Gerbner’s research focused on television, but extrapolate his view of how TV “cultivates” attitudes and beliefs to the larger mass media landscape, and you start to see people today—especially kids—as besieged by constant messages from advertisers, politicians, Hollywood and brainless TV shows.

By now, you have completed your own Media Trivia Quiz. Now here are the answers and some commentary for your continued amusement and horror....

I. MEDIA TRIVIA: Media & Society

1. In 2007, American adults and teens consumed an estimated ______ hours of media.
a. 1,500 hrs b. 2,500 hrs c. 3,500 hrs d. 4,500 hrs e. 5,500 hrs
• 3,518 hours—nearly five months—spending $936.75/person

2. American 1-year-olds watch an average of how much TV per week?
a. 0 hrs b. 2 hrs c. 4 hrs d. 6 hrs e. 8 hrs

3. BUT! The American Association of Pediatrics recommends children under 2 watch how much TV/week?
a. 0 hrs b. 2 hrs c. 4 hrs d. 6 hrs e. 8 hrs

4. T/F Kids who watch 4 hours or more of TV daily are more likely to be bullies than kids who watch less.

5. Who spends more time watching TV—women with young children or single men? (circle)
• Women with kids watch an average of 90 minutes a day
• Single men watch an average of 4½ hours daily . . . so much for the soap opera cliché

6. T/F The average U.S. household has more TVs than people.
• 2.75 TVs vs. 2.6 people; also, more TVs than indoor toilets!!!

7. What percentage of U.S. households has an Internet connection?
a. 51% b. 61% c. 71% d. 81%
• Up from 50% in 2001, but that still leaves about 31 million U.S. households offline.

8. Americans buy almost _____ movie tickets per day.
a. 1 million b. 2 million c. 4 million d. 6 million e. 7 million

9. How many DVDs are rented from Netflix per day? (in 2008-09)
a. 1½ million b. 2½ million c. 3½ million d. 4½ million

10. Before Clairol introduced its 1950s ad campaign for home hair color with the slogan “Does she or doesn’t she?” what percentage of American women colored their hair?
a. less than 5% b. 10% c. 15% d. 25% e. 50%

• Three years later, what percentage of American women colored their hair?
a. less than 5% b. 10% c. 15% d. 25% e. 50%
• How do we explain this? The power of advertising made dye jobs more acceptable; previously, only “low-class” women used cosmetics.

11. Which U.S. city is the nation’s “vainest,” based on amounts spent on plastic surgery and cosmetics? # per 100,000 population
a. LA (4.1) b. Salt Lake (6) c. San Diego (5.2) d. Louisville (4.4) e. New York (4.1)
• Amazing, no? More people per capita in Salt Lake City purchase elective plastic surgery and makeup than any other major U.S. city. Why do you suppose that would be?

12. Ooo-lala! Which country is the world’s leading producer of pornography? (in 2006-07)
a. U.S. b. France c. Sweden d. Japan e. Italy f. India

13. T/F Teens surveyed in 12 countries believe the violence, crime and sex portrayed in U.S. media accurately depicts life in America.
• We will talk about how mass media images—TV, movies, Internet, etc.—“cultivate reality” in the minds of media users who have no first-hand experience with the topics.

• But here’s a true story: When I was in high school, I spent a year studying in France. Among my French friends was an “older” woman, a college student, maybe 22, on whom I had an enormous crush. She had an offer of a full-ride scholarship to study at the Universitty of Chicago—an incredible opportunity, and very prestigious. She turned it down. Why? I still remember the conversation: She was absolutely convinced that Chicago was crawling with evil hoodlums who regularly gunned down innocent people on the streets with Tommy guns. Media effects?

14. It takes how many trees to publish Cosmopolitan magazine each year?
a. 28,000 b. 128,000 c. 228,000 d. 328,000 e. 428,000

15. _____ % of Cache Valley residents responding to a Herald Journal survey said they believed that the assassination of John F. Kennedy was an internal U.S. government conspiracy.
a. 1% b. 9% c. 22% d. 52% e. 82% thought it was a U.S. gov’t plot f. 92%
• This is the conspiracy theory on which Oliver Stone’s movie JFK was based.

II. MEDIA TRIVIA: Politics

16. The top-three Democratic presidential candidates in Iowa’s 2008 caucuses spent $____ per voter just on TV ads.
a. $178/voter b. $141/voter c. $100/voter d. $87/voter e. $47/voter

17. TOTAL TV political ad spending in Iowa’s 2008 caucuses (Jan. 3):
a. $63 million b. $50 million c. $13 million d. $9 million e. $7.5 million

18. Four years earlier, TOTAL TV political ad spending in Iowa’s 2004 caucuses:
a. $63 million b. $50 million c. $13 million d. $9.1 million e. $7.5 million
• What does this tell us? That political leaders in America now market themselves like soap to American consumers, who seem to be easily swayed by such messages. In recent presidential elections, more than half of voters said they got most of their information about candidates and issues from the candidate own TV ads. The power of the mass media at work.

19. Mix ’n Match: Which presidential campaign spent how much on TV ads ALONE in Iowa?
$1.4 million (Huckabee)
$4 million (Edwards)
$7.1 million (Romney)
$7.5 million (Clinton)
$9.5 million (Obama)
• What does this tell us?

20. In July 2008 alone, how much did presidential candidates McCain and Obama spend on media advertising?
a. $73 million b. $54 million c. $24 million d. $9 million e. $7.5 million
• Obama $33m; McCain $21.4m

21. Percentage of people ages 19 to 29 who cited The Daily Show and Saturday Night Live as regular sources of their election news.
a. 21% b. 31% c. 41% d. 51% e. 61%
• What does this tell us? One-fifth of voters YOUR AGE depend on late-night comedians for information about the election of the next leader of the free world....!?

22. During the 2008 primary season, which presidential candidate received the most negative coverage?
a. Obama b. Giuliani c. Edwards d. Hillary Clinton e. Romney
• If the press is so friggin’ "liberal,” why would that be?

23. During the 2008 primary season, which presidential candidate received the most positive coverage?
a. Barack Obama b. Giuliani c. Edwards d. Clinton e. Romney

24. Percentage of Americans who believed before the election that Obama was not only unpatriotic, but also a secret practicing Muslim.
a. 2% b. 5% c. 10% d. 12% e. 15%
• This (false) rumor was reported/discussed in the press, and constituted nearly 1% of the total “news hole” in March08, rising to 3.8% of news accounts in June-July08. Is this people believing what they want to believe? Or is there some media role in one+ of every 10 Americans thinking this?

25. U.S. rank among 100 world nations in terms of women holding national political office:
a. 32nd b. 52nd c. 72nd d. 82nd e. 92nd
• 17% of Congress are women; 54% of the U.S. population are women.... hmm.

26. Of 172 nations that held elections in 2006, U.S. rank in voter turnout:
a. 13th b. 39th c. 79th d. 119th e. 139th
• Only slightly more than 50% of registered U.S. voters actually bothered to vote.

27. Whose press coverage in the 2000 presidential election was more negative?
Democratic nominee Al Gore or Republican nominee George W. Bush
• So much for the “liberal press.”

29. Was President Barack Obama born in the United States?
• 30% of __Republicans____ are not sure.
• 93% of __Dems____ and 83% of ___Indies____ do believe he was born in the U.S.
• 28% of __Repubs___ do not believe he was born in U.S.
• So where does that come from? We’ve SEEN his birth certificate...

III. MEDIA TRIVIA: News

30. Which of these news magazines are in the top 10 best-selling mags in the U.S.?
a. Time b. Newsweek c. U.S. News & World Report d. The Nation e. none
• Hmmmm. No news mags among the top 10—how sad is that?

31. The average American newspaper subscriber spends ____ reading the daily paper.
a. None (don’t read at all) b. 20 minutes c. 45 minutes d. 60 minutes
• This is a little deceptive, because the majority of Americans no longer read any newspapers, down from up to 70% penetration in some communities a generation ago. But those who do get a newspaper spend less than 20 minutes on it, and it’s even worse for people your age (see #32 below).

32. How many Americans 18 to 24 years old do not read, watch or listen to any news on a daily basis?
a. 10% b. 15% c. 25% d. 30% e. 40%
• C’mon, you guys. You're about to inherit the nation and the planet. Don’t you think you should have CLUE???!

33. The average American 18 to 24 years old spends less than ____ a day reading newspapers.
a. 5 minutes b. 10 minutes c. 25 minutes d. 30 minutes e. 40 minutes
• Actually, 9 minutes. Just 9 minutes!!

34. Approximately ___ % of all Americans watches TV network news every night.
a. 10% b. less than 30% c. 50% d. 75% e. 89%

35. How many Americans under 30 say they get their news primarily from late-night comedians?
a. 13% b. 23% c. 33% d. 43% e. 51%
• And 2/3 of all Americans say they get their news primarily from TV.

36. T/F Regular viewers of comedy shows (e.g., The Daily Show, The Colbert Report, Letterman/Leno, etc.) are just as well-informed about news events as consumers of more elite news (e.g., PBS’s Lehrer News Hour, newspapers, etc.).
• These viewers also tend to consume a lot of news sources, and so are more news-savvy than the average American—so they get the jokes....mostly.

37. One-in-eight American families lives in poverty. One-in-nine American households goes from day to day without being sure they’ll have enough to eat. How much time do nightly network newscasts spend covering poverty in the United States, on average?
a. 2½ seconds b. 4 seconds c. 2½ minutes d. 4 minutes
• . . . up to 4 seconds briefly in period immediately after Hurricane Katrina. So is Anna Nicole Smith or Britney or American Idol more important than starving people in the Land of Plenty??

38. America viewers who rely on (which TV network?) for their news are most likely to believe that the U.S. found weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, and that Saddam Hussein was directly involved in 9/11.
a. ABC b. CBS c. CNN d. Fox e. NBC f. MSNBC

39. T/F A recent research study found that conservatives believe comic Steven Colbert shares their conservative values, and uses his program to make fun of liberals.
• Do they have no sense of humor? Are they paying attention at all???

40. T/F Most news reporters consider themselves to be political liberals.
• I know what you think, but only 34% of journalists say they are “liberal”; most consider themselves independent moderates. More than half consider themselves “very” religious, too.

41. In the run-up to the invasion of Iraq in 2003, U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell told the United Nations that the U.S. had firm evidence of weapons of Iraqi mass destruction (WMD). In the two weeks before Powell’s speech, CBS, NBC, ABC & PBS ran 392 stories about Iraq, Saddam, WMD and war. How many of these stories questioned the evidence that Iraq had WMD?
a. 1 b. 3 stories c. 5 d. 10 e. 20 f. 50
• In May 2004, the NYTimes & Washington Post apologized on their editorial pages for their failure to raise questions about White House administration’s case for WMD and the Iraq war. “We screwed up,” both newspapers acknowledged. But how? Why?

42. During 2007, how much of U.S. news coverage was devoted to reporting on the Iraq war?
a. 3% b. 13% c. 23% d. 33%
• Actually, 26%.

43. In 2008, through the end of June, how much U.S. news coverage focused on Pakistan?
a. 1% b. 2% c. 3% d. 4% e. 5% f. 8%
• Although it is both a nuclear power and a crucial front in the war on terror, events inside Pakistan don’t generate much interest from the U.S. media.
• One dramatic spike in coverage of Pakistan when Benazir Bhutto, the Harvard-educated, pro-Western former prime minister, returned to run for president and was assassinated.
• Threatened by impeachment, Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf retired in August ’08, generating media attention for a week.

44. Buxom celeb Anna Nicole Smith died of drug overdose in June 2007; how much of total news coverage focused on her during the two days after her death?
On cable news:
a. 10% b. 25% c. 30% d. 40% e. 50% f. none of the above
In all news sources:
a. 10% b. 25% c. 30% d. 40% e. 50% f. none of the above
In newspapers:
a. 10% b. 25% c. 30% d. 40% e. 50% f. none of the above
• Compare Pakistan coverage with Anna Nicole’s death (or Michael Jackson’s). Are the news media dumbing us to death?

45. In the first 28 hours after Michael Jackson’s death, U.S. news outlets devoted _____ of their coverage to the story.
a. 10% b. 20% c. 40% d. 60% e. 80%

46. Which U.S. newspaper did billionaire Rupert Murdoch recently purchase?
a. Wall Street Journal b. LATimes c. New York Daily News d. USA Today
• Can you name other major news outlets owned by Murdoch?
Murdoch, an Australian, became an American citizen some years ago so that he could purchase huge media holdings—from satellites to movie studios to newspapers and cable news networks (Fox). He single-handedly owns more media outlets worldwide—including much of China’s and India’s satellite system—than any other person, giving him extraordinary tools to shape public opinion and media appetites. Does that make anyone nervous?.

47. How many newspapers have failed since January 2009?
a. 25 b. 50 c. 75 d. 100 e. 125
• 105, actually. So as media moguls like Murdoch control more and more media, there are fewer and fewer outlets and “voices” in the marketplace of ideas. Hmmm.

48. Over the past two years, how many major U.S. metropolitan daily newspapers have closed or adopted hybrid online/print versions or online-only models?
a. 10 b. 20 c. 30+ d. 40 e. 50
• 12 metro dailies closed, including: Tucson Citizen, Rocky Mountain News, Baltimore Examiner, Kentucky Post, Cincinnati Post, Albuquerque Tribune, South Idaho Press
• Eight other print dailies are now online only, or have cut the number of weekly print editions and replaced them with online versions: Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Capital Times (Madison, WI), Detroit News/Detroit Free Press, Christian Science Monitor, Ann Arbor News

49. Veteran CBS newsman and anchor Walter Cronkite died this past summer. During his career, he was considered “the most trusted man in America.” Since his death, a Time “Click” poll reports that Americans voted for whom as the new most trusted newsman in the U.S.?
a. Brian Williams, NBC (29%)
b. Katie Couric, CBS (7%)
c. Jim Lehrer, PBS (0%)
d. Charlie Gibson, ABC (19%)
e. Jon Stewart, The Daily Show (44%)
f. Steven Colbert, The Colbert Report (0%)
• So a comedian is America’s most trusted person? hmmmm. Utah’s Votes: Couric, 0%; Gibson, 15%; Williams, 25%; Stewart, 59% (46 votes)

50. Which story generated the biggest worldwide Internet coverage since Jan. 1, 2000?
a. Obama’s Election (2008) (#1)
b. Michael Jackson’s death(2009) (#2)
c. 9/11 terrorist attacks (2001) (#8)
d. Iraq invasion (2003) (#3)
e. Hurricane Katrina (2005) (#6)
f. Beijing Olympics (2008) (#4)

51. Which story has generated the most U.S. news coverage since Jan. 1, 2000?
a. Obama’s Election (2008) (#1)
b. Michael Jackson’s death (2009) (#9)
c. 9/11 terrorist attacks (2001) (#5)
d. Iraq invasion (2003) (#4)
e. Hurricane Katrina (2005) (#2)
f. Beijing Olympics (2008) (#6)
• What does this tell us about differences between what the U.S. public finds important/interesting, and what the world’s population thinks is important?

• Overall, what strikes you about the issues raised in this section?

IV. MEDIA TRIVIA: Race, Ethnicity & Gender

52. T/F Fox News pundit Glenn Beck recently told viewers that President Obama is a racist who hates white people.

53. People of color make up about 38% of the U.S. population. With the exception of sports and coverage of Barack Obama, what percentage of the news appearing in newspapers is about U.S. people of color? (in 2009)
a. 5% b. 10% c. 20% d. 30% e. 35%

54. Between 1995-1998, TV network evening news ran 48,000 stories; how many were about Hispanics?
a. less than 1% b. 2% c. 5% d. 10% e. 15%
• Hispanics=14% of population at that time.

55. In 2003, Hispanics were the focus of _________ stories airing on ABC, NBC, CBS & CNN newscasts.
a. less than 1% b. 2% c. 5% d. 10% e. 15%

56. What percentage of nightly network-news stories was reported by whites in 2000?
a. 49% b. 59% c. 69% d. 79% e. 89% f. 99%

57. What are the chances that a U.S. film with male Arab or Muslim characters made before September 11, 2001 (9/11), depicts them as greedy, violent or dishonest?
a. 1 in 20 b. 5 in 20 c. 8 in 20 d. 15 in 20 e. 19 in 20

58. ______ % of children say criminals on TV shows are usually played by a African-Americans.
a. 19% b. 29% c. 39% d. 49% e. 59%

59. ______ % of children say bosses on TV shows are usually played by a white actors.
a. 21% b. 41% c. 51% d. 71% e. 91%

60. Percentage of entertainment and news media decision-makers who are white men.
a. 20-25% b. 45-50% c. 70-75% d. 90-95%

61. Who is most likely to be pictured in TV news stories about youth crime?
a. African-Americans (61%) b. Latinos (31%) c. Asian-Americans
d. Native Americans e. Caucasians f. Mexicans

62. Number of black men who have appeared on the cover of Men’s Vogue since it launched in 2005.
a. 0 b. 2 c. 3 d. 4 e. 5 f. 10
• Tiger Woods, Barack Obama, Denzel Washington, Will Smith

63. Number of black women who have appeared on Vogue’s cover since it was founded in 1892.
a. 0 b. 2 c. 3 d. 4 e. 5 f. 10

64. Percentage of ads in magazines targeted to new brides featuring African-American women (2000-04).
a. 0% b. 2% c. 3% d. 4% e. 5% f. 10%

65. Number of covers of magazines targeted to new brides featuring African-American women (2000-2004).
a. 0 b. 2 c. 3 d. 4 e. 5 f. 10

66. About 52% of Americans are women. Excluding Hillary Clinton coverage, how much of the news in U.S. newspapers is about women?
a. 10% b. 20% c. 40% d. 50%

67. Men reported what percentage of nightly network news stories in 2000?
a. 46% b. 56% c. 66% d. 76% e. 86% f. 96%

68. How many U.S. newsmagazine covers (Time, Newsweek, U.S. News & World Report) in 1996 featured women who were not princesses, murderers, or models?
a. 0% b. 5% c. 10% d. 15% e. 22%

69. Between 1987 and 1997, Time magazine published 574 issues. How many Time covers featured women who were not entertainers, wives of politicians or Princess Diana?
a. 29 b. 59 c. 79 d. 99 e. 159

70. Total number of news stories that mentioned ex-Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert was a grandfather (9/1/06-12/1/06).
a. 6 b. 60 c. 160 d. 260 e. 306

71. Total number of news stories that mentioned that Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi is a grandmother (9/1/06-12/1/06).
a. 6 b. 60 c. 160 d. 260 e. 306

72. Which of the following terms has been used by print & broadcast journalists to describe Speaker Pelosi?
a. “Wicked Witch of the West” b. “Shrew” c. “castrater” d. “Squeaker” e. all
a. Fox News’ executive editor of Special Report & Roll Call
b. New York Post bureau chief Deborah Orin-Eilbeck
c. Chris Matthews of Hardball said Pelosi was “going to castrate” Rep. Steny Hoyer” if he was selected House majority leader; she had supported John Murtha, who lost

73. Which media talk show host referred to Hillary Clinton as a “She-Devil”?
a. Rush Limbaugh b. Chris Matthews c. Bill O’Reilly d. both a & c

• What do these items illustrate? That the media portray different groups of people in ways and frequencies that are not reality—skewing “reality” for readers/viewers dependent on those sources for their knowledge of these topics. The point of the above items is that people without power in society tend to treated differently—even badly—by the mass media, which is controlled largely by white men. To what extent do these portrayals “cultivate” incorrect or negative or stereotyped perspectives among media consumers?

V. MEDIA TRIVIA: Miscellaneous

74. T/F The majority of people worldwide are followers of Christian religions.
• Christians=33%; Muslims=21%; Hindus=14%; Non-religious=16%

75. One-fourth of the world’s population lives in the United States. How much of the world’s natural resources are consumed by Americans?
a. 25% b. 33% c. 50% d. 67% e. 75%

76. Number of plastic grocery bags used in a year by the average U.S. family of four.
a. 500 b. 1,000 c. 1,500 d. 2,000
• Actually, 1,460 plastic bags/family. YIKES! Total plastic bags used in the U.S. in 2006 = 88.5 billion; it takes 12 million barrels of oil to make those bags....

77. Americans recycle what percentage of plastic bags?
a. less than 1% b. 5% c. 10% d. 15% e. 20%

78. How long does it take for a plastic bag to decompose in a landfill?
a. 10 yrs b. 100 yrs c. 500 yrs d. 1,000 yrs e. 1,500 yrs

79. Debate over health care reform has dominated the news and talk shows in recent weeks. According to the World Health Organization, which country(s) ranks in the top 10 nations that provide the best health care to citizens?
a. U.S. (#37) ----- YOWIE!
b. France (#1)
c. Japan (#10)
d. Costa Rica (#36)
e. Slovenia (#38)
• Wait a minnit. Let me get this straight—The United States ranks below Costa Rica in its health care system? At least we beat Slovenia!

So what have we learned?
1. We’re being lied to, boys and girls. Or at least misled . . .
2. The things we think are truth clearly aren’t always.
3. The people who control the content of the mass media system have a lot of power to mislead us, or at least to make us see the world in the ways they want us to—in politics, marketing/advertising, general worldview.... Hmmmm.
.

JCOM 1130—Newswriting, the Online Edition

.

JCOM 1130 (The Online Edition)—Newswriting
Professor Ted Pease (ted.pease@usu.edu)
Department of Journalism & Communication
Utah State University
Fall 2009

Class times: Online, 24/7
Newsroom: Your computer
Office: 308B Animal Science (435-797-3293)
Office Hours: daily by email ted.pease@usu.edu

Preamble: Some Wisdom

“Why should freedom of speech and freedom of the press be allowed? Why should a government which is doing what it believes to be right allow itself to be criticized? It would not allow opposition by lethal weapons. Ideas are much more fatal than guns.”

—Vladimir Lenin, 1920

“Were it left to me to decide whether to have government without newspapers, or newspapers without government, I should not hesitate to prefer the latter.”

—Thomas Jefferson, 1789

“Question Authority!” –1970s slogan

“Words are sacred. They deserve respect. If you get the right ones, in the right order, you can nudge the world a little.”

—Tom Stoppard, playwright, 1967

“A sentence goes off course when it meanders toward its destination, gathering stray bits along the way. Hitting the target always means perfect focus—clear head, clear eye, true aim.”

—Paula LaRoque, newspaper writing coach, 2007

“What the F(*&^%$#$%^&*?!?????!”

—Jon Stewart, fake journalist, Comedy Central, 2009

“Writing is an important test of thinking. If you cannot express a point in writing, you probably have not thought it through. A murky story is usually a sign of muddy reasoning or, at best, a thought that is only half-formed.”

—William L. Rivers, journalism professor, 1979

• • • • •

Prerequisites:
Minimum pass in JCOM English-Grammar Proficiency Test (EGUT) through the main JCOM office; ENG 1010. Functioning brain and online computer connection.

What we do:
This is a writing course. It’s a reporting course. So, we report, we write. A lot. Write, write, write, write, write, write, write. Report, report, report, report, report, report, report.

Make sense?

There is one thing that’s very different about this section of JCOM 1130: The entire class in online. We will never meet or talk, except in cyberspace or email. You will do your own work on your own schedule, and do assignments based on a detailed schedule that you will find on USU’s Blackboard and on our own, dedicated blog, NewsHounds Online Aside from these differences in delivery, this class—and this syllabus—is the same as the one you’d be taking face-to-face (f2f) while sitting in Room 302 high atop the Animal Science Building on the Utah State University campus.

In JCOM 1130, you will start to learn what news is and how to write it. For those of you who are really JCOM majors and who really will have mass communication careers—in print and broadcast journalism, public relations and other related fields—if I do my job and you do yours, this will be the most important foundation course of your college career. “No brag, just fact.” (Extra points for those of you who can identify that quote—post it to NewsTalk Week1 discussion on the Blackboard discussion site: NewsTalk. Post anything else you see about news that strikes you as important or weird or whatever there as well.)

A guarantee: Even if you hate what we’re about to do and never take another journalism course again, if you do what I ask you to do during these 15 weeks, the rest of your college career (and your later career) will come easier. Because what newswriting is all about isn’t just news or writing—it’s about thinking and organization. You’ll gather information more efficiently. You’ll ask better questions. You’ll look at facts more critically. You’ll sift and make sense of information more quickly. You’ll synthesize the most important parts of your news story more effectively. And what you write will make more sense to those who read it. You won’t be smarter, but you’ll be better organized and have tools to make better use of the smarts you have. No brag, just fact.

That means that the base we build together between now and December—critical thinking, fact-gathering and writing skills—is important, because the habits and skills you develop here will stay with you. We’ll write a lot, learning what news is (and isn’t) and what newswriting is, learning how to examine masses of information critically and make sense of it for others who read what you write or hear what you say. Newswriting is a strange beastie with quirks and characteristics all its own, quite unlike the writing you’ve learned in your English classes. Some of you may have to unlearn some things you’ve been taught about writing and relearn journalistic methods for communicating information. It’s not rocket science, but there are some tricks to learn.

This syllabus should be considered our contract. We’ll fine-tune it as we go along; some things will be rescheduled, subtracted or added. But, basically, this is it: If you do what I ask you to do, you’ll be a better writer. If you don't do what I ask you to do, your grades will reflect that. OK?

Since this is a news course, and this is a journalism department, I think it’s reasonable to expect you to keep up with the news. To that end, I’ll require that you read a newspaper every day, preferably more than one, either in the dead-tree version (paper) or online. Make sure that you get to visit The New York Times, MSNBC, (or Fox, if you must...), the Logan Herald-Journal, The Salt Lake Tribune, National Public Radio, The Utah Statesman, The Washington Post, KSL-TV, Slate.com, The Deseret News, le Monde, CNN, the Hard News Café, the BBC ….. or some combination of that every day. Many of the URLs for these courses are listed as Hotlinks on NewsHoundsOnline. Once a week, you will post your Top 10 news stories of the week to the NewsTalk on Blackboard (see the News Quizzes entry on the NewsHounds Online Index page). You also will begin receiving daily emails from the professor: Today’s WORD on Journalism, now in its 14th year, is a daily spam of wisdom on journalism, writing & etc., that goes to some 1,700 deranged subscribers worldwide. You may also see the WORDblog and archives at the WORD blogsite.

Required texts and whatnot:
• Tim Harrower, Inside Reporting (1st edition, 2007).
• The Associated Press Stylebook.
• Newspapers (online or dead-tree), TV News (including Fox News if you must) and other local, national and international daily news sources.
• RECOMMENDED: Every writer should own and read (& reread periodically) The Elements of Style, by Strunk & White. Also recommended: On Writing Well, by William Zinsser, and The Elements of Journalism, by Bill Kovach and Tom Rosensteil.
• And everyone should watch Jon Stewart on The Daily Show and Stephen Colbert on The Colbert Report as often as possible. After Walter Cronkite’s death in Summer 2009, Jon Stewart was named “the most trusted man in America.” I dunno about that, but he’s pretty good, and can be very funny.
• Full bibliography of great journalism books available.

Readings from the text will be assigned, and are outlined as part of your weekly assignments on NewsHounds Online through Blackboard (check index in upper left corner of splash page for full listing). Past students have complained that they didn’t read the text, and so shouldn’t have had to buy it. So you will be quizzed weekly on the readings to remind you to do so. The AP Stylebook should become your writing and stylistic bible—we will have regular quizzes on that stuff. You may also want to purchase a paperback dictionary if you’re not such a hot speller (you know who you are!). Do NOT depend on spellcheck! Spelling errors will cost you points.

What you get:
A student who successfully completes this course—does everything that’s assigned on time—will be a better writer, a better critical thinker, a better synthesizer and consumer of news and information. Further, you will acquire an understanding of and competence in the following:
• News & feature values: What is and what isn’t news. And how to write both so people read it.
• News-gathering techniques: How to find and develop a story, how to find and use sources, how to obtain and confirm essential facts.
• Newswriting techniques: Once you have the facts, what do you do with them? Story structure & organization, writing clearly and concisely, interpreting and presenting facts for the reader, news style, surviving deadline pressure.
• Audiences: Who reads what you write and why? Framing stories for the audience.
• Editing & style: Newswriting mechanics—grammar, usage, basic copyediting and AP style.
• Journalism ethics: Not an oxymoron! (If you don’t know what an oxymoron is, look it up!) A free and credible press is essential to a free participatory democracy. Without credibility, journalism is just noise.
• Libel law: Basics of mass comm law, including libel and privacy issues.

Each week’s work will focus on reading, quizzes and filing writing assignments. I will provide specific and general feedback on each week’s writing, and then we’ll do it again; there also will be lectures and discussions of journalistic issues. This is a participatory class, so I expect you to raise issues and problems you see in the press on the NewsTalk discussion board, and I expect you to respond to each other’s opinion (civilly and smartly!). In addition, we’ll talk about current events and issues raised in the readings. During the latter half of the semester, you will find your own stories—breaking news and features—which you will “publish” on the website for critique and feedback from each other. Reporting assignments may include covering speeches, meetings and news conferences; interviews, and developing in-depth feature stories. Good local stories will be submitted for publication to The Utah Statesman (http://www.usu-tube.com) or the Hard News Café, JCOM’s award-winning online news“paper” (http://www.hardnewscafe.usu.edu) or for those of you not in Logan, perhaps to your local community newspaper. I can help with that.

Schedule:
Detailed week-by-week assignments and deadlines are available online through Blackboard, at the NewsHounds Online website.

Grades & assignments:
Grading in this course will be based on your production. Generally, all assignments are graded on a 10-point scale, with later, more complicated assignment weighted more heavily than the earlier ones. A 10 is publishable now (and not expected in this class), 9 is excellent (also rare), 7s & 8s are very good, 6 is OK but needs work, anything lower is below expectations. Some stories may be rewritten with my permission. Each story also will be graded on the basis of a) content, organization and structure, and b) mechanics (spelling, grammar, syntax, etc.).

Final grades will be based on your story grade average, compared with the rest of the class, and on your improvement over the quarter and progress toward meeting the professional standards expected of all journalists. The total grade will also include quizzes, a midterm and final, and other assignments.

Grading specifics (see Gradesheet):
• Basic assignments: 10 points each (including both content and mechanics)
• More advanced (outside) assignments: 20-60, depending on degree of difficulty
• NewsTalk: weekly discussions and participation count; details to follow.
• Spelling (SP#!!) errors in stories cost 1 point each.
• Punctuation (PUNCT!) errors cost 1/2-point each.
• AP Style (STYLE!) errors will cost you 1/2-point each after the third week. (See Editor Notes.)
• Fact errors (FE*!!!) will get you fired in the real world—here they’ll get you a zero (0) for the assignment. A factual error is defined as an error of fact (e.g.: a misspelling of a proper noun or name—Logan Mayor Randy Watson; President Barrack Obama; Utah Gov. Joe Huntsman, etc.) or a glaring error of fact (i.e.: “The Utah Jazz are the best team in the NBA” or, “The Cache Valley is renowned for its voluptuous citrus crop,” etc.). To avoid the pain that errors of spelling, punctuation, AP style and fact can inflict, keep your AP Stylebook close and consult it regularly, turn to dictionaries when in doubt, and always use your brains (or Google) to question “facts.”
• Obviously, DEADLINES ARE ABSOLUTE. That’s why they’re called deadlines. In the real world, missing deadlines means you don’t get in the paper; in JCOM 1130, missing deadline means zero for the assignment.

Housekeeping Details: Some cautions, instructions and threats. Ask anyone; Pease is an irascible old poop and can be testy at times. Here are some suggestions:
• Visit NewsHounds through Blackboard every day.
• Consult the weekly schedule through Blackboard on NewsHounds Online (Go to Index); completing assignments on deadline is your responsibility!
• Some wise person once advised: “He who asks is a fool for five minutes. He who does not is a fool forever.” So if you’re confused, don’t be a fool—Email the professor!
• Expect pop quizzes on anything from the news to geography.
• Online participation is mandatory.
• Consult your Stylebook regularly.
• If you're a lousy speller, use a dictionary religiously.

“Attendance,” Honesty & Other Stuff:
For CyberHounds, “attendance” happens online, but it’s the same basic thing: You must participate often. If I don’t hear from you weekly, I’ll assume you’ve dropped. Regard this class as a professional commitment; I do. Stay on top of the assignments and file your stuff on time. No makeups. In the real world, you can’t make up a missed assignment, so don't even ask if you can here.

If you have some emergency that prevents you from doing your NewsHounds work, let me know. If I think you have a reasonable excuse, we’ll figure out make-up work. In the real world, excuses don't count for much and are unbe¬coming to a professional: If you miss the story, you may soon be out of work.

Academic Honesty: The University expects students and faculty alike to maintain the highest standards of academic honesty (for a complete definition, see University Catalogue or the Code of Policies and Procedures for Students at Utah State University, Article V, Section 3). The policy states: “[C]heating, falsification or plagiarism can result in warning, grade reduction, probation, suspension, expulsion, payment of damages, withholding of transcripts, withholding of degrees, removal a class, performance of community service, referral to appropriate counseling" or other penalties as the university judiciary may deem appropriate.

JCOM Department Academic Honesty Policy: Because public trust and personal credibility are essential to journalists and other professional communicators, the JCOM department observes a zero-tolerance policy regarding academic dishonesty: As per the USU Student Code, any documented form of academic dishonesty—including plagiarism—will result in an automatic F in the course and a report to the department head, the dean of the college and the USU vice president for student services. JCOM students who engage in documented academic dishonesty may be dropped from the major, upon a hearing with the student, the instructor, and the department head. Any suspicious work may be submitted to a database that compares student papers to other student and published work in a web database.
If you have any questions about what’s acceptable work under strict codes of academic honesty, see the USU Code of Policies and Procedures for Students, or consult your professor. Any suspicious work may be submitted to a database that compares student papers to other student and published work in a web database. FYI: About plagiarism and how to avoid it, see this site.

JCOM Advising: In order to ensure that JCOM students progress through the major efficiently, the JCOM Department requires that all students meet with their faculty adviser or with a student peer adviser, each semester prior to pre-registration. An academic hold will be placed on all students each semester until they have obtained advising, either individually with an adviser or in one of several group advising sessions that will take place prior to the pre-registration period. Academic holds on student records will be lifted upon presentation of a signed advising form to the JCOM office. For questions, see your JCOM adviser.

JCOM course repeat policy: Students may take required JCOM classes only twice, with department permission; failure to achieve minimum grades (C+ in JCOM coursework) will result in students being dropped from the major. Students who do not achieve a C+ or better in JCOM 1130 will not be permitted to advance in the major. Consult with the JCOM adviser on these issues.

Professional portfolios: JCOM students who have the best success in landing internships and jobs after graduation are those who compile a portfolio of professional-quality work. This portfolio may include work produced in JCOM courses, labs, and internships. You should make it a habit to maintain an ongoing file of coursework and other materials that will reflect the quality of your work—class essays and papers, newspaper clips, video or Powerpoint presentations, websites, fliers or brochures, etc. Start now so that you will have a comprehensive file from which to select your best work to make up a professional portfolio and WOW employers.

Decorum: We’re all in this together. That means that we will need each other to succeed. And that means that everyone is expected to treat everyone else with fairness, courtesy and honesty. Disruptive or disrespectful behavior in NewsTalk or other NewsHound Online interactions will result in loss of points toward your final grade; repeaters will be dropped from the class. Please apply the Golden Rule.

Disability accommodations: If a student has a disability that will require some accommodation by the instructor, the student must contact the instructor and document the disability through the Disability Resource Center (7-2444), preferably during the first week of the course. Any requests for special considerations must be discussed with and approved by the instructor. In cooperation with the Disability Resource Center, course materials may be provided in alternative formats, large print, audio, diskette, or Braille.

Disclaimer: The instructor has no desire to offend anyone’s personal or cultural beliefs, and he apologizes in advance if he does so inadvertently. But students should be aware that journalism often deals with issues and content that some may find disagreeable—from profanity and offensive attitudes in sources to grisly accidents and other stuff that may make you uncomfortable. But that’s the business—covering society in all its grittiness, and helping readers/viewers/citizens make sense of the world around them. It’s a critically important job in a free society that sometimes requires the journalist to develop a thick skin, a strong stomach and a certain cynicism.

Finally, any rumors that you may have heard that Pease is a heartless, obdurate, irritable, demanding, tough, pugnacious, unpleasant SOB probably falls short (and wide) of the truth. The fact is that I will press you hard this semester to develop the level of professional skill required for success in a mass communications career. But if you're having a problem—with this class or anything else—please feel free to contact me for a talk, career advice, a crying towel or whatever.

Specific assignments in the Weekly Stuff Index on Newshounds (http://newshoundsonline.blogspot.com/2008/11/index-newshounds-online.html)

JCOM 1130—Day 1 Interview Story

.
Assignment:
Interview Yourself and Write a FASCINATING Story!

Here’s the deal: Since this is an online class, I can’t ask you to turn to the person next to you and interview her/him, and then write a story. So you’re stuck with yourself.

Write a NEWS story about yourself from the perspective of someone who doesn’t know you. The huge advantage here is that you can say anything you want, and edit out the bad stuff. The point, though, is to
a) Show me how you can write. And ...
b) Tell me and your fellow classpersons something interesting about yourself.

These don’t have to be long—maybe five or six paragraphs—but should include the stuff in the instructions that brought you here.

Write your thing is a Word document on your desktop, save it as YOURNAMEBio.doc and then attach it to the discussion (NewsTalk) section of Blackboard. (You’ll find mine as TedPeaseBio.)

To do this, go into Blackboard for JCOM 1130, and click on the Discussion tab (at left). You’ll find Week 1 NewsTalk. You can file you story there. Kudos for those who figure this out on the first try....

Here’s my self-interview, as an example of the find of stuff I'm looking for, but you do it however you want. Once your stuff is “published” on NewsTalk, read everyone else’s story to learn a little bit about the other students in the class. Yes, there will be a quiz....

Professor Would Rather Be Fishing

A Utah State journalism professor has returned to campus for his 16th year, but he’d rather be fishing for salmon on the Northern California coast.

Ted Pease, 54, head of the Department of Journalism and Communication, has taught at Utah State University since 1994, but he says his heart and soul live in the redwoods of California.

“I love USU,” he said. “I’ve been here most of my professional life. But it’s salmon season in the Northwest. I’d rather be fishing.”

Pease owns a fishing boat, “Toad,” in Trinidad, Calif., where the salmon season is limited to 10 days, starting Aug. 29—right at the start of classes back at USU.

Although he’s originally from New England, he says he’s now “a Northern California boy.”

Pease is a former newspaper reporter and editor who has taught at ...... etc.

-30-

Get the idea? There’s more to say, and write longer if you want, but that’s enough to get started. Find something about yourself to focus on, and direct your story there.

-30- means “the end.” I’ll explain later.

I will now give you the opportunity to ask questions about the FASCINATING things you have just learned about me. The rest of us will do the same after we read your stories.....

Media Smarts—The Online Edition: Syllabus

.

JCOM 2010 • MEDIA SMARTS
Making Sense of the Information Age

Professor Ted Pease (ted.pease@usu.edu)
Department of Journalism & Communication
Utah State University
Fall 2009

Email: Ted.Pease@usu.edu
Website: Blackboard; Blog: Media Smarts—JCOM 2010 (additional materials at AskDrTed)
Course Resources: Look at the INDEX on Smarts blog. See also Today’s WORD on Journalism and AskDrTed.
Office: 308B Animal Science (435-797-3293)

Preamble: Wise Guys

1. Whose Reality?

“I don’t fret about TV because it’s decadent or shortens your attention span or leads to murder. It worries me because it alters perception. TV, and the culture it anchors, masks
and drowns out the subtle and vital information that
contact with the real world once provided.”

—Bill McKibben, author, The Age of Missing Information, 1993

2. Critical Thinking

“Question Authority!” –1970s slogan

3. The Power of Words

“Words are sacred. They deserve respect.
If you get the right ones, in the right order, you can nudge the world a little.”

—Tom Stoppard, playwright, 1967

4. How Do We Know What We (Think We) Know?

“I believe television is going to be the test of the modern world,
and that in this new opportunity to see beyond the range of our vision we shall discover
either a new and unbearable disturbance of the general peace, or a saving radiance in the sky. We shall stand or fall by television—of that I am quite sure.”

—E.B. White, author, 1938

• • • • •

What we’ll do:
Welcome to Media Smarts, where we try to equip you to make sense of the information age—journalism, movies, advertising, books, TV, the Internet, radio. Some issues we’ll explore:

1) We’re being lied to, boys and girls.
2) The way we are told to see the world is not necessarily the way it really is.
3) Trying to operate in a free and participatory democracy without accurate knowledge and information is like piloting a boat through the fog without radar or GPS.

The central question driving Media Smarts is this: How do we know what we (think we) know about _____________? (the economy? Iraq? Harry Potter? Hair care? fill in the blank).

In this information age (which author Bill McKibben said should more correctly be termed an age of misinformation), nearly every waking moment is somehow affected by the mass media, which teach us to see the world in particular ways. We are taught to value certain lifestyles and norms and to reject others; we are taught to desire certain products—food, cars, gadgets, political candidates; we are taught how to perceive different groups of people based on their gender, racial background, skin color, height, weight, or religion.

This constant diet of mass media images and values skews how we as individuals and we as a society see and understand the world.

The goal of this course is to help you see past the mass media’s version of the world, and to give you the analytical and critical thinking skills you’ll need to make sense of the world for yourself.

During the semester, we will critically explore whether, when, how, and to what extent the mass media—both news and entertainment—can influence people’s worldview and events, focusing on how mass media messages can cultivate perceptions, perspectives and attitudes, particularly in areas of gender, racial diversity, violence, children, and as regards how Americans “know” their own history. We’ll start with general principles of media literacy, and then focus specifically on how the mass media present “reality”—political, social and cultural.

Course Goals: To expand students’ recognition of the role of mass media versions of “truth,” and their critical thinking and analytical skills to make them more savvy consumers of mass media. In particular, the course will ask students to analyze and evaluate various mass media versions of historical events, cultural norms, and individuals in society.

The core question for this course is, How do we know what we know about the world and the people and events in it, and how sure we are of those “facts”?

We will examine the unique and essential social interaction between the individual and the mass media:
a) How do mass media—from newspapers to TV and radio to Hollywood and the Internet—frame the world and the people in it?
b) How does this affect the press, culture, societies and participatory democracy?
c) What stories about cultural norms (race, gender, society, politics, etc.) are told?
d) And how do we learn to “see” and understand the world through such lessons?

Children, of course, are the most susceptible victims of media images and messages. Humor columnist Erma Bombeck once said, “In general, my children refuse to eat anything that hasn’t danced on television.”

Most Americans under the age of 50 were raised on such a diet; the world has been created for us, and isn’t real unless we’ve seen it on the tube, or on YouTube. In predicting more than 40 years ago how the information age would change the world, Canadian sociologist Marshall McLuhan used the analogy of a fish. He said he didn’t know who discovered water, but he was fairly certain it wasn’t a fish.


Hunh?

Well, like fish, McLuhan suggested, most residents of the information age are equally unsuspecting and uncritical about the mass media environment in which they live. We eat TV, we breathe news, we absorb advertising and cultural attitudes through our gills.

This represents an enormous responsibility both for the producers of mass media messages, and for the individuals who consume them.

As Allen Ginsberg said, “Whoever controls the media—the images—controls the culture.” The fundamental assumption of Media Smarts is that most of us are so accustomed to the mass mediated world of the 21st century that we don’t even notice the environment in which we live, the mass media diet that we consume and digest, and which becomes part of what and who we are, and how we think about and perceive the world.

“Television tends to be the main centerpiece in our culture,” says Professor Gary Edgerton. “TV in a sense creates instant history . . . that shapes how we think about an event.”

Even beyond the sit-com or reality show fads, Edgerton asserts, most Americans know what they think they “know” about historical events and people from how they are depicted and framed in TV or movies. For example, students can “understand” the events of Pearl Harbor only with Ben Affleck in the middle of them.

Many Americans “know” what they (think they) know about the death of President John F. Kennedy from Oliver Stone’s movie. The story of D-Day is told by Tom Hanks going ashore at Normandy to find a soldier named Private Ryan.

This is how many college students today “know” the world. I believe that today’s students—you guys—are so steeped in mass media that you need remedial skills to help you recognize how entertainment media affect perceptions of both current and historical “reality.”

Media content-producers—which means not only newspapers and Hollywood producers, but anyone with an Internet connection—decide what to include and exclude, what to highlight or downplay. They make such choices to achieve their own goals, which may transcend simple things like “truth” and “facts.”

“Truth” is in the eye and mind of the beholder—often diluted, distorted and even fabricated by the media to sell you something, to privilege social class, to distort gender and race, and otherwise to reshape social reality.

In the process, in a mass media marketplace that has become more “real” for most Americans than reality itself, the stories we tell and the stories we learn through films, TV and more broadly in popular culture pre-empt truth, and reshape reality for most American media consumers.

In Media Smarts, students also will examine the various contemporaneous economic, political, and cultural environment that influence the ways in which society is depicted and limited by the mass media. By the end of the semester, students will have practiced critical and analytical skills in several areas that will help them become more critical consumers of all media products.

Texts and course materials:
Because this course exists within a context of journalism and the role and performance of the press and the mass media, our readings will generally be assigned as “new media”—online articles or other materials placed on the class website.

Aside from assigned online readings, you will need a CD “book,” which you can purchase or “rent” for the semester:

• John McManus, Detecting Bull: How to Identify Bias and Junk in Print, Broadcast and on the Wild Web (www.gradethenews.org, 2009) The e-book can be purchased at the Detecting Bull website for these rates: Permanent copy of entire book: $23.95. Temporary copy (18 weeks): $14.95.

Go to there immediately and get it. You’ll need a computer with Adobe Flash.

Other assignments will be posted at through Blackboard, which will take you to the weekly assignments on the Media Smarts blog, with other stuff linked to AskDrTed.

Assignments and Grading: (Subject to change)
This is a critical thinking course. It’s also a talking and writing course. Students will present their thoughts on the mass media and the readings in weekly posts in the discussion area (which we’ll call “SmartTalk”) of Blackboard. Details on this requirement to follow.
Other stuff:
1. Quizzes on readings/news 25 pts
2. Critical essays/reaction papers (500 words each) 10 pts/20 pts
3. Weekly NewsTalk chatroom participation 15 pts
4. Midterm Exam 15 pts
5. Final Exam 15 pts
Total = 100 pts

• Critical Essays: Two short (500 wds) essays on assigned topics.
• Chatroom/SmartTalk: We will discuss readings and class-related issues in Blackboard’s Discussion tab area. Students must engage substantively at least once a week.
• Exams: Comprehensive midterm and final exams. The final is optional: I’ll let you know your grade before finals week. If you are satisfied with your grade before the final exam, you may opt out and apply the final exam’s 15 points toward your quiz score (e.g., quizzes would then count 40% instead of 25%).
• Other grading issues: The instructor takes no prisoners when it comes to writing, grammar, spelling, mechanics, etc. Fair warning. Obviously, DEADLINES ARE ABSOLUTE. That’s why they’re called deadlines. In the real world, missing deadlines means you don't get in the paper; in this class, missing deadline means zero for the assignment.

Housekeeping Details:
Some cautions, instructions and threats. Ask anyone; Pease is an irascible old poop and can be testy at times.

Academic Honesty: The University expects students and faculty alike to maintain the highest standards of academic honesty (for a complete definition, see University Catalogue or the Code of Policies and Procedures for Students at Utah State University, Article V, Section 3). The policy states:

“[C]heating, falsification or plagiarism can result in warning, grade reduction, probation, suspension, expulsion, payment of damages, withholding of transcripts, withholding of degrees, removal a class, performance of community service, referral to appropriate counseling" or other penalties as the university judiciary may deem appropriate.

Because public trust and personal credibility are essential to journalists and other professional communicators, I adhere to the JCOM department’s zero-tolerance policy regarding academic dishonesty: As per the USU Student Code, any documented form of academic dishonesty—including plagiarism—will result in an automatic F in the course and a report to the Honors director, the dean of the college and the USU vice president for student services. If you have questions about what’s acceptable work under strict codes of academic honesty, see the USU Code of Policies and Procedures for Students, or consult your professor. Any suspicious work may be submitted to a web database. For guidance on plagiarism and how to avoid it, see this website.

Decorum: It’s a funny thing about email and other online communication—people often type things that they would NEVER say in a face-to-face setting. So please read your emails out loud to yourselves (this also will help with typos and stoopid language) and count to 10 before sending or posting. We’re all in this together. That means that we will need each other in order to succeed. And that means that everyone is expected to treat everyone else with fairness, courtesy and honesty. Central to this subject matter is the willingness to examine our own beliefs and how we arrived at them, and to acknowledge that others may see the world differently. So I hope we all will be able to express and consider opinions collegially, in the spirit of open inquiry. Let us agree to disagree, if necessary, and to accommodate contrarian viewpoints and differing perspectives. Disruptive or abusive behavior will not be tolerated.

Disclaimer: The instructor has no desire to offend anyone’s personal or cultural beliefs, and he apologizes in advance if he does so inadvertently. But students should be aware that journalism (and advanced education) often deals with issues and content that some may find disagreeable—from profanity and offensive attitudes and perspectives that may make you uncomfortable. But that’s the business or examining society and becoming media-savvy and making sense of the world. It’s a critically important job for every citizen of a free society. Please do tell me if you have problems with any of the material, and we will try to accommodate if possible.

Finally, any rumors that you may have heard that Professor Pease is a heartless, obdurate, irritable, demanding, tough, pugnacious, unpleasant SOB probably falls short (and wide) of the truth. The fact is that I will press you hard this semester to develop an advanced level of critical thinking and analysis required for success in the information age. But if you're having a problem—with this class or anything else—please feel free to call or email me, or for those of you on-campus, come find me in my office, for a talk, a coke, career advice, a crying towel or whatever.

§ § §

SCHEDULE

The advantage to online courses is that you can do the work as your schedule permits, and in your pajamas if you want. In fact, Professor Pease may be in his jammies even now (picture that! Well, actually, don’t....). But you do have to complete the assignments when they are due. Students who wait until the end of the semester to submit everything in a pile will flunk.

The weekly assignments will appear as a single hotlink (ex: Week 1...) on Blackboard, linking to details on the Media Smarts blog and on the handy and fascinating blogsite AskDrTed by clicking on the INDEX in the upper lefthand corner of the main page. There’s a lot of other fabulous stuff there, too, for the curious or bored.

• Chats/SmartTalk: Generally, the weekly SmartTalk posts will be due Saturdays by midnight, beginning Week1, but earlier in the week is better so you can interact with each other. Go to the Discussion tab in Blackboard and click on the current week’s SmartTalk topic. Everyone must initiate a substantive thread on the readings or a current media issue, as well as comment/respond substantively to someone else’s post.
• Quizzes will be posted periodically on readings. They will be due in 48 hours.
• The Midterm Exam will be no later than Week 8 (Oct. 11-17), before the last course-drop date. I’ll give you fair warning.
Other Key Dates:
• Aug. 24: First classes
• Sept. 5: Registration Purge (students with unpaid fees will be dumped)
• Sept. 7: Labor Day
• Oct. 16: “Fall Break”
• Oct. 23: Last day to drop w/ W on transcript; last day to change to P/F
• Nov. 9: Last day to petition for late drop
• Nov. 25-27: Turkey Day break.
• Dec. 4: Last classes
• Dec. 7-11: Final Exam Week

§ § §

JCOM 2010 (online edition)—Media Smarts Schedule F09 (subject to change)

NOTE: Here’s a start on our readings schedule, which I will add to after Week 4, and may change before then. You should check the syllabus regularly for updates
—this is your responsibility.

WEEK 1 Aug. 24-29
• Get acquainted with our Blackboard site and the Media Smarts blog.
• Read “Begin Here” orientation posts and syllabus closely.
• Order McManus CD online at http://detectingbull.com
• Quiz on syllabus will be emailed.
• Students file introductions of themselves on SmartTalk discussion board.

WEEK 2 Aug 30-Sept. 5 How Do We Know What We Think We Know?
READINGS:
• McManus, Intro Chapter (pp. 1-4)
• Reading: What Is Media Smarts? “Media Smarts—Making Sense of the Information Age,” by Ted Pease & Brenda Cooper
• Chat on SmartTalk
• Quiz on readings.

WEEK 3 Sept. 6-12
• READINGS: Media Literacy
• “What is media literacy?”
• “Some principles of media literacy”
• McManus, Ch. 1 (pp. 1-15)
• Chat on SmartTalk
• Quiz on readings.

WEEK 4 Sept. 13-19 (Sept. 14: LAST DAY TO DROP W/ TUITION REFUND)
READINGS:
• Mass Communication Theories
• McManus, Ch. 2 (pp. 1-10)
• Chat on SmartTalk
• Quiz on readings.

WEEK 5 Sept. 20-26
READINGS: Journalism Ethics—NOT an Oxymoron! A Free & Responsible Press
• Society of Professional Journalists’ Code of Ethics
• More readings to be announced. (Hutchins, Kerner)
• Chat on SmartTalk
• Quiz on readings.

WEEK 6 Sept. 27-Oct. 3
READINGS: To be announced.
• Chat on SmartTalk
• Quiz on readings.

WEEK 7 Oct. 4-10
READINGS: To be announced.
• Chat on SmartTalk
• Midterm?

WEEK 8 Oct. 11-17
READINGS: To be announced.
• Chat on SmartTalk
• Quiz on readings.

WEEK 9 Oct. 18-24
READINGS: To be announced.
• Chat on SmartTalk
• Quiz on readings.

WEEK 10 Oct. 25-31
READINGS: To be announced.
• Chat on SmartTalk
• Quiz on readings.

WEEK 11 Nov. 1-7
READINGS: To be announced.
• Chat on SmartTalk
• Quiz on readings.

WEEK 12 Nov. 8-14
READINGS: To be announced.
• Chat on SmartTalk
• Quiz on readings.

WEEK 13 Nov. 15-21
READINGS: To be announced.
• Chat on SmartTalk
• Quiz on readings.

WEEK 14 Nov. 22-28 TURKEY WEEK
READINGS: To be announced.
• No Chat on SmartTalk
• No Quiz on readings.

WEEK 15 Nov. 29-Dec. 5
READINGS: To be announced.
• Chat on SmartTalk
• Quiz on readings.

WEEK 16 Dec. 6-12
FINAL EXAM (yike!)
.