Class 7 - Magazines

Former Student's Magazine Proposal

DISCUSSION: We discussed the three stages of media development, which apply to magazines and to other media we are studying: 

• Elite stage -- Only the most wealthy, most educated have access
• Popular stage -- Most people have access, but choices are limited
• Specialized stage -- Everyone has access, but choices are fragmented

SHOW AND TELL: We looked at older copies of Life, National Geographic,  etc. and examples of different types of magazines: Trade, public relations, consumer; and academic and professional journals.

MAGAZINE COVERS: We viewed online the best magazine covers of '09, andTime magazine covers. 

The magazine quiz will be on Thursday. 

BLOG 4 - Magazine Proposal - 25 points (due Sunday midnight)

Write a proposal for a new magazine (either a print magazine or an online magazine), as if you were going to submit it to a publisher. Your proposal should include:

·         Name of magazine

·         Concept – how is your magazine different from existing magazines?

·         Readers – demographics and psychographics (may include age group, gender, ethnicity, income level, interests, self-image, self-identification, etc.)

·         Other magazines serving this demographic (your competition) – your investors will want to know how your magazine is different or better?

·         Five advertisers who you think would like to reach your readers

·         Five articles you might include in your premier issue

·         Describe the cover of your premier issue (photo, graphics, color, words, etc.)

·         Draw (or create electronically) your proposed cover, including the name of the magazine and highlighting top articles, and post it on your blog and/or bring it to class. Stick figures are OK. Here's a template to create a cover electronically.

I will give prizes for the best magazine proposal (most original and feasible) and for the most artistic.


Due Thursday May 5 at midnight:  The Internet Search Project. Turn it in at TurnItIn.com.

Class 6 - Newspapers

ANNOUNCEMENTS:  The due date for the Internet Search Project has been changed to Thursday May 5. I will explain the assignment next week and you will turn it in at TurnItIn.com.


DISCUSSION: We discussed the history and future of newspapers. 

DVD: We viewed a clip from The Paper, a 1994 movie about an ethical issue at a tabloid newspaper. Many journalists say that the newsroom scenes are the most realistic they've seen in movies.

HOMEWORK:  Read Chapter 5 (Magazines), complete workbook activities.

BLOG: 

 Name three books you have read that had the most influence on you. In 2-3 sentences, describe why each one was influential. (Write in more detail than saying, «It was good» or «it made me laugh.» Say why it was good or made you laugh and how it stayed with you after you read it.) Add friendly links to the books on Amazon.com or another online bookseller, or authors’ Websites. 

   
Adding friendly links:  Type in the words (e.g. title of a book), then select the words and click on the blue "Link" button  at the top of the posting box. Copy and paste the link into the "Edit Link" dialog box. 

Adding images to your blog:  Save the image to your computer. Click on the picture button at the top of the posting box. Browse to find the image you want, then edit the position and size.

Embedding video from YouTube:  This video explains how, but it needs one update. In YouTube, the "Embed" button is no longer to the right of the video. You need to click on "Share" below the video and then "Embed." Choose the size of screen you would like.

Class 5 - Books

DISCUSSION:   Students discussed which books they consider influential on the whiteboard. Books included: The Bible, the Koran, the dictionary, 1984, To Kill a Mockingbird, Shakespeare plays, The Diary of Anne Frank,  The Jungle, Teo Te Ching, The Art of War and the Torah.

We compared our list of influential books with "100 Most Influential Books Ever Written" by Martin Seymour-Smith and a "100 Most Influential Books of the Century" from the Boston Public Library. We looked at lists of banned books.

POWERPOINT:  We looked at images and video illustrating the history of books, paper and printing. The Bible (in Latin) was the first book printed on the Gutenberg Press in the mid-1400s. Until that time, Bibles had been hand-copied by Christian monks. We watched “Introducing the Book” about a monk struggling to keep up with the "new" technology. We discussed copyright and considered cases involving J.K. Rowling (Harry Potter) and Dan Brown (The Da Vinci Code).

SHOW & TELL: 
Books mentioned in the text and historical books:

• Mc Guffey's Eclectic Reader (1904)
• Arithmetic book (1940)
• Spelling book (1909)
• Koran
• Book about typography

Books that have been banned or challenged:

• Satanic Verses ( a death sentence was placed on the author by an Iranian leader)
  
• Captain Underpants 
  
• Where’s Waldo (a beach scene had a partially bare woman's breast; the book was reissued with a bikini top drawn on her.

One of the books often mentioned as influential, which has also been challenged is in the news. A version of "Huckleberry Finn," has been release in which the n-word has been changed to “slave.” Many people disagree with the release of this version because it is tampering with the original meaning. (See "Sanitized Editon of 'Huckleberry Finn' Causes Uproar.)


QUIZ: Chapter 3: Books

HOMEWORK: Read Chapter 4, complete workbook activities for Chapter 4.

Class 4 - Media Impact

POWERPOINT: We reviewed key concepts from the textbook:

* Research methodology to measure media impacts (some borrowed from scientific research)
* Social science perspectives
* Flow theories
* How new innovations move through society

Also videos about Dr. George Gerbner's research on TV and movie violence, and Dr. Frederic Wertham's flawed research on comic books.

QUIZ: Ch. 2 Media Impact

HOMEWORK: Read and complete workbook activities for Chapter 3 (Books). Note: We will discuss workbook responses for Chapter 3 in class on Tuesday.

BLOG: Media Impact (15)

After reading Chapter 2 on Media Impact, can you think of a different example (not in the book or the videos we watched) you have heard about when someone blamed media for real-life problems? Describe the situation and find a website or web video that explains it more fully. Embed or use a friendly link.

Class 3 - Introduction to Mass Communication

DISCUSSION: "The audience is the arbiter of meaning." The senders may think they are sending one message, but ultimately it is the audience that determines what the message was.

VIDEO: "Sammy's Visit" from All in the Family, 1972, an example of the audience as final arbiter of meaning and technological and societal change.

VIDEO REVIEW: Discussion on the societal, cultural and technological differences between the early 70s and now, as seen in the video (media as a reflection of society).

HOMEWORK: Read textbook Ch 2, complete workbook Ch 2

Class 1 - Introductions

DISCUSSION:  Models of basic communication - traditional and converged. See Chapter 1.


HOMEWORK:  Buy the textbook, review the Table of Contents, Glossary and Timeline.


BLOG ASSIGNMENT: Set up a blog in blogger.com and e-mail me the blog address. Post your first blog post.

Week 1: Media Autobiography  (20)

Write your short media autobiography. This should be a short essay (about 200-400 words) about you and your relationship with the eight types of mass media we are studying in this class: Books, Newspapers, Magazines, Movies, Recordings, Radio, Television and the Internet.

Talk about your background with each of these media, your experiences (use/habits) with them, your likes and dislikes of them, and which ones are important to you now and when you were growing up. Tell if you have, had or would like a job or career in the media. If you have lived in another country, talk about the media there. Mention your major, if it is related to the media, and the name of the university you want to transfer to, if appropriate.

Include links if relevant. Do not write about other aspects of your life, unless they relate to the media. E-mail me your blog address.