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TCOM 201 Media and Society (5) I&S Demaske, Kunz, McMillin
Explores theoretical perspectives and core issues in the relationship between the media and society, including the production and reception of both news and entertainment. Evaluates the historical, cultural, political and economic contexts of media industries, representations, and audiences. Offered: AWSp.
TCOM 257 Ethical Issues in Mass Communication (5) I&S/VLPA McMillin
Critically examines the relationship between the mass media and American society. Focuses on the individual journalist as a link between the two. Through a study of ethical theories, and of the social, political, and economic context of the media, evaluates the professional and ethical dilemmas of the journalist. Offered: AWSpS.
TCOM 258 Children and Television (5) I&S
Examines the historical, sociological, and psychological context of children watching television. Brings together scholarship from child psychology, television criticism, and reception studies.
TCOM 275 Writing, Reporting, and Editing for the Mass Media (5) VLPA McMillin
Introductory skills course on writing, reporting, editing for print and broadcast media. Helps students develop a concise writing style, passion for thorough, accurate reporting, and a sensitivity to various audiences' needs and interests. Focuses on standard news practices in various news organizations, and on methods to effectively combine visual elements with the written word. Emphasizes strategies for gathering information effectively and for developing skills in interviewing, note-taking, and observation. Offered: W.
TCOM 347 Television Criticism and Application (5) VLPA
Explores narrative structures and production techniques utilized in television in an integrated manner. Analyzes and discusses critical approaches to television texts and techniques, including use of camera angles, lighting design, sound effects, and editing. Explores the application of basic production to techniques in a hands-on manner.
TCOM 348 Non-fiction Writing for Television (5) VLPA
Explores non-fiction styles of writing for television, including news writing and documentary writing, with a focus on the development of stores from a proposal to a script. Addresses issues and conflicts that arise with the linking of visual images and spoken words in non-fiction television genres.
TCOM 349 News Writing (5) VLPA
Covers principles of news writing and reporting, including lead writing, Associated Press style conventions, news judgment, and ethical and legal issues.
TCOM 350 Editing and Design for Print Media (5) VLPA
Covers elements of print media editing and design including: selection and editing of news copy; headline writing; typography; selection, sizing and cropping of photos; functions of layout; principles of publication design and their practical applications. Students also complete several page design projects as teams.
TCOM 351 Video Production (5, max. 10) VLPA
Examination of principles of visual and audio communication, including telling stores using image, movement, spoken words, and other sounds in an integrated manner. Discusses critical approaches to television production and utilizes them in a hands-on manner to develop production skills. Prerequisite: T COM 347.
TCOM 353 Critical Approaches to Mass Communication (5) I&S
Critically examines the role of mass communication in producing and reproducing cultural meaning in contemporary U.S. society. Studies various media, including print, sound and film recording, broadcast, and new media.
TCOM 354 Communication History (5) I&S
Considers communication history as a complex matrix of patterns, systems, and technologies that are central to human history. Includes development of different forms of communication and the intertwining of the history of mass communication with the history of other social institutions.
TCOM 387 Writing for Public Relations (5) VLPA
Explores aspects of public relations writing, including news releases for print and broadcast media, advertising copy, speeches, newsletters, and crisis communication. Emphasizes writing for clarity and interest, simplifying complex issues, and conducting effective media relations.
TCOM 388 Russian Media Studies: From Communism to Democracy (5) I&S Demaske
Examines the unfolding of this new quasi-democratic media system, starting first with a general history of the Russian media and following with a focus on the media under Gobachev, Yeltsin, and Putin. Raises questions concerning if and how a democratic press can operate in contemporary society.
TCOM 430 Global Networks, Local Identities (5) I&S McMillin
Explores historical and contemporary debates on globalization, cultural imperialism, national identity, and global consumerism. Examines structure and content of such transnational networks as Star TV and CNN, and evaluates the impact of these networks on local identities. Offered: W.
TCOM 444 Gender, Ethnicity, Class, and the Media (5) I&S McMillin
Discusses the media's powerful sites for the construction and promotion of ideologies of gender, ethnicity, and class. Studies the socio-historical origins of these ideologies, using methods of media analysis to examine their presence in contemporary print and broadcast media. Offered: AWSpS.
TCOM 454 Communications Law (5) I&S
Examines issues surrounding freedom of expression in the United States and citizens' and the media's legal rights in gathering and disseminating news and information. Explores the freedoms afforded by the First Amendment and shows how those protections are still evolving in the twenty-first century.
TCOM 460 Communication and National Development (5) I&S/VLPA McMillin
Focuses on controversial origins of development communication and the evolution of this field into grassroots development communication. Examines case studies of grassroots development and entertainment-education in Asia, Latin America, and Africa. Draws connections between remote and local case studies of grassroots development through student-produced video documentaries. Offered: W.
TCOM 461 Media and Identity in Asia (5) I&S
Explores dynamics of television production and consumption of non-western countries within their postcolonial and neocolonial contexts. Examines case studies from such countries as India, Indonesia, Singapore, China, and Malaysia. Addresses programming hybridity, audience resistance and adaptation, and the impact of transnational media networks n local cultural identities.
TCOM 470 Documentary Production and Critique (5) VLPA
Examines theoretical and ethical issues involved in the production of non-fiction genres while shooting and editing short-form, community-based documentaries. Prerequisite: T COM 351.
TCOM 480 Political Economy of the Media (5) I&S
Examines the historical evolution and economic structure in which media industries are embedded and develops theoretical and analytical tools for the evaluation of media industries. Surveys patterns of ownership and control, government policies, and other issues in media industries, including newspapers, magazines, television, motion pictures, and recorded music.
TCOM 481 Communication Regulation and Policy (5) I&S
Examines the theoretical foundation and historical evolution of communication regulation in the United States with the broadcast industries, television and radio, the primary focus. Surveys the current state of regulation in various communication industries in the aftermath of the Telecommunications Act of 1996.
TCOM 482 Investigative Reporting (5) I&S
Investigative reporting is demanding, intellectually, emotionally, and physically. Prepares students to undertake quality in-depth journalism. Includes interviewing, researching, and writing lengthy investigative news articles.
TCOM 486 Feature Writing for Print Media (5) VLPA
Explores the news feature writing, with emphasis on developing story ideas, gathering materials, and writing in clear, compelling fashion. Intended for students who wish to contribute articles to The Ledger, community newspapers, or specialty publications. Also covers writing for the freelance market.
