JOUR 4510
Newspaper Management, Ethics and the Business of Journalism
Spring 2009
Wednesday 6:30 p.m. – 9:20 p.m.

Instructor: Neil Foote, Instructional Assistant Professor
Office: GAB 109
Phone: 940.369.8088
Email: foote@unt.edu
Office Hours: 2 p.m. — 3 p.m. Thursday or by appointment

Course Description and Objectives:

Everyday we’re reading about the major changes that are affecting daily journalism. Layoffs, buyouts, consolidations and the search for new business models are on top of every media executive mind. This course introduces newspaper management issues including operations, personnel, content, promotion, finance, business, law and ethics. One of the goals of the course is to arm you with analytical tools to help you understand the current state of media, and to help develop new models for the future. We will read, discuss, listen, observe, analyze and make recommendations about on how media has changed, what’s going on now and how we can change it for the future.

After completing the course, you should be able to:

• Describe the most important issues facing newspaper managers.
• Understand how newspaper managers make decisions.
• Understand the principles of effective leadership.
• Understand the principles of an effective news organization.
• Understand the relationship between business and editorial decisions.
• Understand the philosophical perspectives for making ethical decisions.
• Apply the Point-of-Decision Pyramid model to ethical dilemmas.
• Analyze the operations of newspapers from a business standpoint.

This course also addresses eight of the ACEJMC core competencies (#1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 11):

1. Understand and apply First Amendment principles and the law appropriate to professional practice.
2. Demonstrate an understanding of the history and role of professionals and institutions in shaping communications.
3. Demonstrate an understanding of the diversity of groups in a global society in relationship to communications.
4. Understand concepts and apply theories in the use and presentation of images and information.
5. Work ethically in pursuit of truth, accuracy, fairness and diversity.
6. Think critically, creatively and independently.
7. Conduct research and evaluate information by methods appropriate to the communications professions in which they work.
8. Write correctly and clearly in forms and styles appropriate for the communications professions, audiences and purposes they serve.
9. Critically evaluate their own work and that of others for accuracy and fairness, clarity, appropriate style and grammatical correctness.
10. Apply basic numerical and statistical concepts.
11. Apply tools and technologies appropriate for the communications professions in which they work.
Texts:
Media Management: A Casebook Approach by George Sylvie, Jan LeBlanc Wicks, C. Ann Hollifield, Stephen Lacy and Ardyth Broadrick Sohn. We will use the 4th edition. Contemporary Media Ethics by Mitch Land and Bill Hornaday. You need to bring these books to each class meeting. If you don’t have these books, you will not be able to participate in class discussion and do required assignments. There will be several additional outside readings for this class that will be distributed during class or will be made accessible online.

You also will be expected to become a student of media, reading local and national newspapers in print or online (The Dallas Morning News, Fort Worth Start-Telegram, Denton Record-Chronicle, The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post); media publications such as Columbia Journalism Review, American Journalism Review, Editor & Publisher, Broadcasting & Cable; or media websites such as CyberJournalist.net, StateoftheNewsMedia.org, NAA.org, NAB.org, Poynter.org, PBS MediaShift (http://www.pbs.org/mediashift/).

Assignments and Exams Value Due Date
Future of Media Essay 5%   January 28
Mid-term Essay 20%   March 11
Ethics Case Study 20%   April 15

Final Presentation 25% May 6
Management Case Study 20% on going
Class participation 10% on going

Class participation
This is an interactive class. There will be in-class projects and guest speakers. You will be expected to participate fully in class discussions and projects.

Management case study
You will be divided into six teams of four persons each. The team will prepare a PowerPoint presentation and three-page narrative that presents a management problem and how it was or could be resolved. You will apply one or more management models described in the text and in lectures to the management issue you analyze. The team must find an authentic management case from a media organization that involves a problem to be solved. The teams will begin presenting their cases to the class on Feb. 18.

Ethics case study
You will research an ethical dilemma faced by media managers and apply the Point-of-Decision Pyramid model to your case study and submit a PowerPoint presentation and a minimum two-page narrative.  As part of your group, you will present this to the class.

Final Class Project – Your New Business Model

Here’s how it will work:

* Class will break into eight (8) groups of four (4).

* Each team must work collectively and be responsible for actively participating in the project.

* Each team should choose a Project Leader who will be charged to keep the team “on task”.

* Each project must include a 5 to 7 page “business plan” with the following sections and a member of the team must serve as the “author” of each section, thoroughly researching and clearly writing:

– Executive Summary (Project Leader)

– Product Description: What are its key features and benefits?

– Market: Who is going to read/use the product?

– Operations: How is your business organized?

– Business Model: How will it make money?

Your New Product Business Plan

You are responsible for creating a new media product that will serve as a new or enhanced method to distribute news and information. You will draw from all your readings, guest speakers and research that you’ve done throughout the course of the semester.  You will be expected to draw from all aspects of what we have discussed this semester, including your understanding of journalism, management and ethics.

All projects and presentations are due Wednesday, May 6 at the Dallas Campus.

 

DUE: April 8: A one page summary of your final project.

 

Grading:
Your grade will be determined by performance on all activities. The following grading scale applies:

90-l00 percent of total points possible A
80-89 percent B
70-79 percent C
60-69 percent D
Less than 60 percent F

Students should remember as they monitor their grades during the semester that a C or better is required to count this course toward a journalism degree at the University of North Texas.

Course policies:
You will get the most out of this class if you 1) Complete all reading assignments; 2) Thoroughly prepare your class presentations; 3) Actively participate in class discussions; 4) Meet all deadlines; 5) Attend every class.

Courses will be help at the Downtown UCD and Denton campuses. We also will use video conferencing. You will be given at least one week’s notice of where the class will meet and what is required.

Since we only meet once a week, attendance is extremely important. Attendance will be taken at the beginning of class. Students who are not in class by the time roll is taken will be counted absent. Students with more than two unexcused absences may be dropped from the class at the instructor’s discretion.

Turn off your cell phones, and please avoid side conversations during lectures and your classmates’ presentations.

Throughout the course, guest speakers will be invited to present and engage in lively conversations. You will be alerted when speakers are coming and expected to do research on the speakers prior to their arrival so that you will be able to ask relevant questions. It is strongly encouraged that you take notes during these presentations because you may need information from them to help you with current or future assignments.

Assignments, unless otherwise indicated, must be typed, double-spaced with one-inch margins and stapled. Assignments that do not follow these three simple rules will not be accepted. Late assignments will not be accepted except in the rare case of a documented illness or family emergency.

Documentation for an illness is a note from a doctor or nurse that states explicitly that the student was too ill to attend class. Documentation for a family emergency could be a note from a relative explaining the emergency and should include a phone number so the instructor may verify the note. Any such documentation must be turned in during the class period immediately following the absence(s).

Plagiarism is literary theft. Plagiarism is one of the most serious offenses in journalism. The minimum punishment in this class for such cheating will be an F for the assignment in which the offense occurred, but the instructor may assign an F for the course depending upon the nature of the offense. The offense will also be reported immediately to the department administration for possible further action.

You are responsible for making copies of all of your work on computer disk/flash drive and saving all graded copies of your work that have been returned to you.

The Journalism Department complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act in making reasonable accommodation for qualified students with disabilities. If you have a qualifying disability as defined in the ADA and would like to request accommodation, please see the instructor by the 12th class day.

Course Calendar – Subject to Change
Week 1 – Jan. 21 Introduction to class. Please read the following articles.

Newspapers and Their Quest for the Holy Grail

To Prepare for the Future, Skip the Present By Edward Roussel, Nieman Reports

Innovator’s Dilemma – A Primer

The Changing Newspaper Newsroom
Project of Excellence

Based on the articles, you will write a 500-word essay describing what you would do over the next five years to sustain, revive or suspend operations. The essay is due at the beginning of next week’s class.

Week 2 – Jan. 28
Current Future State of Media. The Innovator’s Dilemma. Role of media managers in shaping the future. Case study method.
DUE next week, read the following:
Knight Digital Media Leadership Report 2008
Takeaways
Read Ch. 1 of Media Management
Leadership. Read Ch. 2 Media Management

Week 3 – Feb. 4 Motivation. Read Ch. 3 Media Management
Case Study presentations
Speaker

Week 4 – Feb 11 Organization. Read Ch. 4 Media Management
Business Analysis Tools

SWOT: http://www.quickmba.com/strategy/swot/

Porter’s Five Forces:  http://www.quickmba.com/strategy/porter.shtml
BCG: http://www.quickmba.com/strategy/matrix/bcg/   and
http://www.brs-inc.com/models/model14.asp

http://www.quickmba.com/strategy/matrix/ge-mckinsey/
Week 5 – Feb. 18 Technology and the Future. Ch. 5 Media Management
Speaker

Week 6 – Feb. 25 Regulation and Ethics. Ch. 6 Media Management

FCC Ownership:

Study 2: Ownership Structure and Robustness of Media

Study 3: Television Station Ownership Structure and the Quantity and Quality of TV Programming

Week 7 – March 4 Ethics continued Chs. 1-3 in Contemporary Media
Speaker

Week 8 – March 11 Midterm Essay Due -

Newspaper Business Model Articles and related links

Week 9 No class – Spring Break

Week 10 – March 25 Ethics continued; ditto reading;

Week 11 – April 1 Ethics continued. Chs. 4-6 Contemporary Media Ethics
Speaker

Week 12 – April 8 Planning. Ch. 7 Media Management

Week 13 – April 15 Market Analysis. Ch 8 Media Management
(Ethics case study due. Class presentations )

Week 14 – April 22 Marketing and Research. Ch. 9 Media Management
Week 15 – April 29 Budgeting and Decision making. Ch. 10 Media Management
Week 16 – May 6 Final Presentations