Media Management, Ethics and Future of Newspapers – Spring 2010

JOUR 5280

Media Management, Ethics and the Business of Journalism

Spring 2010

Wednesday 6:30 p.m. – 9:20 p.m.

Instructor : Neil Foote, Senior Lecturer

Office : GAB 109

Phone : 940.369.8088

Email : foote@unt.edu

Office Hours : 9am – 10am, Tuesdays & Thursdays 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’s mind. This course introduces media 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. Throughout the course, you will have a chance to meet and discuss current issues and trends with media executives.

After completing the course, you should be able to:

Describe the most important issues facing media managers.
Understand how media 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):

Understand and apply First Amendment principles and the law appropriate to professional practice.
Demonstrate an understanding of the history and role of professionals and institutions in shaping communications.
Demonstrate an understanding of the diversity of groups in a global society in relationship to communications.
Understand concepts and apply theories in the use and presentation of images and information.
Work ethically in pursuit of truth, accuracy, fairness and diversity.
Think critically, creatively and independently.
Conduct research and evaluate information by methods appropriate to the communications professions in which they work.
Write correctly and clearly in forms and styles appropriate for the communications professions, audiences and purposes they serve.
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. There will be material from the book, e.g. case studies, that we will use during the class that will greatly improve the interactively of the course. 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 27

Management Case Study 20% Feb 10

Mid-term Essay 20% March 10

Ethics Case Study 20% April 7

Final Presentation 25% May 5

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 teams. We’ll randomly choose those teams on Week 2. 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. 10.

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 six-page narrative.

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. 20	Introduction to class. Please read the following articles. Newspapers and Their Quest for the Holy Grail http://www.nieman.harvard.edu/reportsitem.aspx?id=100279 To Prepare for the Future, Skip the Present By Edward Roussel, Nieman Reports http://www.nieman.harvard.edu/reportsitem.aspx?id=100669 The Reconstruction of American Journalism http://www.cjr.org/reconstruction/the_reconstruction_of_american.php?page=1 The Changing Newspaper Newsroom Project of Excellence http://www.stateofthemedia.org/2009/narrative_overview_majortrends.php?cat=1&media=1 Based on the articles, you will write a 500-word essay describing what you would dove 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. 27	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: Innovator’s Dilemma – A Primer http://www.innosight.com/documents/DI%20InsertSM2_lo.pdf Knight Digital Media Leadership Report 2008 Takeaways: http://www.knightdigitalmediacenter.org/leadership/leadership_report_2008_takeaways/ Read Ch. 1 of Media Management Leadership. Read Ch. 2 Media Management
Week 3 – Feb. 3	Motivation. Read Ch. 3 Media Management Speaker
Week 4 – Feb 10	Organization. Read Ch. 4 Media Management Case Study presentations
Week 5 – Feb. 17	Technology and the Future. Ch. 5 Media Management Speaker
Week 6 – Feb. 24	Regulation and Ethics. Ch. 6 Media Management
Week 7 – March 3	Ethics continued Chs. 1-3 in Contemporary Media Speaker
Week 8 – March 10	Midterm Essay Due –
Week 9 – March 17	No class – Spring Break
Week 10 – March 24	Ethics continued; ditto reading;
Week 11 – March 31	Ethics continued. Chs. 4-6 Contemporary Media Ethics
Week 12 – April 7	(Ethics case study due April 7) Planning. Ch. 7 Media Management
Week 13 – April 14	Market Analysis. Ch 8 Media Management
Week 14 – April 21	Marketing and Research. Ch. 9 Media Management
Week 15 – April 28	Budgeting and Decision making. Ch. 10 Media Management
Week 16 – May 5	Final Presentations