Course Syllabus

Syllabus 

Ithaca College

Introduction to Media Industries

TVR 124000

Winter 2018

Instructor: Dr. Jack Powers

Office: Park #353

E-mail: jpowers@ithaca.edu

Office Hours:

Just email me. I'll respond promptly. 

Additional hours available by appointment.

Class website: http://tvr124winter2018.blogspot.com

Course description: 

Intro to Media Industries is a course designed to introduce the communication student to the vast and ever-so-pervasive world of the entertainment mass media. Through lectures, class discussions, debates, videos, presentations, assignments, and projects, we shall examine the impact the entertainment media industries have had on American society. We’ll begin with an analysis of the Studio System and its importance to the business of media in this country. We’ll examine the entertainment media industry with a more in-depth look at each industry (television, movies, Internet, sound recording, video games, etc.) and how it has impacted society including how we spend our time, our expectations, society’s emphasis on showbiz and celebrity, influence of entertainment media as it pertains to socialization and politics, the business of the media, and the legal and social impacts of the industry.

Course Objectives/Goals: 

By the end of the term, students enrolled in Intro to Media Industries should be able to:

1. Recognize the elements of the communication process in different settings and understand how these processes play a role in entertainment media;

2. Explain the implications of “disintermediation” of the entertainment media;

3.Understand and explain the concept of convergence and critically analyze its impact on the entertainment industry;

4. Identify a variety of career options in entertainment media;

5. Know about and recognize the impact of media regulation;

6. Describe and recognize the major events/developments of the entertainment media industry;

7. Understand and explain important ethical principles of entertainment media;

8. Discuss the societal impact of media in terms of social effects and how these effects are measured.

9. Discuss the role the major Hollywood studios play in how media are produced, distributed, and exhibited in the United States and around the globe. 

Students will have the opportunity to demonstrate the meeting of these objectives/goals by performing well on exams, participating in intellectual class discussions, completing assignments, developing an app, and completing a final project.

Readings:

All required readings for the course will be posted on the blog. There are daily readings. 

Suggested texts:

Dominick, J. (2012). Dynamics of Mass Communication. New York: McGraw-Hill. 

Feel free to purchase a copy of the 11^th edition via Amazon (some are less than $10).

Again, just to be clear, the book is "suggested," not required. 

Also, students should accustom themselves to reading The Hollywood Reporter and Variety on a daily basis. 

Mass Media Project

The entertainment media represent one of the few industries where those outside the profession consistently believe they can do a better job than those working inside the profession. The media are constantly under attack by different groups—including college students. This project offers you an opportunity to produce original, creative media content for a mass audience.

Project Information

Task: To create entertainment media for a mass audience.

Goal: To understand an aspect of the entertainment media business that is critical to the entire mass media field. 

Sample projects include:

Producing a series of BuzzFeed Quizzes (minimum of two).

Developing an advertising campaign for a client (a real, local client).

Developing of an online video game.

Creating an app for the Google Play market.

Producing a music video.

Producing a scene from a drama or a sitcom.

Creating a game show (with a pitch/pilot filmed).

Creating a pitch for ICTV (with a pitch/pilot filmed). 

Writing a spec script for a comedy or drama and (with a scene filmed).

Producing a TV commercial (for TV or online).

Creating an online blog dedicated to entertainment media industry.

Creating a YouTube Channel dedicated to entertainment media industry.

Producing a short film. 

Producing a project of your choosing (all projects must be approved).   

The projects will be evaluated as follows:

Project Content (media): 30 points

Production fluency (video, audio, design, etc.): 10 points

Creativity: 10 points                                                     

Total: 50 points

App Project

Each student will produce a simple App for the Google Play market. The App needs to have content that deals with the entertainment media industry (for example, a quiz app about Modern Family, an adventure game featuring characters from The Hunger Games, a matching game about Studio Presidents, etc.).

More specific information regarding the App project will be provided in class.

The app is worth 50 points.

Don't worry too much about it. I'll walk you through each step. If you can use Microsoft Word, you can use the software we use to make an app. The assumption is that you have no background in app development. We start from scratch. 

Hollywood Studio Quizzes

Each student is required to complete seven online quizzes of the major Hollywood Studios. Specifically, students will complete quizzes on the following studios:

Disney

Paramount

20th-Century Fox

CBS Studios

Warner Bros

Universal

SONY

Each studio quiz (SQ) is worth 10 points. The quizzes can be found on Sakai under "Tests and Quizzes."

The studio quizzes are open-book. That means any and all resources can be used to complete them. Also, you are allowed to take each quiz two times.

Reactions

Each student is required to submit 5 online reaction pieces to current media topics throughout the term (articles are provided to you and you write a reaction to the article). Topics may include censorship, convergence, copyright, First Amendment issues, career issues, media controversies, television ratings, streaming, the business of media, etc.

Each reaction piece is worth 10 points.

Exams: 

There are a total of 4 exams.

The first 3 are shorter quizzes. The final exam is longer and is cumulative.   

Evaluations and grading:

Exam 1—50 points

Exam 2—50 points

Exam 3---50 points
Final Exam—150 points

Reactions—50 points

Hollywood Studio Quizzes—70 points

Entertainment Media Project—50 points

App Project—50 points

Total: 520 points   

Overall grades will be based on the following percentages:

A (93% - 100%)

A- (90% - 92.9%)

B+ (87% - 89.9%)

B (83% - 86.9%)

B- (80% - 82.9%)

C+ (77% - 79.9%)

C (73% -76.9%)

C- (70% - 72.9%)

D+ (67% - 69.9%)

D (63% - 66.9%)

D- (60% - 62.9%)

F (0% to 59.9%)

There is no curve.

All grades are kept via the Sakai Gradebook. Simply click on the gradebook and you can check on your overall grade at any point in the term. 

Standards of Academic Conduct:

A.	Academic honesty is a cornerstone of the mission of the College. Unless it is otherwise stipulated, students may submit for evaluation only that work that is their own and that is submitted originally for a specific course. According to traditions of higher education, forms of conduct that will be considered evidence of academic misconduct include but are not limited to the following: conversations between students during an examination; reviewing, without authorization, material   during an examination (e.g., personal notes, another student's exam); unauthorized collaboration; submission of a paper also submitted for credit in another course; reference to written material related to the course brought into an examination room during a closed-book, written examination; and submission without proper acknowledgment of work that is based partially or entirely on the ideas or writings of others. Only when a faculty member gives prior approval for such actions can they be acceptable.
B.	It is the responsibility of instructors to inform students clearly in writing specific rules, procedures, and/or expectations pertinent to their particular course that differ from those identified in paragraph A of this section. In those courses where limited consultation among students is permitted in the preparation of assignments, it is extremely important for instructors to clarify the guidelines for appropriate conduct.
C.	In situations where a student may have difficulty in distinguishing between acceptable behavior and   academic misconduct, it is the responsibility of the student to confer with the instructor. This is particularly important for avoiding plagiarism when written sources are used in the preparation of papers or take home examinations.
	Because Ithaca College is an academic community, ignorance of the accepted standards of academic   honesty in no way affects the responsibility of students who violate standards of conduct in courses and other academic activities.
D.	All members of the academic community are expected to assist in maintaining the integrity of Ithaca College, which includes reporting incidents of academic misconduct. Such instances may be reported to a faculty member, the dean of the school involved, or the director of judicial affairs.

Plagiarism:

Whether intended or not, plagiarism is a serious offense against academic honesty. Under any circumstances, it is deceitful to represent as one's own work, writing or ideas that belong to another person. Students should be aware of how this offense is defined. Plagiarism is the unacknowledged use of someone else's published or unpublished ideas, whether this use consists of directly quoted material or paraphrased ideas.

Although various disciplines follow styles of documentation that differ in some details, all forms of documentation make the following demands:

That each quotation or paraphrase be acknowledged with a footnote or in-text citation;

That direct quotations be enclosed in quotation marks and be absolutely faithful to the wording of the source;

That paraphrased ideas be stated in language entirely different from the language of the source;

That a sequence of ideas identical to that of a source be attributed to that source;

That sources of reprinted charts or graphs be cited in the text;

That all the sources the writer has drawn from in paraphrase or direct quotation or a combination of paraphrase and quotation be listed at the end of the paper under "Bibliography," "References," or "Works Cited," whichever heading the particular style of documentation requires.

A student is guilty of plagiarism if the student fails, intentionally or not, to follow any of these standard requirements of documentation.

In a collaborative project, all students in a group may be held responsible for academic misconduct if they engage in plagiarism or are aware of plagiarism by others in their group and fail to report it. Students who participate in a collaborative project in which plagiarism has occurred will not be held accountable if they were not knowledgeable of the plagiarism.

What, then, do students not have to document? They need not cite their own ideas, or references to their own experiences, or information that falls in the category of uncontroversial common knowledge (what a person reasonably well-informed about a subject might be expected to know). They should acknowledge anything else.

Other Forms of Academic Dishonesty

Other violations of academic honesty include, but are not limited to, the following behaviors:

Handing in to a class a paper written by someone else;

Handing in as an original work for a class a paper one has already submitted to another course;

Handing in the same paper simultaneously to two courses without the full knowledge and explicit consent of all the faculty members involved;

Having someone else rewrite or clean up a rough draft and submitting those revisions as one's own work.

These offenses violate the atmosphere of trust and mutual respect necessary the process of learning.

Note: Students who would like help in learning how to paraphrase or document sources properly should feel free to come to the Writing Center in Smiddy 107 for assistance.

Students with disabilities:

In compliance with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act, reasonable accommodation will be provided to students with documented disabilities on a case-by-case basis. Students must register with the Office of Academic Support Services and provide appropriate documentation to the College before any academic adjustment will be provided.

Dealing with Stress while at College:

Diminished mental health, including significant stress, mood changes, excessive worry, or problems with eating and/or sleeping can interfere with optimal academic performance. The source of symptoms might be strictly related to your course work; if so, please speak with me. However, problems with relationships, family worries, loss, or a personal struggle or crisis can also contribute to decreased academic performance.

Ithaca College provides a Counseling Center to support the academic success of students. The Counseling Center provides cost-free services to help you manage personal challenges that threaten your well-being.

In the event I suspect you need additional support, I will express my concerns and the reasons for them, and remind you of resources (e.g., Counseling Center, Health Center, chaplains, etc.) that might be helpful to you. It is not my intention to know the details of what might be bothering you, but simply to let you know I am concerned and that help, if needed, is available.

Getting help is a smart and courageous thing to do -- for yourself and for your loved ones.

Title IX:

Title IX is a federal act mandating that educational institutions must provide sex and gender equity.

All students thus have the right to a campus atmosphere free of sexual harassment, sexual violence, and gender discrimination.

For questions about sexual misconduct, see the Ithaca SHARE website (Sexual Harassment and Assault Response and Education):  http://www.ithaca.edu/sacl/share/.

To report or discuss sexual assault or harassment, or general issues, please contact Tiffani Ziemann, Title IX  Coordinator;  tziemann@ithaca.edu 607-274-3300.

Title IX reporting:

Be advised that if you disclose a Title IX incident, your professor is legally obligated to inform the Title IX coordinator, tziemann@ithaca.edu of all relevant information, including your name. The college will take initial steps to address the incident(s), protect, and, support those directly affected, and enhance the safety of our community. The Title IX coordinator will work with you to determine the best way to proceed. For more information:   https://www.ithaca.edu/sacl/share/

Course material: 

Assigned readings should be completed prior to class. Lectures and assignments are intended to enhance and/or supplement the readings. Some of the material will come from sources other than the assigned readings. You are responsible for this material as well as for the material in the readings—even if it is not specifically covered in class. If you have any difficulty understanding the material, it is your responsibility to ask for clarification. Often, I will ask if anyone has any questions.

Make-up policy: 

As a general rule, make-up assignments are not allowed except in cases of emergency. It is your responsibility to complete the assignments. If an emergency does arise, it is imperative for you to contact me PRIOR to the scheduled due date. Do not expect to make-up a missed assignment without clearing it with me ahead of time. Incompletes are rarely given. In fact, an incomplete is only given if you are unable to complete the coursework because of a serious illness, accident, emergency, or other crisis. A formal request must be made prior to the end of the term. An incomplete can only be granted with permission from the Dean.

Late Assignments: 

As a general rule, late assignments are not accepted. In specific circumstances, late assignments may be accepted, but with a substantial penalty. Obviously, I know life often interrupts us, so just let me know about any issues and I'd be happy to work with you. 

Tentative Course Schedule
The daily course schedule is posted on the blog at http://tvr124winter2018.blogspot.com