"There is nothing so practical as a good theory ."
-- social psychologist Kurt Lewin
ABOUT
THIS COURSE: Scholarly research involves asking interesting questions, effectively probing for answers and communicating what is learned. But so does writing a story for a newspaper. Or trying a case in court before a jury. Or diagnosing and prescribing medical treatment for a sick patient. Or a thousand other forms of gathering, processing and sharing information. What sets the scholar’s version apart is the connection to more broadly useful explanatory ideas and concepts -- that is, to theory.
This course explores a set of theories commonly used by social scientists in general and media researchers in particular. They stem from a variety of fields, including psychology, sociology and linguistics, and over the years, people seeking to understand how and why mediated communication works have found their explanatory power to be useful. There is nothing so practical as a good theory.
In this course, you will explore the process of building, adapting and applying theory; dig into specific theories widely used in our field; and expand your ability to think about interesting ideas as the scholars you are well on your way to becoming. Enjoy the journey!
| REQUIRED BOOK: |
Communication Theories:
Origins, Methods, and Uses in the Mass Media
Werner J. Severin and James W. Tankard Jr.
(Addison Wesley Longman, 2001, 5th edition)
|
There will be supplemental readings each week. These typically will include both seminal or classic work(s) and relatively recent application of the theory or theories covered in the textbook. Details are provided below.
Readings
on reserve in the Journalism Resource Center also are available
online through ICON, the University's course management system.
Sign on using your HawkID. |
| INSTRUCTOR: |
Dr. Jane B. Singer
W341 Adler Journalism Building
335-3431
jane-singer@uiowa.edu
|
| Office hours: |
9 to 11 a .m. Tuesdays and Wednesdays
Or by appointment
|
| About your instructor: |
Jane's research is primarily in the area of online journalism, particularly the sociology and norms of online news work. Her recent articles have appeared in Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, Journalism Studies and the Journal of Mass Media Ethics; she is a member of the editorial board of all three journals, as well as the Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication and the soon-to-be-launched Journalism Practice, and is an associate editor of Convergence: The Journal of Research into New Media Technologies. In a previous life, she spent 15 years as a print and online journalist, working as a reporter and editor at three East Coast newspapers before joining CBS in 1982 as an editor of its fledgling online service. That project evolved into the Prodigy Services Company, and she was Prodigy's first news manager. Jane holds a Ph.D. in journalism from the University of Missouri; an M.A. in liberal studies from New York University; and a bachelor's degree in journalism from the University of Georgia. In January 2007, she will begin a leave of absence from Iowa to take on a three-year position in England as the Johnston Press Chair in Digital Journalism. |
| SCHOOL INFORMATION: |
School of Journalism and Mass Communication
Main office: E305 Adler Journalism Building
Office phone: 335-3401 (Lynne Richey or Rosemary Zimmerman)
Director: Pam Creedon, E305B Adler Journalism Building
335-3482; pam-creedon@uiowa.edu
|
| LEARNING ENABLEMENT: |
Jane would like to hear from anyone who has a disability that may require modification of seating, grading or other class requirements so appropriate arrangements may be made. Please see Jane after class or during office hours, or make an appointment for an alternate time. |
| CLASS
POLICIES: |
Attendance: This is a once-a-week doctoral seminar, so class participation, including
presenting and discussing original ideas, is an important component
. In case of a dire emergency that prevents your being with us, please let Jane know the reason for your absence within 24 hours of the missed class period.
(E-mail is fine.) |
| |
Academic
Integrity: Please refer to the College ofLiberal Arts and Sciences Student Academic Handbook for information about academic honesty. University penalties for plagiarism -- defined in Webster's New World Dictionary as taking ideas, writings and so on from another and passing them off as one's own -- range from grade reduction to dismissal from the University. It is also dishonest to turn in the same paper or other work for multiple classes. |
| |
Student
rights and responsibilities: You have the right to expect an environment that enables you to learn. And you have a responsibility to colleagues and the instructor to help create an environment in which others may learn.If you have a complaint against any member of the teaching staff, you are responsible for following the Graduate College Academic Grievance Procedures. However, please try to work out a solution with the individuals involved first. |
| BLOG: |
Participation in this online class community is optional, but it’s available if you’d like to use it to share ideas.
Details
about how to sign up as a blog member (it’s free
and easy, and as a member, you can originate your own messages) will
be provided in class. But in the meantime, anyone can post comments
to the blog anonymously. Here’s
how:
1.
Go to our blog: iowajournalism331.blogspot.com
2. Find
the item (posted by Jane or someone else in the class) to which
you want to contribute your comments.
3.
Click on the word “Comments.”
4.
Click on “Post a Comment.”
5.
Share your thoughts! Be sure to include your name in the text
of the
post so the rest of us know who it is from.
6. “Preview” if you like. When you are satisfied,
select "Anonymous" and publish your comment.
7.
Welcome to the blogosphere! |
GRADING
Your grade in
Advanced Communication Theory will come from your written work, your ability to enhance others’ understanding, and your contributions to the class community each week. You must complete all work on time to receive full credit. Details about each assignment will be provided in class.
PLUS-MINUS: We will use plus-minus indications for final grades.
GRADE CHANGES: If you believe a grade is wrong, you
must see Jane within one week after the material has been returned
to you. After that, the grade stands.
THREE SHORT PAPERS
(45 percent of total grade, or 15 percent each):
|
Although the topics could change, here are proposals for three mid-semester papers, each three to five pages long, designed to help you step back from the readings and connect some ideas in a way that makes sense to you. The due dates correspond roughly to the three main course segments.
Paper One (due September 12):
There is nothing so practical as a good theory -- but why? Why does theory matter? What does it do for us?
Paper Two (due October 10):
You’re getting graduate degrees in either “mass communication” or “journalism.” Why bother learning about theories of cognition, interpersonal communication and so on? You may have been asking yourself (or each other) that very question! So here’s a chance to come up with a viable answer. Paper Three (due November 14):
Two options here. (Others may arise as we go along.)
* Option A) Think about a subject that has been getting news coverage lately. As a scholar, how would you go about studying it? What questions does it raise? In particular, what theory or theories would you apply, and why would they be useful?
* Option B) As the media continue to undergo dramatic change, what theory (or, better, theories) would be most useful in understanding those changes? Why? |
ONE LONGER PAPER
(25 percent of total grade) |
This course does not really lend itself to development of a complete study -- but it is perfect for creating the theoretical component of a literature review for, say, a thesis or dissertation proposal. In this paper, roughly 20 pages in length, you will explore a theory of your choice in depth, researching its foundations, examining contemporary applications, and tying what you find together into a cohesive literature review.
This paper will be due on the last day of class, December 5. |
TEACHING THEORY
(20 percent of total grade) |
You will identify one theory that interests you and teach the rest of us about it. In conjunction with this task, you will select a scholarly article that you think applies your theory in interesting and effective ways, make it available to the rest of the class, and incorporate it (along with readings from the book and the syllabus) in your lesson.
Creativity is welcome in finding ways to engage your “students” in the day’s material and to help us remember the key concepts. You will turn in a written outline of key points, discussion topics and questions for the class; class handouts also are encouraged but not required. Although the choice of theory is yours, think about picking one you’re not already familiar with so we can all learn something new.
Dates depend on the theory you pick; available options begin September 5.
|
PARTICIPATION
(10 percent of total grade) |
Read the material by Tuesday’s class each week, and be prepared to discuss it, challenge it, ask questions about it or whatever. One helpful starting point for thinking about possible discussion topics is the list of questions at the end of each chapter of the textbook, especially the ones that require more than basic recall of the content.
Remember that the blog (iowajournalism331.blogspot.com) is available as an optional place to raise questions, share insights or just kick ideas around. |
PROPOSED
SCHEDULE of CLASSES, READINGS and ASSIGNMENTS
After the first week, readings should be completed before class on Tuesday. Readings are subject to addition, subtraction and/or substitution as new materials become available and as our interests dictate. Most supplemental readings include classic and contemporary pieces.
Some weeks, two (or even three!) topical options are offered; read the classic/contemporary set of greater interest to you. Similarly, if more than one option for a “classic” or “contemporary” reading is given, you only need to read one … unless, of course, you’re interested in digging deeper.
Most weeks, a class member also will provide one additional supplemental reading.
Readings are on reserve online, through ICON, and in hard copy form in the Journalism Resource Center (E350 Adler). Many also can be downloaded at no cost from online databases of academic journals, accessible through InfoHawk (with its special journalism/mass comm index), through the Google Scholar search engine, and in other ways. See "Resources" below for other options.
| PART ONE: THEORIES, METHODS and MODELS |
AUGUST 22: INTRODUCTIONS
Spotlight on: Prospectus and groundwork
|
READ:
(Reserve readings available through ICON.)
|
Severin and Tankard, Chapter 1 (“Intro to Mass Communication Theory,” 1-21)
Chaffee, “Concept Explication: An Overview"
From Explication (1991): 1-14
Popper, “Science: Conjectures and Refutations”
From Conjectures and Refutations: The Growth of Scientific Knowledge (1965): 33-58
Schramm, “The Challenge To Communication Research”
In Introduction to Mass Comm Research (Nafziger and White, eds., 1958/1963): 3-31
|
AUGUST 29: SCIENTIFIC METHODS and MODELS
Spotlight on: The scientific method (as opposed to other kinds), evolution of communication models
|
READ:
(Reserve readings available through ICON.) |
Severin and Tankard, Chapter 2 (“Scientific Method,” 23-46)
Severin and Tankard, Chapter 3 (“Models in Mass Communication Research,” 47-70)
CLASSIC (METHODS): Westley, “Scientific Method and Communication Research”
In Introduction to Mass Comm Research (Nafziger and White, eds., 1958/1963): 238-76
CLASSIC (MODELS): Westley and MacLean,
“A Conceptual Model for Communication Research”
Journalism Quarterly 34 (1957): 31-38
CONTEMPORARY: Lin, “An Interactive Communication Technology Adoption Model”
Communication Theory 13 (4, November 2003): 345-65
|
| PART TWO: INDIVIDUALS and GROUPS |
SEPTEMBER 5: PERCEPTION
Spotlight on: Schema theory, general semantics, objectivity |
| CO-INSTRUCTOR: Mohamad Elmasry (general semantics) |
READ:
(Reserve readings available through ICON.)
|
Severin and Tankard, Chapter 4 ("The Role of Perception in Communication," 71-90)
Severin and Tankard, Chapter 5 ("Problems in Encoding," 91-107)
From Mohamad:
Merrill, "Korzybski to the Rescue"
From Journalism Ethics: Philosophical Foundations for News Media (1997): 155-173
If you're more interested in schema theory, read these:
CLASSIC: Graber, "Schema Theory" and "Thinking Categories"
From Processing the News: How People Tame the Information Tide (1988, 2nd edn.): 27-31, 184-220
CONTEMPORARY: Andsager, Weintraub and Pinkleton,
“Gender as Variable in Interpretation of Alcohol-related Messages"
Communication Research 29 (3, June 2002): 246-69
|
* If you’re more interested in general semantics or objectivity, read these:
CLASSIC: Hayakawa, “Symbols,” “Language of Reports” and “How We Know What We Know”
From Language in Thought and Action (1949): 24-53, 165-185
CONTEMPORARY: Aday, Livingston and Hebert, “Embedding the Truth: A Cross-Cultural Analysis of Objectivity and Television Coverage of the Iraq War”
Harvard International Journal of Press Politics 10 (1, Winter 2005): 3-21
|
|
SEPTEMBER 12: PROPAGANDA and PERSUASION
Spotlight on: Motivational communication |
| CO-INSTRUCTOR: Rob DeSpain (propaganda theories) |
| DUE: |
First short paper
|
READ:
(Reserve readings available through ICON.) |
Severin and Tankard, Chapter 6 ("Analysis of Propaganda," 108-130)
Severin and Tankard, Chapter 8 ("Theories of Persuasion," 151-184)
From Rob:
Ellul, "Effects of Internal Propaganda"
From Propaganda: The Formation of Men's Attitudes (1972): 250-257
If you're more interested in propaganda, read these:
CLASSIC OPTION A: Lee and Lee, "Our Bewildering Maze of Propaganda" and "Tricks of the Trade"
From The Fine Art of Propaganda: Study of Father Coughlin's Speeches (1939): 14-25
Or ... CLASSIC OPTION B: Lasswell, "The Matter in Hand" and "Conditions and Methods of Propaganda: A Summary"
From Propaganda Technique in the World War (1927): 1-13, 185-213
CONTEMPORARY: Clark and Christie: "Ready ... Ready ... Drop!: A Content Analysis of Coalition Leaflets Used in the Iraq War"
From Gazette 67 (2, April 2005): 141-54 |
* If you’re more interested in persuasion, read these:
CLASSIC: D. Katz, "The Functional Approach to the Study of Attitudes”
Public Opinion Quarterly 24 (1960): 163-204
CONTEMPORARY OPTION A: Yzer et al., "The Effectiveness of Gateway Communications in Anti-marijuana Campaigns"
Journal of Health Communication 8 (2, March/April 2003): 129-43
CONTEMPORARY OPTION B: DeSantis and Morgan, "Sometimes a Cigar [Magazine] Is More Than Just a Cigar [Magazine]: Pro-Smoking Arguments in Cigar Aficionado 1992-2000"
Health Communication 15 (4, 2003): 457-80
|
|
SEPTEMBER 19: SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY and the SPIRAL of SILENCE
Spotlight on: The self ... and everybody else |
| CO-INSTRUCTOR: Lee Farquhar (social psych / group influence) |
READ:
(Reserve readings available through ICON.)
|
Severin and Tankard, Chapter 7 ("Cognitive Consistency and Mass Communication," 131-150)
Severin and Tankard, Chapter 9 ("Groups and Communication," 185-200)
Severin and Tankard, "The Spiral of Silence" section of Chapter 13 (272-274)
From Lee:
Pool, Wood and Leck, "The Self-Esteem Motive in Social Influence: Agreement with Valued Majorities and Disagreement with Derogated Minorities"
Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 75 (4, 1998): 967-75
If you're more interested in cognition, read these:
CLASSIC: Festinger, “Introduction to the Theory of Dissonance” and “Consequences of Decisions: Theory”
From A Theory of Cognitive Dissonance (1957): 1-47
CONTEMPORARY: Beasley and Joslyn, "Cognitive Dissonance and Post-Decision Attitude Change in Six Presidential Elections"
Political Psychology 22 (3, September 2001): 521-40
|
* If you’re more interested in the influence of groups, read these:
CLASSIC: Lazarsfeld, Berelson and Gaudet, “Preface to the Second Edition,” “Introduction” and “”The Nature of Personal Influence”
From The People’s Choice: How the Voter Makes Up His Mind in a Presidential Campaign (1968, 3rd edn.): xix-xl, 1-9, 150-158
CONTEMPORARY: Hogg and Reid, “Social Identity, Self-Categorization and the Communication of Group Norms”
Communication Theory 16 (1, February 2006): 7-30
|
* If you’re more interested in the spiral of silence theory, read these:
CLASSIC: Noelle-Neumann, “The Spiral of Silence: A Theory of Public Opinion”
Journal of Communication 24 (4, spring 1974): 43-51
CONTEMPORARY: Moy, Domke and Stamm, “The Spiral of Silence and Public Opinion on Affirmative Action”
Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly 78 (1, spring 2001): 7-25
|
|
SEPTEMBER 26: INTERPERSONAL COMMUNICATION
Spotlight on: Intricate interactions |
READ:
(Reserve readings available through ICON.) |
Severin and Tankard, Chapter 10 ("Mass Media and Interpersonal Communication," 201-216)
CLASSIC: E. Katz and Lazarsfeld, "The Group and the World Outside: Implications for Mass Media Research"
From Personal Influence: The Part Played by Peoople in the Flow of Mass Communication (1955): 116-133
CLASSIC: E. Katz, "The Two-Step Flow of Communication: An Up-to-Date Report of a Hypothesis"
Public Opinion Quarterly 21 (1957): 61-78
CONTEMPORARY: Yang and Stone, "The Powerful Role of Interpersonal Communication in Agenda Setting"
Mass Communication & Society 6 (1, 2003): 57-74
OPTIONAL: There are a number of other interesting approaches to the dynamics of interpersonal communication. If you're interested, a couple of classics to check out are:
Optional on SYMBOLIC INTERACTION: Mead, "The Social Self"
Journal of Philosophy, Psychology and Scientific Methods 10 (14, 1913): 374-80
Optional on CO-ORIENTATION: McLeod and Chaffee, "Interpersonal Approaches to Communication Research"
American Behavioral Scientist 16 (4, 1973): 469-500
(Available through InfoHawk if link doesn't work.)
|
OCTOBER 3: DIFFUSION of INNOVATIONS
Spotlight on: A theory about change |
| CO-INSTRUCTOR: Kate LaVail (diffusion of innovations) |
READ:
(Reserve readings available through ICON.) |
CLASSIC: Rogers, “Elements of Diffusion” and “Attributes of Innovations and Their Rate of Adoption”
From Diffusion of Innovations, 4th edn. (1-37, 204-51)
ALSO CLASSIC: Markus, “Toward a `Critical Mass’ Theory of Interactive Media"
From Organizations and Communication Technology (Fulk and Steinfield, eds., 1990): 194-218
(Same text as journal article on print syllabus.)
CONTEMPORARY: Singer, “Strange Bedfellows? The Diffusion of Convergence in Four News Organizations”
Journalism Studies 5 (1, February 2004): 3-18
From Kate:
Bertrand, "Diffusion of Innovations and HIV/AIDS"
Journal of Health Communication 9 (1, 2004): 113-21
|
| PART THREE: THE "MASS" MEDIA |
OCTOBER 10: AGENDA SETTING and FRAMING
Spotlight on: Media and public opinion |
| DUE: |
Second short paper
|
READ:
(Reserve
readings available through ICON.) |
Severin and Tankard, Chapter 11 ("Agenda Setting," 217-244)
Severin and Tankard, "Media Framing" section of Chapter 13 (277-280)
CLASSIC: McCombs and Shaw, “The Agenda-Setting Function of Mass Media"
Public Opinion Quarterly 36 (2, summer 1972): 176-87
UPDATED CLASSIC: McCombs and Shaw, “The Evolution of Agenda-Setting Research: Twenty-five Years in the Marketplace of Ideas”
Journal of Communication 42 (2, spring 1993): 58-67
CONTEMPORARY: Johnson, Wanta and Boudreau, “Drug Peddlers: How Four Presidents Attempted to Influence Media and Public Concern on Drug Issue"
Atlantic Journal of Communication 12 (4, 2004): 177-99
CONTEMPORARY (for those not way too familiar with it by now): Wanta, Golan and Lee, “Agenda Setting and International News: Media Influence on Public Perceptions of Foreign Nations”
Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly 81 (2, summer 2004): 364-77
If you're not already totally down with framing theory, read these:
CLASSIC: Pan and Kosicki, “Framing Analysis: Approach to News Discourse”
Political Communication 10 (1, January/March 1993): 55-75
SIMILARLY CLASSIC: Entman, “Framing: Toward Clarification of a Fractured Paradigm”
Journal of Communication 43 (4, autumn 1993): 51-58
CLOSE TO CONTEMPORARY: Scheufele, “Framing as a Theory of Media Effects”
Journal of Communication 49 (1, winter 1999): 103-22
CONTEMPORARY (THEORETICAL): D'Angelo, “News Framing as a Multi-paradigmatic Research Program: A Response to Entman”
Journal of Communication 52 (4, December 2002): 870-88
MORE CONTEMPORARY (APPLIED): Shah, Kwak, Schmierbach and Zubric, “The Interplay of News Frames on Cognitive Complexity”
Human Communication Research 30 (1, January 2004): 102-20
|
And here are a couple on priming, part of the same media effects family:
CLASSIC: Iyengar and Kinder, "The Priming Effect," "Priming and Presidential Character" and "Priming and Presidential Responsibility"
From News That Matters (1987): 63-89
AGENDA SETTING, FRAMING AND PRIMING COMBINED: Iyengar and Simon, "News Coverage of the Gulf Crisis and Public Opinion"
Communication Research 20 (3, June 1993): 365-83 |
|
OCTOBER 17: MID-SEMESTER MYSTERY SOLVED!
Brainstorming session: Lit reviews
|
Jane will be out of town today. Please talk amongst yourselves.
Preliminary info on your selected topic and theory is due at the end of the day Friday, Oct. 20. |
OCTOBER 24: MEDIA EFFECTS: THIRD-PERSON EFFECTS and the KNOWLEDGE GAP
Spotlight on: The media and democracy, a pre-election special |
| CO-INSTRUCTOR: Joe Schwartz (third-person effects) |
| REMINDER: |
Upcoming conference paper submission deadlines:
International
Communication Asssociation (San Francisco), November 1
Convention dates: May 24-28, 2007
Broadcast
Education Association (Las Vegas), December 4
Convention dates: April 18-21, 2007
|
READ
(Reserve readings available through ICON.) |
Severin and Tankard, Chapter 12 ("The Knowledge-Gap Hypothesis," 245-261)
Severin and Tankard, Chapter 13 ("Effects of Mass Communication," 262-292)
From Joe:
Jensen and Hurley, "Third-Person Effects and the Environment: Social Distance, Social Desirability, and Presumed Behavior"
Journal of Communication 55 (June 2005): 242-56.
If you're more interested in third-person effects, read these:
CLASSIC: Davison, "The Third-Person Effect in Communication"
Public Opinion Quarterly 47 (1, spring 1983): 1-15
CONTEMPORARY OPTION A: D. McLeod, Detenber and Eveland,
“Behind the Third-Person Effect: Differentiating Perceptual Processes for Self and Other”
Journal of Communication 51 (4, December 2001): 678-95
Or … CONTEMPORARY OPTION B: Meirick, “Topic-Relevant Reference Groups And Dimensions of Distance: Political Advertising and First- and Third-Person Effects”
Communication Research 31 (2, April 2004): 234-55
|
If you're more interested in the knowledge gap, read these:
CLASSIC: Tichenor, Donohue and Olien, “Mass Media Flow and Differential Growth in Knowledge”
Public Opinion Quarterly 34 (2, summer 1970): 159-70
CONTEMPORARY OPTION A: Holbrook, “Presidential Campaigns and the Knowledge Gap”
Political Communication 19 (4, October/December 2002): 437-54
Or ... CONTEMPORARY OPTION B: Eveland, Shah and Kwak,
“Assessing Causality in the Cognitive Mediation Model: A Panel Study of Motivations, Information Processing and Learning During Campaign 2000”
Communication Research 30 (4, August 2003): 387-413 |
|
OCTOBER 31: MEDIA EFFECTS: CULTIVATION THEORY
(Halloween special!)
Spotlight on: Freddie, Jason and their kin ... plus a peek into the scary world of feuding theorists |
| CO-INSTRUCTOR: Yeon Kim (cultivation theory) |
| REMINDER: |
Upcoming conference paper submission deadlines:
International Communication Asssociation (San Francisco), November 1
Convention dates: May 24-28, 2007
Broadcast Education Association (Las Vegas), December 4
Convention dates: April 18-21, 2007 |
READ:
(Reserve readings available through ICON.) |
CLASSIC: Gerbner and Gross, “Living with Television: The Violence Profile”
Journal of Communication 26 (2, Spring 1976): 172-99
CONTEMPORARY: Shanahan, Scheufele, Yang and Hizi, “Cultivation and Spiral of Silence Effects: The Case of Smoking”
Mass Communication & Society 7 (4, 2004): 413-28
From Yeon:
Williams, "Virtual Cultivation: Online Worlds, Offline Perceptions"
Journal of Communication 56 (1, 2006): 69-87
Gerbner, Gross, Morgan and Signorielli, "The `Mainstreaming' of America: Violence Profile No. 11"
Journal of Communication 30 (3, 1980): 10-29
RECOMMENDED READING: What happens when scholars disagree about theory? Enter if you dare (but please at least peek inside before class) ...
Hirsch, “The `Scary World’ of the Nonviewer and Other Anomalies: A Reanalysis of Gerbner et al.’s Findings on Cultivation Analysis, Part 1”
Communication Research 7 (4, October 1980): 403-56
Hirsch, “On Not Learning from One’s Own Mistakes: A Reanalysis of Gerbner et al.’s Findings on Cultivation Analysis, Part II”
Communication Research 8 (1, January 1981): 3-37
Gerbner, Gross, Morgan and Signorielli, “A Curious Journey into the Scary World of Paul Hirsch”
Communication Research 8 (1, January 1981): 39-72
Hirsch, “Distinguishing Good Speculation from Bad Theory: Rejoinder to Gerbner et al.”
Communication Research 8 (1, January 1981): 73-95
Gerbner, Gross, Morgan and Signorielli, “Final Reply to Hirsch”
Communication Research 8 (3, July 1981): 259-280
|
|
NOVEMBER 7: USES and GRATIFICATIONS, and PLAY THEORY
Spotlight on: The active audience |
| CO-INSTRUCTOR: Arlecia Simmons (uses and gratifications theory) |
| REMINDER: |
Upcoming
paper submission deadline:
Broadcast Education Association (Las Vegas), December 4
Convention dates: April 18-21, 2007
|
READ:
(Reserve readings available through ICON.) |
Severin and Tankard, Chapter 14 (“Uses of the Mass Media,” 293-305)
Stephenson, “Play Theory of Mass Communication Broadly Considered" and (skim the esoterica) "Play Theory"
From The Play Theory of Mass Communication (190-206, 45-65)
From Arlecia:
Lin, "Predicting Satellite Radio Adoption via Listening Motives, Activity, and Format Preference"
Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media 50 (1, 2006): 140-59
If you're more interested in uses and grats, read these:
CLASSIC: E. Katz, Gurevitch and Haas, “On the Use of the Mass Media for Important Things”
American Sociological Review 38 (April 1973): 164-81
QUASI-CLASSIC: Blumler, “The Role of Theory in Uses and Gratifications Studies”
Communication Research 6 (1, January 1979): 9-36
CONTEMPORARY OPTION A: Ruggiero, “Uses and Gratifications Theory in 21st Century”
Mass Communication & Society 3 (1, spring 2000): 3-37
Or … CONTEMPORARY OPTION B: Leung and Wei, “More Than Just Talk on the Move: Uses and Gratifications of the Cellular Phone”
Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly 77 (2, summer 2000): 308-20
Or … CONTEMPORARY OPTION C: Dimmick, Chen and Li, “Competition Between the Internet and Traditional News Media: The Gratification-Opportunities Niche Dimension”
Journal of Media Economics 17 (1, 2004): 19-33
|
If you're more interested in play theory, read these:
CLASSIC: Stephenson, “The Ludenic Theory of Newsreading”
Journalism Quarterly 41 (3, 1964): 367-74
KINDA CONTEMPORARY: Singer, “Stephenson’s Play Theory and Online News Reading”
Operant Subjectivity 18 (1/2, October/January 1994/1995): 36-50
KINDA RELATED: Nabi and Krcmar, “Conceptualizing Media Enjoyment as Attitude: Implications for Mass Media Effects Research”
Communication Theory 14 (4, November 2004): 288-310
|
|
NOVEMBER 14: JOURNALISM STUDIES
Spotlight on: Making news |
| CO-INSTRUCTOR: Choonghee Han (sociology of news work) |
| DUE: |
Third short paper
|
| REMINDER: |
Upcoming paper submission deadline:
Broadcast Education Association (Las Vegas), December 4
Convention dates: April 18-21, 2007 |
READ:
(Reserve readings available through ICON.) |
Severin and Tankard, Chapter 15 (“Mass Media in Modern Society,” 307-346)
Severin and Tankard, Chapter 16 (“Media Chains and Conglomerates,” 347-365)
Lasswell, “The Structure and Function of Communication in Society”
In Mass Communication (Schramm, ed., 1960): 117-30
From Choonghee:
Schudson, "The Objectivity Norm in American Journalism"
Journalism: Theory, Practice and Criticism 2 (2, 2001): 149-70
If you're more interested in newsroom studies, read these:
CLASSIC: White, “The `Gate-Keeper’: A Case Study in the Selection of News”
Journalism Quarterly 24 (4, 1950): 383-90
CLASSIC: Breed, “Social Control in the Newsroom: A Functional Analysis”
Social Forces 33 (1955): 326-35
OPTIONAL BUT TRULY CLASSIC: Walter Lippmann, “The World Outside and the Pictures in our Heads”
From Public Opinion (1922): 3-34
CONTEMPORARY OPTION A: Shoemaker, Eichholz, Kim and Wrigley, “Individual and Routine Forces in Gatekeeping”
Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly 78 (2, summer 2001): 233-46
Or … CONTEMPORARY OPTION B: Reese and Ballinger, “Roots of a Sociology of News: Remembering Mr. Gates and Social Control in the Newsroom”
Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly 78 (4, Winter 2001): 641-58
Or … CONTEMPORARY OPTION C: Plaisance and Skewes, “Personal and Professional Dimensions of News Work: Exploring the Link between Journalists’ Values and Roles”
Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly 80 (4, 2003): 833-48
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If you're more interested in media economics, read these:
(UPDATED) CLASSIC: Bagdikian, “Preface to the First Edition" and “Common Media for an Uncommon Nation”
From The New Media Monopoly (2004): xv-xix, 1-26
QUASI-CONTEMPORARY: McManus, John, “A Market-Based Model of News Production”
Communication Theory 5 (4, November 1995): 301-38
OPPOSING VIEW: Demers, “Revisiting Corporate Newspaper Structure and Profit Making”
Journal of Media Economics 11 (2, 1998): 19-45
CONTEMPORARY OPTION A: Chan-Olmsted and Chang, “Diversification Strategy of Global Media Conglomerates: Examining its Patterns and Determinants”
Journal of Media Economics 16 (4, 2003): 231-33
Or … CONTEMPORARY OPTION B: Price, “Interfering Owners or Meddling Advertisers: How Network Television News Correspondents Feel about Ownership and Advertiser Influence on News Stories”
Journal of Media Economics 16 (3, 2003): 175-88
OPTIONAL RESOURCE: Updated ownership list from Columbia Journalism Review at: www.cjr.org/tools/owners
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| NOVEMBER 21: THANKSGIVING BREAK |
| Enjoy the stuffing! |
NOVEMBER 28: PARADIGM SHIFT
Spotlight on: The evolution of theory in a changing media environment |
| REMINDER: |
Upcoming paper submission deadline:
Broadcast Education Association (Las Vegas), December 4
Convention dates: April 18-21, 2007
Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (Washington, DC), April 1
Convention dates: August 9-12, 2007
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| SKIM: |
Severin and Tankard, Chapter 17 ("Theories of Cyber Communication," 366-388) |
READ:
(Reserve readings available through ICON.) |
Singer, “Journalism Research in the United States”
From Journalism Research in an Era of Globalization (2006, I hope; pages to come)
Dahlberg, “Internet Research Tracings: Towards Non-Reductionist Methodology”
Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication 9 (3, April 2004)
Online only: jcmc.indiana.edu/vol9/issue3/dahlberg.html
CLASSIC: Kuhn, The Structure of Scientific Revolutions (1963)
A dandy little synopsis of the whole book, from an Emory University professor, is online at: www.des.emory.edu/mfp/kuhnsyn.html
CLASSIC: McLuhan, “The Medium is the Message”
From Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man (1964): 23-35
(Some of you read this one last year, presumably)
CLASSIC (post-Internet): Fidler, “Principles of Mediamorphosis”
From Mediamorphosis: Understanding New Media (1997): 1-29
CONTEMPORARY OPTION A: Herring, “Slouching Toward the Ordinary: Current Trends in Computer-mediated Communication”
New Media & Society 6 (1, February 2004): 26-36
Or … CONTEMPORARY OPTION B: Tremayne, “The Web of Context: Applying Network Theory to the Use of Hyperlinks in Journalism on the Web”
Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly 81 (2, summer 2004): 237-53
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DECEMBER 5: CONCLUSIONS
Spotlight on: Conceptualizing and reconceptualizing |
| DUE: |
Longer paper (literature review) |
| REMINDER: |
Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (Washington, DC), April 1
Convention dates: August 9-12, 2007 |
| READ: |
Severin and Tankard, Chapter 18 ("The Overall Picture," 389-399)
CLASSIC: Berelson, "The State of Communication Research"
Public Opinion Quarterly 23 (1, 1959)
OPTIONAL: Schramm, "Comments" (reply to Berelson)
Public Opinion Quarterly 23 (1, 1959)
INTERIM: Turow, "On Reconceptualizing `Mass Communication'"
Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media 36 (1, 1992): 105-10
MORE INTERIM: DeFleur, "Where Have All the Milestones Gone?"
Mass Communication & Society 1 (1/2, 1998): 85-98
CONTEMPORARY: Bryant and Miron, "Theory and Research in Mass Communication"
Journal of Communication 53 (4, December 2004): 662-704 |
And finally ...
RESOURCES
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A large and steadily growing number of scholarly articles are available online. Most require access through a computer connected to a UI server. Here are a few handy references:
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Links to journal articles
and other materials
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* InfoHawk Gateway
Access to the university’s extensive holdings, including thousands of online articles
* ICON
Use your HawkID and password to log in. Our readings will be under “Journalism and Mass Communications Electronic Reserve Readings”
* Google Scholar
Includes direct link to articles, as well as access through UI library database where available
* CiteULike
A community of scholars … and their favorite articles
* JStor (www.jstor.org)
Free, searchable archive of scholarly journal articles
* Ingenta
Claims to have nearly 21 million items, in more than 30,000 journals, available for access
* Lexis-Nexis
Extensive archive, mostly of mainstream media articles (and, through Lexis, law journal stuff)
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Resources from UI librarian
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Marsha Forys (marsha-forys@uiowa.edu) at the UI Main Library provided a whole slew of resources to the Communication and Change class last year. They remain linked up from this site: www.uiowa.edu/~c019254/bibliography.html
Included are direct access to:
* InfoHawk Gateway (see above)
* Com Abstracts (searchable database of communication journal abstracts)
* Communication and Mass Media Complete (index to hundreds of journals in our field)
* EBSCOhost: Academic Search Elite (hosting/index site for many articles in our field)
* ERIC (another database; many AEJMC conference papers are available through ERIC, and others are online at list.msu.edu/archives/aejmc.html)
* Web of Science (citation database)
* Dissertation abstracts
* Additional databases for academic work in psychology and sociology
* Last but not least, online information about American Psychological Association citation style, which is widely used in our field
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The Iowa Guide
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Excellent source when you’re ready to explore publication options for your work. |
Leading scholarly organizations
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Finally, you'll want to keep up with calls for papers and other announcements from these organizations in our field:
* Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication
* Broadcast Education Association
* International Communication Association
* International Association for Media and Communication Research
* National Communication Association |
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