This course is designed for
1) students considering a career in any of the mass media and
2) students wishing to be savvy, critical thinking consumers of the mass media.
 
You will study the mass media to see how they affect our society and us as individuals. This broad-based course looks at newspapers, magazines, books, television, radio, motion pictures, recording and more. It will also look at the persuasive media, public relations and advertising. The various areas in the media will be examined from their historical roots to the way they function today to how they are expected to evolve in the future.

Extra credit field trips are a popular feature of this course. On these trips we see the mass media in action and meet some of the people who shape the messages we watch and read.
Note: students unable to attend the field trips are not penalized; students who are able to attend are rewarded with extra credit.

About the Compressed Semester Schedule: Glendale College runs on a compressed semester calendar. This means shorter semesters, longer class periods and a longer attention span on your part. Asking pertinent questions, taking good notes and simply being involved in the class will increase your chances of success.
 

About the Compressed Semester Schedule
Glendale College runs on a compressed semester ccalendar. This will call for a longer attention span on your part. More than ever, asking pertinent questions, taking good notes and simply being involved in the class will increase your chances of success.

For students during the short sessions--summer school and winter intersession--the above advice is even more pertinent.

A Word About the Course
This course transfers quite well. It transfers into most media majors or you can apply it to your general education requirements (IGETC Area 4). Although students report that they have a lot of fun in the course, it is also important to realize that Mass Comm 101 has a serious academic component. It’s extremely important that you don’t get behind on readings or assignments.
 

Text
Dominick, Joseph R., The Dynamics of Mass Communication, current edition.

You should keep up with the reading and ask questions in class or during office hours or by e-mail about parts you don't understand. Failure to do the reading will be directly reflected in low marks on the quizzes, midterm and final. The exams draw from the reading in addition to lectures, videos and other classroom activities. Below is the reading, lecture and activity schedule. Don't be surprised if we run ahead or behind a bit with the lectures and activities. Just make sure to stay on track with the reading:
 

Discover Los Angeles • Fall Semester Sign up for Social Science 127 (Los Angeles History Politics & Culture) and your Mass Comm 101 extra-credit field trip points will also be applied as extra credit in SS127. Check the Schedule of Classes Instructor: Dr. Mike Eberts NEW: Southern California Outings Page

NOTE: The reading schedule shows you the order in which the readings, exams and assignments will occur in the course. For exact dates, consult the hard-copy version of your syllabus. Your syllabus will also list available extra credit opportunities.

Week	Chapter	Title/Activity
1	1	Introduction to the Course Communication: Mass and Other forms In Class Screening: Tuning into Media
2	2	Perspectives on Mass Communication
3	3	Historic and Cultural Context  In class airing: Sound clips from War of the Worlds (A classic radio drama)
4	4	Newspapers We examine contemporary online newspapers Quiz #1 (Chapters 1, 2, 3 and lectures, discussions, activities)
5	5 6	Magazines We examine copies of contemporary print magazines in class Book Publishing We will examine digital books, digital book players and other technological developments
6	7	Radio In class airing: Newsradio coverage of the Northridge Earthquake In class screening of The Ad and the Ego in preparation for Research Paper
7	10	Quiz #2 (Chapters 4, 5, 6 and lectures, discussions, activities) Television
8	9	Motion Pictures In Class Screening: Trip to the Moon In class screening: Film Industry
8	8	MIDTERM EXAM (covers through Motion Pictures) Sound Recording
10	11 12	The Computer and the Internet We will examine common Internet tools Newsgathering and Reporting In class screening: Creating Critical TV Viewers
11	13 14	Quiz #3 (Chapters 8, 11, 12 and lectures, discussions, activities) Public Relations We examine press kits Advertising In class screening: Production Notes
12	15	Formal Controls: Laws, Rules, Regulations Research Paper Due  In class screening: The First Amendment and Hate Speech
13	16	Ethics and Other Informal Controls In class screening: Talked to Death
14	18	Social Effects of Mass Communication In class screening: Beyond Blame
15	17	The Global Village: International and Comparative Media Systems
		FINAL EXAM (covers Sound Recording through the end of the course)

Grading The midterm (30%) and final (30%) account for three-fifths of your grade. They will be a combination of multiple choice and essay. In addition, there will be three short quizzes. They will collectively account for 15% of your grade. These will be multiple choice, with one or two essay questions. Bring a Scantron for each quiz or test. A research paper on a mass media topic will account for 20% of your grade. An assignment sheet will be handed out several weeks before the paper is due. The paper will be tied to in-class activities. It is to your advantage to be on hand for this. The remainder of your grade comes from turning in your assignments on time (5%).

Above, MC101s take their midterm exam.

Paper Format
Your research paper must be computer-written or typed. I want hard copy, double-spaced, MLA format. The Writing Lab on the 2nd floor of the Administration Building has a good MLA style handout available for students. Online, you can go to the home page for the Glendale College Library and download MLA style handouts (look under the Research Tools heading).

I want sources in your research paper to be cited as they are used in the text and listed in an MLA-style Works Cited section. Hand-written papers will not be accepted. Late papers will be marked down or not accepted. Details will be provided in an assignment sheet.

Attendance
Students are expected to attend class. Excessive absences will result in being dropped from the class.
 

Supplemental Instruction Supplemental Instruction is available for this class. Review sessions will be held weekly. Attendance at each one-hour SI session carries one-quarter of the amount of extra credit that students receive for field trips.           At left, a Mass Comm 101 SI Leader leads students through a study session.

Extra Credit and Field Trips Each quiz and test will have an extra-credit essay question based upon current media issues--known in the class as “Media Notes”--discussed at the beginning of each class.  Several field trips will be scheduled during the semester. Attendance on one or more of these field trips will count as extra credit. This syllabus lists field trips that are scheduled as of the beginning of the semester. Occasionally, a field trip will be added during the semester or a date for a field trip will be changed. These matters and other details on each trip will be announced through in-class flyers. Attendance at field trips is generally verified through sign-in sheets. Be sure to leave evidence that you attended. The library offers free one-hour academic research workshops. Attendance at these workshops carries one-quarter of the amount of extra credit that students receive for field trips. (However, you should not attend any topic more than once). Some Humanities-Social Science Lectures will be available for extra credit. MC101 students will be given details on this prior to the lectures.   Mass Comm 101 has many interesting and entertaining media-related field trips. Our semesterly pilgrimage to the Getty Center is always a big draw. In fact, many MC101s bring friends and family to some of the field trips.

Reaching Me Out of Class
My office is SG315. My office hours are posted on the door and in the paper version of the syllabus. If I'm not in my office, you can leave a voice mail message at (818)240-1000, x5352, e-mail me at meberts@glendale.edu, slide a note or assignment under my office door or put something in my mailbox in AD124.
 

***Plagiarism and other forms of academic cheating will not be tolerated and will result in a failing grade for the course.***