Mass Media

CJT 645: Proseminar in Mass Communication Theory
Spring 2011
Wednesday 1:00- 3:30 p.m.
223 Grehan Building

Instructor
Dr. Phil Hutchison [e-mail] or [e-mail]
112 Grehan Building
323-3663 (no answering machine)
TH 7:30-10:30; W 12-1 or by appointment
Course Description
This course offers a critical overview of evolving theories and research into “media effects,” which we will loosely define as the social impact of media exposure. In this context, we will examine an array of media forms ranging from traditional media (e.g., print, radio, television) to internetworked media platforms. Thus, this course will address only what are commonly termed “mass media” but also specialized/fragmented/niche media forms as they impact diverse social settings. To gain these insights, we will explore the intellectual origins, theoretical threads, and methodological traditions that shape various traditions of media-effects inquiry.
The course will familiarize you with both the well-established classics and the “frontier” literature relating to media effects research, and it will challenge you to identify and question important issues related to the social impact of media technology. The overarching goal will be to provide a foundation of knowledge that will help you develop your own research programs. Ideally this course will help you formulate state-of-the-field research questions and develop original, innovative research designs. As part of this process, you will refine your ability to critically evaluate the theoretical and methodological value of particular research orientations, and translate this knowledge to your personal media-effects scholarship.
Don’t pretend for a moment that you will find all (or even most) media effects theories and research equally appealing. However, by better understanding the scope of mediaeffects research, you will be able create a personalized roadmap to success as a
communication

Bibliography: You must use at least six recent (i.e. published since 2000) journal article sources in the research proposal Carey, J. W. (1989). Technology and ideology: The case of the telegraph. In J. Carey, J. W. (1997). The Chicago school and the history of mass communication research R. T. Craig (2007). Pragmatism in the field of communication theory. Donsbach, W. (2006). The identity of communication research. Journal of Communication, 56(3), 437-448. *R. T. Craig (1999). Communication theory as a field. Communication Theory, 9(2), 119-161. Golan, G. J., Kiousis, S. K., & McDaniel, M. L. (2007). Second-level agenda setting and political advertising: Investigating the transfer of issue and attribute McCombs, M. E., & Shaw, D. L. (1972). The agenda setting function of the mass media communication in agenda setting research, 1996–2005. Journal of Communication, 59(3), 481-513. Weaver, D. H. (2007). Thoughts on agenda setting, framing and priming. **McCombs, M. (2004). Setting the agenda: The mass media and public opinion Entman, R. M. (1993). Framing: Toward clarification of a fractured paradigm. Pan, Z., & Kosicki, G. M. (1993). Framing analysis: An approach to news discourse Reese, S. D. (2007). The framing project: A bridging model for media research revisited Scheufele, D. A. (2000). Agenda-setting, priming, and framing revisited: Another look at cognitive effects of political communication Scheufele, D. A., & Tewksbury, D. (2007). Framing, agenda setting, and priming: The evolution of three media effects models