Course Description

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COMM418 How - and why - do today's news media careen from crisis to crisis in a world where judgments must be made every day about the relative "news value" of famines, massacres, civil wars, celebrity tragedies and natural disasters? Who makes the judgments? Are news consumers consulted? (Should they be?) Have some conflicts become too complex for today's news environment? We'll focus on international affairs news. This class will explore the real world of broadcast news and how it's being changed by political, business and cultural trends. But we'll also study some of the ethical and historical underpinnings of contemporary broadcasting to see if they're still being used. There will be one take-home exam. Several writing assignments are required, and a term paper will substitute for a final exam. We may have several guest speakers. • Three books are required reading. Other required readings will include all or parts of papers and articles, many of which are available on the Crisis News! internet page (see below). • Students will be expected to keep up with contemporary international politics by reading The New York Times daily, and by watching daily television news broadcasts. Students are required to subscribe and read the Times daily. Discount subscriptions ($27.20 per semester) for M-F delivery are available through the Communication Department. Students may also want to remain familiar with coverage of on National Public Radio, PBS (TV) or one of the domestic networks (ABC, CBS, CNN, NBC). We'll have regular discussions on current media handling of today's "crisis," a look at what's driving today's news. • Several writing assignments (3-5 pages) will be required during the semester, based on seminar discussion and readings. Due dates will be announced in class and will be included in the syllabus. They will be periodically updated on the internet. • A term paper of approximately 7-10 pages on a topic agreed in advance by student and professor will be due on Thursday, May 4, 2000. Students will make oral presentations on their papers during the last four class sessions (see Course Schedule below.) • A take-home essay exam will be distributed on March 16. It will be due March 21. • Papers submitted after their due date will receive automatically-reduced grades.

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Ralph J. Begleiter
Ralph.Begleiter@udel.edu
Date Last Modified: 2/1/2000
University of Delaware