SESSION THIRTEEN: Network

"I'm mad as hell, and I'm not going to take this anymore!" Howard Beale's rants appeal to a 1970's TV audience tired of ordinary, boring programming. When UBS executives discover they can "sell" Beale's anger, the station quickly gains a top position. But, this is one of many temporary successes (and failures) of a daily entertainment business. Nothing is certain. And, nothing lasts forever. Network premiered in 1976 and won the Oscar for best screenplay. Find a movie analysis here.

For next week... (12/05)
Project homework: Work on LAP interview.
Reading: Media Uses and Effects, pp. 391 – 429; Media Policy and Law, pp. 431 – 463

SESSION TWELVE: EXTRA CREDIT - Audio/Visual Rhetoric

NO CLASS ON WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 21ST!
Mass communications can also be examined through the lens of rhetoric. Rhetoric is commonly considered the art of persuasion. While the term is most often used to discuss public speaking, rhetoric has rapidly evolved in the Twentieth Century to incorporate mass media techniques, such as photography and audio recording. Today, when audiences encounter a mass communication, such as a magazine advertisement or a public service announcement, the message often forms a subtle (or not-so subtle) argument. In other words, the message tries to convice the receiver (YOU) to agree with an idea or to do something (like buy the latest iPhone or vote for George W. Bush).

Mass communications use many techniques to persuade their audiences; these techniques (part of the art of rhetoric) generally use images and sound to evoke ethos, pathos or logos in viewers. Media literacy must teach us how to analyze (and critique!) these techniques, allowing us to make more informed decisions about the arguments being presented.

- EXTRA CREDIT JOURNAL -
Select any mass communication you have encountered during the past week. (A mass communication includes any communication presented to a mass audience, such as a subway poster, a radio or television broadcast, a magazine ad and so on.)

First, describe the communication using the SMCR model.

• Who sent the message?
• What is the message?
• What channel was the message sent thru?
• Who was the intended receiver?

Second, analyze your experience of the message using the concept of audio-visual rhetoric.

• What argument did the message make?
• What techniques did the sender you to persuade the audience?
• What function did the message serve?

SESSION ELEVEN: An Introduction to Public Relations

Tonight, we were lucky to have special guest Elsie Nwankwo of Cohn & Wolfe on hand to discuss the contemporary world of public relations. Ms Nwankwo introduced PR and discussed how PR differs from advertising. She presented four product phases important to a healthcare PR executive: 1) Preparing the market for a new product; 2) Releasing a new product; 3) Promoting a mature product; and 4) Retiring a "dead" product.

We thank Ms. Nwankwo for her visit.
If you have any questions or comments for Ms. Nwankwo regarding healthcare public relations today, please post them here.

Happy Birthday, Elsie!!

SESSION TEN: New Media

Although tonight's topic was new media, we spent the lesson discussing our StoryCorps documentaries. While this subject may seem unrelated to new media, it actually illustrates the interconnectedness that defines life in an "information society." The audio documents we create during our StoryCorps project will become part of a larger network of cultural information, social interaction and history. What could be more connected than adding to the Smithsonian's American Folklore Archive?

For next week... (Nov. 14th)
Writing Assignment: Journal 10 (below)
Project homework: Submit LAP questions (1pg) and background research (2pgs)
Reading: Public Relations, pp. 293 - 321; Advertising, pp. 323 - 355
Please come to class ON TIME next week. Guest Elsie Nwankwo, of Cohn & Wolfe, will present "PR 101: An Introduction to Public Relations Today."

- JOURNAL 10 - As you prepare for your StoryCorps interview, please take a moment to review the StoryCorps website. Select and listen to any audio segment posted on the site. How does the recording illustrate StoryCorps' motto that "listening is an act of love"?

Congratulations! You have just completed the last journal entry!!!
Now, it's time to work on our StoryCorps documentaries, proving that we too understand and practice the power of listening.

SESSION NINE: MUSEUM FIELD TRIP

For next week... (11/07)
Writing Assignment: Journal 9 (below)
Project homework: Final research paper (7-10 pages)
Reading: The Internet, pp. 255-291; The Communications Infrastructure, pp. 357-389

- JOURNAL 9 - DUE WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 28TH
Visit a museum of your choice. Respond to your visit by giving a brief summary, analysis and reaction, keeping the following questions in mind:

• Who created the museum? Why?
• What is the main message of the museum?
• Who is the target audience?
• Who is paying for the museum (ads, private sponsers, gov't grants, etc.)?
• What is left out of the museum? What biases are visible?

Here are a few helpful links to get your started:

• NYC Museums
• Museum of the Moving Image
• Lower East Side Tenement Museum
• American Museum of Natural History
• Ellis Island Immigration Museum
• The Metropolitan Museum of Art
• Museum of Modern Art

SESSION EIGHT: Visual Communications

This week, we move on to explore and to assess the meaning and the impact of visual representation. Beginning with a look at how moving images are created, we move on to think about the role of visual rhetoric in society today. Images (print, film and television) play a significant part in our understanding of ourselves, those we love (and hate) and the world around us. And, while every image "shows" elements of truth, it "hides" an equal amount. For example, if I take a close-up photograph of your eye, this image is a true representation of reality. It really is a picture of YOUR actual eye. However, you have two eyes, a mouth, a nose, two legs and so on... all real/true things that do not appear in the close-up photograph I have taken. The same can be said for every image I see on a magazine cover, in a film or on a news show. These images may give "some" truthful information about the world, but they don't show everything.

For next week... (Oct. 31)
Writing Assignment: Journal 8 (below)
Project homework: Work on research paper. Due November 7th.
Reading: Television, pp. 213 - 252

- JOURNAL 8 -

DUE WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 31st

After reading the article (Notes on the Construction of Reality in TV News Programmes), view and analyze a television news story (current or past). The segment you select can be broadcast on a Top 5 network, cable or Internet. Be sure to include the broadcast information (date, title, network).

• Who created the story? Why?
• What is the main message of the story?
• Who is the target audience?
• Who is paying for the story (ads, etc.)?
• What is left out of the story?

SESSION SEVEN: Women's Press Collective

This week, we had a great opportunity to witness grassroots media in action. Guests Lisa Daniels, Geneva Burch and Hector Lino spoke on behalf of WOMEN'S PRESS COLLECTIVE, a community of artists, organizers and activists using media to share their own experiences.

To learn more about Women's Press Collective, contact Lisa Daniels at 718-222-0405.

For next week...
Writing Assignment: Journal 7 (below)
Project homework: LAP contract (in class) and annotated bibliography (min. 3 sources).
Reading: Film and Home Video, pp. 181-211

- JOURNAL 7 - Find a radio program online (it can be a variety show, news program, music program, drama, etc. from any era). After listening to your program, describe its message AND the social function of its message (to disseminate information; to set an agenda; to entertain; to distract; to socialize; etc.). Be sure to include the source information for the show you selcted (eg. title, reporter, station, air date and time, URL).

Here are a few links you can use to help you:
Radio Lab
On the Media
Radio Lovers
National Public Radio
Public Radio Exchange
Mercury Theatre on the Air
Internet Archive of Radio Programs

EXTRA CREDIT: Select and LISTEN TO ONE of the six parts of Rick Karr's TechnoPop: The Secret History of Technology and Pop Music (NPR, 2002). Bring a summary of what you learned to class next week for extra credit on any late or missed journal entry.