MC2375 Syllabus

Catalog description: The study of the management of electronic media, including sales, federal regulation, and responsibilities to society, community and stockholders. Prerequisite: Full major status.

About the course: Electronic Media is not just radio and television anymore. New technologies are cutting into the audiences once owned by the “old” media. How will broadcasting adapt, if at all? What will the industry be like when you enter it? Where will the money be? Visits by guest lecturers during the semester will add a “real world” flavor to the issues we study.

Course objectives: This course is intended to:
• introduce you to the managerial aspects of the television, radio, and cable television industries.
• delineate the major management functions within television, radio, and cable television and describe the important issues that confront individual managers.
• explore management career opportunities in television, radio, and cable television industries.
• examine new media technologies and their potential effect on the status quo.

Text: Pringle & Starr, Electronic Media Management, 5th edition. Boston: Focal Press, 2006.

Grading: Grading for the course will be based on total points.

Exams	150 (50 pts. each)	A = 360-400
Case Studies	75 (25 pts. each)	B = 320-359
Resume & cover ltr	25	C = 280-319
Term Paper	70	D = 240-279
Discussion Boards	60	F < 240
Attendance	20
	400

Exams: Three exams, worth 50 pts. each. Exam format is generally a mixture of multiple choice and short answer questions. The final will cover mostly material after Test 2, but will include some questions from earlier in the semester.

Case Studies: Each chapter in the text ends with one or more case studies. You will be assigned to write discussion papers for several of the case studies. The papers should reflect your understanding of the topic, and how well you apply information from the text, outside readings, and classroom discussion to arrive at your conclusions.

Resume and cover letter: Based on what we cover about human resource management, you will pick a station or electronic media company and apply for a job.

Term paper: Your paper will be on an issue affecting the broadcast or cable industry. A separate assignment sheet will contain the details.

Discussion Boards: I will assign several newspaper articles a week about real situations pertaining to what we are covering in class at the time. These articles are accessible on the class Blackboard site, and are in PDF format. After you read the articles, log onto the Discussion Board section of Blackboard and find the forum dealing with the week’s readings. You may answer the questions posted, or post another question of your own and start a new discussion. You will receive points based on your level of participation in the forums.

Attendance: Departmental policy permits faculty members to lower a student’s final grade for absences or tardiness. You are allowed three absences during the semester, for any reason. No excuses, written or otherwise, will be accepted. The intent is to give you an excuse for missing class due to illness, etc., so use your absences judiciously. If you have three or fewer absences, you will receive 20 points toward your semester total. If you miss more than three classes, you will receive 0 points in the attendance category. If you are absent from exams, makeups will be allowed only if you contact Dr. Niekamp before the class, and only for legitimate reasons: illness, family emergency. Written assignments will lose points if turned in late.

Academic honesty: The Department of Mass Communication commits itself
to the preparation of mass media professionals and scholars. Such a mission demands the highest standard of academic honesty and integrity. Violations of academic honesty, including but not limited to plagiarism, collusion, deception, conflict of interest and theft, are not tolerated and can lead to severe penalties. Disciplinary actions for violations of the standards for academic honesty are outlined in the Texas State Academic Honesty Statement, printed each year in the Student Handbook. The policy is also available at http://www.swt.edu/effective/upps/upps-07-10-01.html or http://www.dos.swt.edu/swtexan/apolicies.html.

Special needs: If you are a student with a disability certified by the ODS and you require accommodation in my class, it is your responsibility to tell me at the beginning of the semester so that accommodation can be provided promptly.