Syllabus
1. Introduction and Précis Overview of class content, philosophy and methodology; media monitoring assignments for the semester; student input on topics and materials.
2. Fundamentals of American Media and Governance Overview and explanation of the American legislative and judicial systems; delineation and political alignment of the media ecosystem; review and analysis of the primary election calendar. Read and watch: Articles and videos assigned by the instructor
3. Pulitzer, Hearst and the Birth of Modern American Journalism An introduction to the lives and careers of the founding fathers of American journalism, and analysis of how they created the media template for the 20th century. Watch: Joseph Pulitzer: Voice of the People and Citizen Hearst
4. After Super Tuesday: Monitoring Reports and Analysis A postmortem of media coverage across the political spectrum of the biggest event of the primary season, with assessments of bias, accuracy and the impact going forward. Watch: Election coverage assigned by the instructor
5. The Rise of the Right and Polarization of America How the conservative revolution of the ’80s and ’90s transformed American media and laid the groundwork for the fracturing of American society. Read: Excerpts from Evil Geniuses: The Unmaking of America and Talk Radio’s America: How an Industry Took Over a Political Party That Took Over the United States; supplementary materials about the Fairness Doctrine, antitrust law and corporate ownership of the media. Watch: Alex Jones: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver and video clips of Rush Limbaugh.
6. Disinformation and AI Workshop An in-depth examination of disinformation techniques and assessment of their impact, with an emphasis on artificial intelligence, using examples culled from student monitoring. Read: Excerpts from A Citizens’ Guide to Fake News Watch: Short course How to Spot Misinformation Online Read and watch: Articles and video clips suggested by students
7. Naked Partisanship: How Rupert Murdoch Weaponized the Media An examination and assessment of Murdoch’s career in yellow journalism, its impact in Australia, the UK and in particular the US, where Fox News radically altered the American political and media landscape. Read: Excerpts from Hoax: Donald Trump, Fox News and the Dangerous Distortion of Truth Watch: How Rupert Murdoch Changed the World
8. Facebook and the Birth of Social Media The creation and growth of Facebook, how it fueled global political unrest, changed the rules of publishing in the US and spawned a new, lawless digital world. Read: Excerpts from Broken Code: Inside Facebook and the Fight to Expose its Harmful Secrets Watch: The Facebook Dilemma
9. X: How to Destroy a Social Media Site An assessment of the dangers and impact of one-man control of a major media outlet, as personified by Elon Musk and his hostile acquisition and makeover of Twitter. Watch: Elon Musk’s Twitter Takeover
10. Free Speech Workshop Case studies of the uses and limits of a cornerstone of American democracy, and how it has been distorted in the evolving world of social media and online publishing. Read: Readings assigned by the instructor
11. Election 2020: The Brainwashing of America How a lie perpetrated by Donald Trump and promoted by Fox News led to an insurrection that deeply divided America and set the stage for the 2024 election. Read: Excerpts from Network of Lies: The Epic Saga of Fox News, Donald Trump and the Battle for American Democracy Watch: Clips from Fox News broadcasts
12. Election 2024: America on the Brink Concluding assessment and evaluation of election coverage across the political spectrum, insights and projections for the remainder of 2024 with a focus on campaign coverage, the conventions, general election coverage and the likely impact of the election outcome. Read and watch: Articles and video clips suggested by students
Annotation
Once a model for the entire world, American journalism has shattered. Print media is shrinking and no longer trusted, television and radio are dominated by partisan voices, and the internet is a wellspring of disinformation. What happened? This course will examine how the digital revolution and the rise of right-wing extremism altered the media landscape in the United States, overturning established practices, subverting ethical standards and fracturing not just the media but the entire country along hardened political lines.
The 2024 presidential election offers an ideal opportunity to study this system at work. The timing of the course coincides with the primary election season, which will be covered intensely by media across the entire political spectrum. Students will be assigned to monitor media outlets reflecting a variety of viewpoints and gather material, examples and observations that we can compare and analyze in class. As the dynamics of the presidential campaign develop, issues involving political bias, free speech, fake news and artificial intelligence will emerge.
The course will also look at these issues in a historical context, using key figures such as Joseph Pulitzer, Rupert Murdoch, Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk to show how American media was established and has evolved. In keeping with the subject matter, the materials and approach will be multimedia: print articles, book excerpts, films, radio and television broadcasts and digital platforms, in particular social media. Following current events through a variety of sources and setting them in a historical framework will offer a portrait of American media that is timely, comprehensive and, like the best journalism, open-minded in its pursuit of truth and understanding.