Jodi HallstenLyczak: / 438-7741 / 417 Fell Hall

Introduction to Mass Communication
M/W 5:30-6:45 MW in CVA 151
Spring 2016

Why Are We Here?

The media is not a natural phenomenon, and therefore should not be just accepted;it requires a more critical response.

What We’re Learning About

We are surrounded by the media, and interact with it almost constantly from the time you wake up until the time you go to bed. It’s easy to think that it has been around forever. Not so! Historically speaking, the media is a relatively young phenomenon. To best understand it now, we learn about how it developed and what influences and shapes it today. We also learn to be critical consumers of the media by becoming exposed to many different aspects of it. This will require that we get outside of our own preferences. For example, we may dislike a particular genre of music or film, but if we want to criticize the genre intelligently (which is an outcome of our course), we should understand what the various types of music or film have to say and why their messages appeal to particular audiences that may be different than us. We need to understand how the images and words make sense and create meaning. This is what the media is all about!

What’s Going to Happen
You get to examine how each of the mass mediums developed. You have the opportunity to have fun exploring these various forms of mass media, the cultural context of communication, and the impact these forms of mass media have on society.

You engage consumer mediaall day every day. For those wanting to dig much deeper into communication, this course is a great foundation. If you’re not pursuing a career in communication, that’s OK (although I think you’re crazy!). This course will make you a more sophisticated media consumer.

So What? What Will You Get Out of This Course

  • You will become a media mogul! Just kidding. (But not really.)
  • You can understand the importance of how messages spread across large groups.
  • You will uncover how and why these communications are delivered.
  • You will discover the benefits and consequences of these communications.

The Tools You Need to Succeed

  1. Eagerness to learn and an open mind
  2. Critical thinking

How You Can Learn and Demonstrate Your Knowledge

  1. Out of class Video Experiences (VE’s)
  2. You have the opportunity to watch videos from each of following three categories, which you can watch online at

You should be completing a ReggieNet quiz related to the one you’re watchingas you’re watching it. You may enjoy these movies with a friend, but your answers may not be the same on Reggienet; that’s plagiarism (cheating) and outside of being uncool, results in some fairly serious consequences.

b. Here is a schedule of when these are due (by each due date, you
should have completed one quiz covering one video from that
category). All videos are available for viewing immediately.

Category 1
60-90 min film options
(due 1/27) / Category 2
45-60 min film options
(due 3/2) / Category 3
30-45 min film options
(due4/6)
Deadly Persuasion / Beauty Mark / Playing Unfair
Wrestling w/Manhood / Killing Us Softly IV / Behind the Screens
Further Off the Straight & Narrow / Toxic Sludge is Good For You / Independent Media in a Time of War
The Price of Pleasure
(Note: Unedited version avail on Netflix) / Captive Audience / Overspent American
Latinos Beyond Reel
(61 min version) / Reel Bad Arabs / Bro Code
Joystick Warriors / ShopTil’ You Drop
War Made Easy / The Empathy Gap
Generation “Like”

  1. Connect Plus
  2. I will introduce to Connect Plus on the second day of class. You have the opportunity to complete many assignments on this platform. Learn Smart Quizzes and video questions are mandatory.
  3. The web address for our connect plus is:


  1. Discussions on Packback.
  2. Active participation in the course content is a requirement for this course, and since this is a lecture hall, will be conducted online on the Packback Answers platform. 15 points per week will go towards your participation on the community. In order to receive these points, you must ask 1 question and answer 2 questions relevant to the subject matterper week.The deadline for all participation is Sunday before midnight CST. This is a great opportunity to discuss the awesome stuff we learn with your peers – to see what they think about things and discover some new things about yourself!
  3. Note: Packback is NOTReggienet. It is an external Internet source. It costs you less than ten bucks.
  4. All students should navigate to GetAnswers.Packbackbooks.com and search for themselves by their school email address to check the status of their registration.
  1. If you registered for the class before 1/10/16, you will have been preregistered into the system and therefore may continue directly to checkout. If you are not yet in the system, you will be directed to complete the "New Additions to Class" form.
  1. If you have problems, please email them at . Note that they take up to 48 hours to respond; if you email them at the last minute about something, assume that you won’t hear back before a deadline. This is to say: don’t put Packback off until the last minute.

Necessary Materials

  • Baran, S. (2013). “Introduction to Mass Communication” 8thEd updated. (with “ConnectPlus” code) San Francisco: McGraw Hill
  • Packback Platform access

Grading

3 Exams -- 55%
Attendance (measured by worksheet completion)– 10%

Discussion Boards – 11%
Out of Class Video Worksheets (VEWs)– 12%
Connect Plus / Course Smart Assignments – 12%

Grading Scale:
90% = A (Excellent)
80% = B (Good)
70% = C (Average)
60% = D (Below Average)
59%= F (Insufficient)
A note about Connect Plus

InConnectPlus, every question links directly to the eBook. This means that when you are struggling with a question you can go directly to the explanation in the eBook for help without carrying around a heavy textbook. You can access the eBook from any computer, any time. All required online assignments and the interactive eBook for this course are available inConnectPlus.

When you completeConnectPlusonline quizzes, sometimes you won’t know your score right away. In these cases, you will learn your score after class on the day the assignment is due. That is,ConnectPlusquizzes are designed to withhold feedback until everyone has had an opportunity to submit their quizzes and we have graded them all.

If you have technical problems or need help withConnectPlus, contact their customer service:

  • Email:
    Phone: 1-800-331-5094 (M-Th: 8am-11pm; Fri: 8am-6pm; Sun: 6pm-11pm)

I STRONGLY recommend that you contact customer service by phone (NOT by email) anytime you have a problem. You’re paying for the service and they are very quick to help. I basically have the same access you do to the program, so I am unable to help you when you have difficulties with it. Note that many problems are solved by trying a new browser. If you’re having difficulty, reopen connect in a different browser and see if that helps. If it doesn’t, pick up your phone and make the call.

Contacting The Team

Dr. Jodi HallstenLyczak
417 Fell Hall / Box 4480
309.438.7741
email:(preferred method of contact)
Office Hours: 12-1:30 M/W.
Appts available for W 6:45-7:55 - Must notify in advance for night hours.
Note: No office hours on finals week.

Teaching Assistant:
Lindsey Kraus

Email:
Phone: 438-5995 – Fell 280

Office Hours: M 9-10 and W 3-4

Classroom Rules(just bear with me – we need these to create the most productive learning environment possible)

  • We all treat each other with respect.
  • You have the schedule above, and I have also hand-loaded it onto ReggieNet for you, so please have your work in on time and take exams when scheduled. I am often willing to work with you ahead of time if you’re having any situations preventing you from these deadlines.
  • I understand how tempting your phones are when your mind wanders off during in-class movies. To help you resist the temptation, I am kindly requesting that our classroom be a “no phone” zone on film days. Please put your phone on “mute” during class and tuck it away in your book bag. Thank you for your cooperation.
  • We (our glorious GTA and I) love to hear from you. When we do, we ask you to use appropriate professional format: a greeting, appropriate grammar/ spelling/punctuation, a closing statement, and be signed with your name. One of the main topics we will hear about from you will likely be regardinggrades. Please do that within a week of the particular assignment or exam in question.
  • Please don’t pack your bags before I’ve finished lecturing or before a movie has completely finished. I can’t help but take personal offense to this. I promise I’ll never waste your time in my classroom – I need you to trust me on this and just be patient until the end. Dropping desktops and packing up early is a nasty habit easily acquired in college. I know you wouldn’t do that if you were at work and your boss was speaking, so please: don’t do it here, either.
  • Our classroom is a no-laptop zone at all times. Please understand and respect this rule.
  • Please know that it makes no sense for you to come to me after week 10 because you’re “concerned about your grade.” 85% of the coursework has been completed by then (or by you has not, which is often the case in these discussions) and I never offer extra credit. In short: it’s too late to be “concerned” after week 10 because the only advice I can offer you at that point is to attend class every day to earn the +/-60 remaining in-class points and do your very best on the final exam. Thank you for understanding this.
  • Sometimes students cheat. In my class, if you’re caught cheating or even unintentionally plagiarizing, you will be assigned a grade of “F” for the semester, and I will not sign a “withdrawal” slip for you.
  • Please understand that I am not allowed to communicate with you via email about grades.

How Do You Succeed?
Communicate with me (it is a communication class, after all!). I want to help you, but I can’t if you don’t let me know what’s going on.

Tentative Schedule

Note – this schedule is subject to change per announcements in class.

Wk / OUR TOPIC FOR THE DAY / Packback?
1 / 1.11 / Welcome to class / No Packback
1.13 / Setting up the course – thinking about masscom
  • Ch 1 Connect due before class

2 / 1.18 / Martin Luther King Day. Celebrate his life! / Packback Week
1.20 / Understanding the money part
  • Ch 2 Connect due before class

3 / 1.25 / Books
  • Ch 3 Connect due before class
/ Packback Week
1.27 / Newspapers
  • Ch 4 Connect due before class
  • Category 1 VE due before class

4 / 2.1 / Around the world in 72 days (Nelly Bly)
  • Bring worksheet to class
/ No Packback
2.3 / Exam 1 –Ch1, 2, 3, 4 + Lecture
  • Must have a pencil and UID#

5 / 2.8 / Empire of the Air
  • Bring worksheet to class
/ No Packback
2.10 / Finishing “Empire of the Air”
  • Bring worksheet to class

6 / 2.15 / Magazines
  • Ch 5 Connect due before class
/ Packback Week
2.17 / Radio
  • Ch 7 Connect due before class

7 / 2.22 / Public Radio Experience: This American Life
  • Bring notebook to class
/ Packback Week
2.24 / Recordings
8 / 2.29 / “Hip Hop: Beyond Beats and Rhymes”
  • Bring worksheet to class
/ Packback Week
3.2 / How do the mediaeffectus?
  • Ch 13 Connect due before class
  • Category 2 VE due before class

9 / 3.14 / Mickey Mouse Monopoly
  • Bring worksheet to class
/ No Packback
3.16 / Pioneers of Television – Funny Ladies
  • Bring worksheet to class

10 / 3.21 / Exam 2 –Ch5, 7, 13 + Lecture
  • Must have a pencil and UID#
/ Packback Week
3.23 / Television
  • Ch 8 Connect due before class

11 / 3.28 / Outfoxed
  • Bring worksheet to class
/ No Packback
3.30 / Outfoxed (cont.)
  • Bring worksheet back to class

12 / 4.4 / Pioneers of Television – Game Shows
  • Bring worksheet to class
/ Packback Week
4.6 / Film
  • Ch 6 Connect due before class
  • Category 3 VE due before class

13 / 4.11 / DreamworldsIII
  • Bring worksheet to class
/ Packback Week
4.13 / The Internet & Video Games
  • Ch 9 Connect due before class
  • Ch 10 Connect due before class

14 / 4.18 / Feeding Frenzy
  • Bring worksheet to class
/ No Packback – Done for the semester
4.20 / Pioneers of Television Variety
  • Bring worksheet to class

15 / 4.25 / Pioneers of Television Sitcoms
  • Bring worksheet to class

4.27 / Pioneers of Television Late Night
  • Bring worksheet to class

Our Final Exam Date Will Be Posted By The University on Week 4.
It Will Be In Our Normal Classroom.

University requirements about bereavement situations:
Students who experience the death of an immediate family member or relative as defined in the University Student Bereavement Policy will be excused from class for funeral leave, subsequent bereavement, and/or travel considerations.Students are responsible for providing appropriate documentation to the Dean of Students office and for contacting the instructor as soon as possible to make arrangements for completing missed work.More information is available in the Student Bereavement Policy at

SPECIAL NEEDS: Any student needing to arrange a reasonable accommodation for a documented disability should contact Disability Concerns at 350 Fell Hall, 438-5853 (voice), 438-8620 (TDD).

CHEATING AND PLAGIARISM are never tolerated and result in IMMEDIATE failure of the course.