Faculty of Social Sciences
New Media and New Politics
63-227-18
Dr. Yaron Katz
Office Hours:. Tuesday 17:30-18:00
Office: Building 109, room 5
Office phone: 03-7384560
Email:
Description of the course:
Online social network sites have become active political forums in the information age, where revolutionary technology has made the media more readily available than ever before. Outlets such as Internet websites, Facebook, YouTube and Twitter may be accessed on cell phones and the news media update breaking news in mere seconds of its release. In the new media environment, the public has the ability to actively engage with the media by commenting on blogs, sending interesting newspaper articles and videos as well as e-mails to friends and inciting activism through social networks. The public is no longer a passive observer of the media bur it actively engages in the media.
In this course, we look at how different internet and new media technologies have impacted the ways in which the public gets its news and how this has in turn has an effect on public perception of the political spectrum. We assess whether the public is more informed today or if the internet has become saturated with user-generated content that provides a polarized account of the news.
We will also explore the usage of "new politics" in Israel by leading politicians and the public following the 2013 election. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and leading politicians use Facebook to convey their political messages and to communicate with the public, but the most prominent is Finance Minister YairLapid, which has been mocked and criticized over his use of new media, particularly after posting about the middle-class plight of the fictitious “Riki Cohen from Hadera,” and using the social media network to set out his economic strategy.
Grades:
Assignment – 20%,
Final exam – 80%
Assignment: Students will prepare a research project on some aspects of new media and new politics in Israel or anywhere around the world. Comparison between Israel and another country is also acceptable. The assignment needs to be between 5 to 10 pages and analyze a particular case or event that is shaped by new media. Another option is to analyze the way technological means change a certain society or the way a certain society uses new media to implement new politics.
Outline of the Course and Recommended readings:
Weeks 1-3: Old Media and New Media
Katz, Yaron, Media Policy for the 21ST Century in the United States and Western Europe, 2005 by Hampton Press. New Jersey, pages 19-49
Reserved: under KAT m (1159114)
Christian Bovet and PranveraKëllezi, Satellite industry and the digital age, Global Media and Communication 2008; 4; 261
Ejournal (1106511)
Herndon, Keith L. (2012). The Decline of the Daily Newspaper - How an American Institution Lost the Online Revolution, Lang Publishing Group, chapter 3
N/A
Weeks 4-6: Global Media policy
Karim, K. (2011). Global Media Policy and Cultural Pluralism, in: Mensell, R., and Raboy, M. (eds.), The Handbook of Global Media and Communication Policy, Bleckwell Publishing, pp. 277-292
N/A
Sreberny, Annabelle (2012) New Media and the Middle East: Thinking Allowed, II Journal, Spring, University of Michigan, Pages 1-5
Available via Google
The new politics of the internet- Everything is connected: Can internet activism turn into a real political movement? The Economist, January 5, 2013
Stephan, Coleman, S., Morrison, D., and Svennevig, M., New Media and Political Efficacy, International Journal of Communication 2 (2008), 771-791
Ejournal (2385233)
Weeks 6-9: The Information Society
Smith, P.R., & Zook, Z. (2011). Marketing communication: Integrating offline and online with social media. Philadelphia: Kogan Page limited, 5th edition: Chapter 14:311-340
N/A
Sheppard, D. (2011) "Reading with iPads--the difference makes a difference." Education Today (11) (August): 12-15.
Ejournal (1166117)
McGirt, E. (2008, March 19). The Brand Called Obama. Available at:
Elmer, Greg; Langlois, Ganaele; McKelvey, Fenwick, The Permanent Campaign, 2012, Peter Lang Publishing Group, chapter 1
N/A
Weeks 10-13: New Media and New Politics in Israel
Avidar, R. (2011). "Israeli public relations and the Internet". Israel Affairs, 17(3) 401-421
Ejournal (268705)
Cohen, David, "Haredi and Religious News Sites", June 29, 2010,
Cohen, Y., Haredim and the Internet: A Hate-Love Affair, in: Bailey, M., and Redden, G. (2011), Mediating Faiths: Religion and Socio-Cultural Changes on the Twenty-First Century, Ashgate Publishing, pp. 63-74
Ebook (2407060)
Aluf, Ben, New politics is the best politics, in Haaretz, April 28, 2013
AnshelPefffer, Israeli media takes off the gloves in election battle, Haaretz, January 6, 2013
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