This is a question about your reading from Ian Hargreaves: “Born Free: A Brief History of News Media.” Electronic Reserves or Google Drive: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1DKVtjNDLCcy5-bXCwc6Go-UV3yjA6ItM/view?usp=sharing
Hargreaves discusses the relationship between different forms of media and the economic and political structures that existed at the time they were invented.
A) “Newspapers have their roots in commercial markets,” Hargreaves says (11). What are the economic forces that supported newspapers? How did they make money and what was their primary source of funds?
B) During a completely different time—the beginning of the 20th century—”radio was born on the threshold of a totalitarian era.” What is the “totalitarian era” that Hargreaves is referring to? What is the relationship between radio and totalitarianism? (You can answer this question by naming the first person to master radio as a source of propaganda.)
C) By the late 20th century, we get to the invention of the internet and other broadband communication technologies. Give me dates for the invention of TV, satellite broadcasting, the internet, and cell phones. What does Hargreaves mean when he says these communication technologies have “very strong state influence”?
#2.
This is a question about the reading from John Naughton, “From Gutenberg to Zuckerberg.” Electronic Reserves or Google Drive: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B8-ekBlo5cJlZDRZZk56dVNMUDA/view?usp=sharing
Naughton conducts a “thought experiment” about Gutenberg and the invention of the printing press. What is this thought experiment and what does it reveal about how the printing press transformed the world? Discuss how this transformation affected: (1) the Protestant Reformation, (2) the concept of childhood, and (3) the nature of advertising.
#3.
Where does the U.S. rank on the major world press freedom indexes? Why does it rank so poorly compared to other world democracies?
https://rsf.org/en/ranking
https://pressfreedomtracker.us/
https://freedomhouse.org/country/united-states/freedom-world/2021
#4.
One of the most significant forms of news reporting today is investigative comedy. This is done by people like Samantha Bee, Hasan Minhaj, and Jon Oliver. Even UAlbany’s Awkwafina began her career as a social commentator (see “My Vag”).
What is investigative comedy? What kinds of subjects does it investigate? What methods does it employ to explore these subjects? Give three examples of investigative comedy (with URL links) and analyze how the host or reporter uses humor to explore serious subjects. Each example should be from a different program. Are there differences in the methods used by these different programs?
#5.
We are obsessed by stories about celebrities. Alain de Botton has a theory about why media devotes so much time to these stories. What is his thesis? Name three celebrities whose stories you follow.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1YIVGovRoQ1ry1qv6h9hEG1IyFl56ECtR/view?usp=sharing