Syllabus -- History of American Journalism JRN-317-01 -- Dept of Mass Communication

Syllabus

History of American Journalism

JRN-317-01W

Department of Mass Communications

University of North Carolina at Pembroke

Dr. Anthony R. Curtis

Spring 2006

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Course Description:

History of American Journalism is a consideration of the inventions, events and people shaping and influencing journalism in the United States. The course includes topics ranging from the invention of the printing press to present-day journalistic practices and personalities.

Course Purpose:

This course presents the history and development of American journalism and mass media from colonial times to the present, and their relationships to technical, economic, political, and other aspects of American society. It includes the 18th-century development of press freedom under the First Amendment, how that freedom played out in the 19th century, and the constraints on 20^th and 21st-century media. Attitudes of government, society, and the media toward press freedom are considered. Noted will be the changes wrought by journalismπs European and British origins, colonial developments in America, national expansion, urbanization, technology, and emergence of the United States as a world power. Journalism will be seen as an influencing factor and product of American politics, institutions and culture in the context of social, economic and political change. The newspaper, magazine, and broadcast industries will be examined for ideas that have changed American journalism. This will be an exploration of the journalists' experiences and contributions at periods in American history, as the press in the United States developed, including the rise of radio and television.

Text:

Emery, Michael, and Edwin Emery, and Nancy L. Roberts. The Press and America – An Interpretive History of the Mass Media. 9^th Ed., Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 2000.

Professor's office hours for assistance with this course:

Monday: 10-11:30 a.m. and 1:30-2:30 p.m.

Wednesday: 10-11:30 a.m. and 1:30-2:30 p.m.

In addition, Dr. Curtis frequently can be found in his office at many other times during weekdays.

247 Old Main phone 521-6616 email: acurtis@uncp.edu

THIS COURSE IS TAUGHT ONLINE VIA THE UNIVERSITY'S BLACKBOARD SYSTEM IN SPRING 2005