Material Detail

This is a free, online course offered by the Saylor Foundation.

'Whether you know it or not, you are actively contributing to a comprehensive media environment forged on both regional and global levels – even when you are privately using social media websites!  The media we use today has come a long way, but the basic pattern of development remains consistent.  This course introduces various academic theories, cases, and models to make sense of local and global media development.  How does a locally operated newspaper trigger development of the national mass media market?  How does a global conglomerate media company set agendas for international news distribution?  Consider how the following historical events may be connected:

In 1833, The Sun, a New York-based newspaper, became available to the general public for the first time.  This marked the beginning of the mass production of information and created a market sector that could be influenced by average people.In 1995, conglomerate media company, News Corporation, headquartered in New York City, acquired the Hong Kong-based television network, Star TV.  This groundbreaking acquisition expanded News Corp.’s influence at an international level.In 2005, New York-based journalist, Arianna Huffington, launched The Huffington Post, branded as “The Internet Newspaper.”  Huffington’s free newspaper utilized innovations such as user-contributed content and the rejection of information “gatekeeping.”Also in 2005, the Chinese television show, Super Girl, had remarkable success when the season finale commanded the attention of 400 million viewers – a profoundly high viewership within the strictly governed Chinese media system.

How should we assess the impact of these events on local and global scales?  In this course, we will explore the ways stakeholders influence the media environment we live in today.  On local levels, we will discuss how media evolves under mass market and political influences, and during economic development.  On the global level, we will analyze global media conglomerates’ agendas for international news distribution.  Further, you will critically examine the ways new media technology allows the general population to access and actively contribute to social media content.  Selected theories and models of regional media systems are also examined in this course.  The thread between the aforementioned events will be illuminated throughout this course, and you will be asked to analyze the socio-cultural impact of each item.

This comparative media course also provides a working knowledge of how media are operated and regulated under varied political and economic influences.'

This will delete the comment from the database. This operation is not reversible. Are you sure you want to do it?

Thank you for reporting a broken "Go to Material" link in MERLOT to help us maintain a collection of valuable learning materials.

If you feel this material is inappropriate for the MERLOT Collection, please click SEND REPORT, and the MERLOT Team will investigate. Thank you!

You are being taken to the material on another site. This will open a new window.

Do not show me this again