Intro to Mass Comm review

Illustration: The Dees Illustration Studio.

Below are some of the ideas, topics, videos and websites that we have discussed in Introduction to Mass Communication since the class began in January.

Continuous change: Eric Newton of the Knight Foundation: “We’ve entered an era of continuous change. Did you change last year? You’re a year behind. Did you go digital in 2002? you’re a decade behind.”

Newton mobile phones, tablets: “For the first time in human history, billions of people are walking around with digital media devices linked into a common network. The digital age is changing almost everything — who a journalist is, what a story is, which media work to provide news when and where people want it, and how we engage with communities.”

Assignment: How to pay for news coverage?

The Constitution protects freedom of the press, but covering the news isn’t free.
Your writing assignment – due March 29 – is to explore ways to pay for coverage of the news and issues of public interest. The Internet and digital technology has disrupted traditional business models.
American newspapers traditionally provided most coverage of local government and community issues. But more than 40,000 people who once worked at newspapers have lost their jobs or taken buyouts since 2007. News coverage – from local to international -has diminished. Many newspapers have closed foreign bureaus.