Ecocide as a master narrative and an ethical issue in the 21^st century. What can investigative journalists, environmental journalists, commercial media producers and media managers do to enhance the environmental performance of the media? The responsibility of media in covering the global environmental crisis. Framing, agenda setting and media effects in environmental coverage. Greenpeace and the media. The role of commercial advertisements and consumer culture in waste production and the environmental crisis. From documentaries to attitudinal and behavior change in audiences’ consumer habits. Social media: is information society sustainable?

Readings:

Brown, Lester R.  2000.  Challenges of the New Century. In: Worldwatch Institute, State of the World 2000: A Worldwatch Institute Report.New York: W. W. Norton and Company, pp. 3-21. 1. State of the World 21st Century

Wyss, Bob. 2008. Covering the environment: how journalists work the green beat. New York: Routledge. Chapter 15: Fairness and advocacy Wyss Covering the Environment Ch 15 Fairness Advocay Chapter 16: The future of environmental journalism Wyss Covering the Environment Ch 15 Future of Env Journalism

Zhan Jiang. 2011. Environmental journalism in China.. In: Shirk, Susan L. (ed.) Changing Media, Changing China. Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. 115-127. Zhang Jiang Enviro Journalism in China

 “Ecologizing Media Research and Practice at the JMSC” http://jmsc.hku.hk/2011/04/making-the-media-environmentally-friendly/

 Recommended readings:

Neuzil, Mark. 2008. The Environment and the Press: From Adventure Writing to Advocacy. Northwestern University Press.

Palen, John A. 1999. Objectivity and Independence: Creating the Society of Environmental Journalists, 1989-1997. Science Communication, Vol. 21, No. 2, (December), 156-171.

Dryzek, John S. 2005. Politics of the earth: environmental discourses. Oxford:Oxford University Press.

Oepen, Manfred and Winfried Hamacher. (eds.) 2000. Communicating the Environment: Environmental Communication for Sustainable Development. Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang, pp. 39-81 (Part 3: Conceptual framework).

Rucht, Dieter.  1995. Ecological Protest as Calculated Law-breaking: Greenpeace and Earth First! in Comparative Perspective. In: Green Politics Three, ed. by Wolfgang Rüdig ,Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, pp. 66-89.

Dear MJs,

please find here the writing advice that we discussed in the last sections: Writing advice for the research paper 2012

Best,

Miklos

Class 10: Digital media and journalism: blogging, citizen journalism and crowdsourcing

Digital convergence and what it means for journalism. What are the implications for the journalism profession in an age when everyone could be a “journalist”? Or is this assertion flawed? We discuss new media, blogging, media convergence and the opportunities and challenges that interactive digital technology brings to traditional media. From audience to users: from uses and gratifications of traditional media to interactive media and new media production.

Readings: 

Jarvis, J. 2006. Networked Journalism. thttp://www.buzzmachine.com/2006/07/05/networked-journalism.

Legrand, R. 2009. 5 Ways a Community Manager Can Help Your Media Outlet. http://www.pbs.org/mediashift/2009/06/5-ways-a-community-manager-can-help-your-media-outlet163.html.

Rosen, J. 2006. The people formerly known as the audience. http://archive.pressthink.org/2006/06/27/ppl_frmr.html

Rosen, J. 2010. The Journalists Formerly Known as the Media: My Advice to the Next Generation http://jayrosen.posterous.com/the-journalists-formerly-known-as-the-media-m

Stray, J. 2010. Drawing Out the Audience: Inside BBC’s User-Generated Content Hub. http://www.niemanlab.org/2010/05/drawing-out-the-audience-inside-bbc’s-user-generated-content-hub.

Recommended:

Gillmor, Dan 2004. We the Media: Grassroots Journalism by the People. O’Reilly Media, Inc.; Introduction and Chapters 1 and 2.

Downing, John D. H. 2003. The Independent Media Center Movement and the Anarchist Socialist Tradition. In: Nick Couldry and James Curran (eds.). Contesting Media Power: Alternative Media in a Networked World. Ed. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, pp. 243-258.

http://books.google.com.hk/books?id=tiFY59xGHBkC&pg=PA243&lpg=PA243&dq=Independent+media+anarchist+tradition+downing&source=bl&ots=N92b6WCb0P&sig=l88pYSYrurx8T8wp9DgjSweWlJE&hl=zh-TW&ei=HtCcStSwI5eO6APRsNy0BA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1#v=onepage&q=Independent%20media%20anarchist%20tradition%20downing&f=false

Dear MJs,

as many of you will be using content analysis and discourse analysis in your final papers, I prepared bibliographies about these two research methods to support your work. I also checked your access to these sources and happy to report that most are available online. I included links:

Media Research Methods Bibliography Critical Issues

I also attach three sources (two articles on discourse analysis by van Dijk, and a book chapter on content analysis by Hansen et al.): Van Dijk Critical discourse analysis

Van Dijk Principles of discourse analysis

Content analysis Hansen et al.(In case it does not open because the file is too large, I put a copy for your use in my mailbox at the JMSC office. Feel free to take it for copying, but please return so other students can also use it.)

These books on content and discourse analysis are reserved and accessible to our class members at the AV collection of the Library:

1. TITLE Critical discourse analysis : theory and interdisciplinarity
Eited by Gilbert Weiss and Ruth Wodak.
Basingstoke, Hampshire; New York, N.Y.: Palgrave
Macmillan, 2003. http://library.hku.hk/record=b2554899

2. AUTHOR Weber, Robert Philip.
TITLE Basic content analysis
Newbury Park, Calif.: Sage Publications, c1990.
2nd ed. http://library.hku.hk/record=b12811901.

3. AUTHOR Krippendorff, Klaus.
TITLE Content analysis: an introduction to its methodology

Beverly Hills, Calif.: Sage, 1980. http://library.hku.hk/record=b1005950

4. AUTHOR Berelson, Bernard
TITLE Content analysis in communication research
New York: Hafner Press, [1971] http://library.hku.hk/record=b1006268

Here is the link to all books and AV materials under reservation for our course:
http://library.hku.hk/search/r?SEARCH=jmsc6002

I hope all this will help your work by pointing to some of the best sources and saving time in terms of access.

Best regards,

Miklos

Dear MJs,

all of you all must have received feedback on your final paper proposals. All proposals feature fascinating topics; almost all represent high-level, solid work, and some are really excellent.

In the Critical Issues sections next week (Nov 13, 14, 15) I will make presentations about on how to write the final paper and also give advice on how to prepare for your class presentations. If you have any related questions, please bring them for discussion. Your presentations will take place in the sections in the weeks after, starting on November 20, Tuesday. Please find the presentation schedule attached below.

There are three topics (Africa-China relations in the media; the news representation of the island dispute between China and Japan; and single women in the media, respectively) that are addressed by two teams each. I suggest these teams meet and adjust their projects to avoid duplication of work. Please come to see each others’ presentations if you can.

The presentations of final projects are open to all class members. You are welcome to join other sections besides your own, if you are interested in the topics, methods, approaches, etc. of other teams

Thank you for the great proposals, and please keep up the good work.

See you on Tuesday, and then in the sections.

Best regards,

Miklos

Please find the schedule of presentations here

Critical Issues group presentation schedule

Dear MJs,

our topic in the sections will be journalism and media in China. We will discuss the articles (the required readins below), and a short documentary by Oscar-winning director Ruby Yang, The Warriors of Qiugang (39 min, 2010).

You may find a short description of the documentary here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Warriors_of_Qiugang

In Section A, we will screen the documentary to trigger our discussion. In Section B and C, we will not screen the movie, so please watch it online before the class on Youtube:

http://video.sina.com.cn/v/b/47430767-1702048107.html

Please focus on the roles of the journalists (including the filmmakers themselves) and NGOs played in the story. How do the media and NGOs contribute to organization and empowerment of the villagers?

Best,
Miklos

Lecture time and venue:

October 19 (Friday), 6:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m., T5, Meng Wah Complex

Section A:

October 19 (Friday), 8:00 p.m. – 9:25 p.m., EH101, Eliot Hall

Sections B and C: as usual

Dear MJs,

this Tuesday we discussed the documentary Outfoxed: Rupert Murdoch’s War on Journalism by filmmaker Robert Greenwald. Those of you who could not participate in the dicussion, please send me 4 paragraphs (between half and 1 page total) about the documentary, including 

- how the documentary presents issues of objectivity vs. partisanship, journalistic independence, framing, sourcing, agenda setting, and company-journalist relations at Fox television?

- do you think it is an objective documentary (and if not, is that a problem)?

- how do you evaluate the qualities of the documentary (camera work, editing, music, etc)?  

- do you like this documentary? – please explain the reasons.

I put the DVD, as well as its background book, on reserve for you in the AV section of the Library. Please send your dicussion piece by Oct 30 Tuesday to criticalissues2012@gmail.com

Best, Miklos

Week 8 Journalism in China (Lecture on Oct 19 Friday 6:30 PM; Section A on Oct 19 8:00 PM; Sections B and C as usual))

Press and media in authoritarian states. The roles of the media and journalism in the transition from strict state control and propaganda to market authoritarianism. The emergence of China’s international media power. Alternative public spheres: from samizdat to blogging. International media effects: from Radio Liberty/Free Europe in Eastern Europe to Al Jazeera in the Arab World. The democratic performance of the media in post-communist and other post-authoritarian states.

Readings:

JMSC China Media Project http://cmp.hku.hk/

Qian Gang and David Bandurski. 2011. China’s emerging public sphere: the impact of media commercialization, professionalism, and the internet in an era of transition. In: Shirk, Susan L. (ed.) Changing Media, Changing China. Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. 38-76. Qian Gang and David Bandurski China’s emerging public sphere

Saether, Elin. 2008. A New Political Role? Discursive Strategies of Critical Journalists in China. Journal of Current Chinese Affairs – China Actuell,  Vol. 37, No 4, pp. 5-30. Elin-Saether-–-A-new-political-role-Discursive-strategies-of-critical-journalists-in-China

Farah, Douglas and Andy Mosher. 2008. Winds from the East: How the People’s Republic of China Seeks to Influence the Media in Africa, Latin America and Southeast Asia. A Report to the Center for International Media Assistance. September 8, 2010.  http://cima.ned.org/publications/research-reports/winds-east-how-peoples-republic-china-seeks-influence-media-africa-lat

Recommended:

The Soviet Press in Siebert, Peterson, Schramm, Four Theories of the Press.Siebert-Peterson-Schramm-–-The-Soviet-Communist-Theory-of-the-Press

Skilling. Gordon H. 1989. Samizdat and an Independent Society in Eastern and Central  Europe. Houndmills: MacMillan Press, 1989, pp. 3-40, 177-238. H.-Gordon-Skilling-A-Second-Polity          H.-Gordon-Skilling-Samizdat-in-the-USSR-China-and-Central-Europe

Karol Jakubowicz and Miklos Sukosd (ed.). 2008. Finding the Right Place on the Map: Central and Eastern European Media Change in Global Perspective. Bristol: Intellect Books. (Introduction) Karol-Jakubowicz-Miklos-Sukosd-–-Finding-the-right-place-on-the-map

Bandurski, David and Martin Hala (eds). 2010. Investigative journalism in China. Eight cases in watchdog journalism. Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press.

Polumbaum, Judy. 2008. China Ink. The changing face of Chinese journalism. Lanham: Rowman and Littlefield.

Curran, James and Myung-Jin Park (eds). 2000. De-Westernizing Media Studies. London: Routledge.

Jackall Robert (ed.). 1995. Propaganda. Houndsmills and London: MacMillan.