Media Foundations (450-0-20)
Instructors
Judy U Franks
Meeting Info
Fisk Hall 311: Mon 12:00PM - 2:50PM
Overview of class
Media Foundations is designed to help students demystify the current turmoil in the media world by providing the necessary history and context that helps to explain where we are today and where we may be headed. This course will equip students with theories and frameworks that can give them the confidence to make bold decisions and defend their strategies. The course uses a diversity of learning techniques: from self-reflection, to collaborative quizzes, to group debates of issues for which there is no right/wrong answer and also a critique of contemporary media cases. The course will help students gain a better understanding of the evolving media landscape, the role of marketers in shaping the media economy, new digital media marketplaces and how the IMC process can help marketers make sound media allocation decisions using technology and Big Data.
Class Materials (Required)
Required Books: There is no formal textbook. Rather, students will be required to purchase the following book:
Napoli, P.M. (2003). Audience Economics: Media Institutions and the Audience Marketplace. New York, NY: Columbia. We will be reading the Intro through Chapter Four.
[ISBN-13: 978-0-9834662-3-9]
Additional readings (chapter excerpts, white papers and topical articles) will be provided directly in the appropriate course module in Canvas.
*Note: Professor Franks will be sharing excerpts from the unpublished manuscript of "Media: From Chaos to Clarity" (3rd Edition) directly on Canvas. These readings are highly confidential and students may not share them outside of their course studies.
Required Case Studies: The course uses two case studies:
MediaCorp "From Broadcaster to National Media Network: Tracing MediaCorp's Evolution to a Transmedia Ecosystem"
https://hbsp.harvard.edu/import/1226843
Sainsbury's "How an Idea Helped Make Sainsbury's Great Again"
(Case retrieved from the WARC database and will be uploaded directly to Canvas)
Course materials cost:
"Audience Economics" can be purchased in paperback and/or Kindle editions on Amazon for approximately $25. Students can likely find used copies for resale at a lower price.
MediaCorp Case Study can be purchased for $4.95 per student
Sainsbury's Case Study is access free of charge through the WARC database
Class Attributes
Attendance at 1st class mandatory