Media and Society

This course examines and analyses the mass media and the forces that influence them as well as the factors that they influence or reinforce. Emphasis will be placed on the basic legal and ethical principles applicable to the media, the written and unwritten ethics that must govern media; the role of government in attempting to regulate the media; connections between culture and media; plus the medias influence on society and value formation. The course also exposes students to major international theories of, and studies about, the media, common media values and influences, while encouraging the critique of stereotypes or myths created or reinforced by the media.