COM 3350 - Media Industries and Organizations

Credits: 4

This course offers an in-depth exploration of media industries and organizations (and the individuals and social systems that comprise such industries and organizations) specifically focusing on multinational media conglomerates with consideration of mid-sized and independent producers of media. We will examine everything from organizational structures and functions to why decisions are made and the implications of those decisions on the kinds of media texts that are produced and consumed by individuals. We will also consider the ways in which media industries are intertwined with different social systems and structures. By using a critical media industry studies perspective, this course will also consider issues of industry lore and history, national contexts, globalization, political economy, socio/cultural influences and issues, and tensions between corporate/public systems and individual agents. The first ten weeks of the semester will be devoted to these broad topics, while the last five weeks of the semester focus on two important trends with media industries: the shift toward on-demand culture and media users themselves becoming both implicit marketers and explicit self-promoters.