| CODE | MKS3461 | |||||||||
| TITLE | Role of Journalism in Democracy | |||||||||
| UM LEVEL | 03 - Years 2, 3, 4 in Modular Undergraduate Course | |||||||||
| MQF LEVEL | 6 | |||||||||
| ECTS CREDITS | 4 | |||||||||
| DEPARTMENT | Media and Communications | |||||||||
| DESCRIPTION | This study-unit focuses on the relation between media and politics. The relation between journalism and democracy may, at first glance, appear to be a simple and linear one. Democracy is the rule of the people; political participation requires information and knowledge; journalism is the channel through which the required information and knowledge is dissemminated to and through the public. Democracy depends on an informed and participant public and therefore requires the media. In reality this equation becomes more complex due to numerous factors such as: the type or model of democracy in question, the economic structure in which the media operate, as well as various social factors related to levels of education and economic prosperity, to mention a few. The main areas of focus will be the following: 1. The classical debate: The nature of justice; power; the power. The birth of democracy and its relation to education, rational thought, the power of rhetoric and the appreciation of the power of language as a political tool. The use and abuse of discourse and the dynamics between contestants for power and public support. 2. The Lippmann-Dewey debate: The Public and its opinion; realities and illusions, facts and fictions. 3. Media Systems, Models of Democracy and Economic Structures. 4. Critical response: on the public sphere and the propaganda model. 5. Future developments: media technology and democracy; opportunities, threats and disillusions. 6. Contemporary case studies and investigations: Onkalo; Camisea; Occupy movement; The Arab Spring; The Burkha debate. Study-unit Aims The study-unit aims to make participants aware of the central problems related to the interaction between democracy and the media and conversant with the main schools of thought and the prominent contributors to the literature relevant for this field of studies. Through reading and discussions the unit aims to nurture the critical receptivity to the vast range of media products and events by paying heed to the relevant factors, such as, ownership and funding structures, contributing political ideologies and relevant stakeholder make-up and interests. The main objective of this course is to guide participants through an overview of the main debates and the seminal literature and influential contributors to the debate related to the various factors which contribute to the complexity of the relation between democracy and journalism. Learning Outcomes 1. Knowledge & Understanding: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - appreciate the complexity of democracy and its variant models as dynamic political systems whose success and viability depend on supporting structures such as right to freedom of expression and opportunities for education. - recognise the possible future threats and opportunities of technological developments related to publishing media and journalism. - engage critically with seminal texts related to the subject of study. 2. Skills: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - analyse media events in terms of historical setting, cultural contexts and economic structures within which they occur. - identify examples of agenda setting, framing and priming in various media events. - gauge the relevance of different media approaches and styles to the different models of democracy. Main Text/s and any supplementary readings Core Texts: 1. Hallin, D. C. and Mancini Paolo. Media Systems and Models of Democracy. Cambridge University Press. 2. Oats, Sarah. Introduction to Media and Politics. 3. New media, old news: journalism and democracy in the digital age /edited by Natalie Fenton. London: SAGE, 2010. Course readings: 1. Selections from Plato’s: The Apology. 2. From: John Dewey; The Later Works, 1925-1953. I. Practical Democracy. Review of Walter Lippmann’s The Phantom Public. II. The public and its problems. (Selections) 3.Lippmann, Walter. The Phantom Public. Chapter 1 and 2. 4. Three Seminal papers from: Lichentenberg, Judith Ed. Democracy and the Mass Media. Cambridge University Press. 1990. I. Michael Gurevitch and Jay G. Blumler: “Political communication systems and democratic values”. Pp.269-289 II. Judith Lichtenberg: “Foundations and limits of freedom of the press”. Pp.102-135 III. Sanford J. Ungar: “The role of a free press in strengthening democracy”. Pp.368-398 5. Stromback Jesper. “In Search of a Standard: four models of democracy and their normative implications for journalism” in: Journalism Studies, Volume 6, Number 3, 2005, pp. 331_345 (Paper supplied by Lecturer). 6. Bourdieu, Pierre. On television. Priscilla Parkhurst Ferguson (Trans.) Polity, 1998. (Selections) 7. Habermas, Jurgen. The Public Sphere; an encyclopaedia article (1964). (Paper supplied by lecturer). 8. Chomsky, Noam & Herman, Edward S. Manufacturing consent: the political economy of the mass media. Pantheon, 2002. Preface pp. vi-xv and Ch 1. A Propaganda Model. Pp.1-35. 9. Chomsky, Noam. Media Control: The Spectacular achievements of Propaganda. pp. 9-34 (provided by lecturer). 10. Sakr, Naomi. Arab media and political renewal: community, legitimacy and public life. I. B. Tauris, 2007. 11. Nathan Crick. “The Search for a Purveyor of News: The Dewey/Lippmann Debate in an Internet Age” in Critical Studies in Media Communication Vol. 26, No. 5, December 2009, pp. 480_497 12. Sparks, Colin. “Extending and refining the propaganda model” in Westminster Papers in Communication and Culture © 2007 (University of Westminster, London), Vol. 4(2): 68-84. ISSN 1744-6708 (Print); 1744-6716 (Online) Texts chosen will mainly consist of short readings selected from seminal works and journal articles. The discussion of these readings will be complemented by case studies of relevant media products and events. |
|||||||||
| STUDY-UNIT TYPE | Lecture | |||||||||
| METHOD OF ASSESSMENT |
|
|||||||||
| LECTURER/S | Clive Zammit |
|||||||||
|
The University makes every effort to ensure that the published Courses Plans, Programmes of Study and Study-Unit information are complete and up-to-date at the time of publication. The University reserves the right to make changes in case errors are detected after publication.
The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints. Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice. It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2023/4. It may be subject to change in subsequent years. |
||||||||||