• A
  • A
  • A
  • ABC
  • ABC
  • ABC
  • А
  • А
  • А
  • А
  • А
Regular version of the site
Bachelor 2018/2019

Political Journalism

Category 'Best Course for Career Development'
Type: Elective course (Political Science and World Politics)
Area of studies: Political Science
When: 3 year, 1 module
Mode of studies: offline
Instructors: Valeriy Nechai
Language: English
ECTS credits: 4
Contact hours: 32

Course Syllabus

Abstract

The course is focused on Journalism itself and Political journalism in particular; and sheds light on the working process of contemporary media outlets: traditional and online newspapers, radio and TV, blogs, Youtube channels, etc. Students of this course will be given knowledge on the role of media in different types of political regimes: are free media important to authoritarian leaders? What kind of manipulative strategies political actors use? As the main example for political research, Russian media sphere is taken.
Learning Objectives

Learning Objectives

  • Students will be given basic knowledge of the media structure and how they work. They will be able to understand and critically discuss the role media play in democracies and non-democracies. Finally, they will improve such an important skill as Media literacy and responsible consumption of media are.
Expected Learning Outcomes

Expected Learning Outcomes

  • Able to work with information: find, define and use the information from different sources which required for solving of research and professional problems (including the system approach);
  • Student is capable of developing and implementing educational modules and programs of individual disciplines in a specific subject area.
  • Student is capable of organizing and analysis of teaching activities with the sequence of presentation and interdisciplinary links with other disciplines.
  • Able to communicate in order to fulfill the reasons of communications
Course Contents

Course Contents

  • Introduction to Political Journalism
    Journalism and its basic principles. History of Journalism. Contemporary Journalism. Factual & Opinion Journalism. Data Journalism Basics.
  • Political Regime and Media
    Role of Media in different types of political regimes. Censor’s Dilemma. The Arab Spring. Media theories.
  • Political Propaganda
    How the Machine of Propaganda works? Propaganda Theories. Labelling. ‘1984’ by George Orwell. First World War Propaganda Examples. Walter Lippman and Harold Lasswell theories. Paul Lazarsfeld and his Propaganda Theory. Edward Bernays works
  • Media agenda
    Political agenda: who is in charge? Framing theory vs Media agenda theory. Gatekeeping. Censorship vs Self Censorship
  • Media controversies
    Media Watchdog commissions. ‘News of the World’ scandal & Levison inquiries. Media bias. Onedimensional man.
  • Post-Truth Era, Fake News and Alternative Facts
    Living in the age of Post-Truth: Alternative Facts and Reality (-ies?). Media Guerillas (Russian examples: NTV vs ORT – 1999; Crimea and Eastern Ukraine - 2014). Media Wars.
  • Communication theories
    Communication theories and how they explain journalistic mistakes. Lasswell’s communication model. Spiral of silence by Elizabeth Noelle-Neumann.
Assessment Elements

Assessment Elements

  • non-blocking In-Class Participation
    During the seminars – discussion groups of the assigned literature, lecturers take notes on the activities of each student, quantity and quality of his / her answers, an overall contribution to the discussion.
  • non-blocking Home Assignment (Group Presentations)
  • non-blocking Final Exam
    Examination is carried out in written form and last for 2 academic hours. Students are informed about the final list of questions well in advance. The answer should consist of one question from the Theory part and one from the Practical part. You can choose the questions by yourself.
Interim Assessment

Interim Assessment

  • Interim assessment (1 module)
    The preliminary cumulative grade is a sum of 0,5*in-class participation and 0,5* homework assignments. The final grade for the course is 0.7*preliminary cumulative + 0.3 final exam.
Bibliography

Bibliography

Recommended Core Bibliography

  • Fackler, M., & Fortner, R. S. (2014). The Handbook of Media and Mass Communication Theory. Chichester, West Sussex, UK: Wiley-Blackwell. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=716712
  • Veglis, A., & Siapera, E. (2012). The Handbook of Global Online Journalism. Malden, Mass: Wiley-Blackwell. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=465413

Recommended Additional Bibliography

  • Patrona, M., & Ekström, M. (2011). Talking Politics in Broadcast Media : Cross-cultural Perspectives on Political Interviewing, Journalism and Accountability. Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing Company. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=384765
  • Russ-Mohl, S., Wilczek, B., & Nienstedt, H.-W. (2013). Journalism and Media Convergence. Berlin: De Gruyter. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=604258