MCom 630 | Seminar in Analysis of Media Performance

Extended application of research and evaluation techniques as used in mass communication research to describe the quality of news media performance. Seminar emphasizes a theory-based analysis of the changing media ecosystem and its impact on journalism and audience engagement in the emergent participatory digital media culture.
Prerequisite: MCom600
Limited to Mass Communication Graduate Students

Mass Communication Graduate Program
Learning Outcomes

  • Students can identify and explain seminal works and key concepts in the field of mass communication with a focus on critical and cultural theories as applied to journalism.
  • Students can appraise and evaluate the practices of mass communication in society with a focus on economic structures, cultural practices and international connections as applied to the practice of journalism.
  • Students can create a plan for and conduct independent research about mass communication with an emphasis on journalism as either a research topic or through the reflective application of journalism.

MCom630 Learning Objectives

Overall Learning Goal: Develop critical thinking, research and evaluation skills to analyze the changing nature of news and its impact on journalism, and to identify strategies that foster an informed citizenry and transparency in the hyper-connected participatory digital society. Students will:
  • Gain an understanding of the role and social responsibility of the press in a democratic society;
  • Apply mass communication theories to analyze the quality and impact of news disseminated via legacy and new media technologies in the emergent participatory digital culture;
  • Develop news literacy and transmedia navigation skills to access, analyze, evaluate, create, and participate in an ever-changing digital democracy.