Media Management Musings

COM 430: Media Management Musings
Blog Address: http://mediamanagementmusings.blogspot.com/ (Fall 08)

Why are we doing this? Media Management Musings is a blog created to promote the exchange of ideas. I’m always concerned that students don’t read and talk enough about their field. Free access to all kinds of content is available. I want to encourage you to read, share and comment about stories of interest to other students in class. Articles you read, post and comment about should deal with media management topics, and this is a wide-open arena—industry and technology developments, job and career matters, regulation (FCC?), program content….I hope you’re beginning to get the picture. I want you posting and commenting on content generated by trade publications—typically online sources. Some examples could include Advertising Age, TV Week, Broadcasting & Cable, The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times. As a practical matter, this assignment is intended to replace the previous Wall Street Journal article notebook assignment—you may have heard about this assignment from previous students.

Members of class will contribute to the site. We’ll run this like a typical blog—and the content will be open to anyone to read. Students will be responsible for acting as lead bloggers, discussion leaders, and respondents throughout the semester. The leaders will be responsible for getting the conversation started online and helping to lead discussions in class. Students will be graded both as a leader and as a participant. I know that some students in this course are also taking my COM 415 class—thus you get a double-dose of blogging opportunities. The good news: while articles are not likely to be interchangeable, you may keep your eyes open for articles for both assignments.

Lead Bloggers (50%): Each week, two/three students will act as both lead bloggers and discussion leaders. “Lead blogger” students will start a discussion on a relevant topic and post a link to a relevant article. Students should serve as lead bloggers a minimum of two weekly times during the semester, during separate weeks.

The lead bloggers must post their comments by noon on Monday. Class members will have until noon on the following Sunday to post their responses.

In-Class Discussion Leaders (10%): In class, the discussion leaders will be expected to contribute to discussions by sharing the gist of the blog postings for the week. Discussion leaders should be ready to talk about the postings in class on Tuesday. The comments should be a means to encourage classmate reading of the blog information.

Grading: Students will be graded based on the thoughtfulness and thoroughness of both their online and in-class contributions.
“A” performance will fully address the goal of the assignment—thoughtful comments, of merit to readers.
-Shows creativity and risk in topic selection
-Shows substantial depth, fullness and complexity of thought
-Demonstrates clear, focused, unified and coherent organization
-Is developed and detailed
-Shows a superior use of language…few grammatical, spelling or organizational errors.
“B” performance clearly addresses the goal of the assignment and explores the issues.
-Shows some creativity and risk in topic selection
-Shows some depth and complexity of thought
-Is effectively organized
-Is well developed
-Shows a strong use of language; few grammatical, spelling or organizational errors
“C” performance:
-Adequately addresses the goal of the assignment and explores the issues.
-Lacks creativity in topic selection and commentary

Blog Discussion Participants (40%): All class members are expected to participate fully in the online discussions. Students will be responsible for posting a response to comments made by either the lead bloggers or their classmates. The entry itself should discuss the issue at hand. Out of the 15 weeks of the semester, all students must participate in at least three discussions, (this is in addition to your times as a lead blogger). Participants will have until noon on Sunday to post their responses. Students will be graded on the thoughtfulness and thoroughness of their online postings. Keep in mind that doing the minimum (one response in 3 of 15 weeks) will earn you a “C” for minimum performance.

Important Note: This project is a discussion; your responses should actively engage the topic, the readings, and the other participants. As I record scores, I’ll ask myself if you’ve done this. Failure to do so will impact your grade (as either a leader or participant). This blog is a PUBLIC forum; people outside of this class will have access to this blog. Encourage your classmates to read the posts.