Journalism/Govt 134--War, Peace and the Mass Media

Prof. Nick Burnett--5004 Mendocino Hall
www.csus.edu/indiv/b/burnettn
nburnett@csus.edu
278-6508

Required Textbook: Reporting War: Journalism in Wartime, Stuart Allan and Barbie Zelizer, Routledge Publishing, 2004

In addition to the textbook there will be a REQUIRED class reader available through University Readers.
I will also post various articles for additional reading through LOCUS in the CSUS Library. See Burnett for additional details.

Course Description: War, Peace and the Mass Media. Concerned with the relationship of mass media to war and the possibilities
for peace, with emphasis on recent concepts of political communication. [Note: that was helpful, wasn't it?]

This class will investigate the relationship of the press to the political system that it serves and investigates evidence of a
connection, causal or otherwise, between what is covered and communicated to the policy options that are pursued. The
class is at once historical and theoretically driven as we look for data driven conclusions about the relationship between the
press and war policies in a democratic environment.

Class Policies: This will be simple. Attendance is mandatory. No more than two classes may be missed even with a
documented excuse communicated to the instructor prior to class. Cell phones should be turned off prior to class . I am inclined to not allow computers on student desks during lecture/discussions. Some students maintain that computers help them take notes, other just maintain that they find YouTube more interesting than my lectures. I will take a wait and see attitude toward this issue. Late assignments will be accepted (if arranged prior to the due date) but will suffer a one third letter grade decrease for each 24 hr. period the paper is late. Finally, I take an exceedingly dim view of academic dishonesty. If I have convincing evidence that you have plagiarized materials or fabricated information, I will pursue all appropriate punishments under the Sacramento State Academic Honesty Policy.

It would be my highest asperation that this class be run like a seminar in which students, having completed the readings prior to the class, are able to engage in thoughtful discussion and rigorous testing of ideas. In that kind of atmosphere we need to have the utmost respect for classmates and colleagues and, at the same time, make claims that are bolstered by good evidence from legitimate sources. As a result, this class has little patience for jingoism, xenophobia, or ideology masquerading as logical argumentation. I ask that you respect each other and the views of your classmates.

Assignments and Grading
There will be two exams, each worth 100 points. The exams will be a combination of multiple choice, short answer and short essays. There will be as many as ten short quizzes that will be administered at the beginning of class, largely targeted at checking your success in reading and understanding the assigned readings for the day. There is no make up if these quizzes are missed. All quizzes will be graded a check, check minus, or zero. Participation will make up approximately ten percent of your grade. Finally there will be three written analysis assignments, no more than five pages each (more on these later). The final assignment weighting looks something like this:

Quizzes: 5 pts each
Exams: 75 pts each (2)
Participation: 50 pts
Analysis Papers: 50 pts each (3)

Total Points in the Class: 400

Weekly Class Topics and Readings

PowerPoint Slides and Handouts