CMST& 102: Intro to Mass Media: Winter 2013
Room C512 10 - 10:50 a.m. daily My Office: Cascade 324
Instructor: Michael Parks Office phone: 964-6513
Office hours: Noon to 1:30 MWF** Pioneer phone: 964-6604
E-mail: mparks@pierce.ctc.edu* Pioneer office: Cascade 323
*When emailing me, always include “J102” somewhere in the subject field. If I don’t recognize the sender name or the subject field, I delete messages without opening, especially those with attachments.
**If I’m not in my office at this time, try The Pioneer office (see info above).
Angel site: http://angel.pcd.edu/ (user: SID; password: first five letters of last name, lowercase; choose your course, then click on “Lessons,” open the Angel Folder and download the “Start here….” File.
Text: The Media of Mass Communication (Eleventh Edition), by John Vivian
COURSE THEME
“Were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers, or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter.” —Thomas Jefferson
"Democracy depends upon information flowing freely in a society." —Katherine Graham, publisher of The Washington Post
"The purpose of journalism is to provide a view of reality upon which the citizen can act." —Walter Lippman, news commentator “As consumers, our most important product is information.” —Stan Hubbard, USSB pres.
“We’re right at the brink of being totally overwhelmed and consumed by entertainment values, as opposed to news values.” — Dan Rather in The People and the Power Game, 1996

Mass communications means conveying information from a sender to a mass audience by way of one of more media. That information shapes our views of reality upon which we make decisions, big and small, so it is imperative that we become "media savvy." We must know how the media work in structure, motivation and goals and how those factors shape our most important product: information. We also will examine current trends, technologies and issues of the seven major American mass media businesses—television, radio, newspapers, magazines, books, movies and the recording industries.

Course Work & Attendance
Course work will consist of a variety of quizzes, assignments, and/or projects. There will be no comprehensive final. Some extra-credit projects may be made available. A course of this nature thrives upon lively discussion and interaction. Therefore it will be expected that everyone at some point contribute something to the "collective wisdom" of the class either in-class or in the Angel forums.

Absences • You may miss five days of class without deduction, no excuses, no explanations needed (or wanted). After five days, each absence will result in a loss of grade in this manner: 5 to 10 days, .5 deduction; 10 to 15 days, 1.0 deduction; 15 to 20 days, 2.0 deduction. • After the 20th absence, you cannot receive a decimal grade for the course other than 0.0. • An NC is available under special circumstances and will be given out only upon request.
Late arrivals (or early departures) • If you arrive 5 or more minutes after the hour, you are considered late; more than 30 minutes is considered an absence (if you are in the habit of leaving early, that may be an absence too). • Three late arrivals is the equivalent of one absence. If you come in after attendance is taken, print your name, date and time of arrival on a sheet of paper and hand that in at end of class. • If the instructor is more than 15 minutes late without any word from the instructor or a college official, class is automatically dismissed. • If you are absent or late, getting lecture information will be your responsibility. See Angel info.

Assignments are due at 10 a.m. on the due date. I understand that there are the occasional printer and other mishaps; I will accept an occasional assignment as late as 5 p.m. – just don’t make it a habit.