Welcome to the online syllabus of Sociology of News for Spring 2009.

This course asks: Why are the news media the way they are? Why do they do what they do? What roles do they play in society? What are the characteristics of different news media, from newspapers to TV to blogs? How can you look at the news critically and analyze it and its impact? What have scholars learned about the news media, what kinds of research have they done? What changes and conflicts are taking place within the news media and the journalistic profession?

journalists_iraq_declar


This photo accompanied a Saturday, 7 December, 2002, BBC story, "US hopes dossier will trap Iraq," about the UN Inspector's Report on Iraqi WMD's.