American media are the most capitalist and richest in the world. Does this mean they are money-grubbing, craven institutions that warp our minds? Or does the for-profit system make them free, diverse, and creative? This is a perennial debate, and an important one; if you have not thought about it, you are missing out on one of the most important controversies of our time.
To get a feel for this controversy, begin with an example of the kind of thing that our commercial media encourages: JIM RUTENBERG, "To Interview Former P.O.W., CBS Dangles Stardom," New York Times, June 16, 2003.
To get an idea of what people think about this, next turn to the book (or pamphlet, really) that you have bought for this course: read Robert McChesney's, Corporate Media and the Threat to Democracy (New York: Seven Stories Press, 1997). McChesney has supporters on both the right and the left who think American media is too "corporate"; they think the American media undermine our freedom. (Vermont's Congressman Bernard Sanders often makes arguments similar to McChesney.) But you also should look at another side to the argument: read this rebuttal to McChesney by another media scholar called Benjamin Compaine.
Ok, now it's time to take sides (at least temporarily; if you're not certain where you stand, just choose a side for now; we all change our minds as we learn more): Post your thoughtful opinion on the question, "are corporate media a bastion of freedom or a threat to democracy?" Do this by noon on June 11. Also, post a thoughtful response to someone else's opinion no later than midnight on the same day.
Economics has been called "the dismal science" because it can seem so dry and abstract. But when something is as important as the structure of media and democracy, you need to at least have some clarity about what you are talking about. So read MediaMaking, Chapter 4, "Media and Money," pp. 89-117. Also read this online lecture on economic concepts. By the time your are done, make sure you understand the following concepts: monopoly, oligopoly, higher wages/shorter hours and the consumer economy, direct and indirect payments, vertical integration, synergy, use value, exchange value, economies of scale, break even points, royalties, hit-to-release ratios, and secondary markets.
Now apply some of this theory to practice: choose two of the economic concepts discussed above, and apply them to a contemporary media phenomenon in a post by noon on June 12; write at least one reponse to someone else's post by midnight of the same day.