Module Information
Course Delivery
Assessment
| Assessment Type | Assessment length / details | Proportion |
|---|---|---|
| Semester Assessment | Essay based on quantitative and qualitative study of political broadcast output 5,000 words | 100% |
Learning Outcomes
Students successfully completing this module will be able to critically assess:
Some of the processes by which broadcast journalists mediate their work to construct reality on the screen.
How the interaction between the news media and its sources dictates the political news agenda.
The functions of the elite
The tensions between regulators, commercialisation and a depleted public service broadcaster.
The function of bias in election news reporting.
How the UK system differs from other international models such as The USA and Russia.
The impact of the digital broadcast revolution/web broadcasting on political communication and voting behaviour.
How the system might be improved to enhance its accountability to the electorate.
Aims
To provide students with a framework within which they can critically interpret the broadcast news and current affairs output, its relationship to the ruling elite and its effects on the viewing public. Students will be asked to question how successfully broadcasters fulfil their remit to provide a rationally based and balanced service of news enabling viewers/listeners to make basic judgements about public policy in the capacity as voting citizens of a democracy.
Content
- Three contrasting cultural frameworks of regulation (public service, state run or commercially driven).
- The UK News Agenda
- Inside the modern newsroom
- A loveless embrace ? the dynamic between news maker and news breaker
- Election reporting 1 ? history, propaganda and the BBC
- Election reporting 2 ? The rules of engagement
- Election reporting 3 ? 1997 Analysis ? painting politics black
- Marketing the political message ? the party political broadcast
- The future of political communication through the broadcast media in a digital age. (Case Study: The decline of the gatekeeper in the Monica Lewinsky Affair)
- Election 2001 ? analysis and prediction
Notes
This module is at CQFW Level 7