Journalism in Crisis

Journalism in Crisis is a Cognitive Science class taught by James Miller.

Course Description
Consumers of its hallmark product (newspapers) are steadily diminishing. Its practitioners are regularly revealed to break its most hallowed rules (scandals of plagiarism or fabrication). Its flashiest, least substantial examples are the most popular (Fox News). New forms, produced by amateurs (citizen journalism), are challenging its claims to professionalism. Critics say that despite its pretenses to neutrality, it is fundamentally biased. The answer, of course, is mainstream American journalism. This is a journalism in crisis, torn by controversy and uncertain how to proceed. This course will explore a range of issues affecting news making, including high-profile reform efforts, increasing commercialization, debates over the nature and enforcement of ethics, and the export of U.S.-style journalism to other parts of the world. Students will help lead class discussions, write short response papers and two essays and conduct a final research project. This course satisfies Division I distribution requirements.

Learning Goals

 * Project-based
 * Presenting
 * Reading
 * Writing