MP5023 - Media Industries

The module is taught through a combination of lectures and seminars. The taught component of the module will consist of two-hour lecture slots accompanied by one-hour seminar slots across the year. Every lecture will have a corresponding seminar in which the issues will be explored in greater depth. The lectures will mainly be concerned with introducing the key theoretical contentions, historical/political/social contexts, and issues. The lecture slot is long as to allow space for the tutor to: a) introduce theoretical, industrial and practical ideas; b) demonstrate the ways in which these examples can be understood in relation to theories of mass communication; and c) delineate areas of contention raised by the examples. The connections between the theoretical ideas and the issue at hand will be explored further in the seminars. The module includes a significant time allowance for self-directed study. During this time, you will be expected to engage in seminar preparation (for example, by engaging with relevant scholarship). You will be expected to come to the seminars prepared (i.e. having attended the lecture and having conducted independent preparatory reading). The major theoretical texts are available from the campus library and electronic library, thereby ensuring that you can access the literature required for seminar work and assessment preparation. You are encouraged to read extensively beyond the taught components of the module.

The module tutor has weekly office hours during which you can drop in for academic support. All students are also provided with an academic tutor who also has hours to support student learning. The seminars will allow you to engage in group discussion and problem-solving with the module tutor and your peers, thus developing a constructive support network. The delivery of the module will be supported with learning and lecture materials that are accessible via the e-learning portal.

All modules at Northumbria include a range of reading materials that students are expected to engage with. Online reading lists (provided after enrolment) give you access to your reading material for your modules. The Library works in partnership with your module tutors to ensure you have access to the material that you need.

Knowledge & Understanding:
• KU1: Develop a detailed understanding of the methods, approaches and practices that characterise contemporary mass communication industries
• KU2: Develop a detailed understanding of the impacts that technological and cultural transformations have on contemporary mass communication industries

Intellectual / Professional skills & abilities:
• IPSA1: Reflect on and develop your ability to critically evaluate debates relating to mass communications industries, both independently and in group discussion

Personal Values Attributes (Global / Cultural awareness, Ethics, Curiosity) (PVA):
• PVA1: Develop detailed understanding of the mass communication landscape, accounting for social, political and cultural considerations that have led to the development of contemporary mass communications industries.

The assessment for this module consists of a 3000 word essay in which you are expected to engage critically and reflectively with both work that you have studied on the module and that which you have independently explored.

The assessment strategy with respect to this module is designed to develop:

• The ability to present a well-organised, well-supported academic discussion on the chosen topic following all the academic conventions for example referencing.
• The ability to engage critically with the knowledge and understanding acquired
• The ability to communicate effectively complex information in a variety of different formats
• Independent research skills of information retrieval and organization

You will receive formative feedback on your ability to conduct analysis of events and cultural objects during the seminars. Class discussion will test your ability to critically engage with advanced mass communication theory in an academic fashion and allow you to demonstrate your understanding of the theoretical concepts raised in the lectures. You will also have the opportunity to discuss your ideas with your peers, working together to find solutions to theoretical dilemmas and so forth.
Under normal circumstances, you will receive written feedback on your summative submissions within 20 working days. The feedback will normally be supplied electronically. This feedback will provide a detailed account of your research/methodological skills, critical engagement and communicative ability, as well as supporting future learning by indicating areas for development. You can also request additional verbal feedback on your submissions by arranging a meeting with the module tutor.

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Mass Communication Industries combines conceptual thinking, practice-informed debate, and experiential learning into a distinctive and innovative matrix that will enable you to obtain a fully-rounded critical understanding of the ways in which mass communication industries function and the challenges and opportunities that face them in the immediate future. The module acts as a complement to other Mass Communication modules such as Media Culture and Convergent Communication.