2010-11 academic year

The Structure of Social Communication (21306)

Degree/study: Journalism
Year: 1st
Term: 3rd
Number of ECTS credits: 6 credits
Hours of studi dedication: h150 ours
Teaching language or languages: catalan
Teaching Staff: Núria Almiron

1. Presentation of the subject

This subject is an introduction to the study of the social communication, organised in a coherent group of concepts and tools for the analysis of the cultural industries, paying especial attention to the communication media, in order to show the student of Journalism the communicative, political, economic, organisational and cultural aspects of the so-called "social communication".

The main objective of this subject is to stimulate the reflective, critical and cooperative attitude towards the analysis of communication's phenomena and structures - three essential tools for the journalistic analysis as well. This is why the teaching and the learning of this subject requires a combination of personal interest, critical spirit, rigorous reflection, individual study and teamwork.

2. Competences to be attained

General competences

· Understand and interpret adequately written texts of an academic level

· Be able to justify with solid arguments one's opinions and defend them in public

· Be able to communicate properly, both speaking an writing, in the two official languages in Catalonia - Catalan and Spanish -, in front of expert and inexpert audiences

· Ability to think autonomously and critically when talking about controversial subjects

· Be self-disciplent, self-demanding and rigorous when doing academic tasks, and organise your time correctly

· Develop the sense of curiosity, wanting to know what we don't know, which is an essential competence in all teaching processes and in all professional activities

· Ability to progress in the learning process autonomously and continuously

Degree's specific competences:

· Knowledge of the informative and communicative processes, as well as of the theories that support or criticise them

· Knowledge and application of the technologies and systems used to process, produce and transmit information

· Knowledge of the English language, as it is a form of expression in the communication media's world

· Knowledge of the current situation and of the world's recent history

· Knowledge of the social impact of the informative technologies

· Knowledge of the structure and management of the public and the private communication companies

Subject's specific competences:

· Acquire a basic and critical knowledge of the structures and functions of the most important public and private actors in the national and the international social communication

· Obtain the keys that permit descipher the relations of power, the communicative and cultural flows, and the roles the public and private actors play (and the communication media in general) in an ever-changing society

· Ability to relate the social functions of communication to the structures that make them possible

· Give the students elements of personal reflection in order to help them choose their work preferences

3. Contents

Part I. Introduction: presentation and definitions

Lesson 1. What is the social communication?

Definition, features, dimensions, organisation and roles of the social communication - or mass communication - in today's societies. Presentation of the concept of "cultural industries": press, radio, TV, cinema, the Internet, the publishing world, the phonographic world, and publicity.

Lesson 2. What is the structure of social communication?

Possible approaches to the study, definition, perspectives (descriptive, interpretative, critical, etc.). Presentation of the chosen approach of the subject and contextualisation in the current political and economic situation.

Part II. Organisation of the communication media: ideological base, models and relations of power

Lesson 3. The international system of Information

Globalisation, ideological base of the system (from the freeflow doctrine to the MacBride report), main debates, main news agencies.

Lesson 4. Media systems

Comparable dimensions, media systems and political systems, models or types, defining elements.

Lesson 5. The structure of communication and power

The policies of communication, the public media systems (examples of organisation and funding, relationships with political power) and the bonds between the private groups and politics and economy.

Part III. The communication media: analysis spaces

Lesson 6. The structure of communication in Catalonia

The Corporació Catalana de Mitjans Audiovisuals (CCMA), the Consell de l'Audiovisual de Catalunya, the local TV, the TDT, the main private communication groups, the communication policies in Catalonia.

Lesson 7. The structure of communication in Spain

Radio Televisión Española (RTVE) and the public service in Spain, the arrival of private channels, the local TV, satellite TV and cable TV, the TDT. The main Spanish communication groups, the communication policies in Spain.

Lesson 8. The structure of communication in the European Union

The different models of the media systems in Europe, the main communication groups, the communication policies in the EU (audio-visual, press aids, the cinema's protection, etc.).

Lesson 9. The structure of communication in the United States

The model of media system in the US, the particularity of the public service, the Federal Communications Commission, the main communication groups in the US.

Lesson 10. The structure of communication in other regions

Some interesting cases: Venezuela, China & Russia.

Part IV. The other cultural industries

Lesson 12. The digital space

The political economy of the Internet, the international transmission of data, journalistic strategies and the media on the Internet, the digital myth, alternative media.

Lesson 13. Cinema, music and the publishing world

The American superiority in the cinema, the main publishing groups in the world, the decline in the business model of the phonographic industry.

Lesson 14. The persuasive communication and the audiences

Publicity, propaganda and public relations. Communication offices and crisis communication. Agencies.

4. Assessment

There will be a continuous assessment consisting of two parts: a test on the theoretical part (exam) and a test on the practical part (tasks, participation, etc.). Under no circumstances will the practical part represent less than the 50% of the final mark.

5. Bibliography and teaching resources

5.1. Basic bibliography

ALMIRON, Núria (2009): "Grupos privados propietarios de medios de comunicación en España: principales datos estructurales y financieros", a revista Comunicación y Sociedad, n.1, vol. XXII.

ALMIRON, Núria (2009): "Grups de Comunicació", a Informe de la Comunicació a Catalunya 2007-2008, Institut de la Comunicació, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona.

CAMPOS FREIRE, Francisco (2007): "Los principales grupos mundiales de medios de comunicación siguen siendo negocios de familia", a revista ZER, n. 22, pp.141-166.

HALLIN, Daniel C. i Paolo MANCINI (2007): Sistemas mediáticos comparados, Barcelona: Hacer [Cap.5 "El modelo Mediterráneo o Pluralista Polarizado"].

JONES, Daniel E. (2005): "Aproximación teórica a la estructura de la comunicación social", en Sphera Pública, n. 005, pp.19-39.

LABIO, Aurora (2006): Comunicación, periodismo y control informativo. Estados Unidos, Europa y España.

MACBRIDE, Sean i altres (1993): Un sólo mundo, voces múltiples. Comunicación e información en nuesro tiempo (Informe Macbride, 1980), México Fondo de Cultura.

MASTRINI, Guilermo y Martín BECERRA (2001): "Cincuenta años de concentración de medios en América Latina: del patriarcado artesanal a la valorización en escala", a QUIRÓS Fernando y Francisco SIERRA: Comunicación, globalización y democracia. Crítica de la economía política de la comunicación y la cultura, Sevilla: Comunicación social.

MORAGAS i SPÀ, Miquel de; Isabel FERNÁNDEZ ALONSO; ALMIRON ROIG, Núria; José Joaquin BLASCO GIL; Joan CORBELLA CORDOMÍ; Marta CIVIL i SERRA; Oriol GIBERT i FORTUNY (eds.) (2009) Informe de la comunicació a Catalunya 2007-2008. Bellatera: Edicions UAB.

SEGOVIA, Ana Isabel y Fernando QUIRÓS (2006): "Plutocracia y corporaciones de medios en los Estados Unidos", a CIC Cuadernos de Información y Comunicación vol.11, p.179-205.

5.2. Complementary bibliography

ALMIRON, Núria (2008): "Conglomerats de comunicació al segle XXI: financiarització i dèficit democràtic", a L'Espill, Universitat de València, n.28 pp. 60-74.

ALMIRON, Núria i Josep Manuel JARQUE (2008): El Mito digital. Discursos hegemónicos sobre Internet y periodismo. Barcelona: Anthropos.

BOUQUILLION, Philippe (2008): Les industries de la culture et de la communication. Les stratégies du capitalisme. Grenoble: Presses universitaires de Grenoble

BUSTAMANTE, Enrique (ed.) (2002): Comunicación y cultura en la era digital. Industrias, mercados y diversidad en España.

BUSTAMANTE, Enrique (ed.) (2003): Hacia un nuevo sistema mundial de comunicación. Las industrias culturales en la era digital. Barcelona: Gedisa.

CONSELL DE L'AUDIOVISUAL DE CATALUNYA (2005): XXV aniversari de l'Informe MacBride. Comuncació internacional i polítiques de comunicació", a Quaderns del CAC, Barcelona: CAC i Incom-UAB.

CONSELL DE L'AUDIOVISUAL DE CATALUNYA (2007): Informe de l'audiovisual a Catalunya, 2005. Barcelona: CAC.

CURRAN, James (2002): Medios de comunicación y poder, Barcelona: Hacer.

DÍAZ NOSTY, Bernardo (2005): El déficit mediático. Donde España no converge con Europa. Barcelona: Bosch.

GIFFARD, Anthony C. (1989): UNESCO and the Media, New york Longman.

GIFREU, Josep (2003) La potenciació de l'espai cultural i audiovisual català. Barcelona: Generalitat de Cataluya.

HERMAND, Edward S. I Noam CHOMSKY (2002): Manufacturing Consent. The political Economy of the Mass media. New York Pantheon Books [1ºed. 1988]. En castellà: Los guardianes de la libertad, Barcelona: Crítica/De Bolsillo, 2003.

HUTCHISON, Liese L. I John J. PAULY (2006): "Global Corporations, Global Public Relations", a Oliver BOYD-BARRETT (ed.): Communications, Media, Globalization And Empire, London: John Libbey, p. 227-242.

IGLESIAS, Francisco (2005): Concentración y pluralismo en la radio española, Pamplona: Eunsa.

LIN, Jia (2006): "Regulating Globalization: Domestic Response to International Investment in China's Media Market", a Oliver BOYD-BARRETT (ed.): Communications, Media, Globalization And Empire, London: John Libbey, p. 91-110.

McQUAIL, Denis (1983): Introducción a la teoría de la comunicación de masas, Barcelona: Paidós.

MEYER, Philip (2004): The Vanishing Newspaper. Saving Journalism in the Information Age, Columbia: The University of Missouri Press [Chapter 10. "How Newspapers Were Captured by Wall Street"]

MILLER, Toby i Richard MAXWELL (2006): "Film and Globalization, a Oliver BOYD-BARRETT (ed.): Communications, Media, Globalization And Empire, London: John Libbey, p. 33-52.

MOSCO, Vincent (2005): The Digital Sublime. Myth, Power and Cyberspace, Cambridge: The MIT Press.

MURO BENAYAS, Ignacio (2006): Globalización de la información y agencias de noticias. Entre el negocio y el interés general. Barcelona: Paidós.

PRADIÉ, Christian (2005): "Capitalisme et financiarisation des industries culturelles", a Réseaux. La concentration dans les industries de contenu. Paris: Lavoisier, p.83-110.

SÁNCHEZ RUIZ, Enrique E. (2006): "Industrias culturales, diversidad y pluralismo en América Latina", en CIC Cuadernos de Información y Comunicación vol.11, p.207-221.

SEGOVIA, Ana Isabel (2001): "Aviso para navegantes. Concentración privatización de las comunicaciones en los Estados Unidos" a QUIRÓS Fernando y Francisco SIERRA: Comunicación, globalización y democracia. Crítica de la economía política de la comunicación y la cultura, Sevilla: Comunicación social.

5.3. Teaching resources

They will be available in Moodle. Some of them are the following:

·         COMMUNICATION WEBSITES

Portal de la comunicación del INCOM (UAB) http://www.portalcomunicacion.com/cat/home.asp

Infoamérica

http://www.infoamerica.org/

Communication, cultural and media studies http://www.cultsock.ndirect.co.uk/MUHome/cshtml/index.html

The media and communication studies site

http://www.aber.ac.uk/media/

·         COMMUNICATION'S STRUCTURE

Nordicom (Nordic countries and Europe)

http://www.nordicom.gu.se

Freepress (EEUU)

http://www.freepress.net/

Consell Audiovisual de Catalunya (audiovisual en Catalunya)

http://www.cac.cat

Comissió del Mercat de les Telecomunicacions (CMT, Spain)

http://www.cmt.es

Ofcom (RU)

http://www.ofcom.org.uk/research/cm/

Structuracom.com (Catalonia, Spain and Europe)

http://structuracom.com

RESEARCH CENTRES AND ASSOCIATIONS

Asociación Española de Investigación de la Comunicación

http://www.ae-ic.org/esp/home.asp

European Communication Research and European Association (ECREA)

http://www.ecrea.eu

Unitat d'Investigació en Comunicació Social (U.P.F.)

http://www.upf.edu/depeca/unica/

Institut de la Comunicació (Incom-UAB)

http://www.portalcomunicacio.cat

International Association for Media and Communication Research (IAMCR/AIERI)

http://www.iamcr.org/

International Communication Association (ICA)

http://www.icahdq.org/

Unión Latina de Economía Política de la Información, la Comunicación y la Cultura (ULEPICC)

http://www.ulepicc.org/

·         STUDIES ON AUDIENCES

Gallup

http://www.gallup.com

Nielsen

http://www.nielsen.com

EGM

http://www.aimc.es/

OJD

http://www.ojd.es

El Barómetro de la Comunicación

http://www.fundacc.org/

6. Metodology

The learning will be organised in:

· Lectures: plenary sessions where the theoretical contents of the subject will be explained. They will be divided in two parts: the first one to expose the basic contents, the second one to ask/answer questions and to solve the doubts the students might have.

· Tasks in class: one-hour seminar sessions to do exercises based on the readings the students will have read previously.

· Tasks at home: attendance to conferences, research work, interviews and general data investigation to do the individual tasks.

· Self-learning: reading and comprehension exercises that will be proposed for the students to acquire the knowledge better. They will also be used as a test.

· Meetings: in the seminars, to supervise all tasks (both individual and in groups).

· Exams: tests to prove that you have actually acquired the knowledge; you might have to write an essay or there might be multiple-choice questions.

7. Planning of activities

Week

Activities in class

Activities at home (any of these possibilities)

Week 1

Part 1

1. Plenary session (lecture)