TVR 30500 Topics in Media Law and Policy: Digital Media Law Syllabus Fall 2010 Online

Course description:
This topics course examines the constitutional, legal and regulatory foundations common to print, broadcast media, the Internet and immersive media.  Core topics will include and overview of key legal areas impacting the media, including libel, invasion of privacy, obscenity and copyright.  We will explore a range of areas shaped in part by student interest.  Possible area include: entertainment media, music, interactive and immersive media, new journalism platforms and online presence of corporate communications (e.g. branding, public relations and online advertising. See this semester's schedule for specific topics we will cover. 

Special considerations for online learning:

We will be spending about 15 weeks together in this class and outside of some events I will ask those living in Ithaca to attend, this experience will be largely virtural.  Which makes sense, since we are exploring the virtual world in this course.  But, what I want to be sure you understand is that the time normally taken by formal class meetings becomes time you will work in other ways on the material.  Given that this is a four credit course, please anticipate approximately 10- 12 hours of work each week associated with the topics we will cover.  That work will include, reading (text and additional materials), research, analysis, critiques, writing, group work (virtually), discussion posts, online presentations. Be mindful that the "flexibility" that comes with online learning doesn't lead to procrastination, which is the kiss of death in an online course.

Generally, is expected that the readings for the week will be done before the week begins (or certainly no later than Monday of each week) so you can spend the week completing assignments, contributing to discussion questions and completing outside research. 

Learning Objectives:

Throughout the semester study of media law, students will blend historical rationales for regulation with legal case precedent and social/political/economic influences on media regulation. Students will

• understand, historical political, legal and cultural frameworks that set the stage for contemporary media law;
• analyze the specific limits placed on the mass media as well as the freedom the industry enjoys as a result of its special relationship to the First Amendment of the United States Constitution;
• analyze shifting political influences on policy decisions and accelerating technological innovation/convergence in the media;
• To assess and critique current media law as it may be applied to new and emerging media forms.
• enhance skills associated with challenging group- driven work, even when in a virtual asynchronous environment;
• develop an intellectual appreciation for the importance of understanding media law as future media practitioners and/or consumers.

Course objectives will be assessed through a series of writtens assignment,s applications of material to new problems and online presentations.

Text: 

• Pember & Calvert, Mass Media Law 17th ed. NY:McGraw Hill (There also is a companion website for the textbook).
• Additional readings/court opinions may be assigned during the course and will be available either as a download from Blackboard or via a link to the material online.

• Read the assigned material when assigned- the evidence of which becomes part of your course grade assessed by the quality of your online comments.
• Be prepared to respond online to questions about the material and engage actively and regularly in all forms of online discussions and participation - it will be a substantive part of your grade.
• Ask questions. Challenge assumptions.Think outside the box, but always with rigor and evidence -the quality and throughtfulness of your contributions are assessed as part of your grade.
• Be a responsible and actively involved collaborator with others as required.
• Finish assignments in a timely and thorough manner - see course deadline policy.
• Check your Ithaca email address (be sure your account is not full) and Blackboard regularly for announcements regarding changes to the course, assignments, or due dates.
• Check the course schedule regularly for changes in the schedule.
• Learn to use Lexis/Nexis online.
• Understand that since this is an online class, you are responsible for the discipline, focus and motivation needed to be successful.  It will require more independent learning that a traditional brick and mortar classroom experience.

• Learning to meet deadlines also is an important part of the college experience. A commitment to meeting deadlines will serve you well throughout college and in your chosen profession. One of the expectations of this class is that you meet your deadlines.  Here is the specific policy for this class:
  • All assignments are due on their due date at the time stated in Blackboard.  Internet outages, difficult uploading assignments, time zone differences are not excused from the deadline policy, so plan accordingly.
  • Penalties for late assignments begin once the assignments deadline has passed.  The grade is then reduced by 10% for assignments turned in within the next 24 hours   Submission during the second 24 hours will result in a deduction of 20% off the assigned grade.  After that (a total of 48 hours after the due date/time) the grade is a 0% (much worse than an "F"). 
  • Assignments must be uploaded to Blackboard.

Attendance Policy:

• The only attendance policy is to meet your assignment deadlines, attend the public events associated with this course (if in Ithaca or event is made available through Skype) and be engaged regularly with the online discussion, respond to emails etc.

• Academic or scholastic dishonesty will not be tolerated. This includes:
  • Cheating – Using or attempting to use unauthorized materials, information, or study aids in any academic work submitted for credit. Examples:
    • (1) receiving answers or information from another student during an exam,
    • (2) tampering with an exam after it has been corrected, or
    • (3) collaborating with other students on assignments, except in cases where this is encouraged.
  • Plagiarism – Submission of academic work for credit that includes material copied or paraphrased from published or unpublished works without documentation. Examples:
    • (1) submitting a paper or assignment that you did not write,
    • (2) submitting a paper that you wrote for another class, or
    • (3) copying or paraphrasing material from a book or other source, including Internet sources, without acknowledging the source. If you copy the author’s words exactly, the text should be treated as a direct quotation and cited with the page number. If you paraphrase the author’s words, a citation should be given using footnotes. If you use the Internet, scrutinize the quality of the source carefully.  I will. 
  • Fabrication – Deliberate falsification or invention of any information or citation in academic work. Examples:
    • (1) making up facts for an assignment, or
    • (2) making up a citation for a fact.
  • Facilitating academic dishonesty – Knowingly helping or attempting to help another to violate the college’s policy on academic dishonesty. This includes assisting someone in any of the above activities.
• I take violations of academic honesty policies very seriously. Therefore, if a case of academic dishonesty arises, I will appropriate steps as outlined in the student code of conduct.
• I encourage all students to carefully review the College's published policies on academic dishonesty, but below is a quote from college policy:
  • "Academic honesty is a cornerstone of the mission of the College. Unless it is otherwise stipulated, students may submit for evaluation only that work that is their own and that is submitted originally for a specific course. According to traditions of higher education, forms of conduct that will be considered evidence of academic misconduct include but are not limited to the following: conversations between students during an examination; reviewing, without authorization, material during an examination (e.g., personal notes, another student's exam); unauthorized collaboration; submission of a paper also submitted for credit in another course; reference to written material related to the course brought into an examination room during a closed-book, written examination; and submission without proper acknowledgment of work that is based partially or entirely on the ideas or writings of others. Only when a faculty member gives prior approval for such actions can they be acceptable. "
• And here is quoted the college policy on Plagiarism (As amended by the Ithaca College Board of Trustees May 18, 2001).
• Whether intended or not, plagiarism is a serious offense against academic honesty. Under any circumstances, it is deceitful to represent as one's own work, writing or ideas that belong to another person. Students should be aware of how this offense is defined. Plagiarism is the unacknowledged use of someone else's published or unpublished ideas, whether this use consists of directly quoted material or paraphrased ideas.
• Although various disciplines follow styles of documentation that differ in some details, all forms of documentation make the following demands:
• * That each quotation or paraphrase be acknowledged with a footnote or in-text citation;
  * That direct quotations be enclosed in quotation marks and be absolutely faithful to the wording of the source;
  * That paraphrased ideas be stated in language entirely different from the language of the source;
  * That a sequence of ideas identical to that of a source be attributed to that source;
  * That sources of reprinted charts or graphs be cited in the text;
  * That all the sources the writer has drawn from in paraphrase or direct quotation or a combination of paraphrase and quotation be listed at the end of the paper under "Bibliography," "References," or "Works Cited," whichever heading the particular style of documentation requires. (IN THIS CLASS WE WILL USE FOOTNOTES).
• A student is guilty of plagiarism if the student fails, intentionally or not, to follow any of these standard requirements of documentation.
• In a collaborative project, all students in a group may be held responsible for academic misconduct if they engage in plagiarism or are aware of plagiarism by others in their group and fail to report it. Students who participate in a collaborative project in which plagiarism has occurred will not be held accountable if they were not knowledgeable of the plagiarism.
• What, then, do students not have to document? They need not cite their own ideas, or references to their own experiences, or information that falls in the category of uncontroversial common knowledge (what a person reasonably well-informed about a subject might be expected to know - e.g. the First Amendment was ratified in 1791). They should acknowledge anything else.
• Here are examples of Other Forms of Academic Dishonesty as quoted from Ithaca College Policy:
• Other violations of academic honesty include, but are not limited to, the following behaviors:
• * Handing in to a class a paper written by someone else;
  * Handing in as an original work for a class a paper one has already submitted to another course;
  * Handing in the same paper simultaneously to two courses without the full knowledge and explicit consent of all the faculty members involved;
  * Having someone else rewrite or clean up a rough draft and submitting those revisions as one's own work.
• These offenses violate the atmosphere of trust and mutual respect necessary the process of learning.
• Note: Students who would like help in learning how to paraphrase or document sources properly should feel free to seek assistance at the Writing Center.
• If after reviewing the above, you remain in doubt as to what constitutes a violation of academic honesty, please see me in person.
• Be careful and realize that ignorance of what constitutes a violation of academic honesty or of the repercussions of violating the policy is not an excuse.
• If you want a better sense of what constitutes plagiarism....
  • Compete the short on-line quiz "What is Plagiarism..." available through Indiana University and,
  • Read through the material on how to avoid plagiarism from the University of Toronto.
    

Disability Statement:

• In compliance with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act, reasonable accommodation will be provided to students with documented disabilities on a case-by-case basis. Students must register with the Office of Academic Support Services and provide appropriate documentation to the College before any academic adjustment will be provided

• I want to be clear about what a particular grade means. In an era of rampant grade inflation, I will adhere strictly to the description of grades as described in your course bulletin. Here is what it states:

• Please keep these descriptions in mind. I might add that in the end, I don't give you a grade, I simply record the grade you earned.

• There is no extra credit available in this class.  Plan accordingly.

Contact:Dr. C
URL- http://www.ithaca.edu/faculty/ncornwell/305/305syllabus.html
Revised-Oct. 25, 2010