Syllabus
COMM 570, Fall 2007
Tuesday 2:00-4:50pm, in ASC-G38
Office Hours: by appointment
This
course explores the economics of the communication industries. The first part
is a survey of the economic organization and characteristics of traditional
communication sectors (newspaper publishing, film, broadcast-TV and cable-TV,
telephony). The second part deals in greater detail with specific, cross-sector
economic issues related to networks, media technologies, and digital convergence.
Assignments and grading
1) Students must sign up to make a short presentation and lead a discussion in one the 7 classes focused on an industry (weeks 3-9). They will identify a few additional readings for the class, to support their presentations. Possible presentation topics include:
- case study of one of the firms belonging to the sector under study
- analysis of a salient economic issue in the sector
- a look at similarities and differences between the US and another country/region in this industry
- this is not an exhaustive list...
2) A research paper, to be presented in class during one of the last 5 weeks
of the semester, due at the end of the semester.
Timeline:
- by week 4: submit a 1-paragraph description of the topic
- by week 9: submit a 2-page synopsis
- paper presentations to be scheduled during weeks 10-14
- final paper due during finals week
Grading
Presentation: 20%
Participation: 20%
Research Paper: 60%
Required readings
- Books:
- Compaine, Benjamin M., Douglas Gomery, Douglas Gomery Who Owns the Media?: Competition and Concentration in the Mass Media, Lawrence Elbaum, 2000 ISBN 0805829369
- [OPTIONAL:] Alexander, A., J. Owers and R. Carveth (1998) Media Economics: Theory and Practice, Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, ISBN 0805845801
- Shapiro, C. & Varian, H. (1998). Information rules: A strategic
guide to the network economy. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Business School
Publishing
ISBN :087584863X.
- On-line readings: pointers included in the syllabus
- Keep up with the Communication Industries business news. A minimal way to do that is to read the Monday business section of The New York Times: . These articles are available on the CyberTimes site at http://www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/cyber/ .
Academic Integrity:
The University is committed to maintaining the highest standards of ethical conduct in all academic pursuits. Any student found responsible for plagiarism, fabrication, cheating on examinations, or purchasing papers, or other assignments, will receive a failing grade in the course and may be dismissed as a major in communication. See section 11 of Scampus and the relevant sections of the Student Judicial Affairs and Community Standards at: http://www.usc.edu/student-affairs/SJACS/students.html.
Students with Disabilities and Academic Accommodations:
Students requesting academic accommodations based on a disability are required to register with Disability Services and Programs (DSP) each semester. A letter of verification for approved accommodations can be obtained from DSP when adequate documentation in filed. Please be sure the letter is delivered to Professor Bar as early in the semester as possible. DSP is open Monday-Friday, 8:30-5:00. The office is in Student Union 301 and their phone number is (213) 740-0776. For additional information, see the Web page of the Disabilities Services Program at: http://www.usc.edu/student-affairs/asn/DSP