American Studies/Political Science 393-02: Journalism and American DemocracyMonday, Wednesday, Friday: 10-1050 am

Xavier Hall G14

Professor: Josh RoilandEmail: joshua.roiland@gmail.com

Phone: 314-550-9156Office Hours: Thursday 2-3 pm

“No substantial famine has ever occurred in a country with a democratic form of government and a relatively free press.”

—Amartya Sen

Course DescriptionThis course will explore the relationship between American journalism and American democracy. Historically, the press has been understood as a key source of inspiring political interest through the dissemination of timely and relevant information. But the relationship between the press and the citizenry is complex. In this class we will examine that complexity by investigating the many styles and roles of the press in American democracy, and exploring the relationship between the press and citizens. We will examine philosophies of democracy and philosophies of journalism and interrogate their intersections. And we will explore these questions: What are the obligations of citizens in a democracy? How do citizens use the press? Do certain styles of journalism improve public discourse? What influence does journalism have on social organization? How does the press affect voting? How does the press account for marginalized publics? What is the relationship between individual rights and the public’s right to know?

Required Texts Michael Schudson, The Sociology of News (New York: W.W. Norton, 2003). Bill Kovach & Tom Rosenstiel, The Elements of Journalism: What Newspeople Should Know and

the Public Should Expect (New York: Three Rivers Press, 2007 Revised & Updated). Robert Entman, Democracy Without Citizens: Media and the Decay of American Politics

(New York: Oxford University Press, 1989).

These texts will be supplemented with photocopied handouts and materials on Electronic Reserve. Password: roiland Also, because our class focuses on journalism, please read newspapers (esp. the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and the New York Times) daily in order to stay informed for class discussion. Lastly, please visit the websites www.journalism.org, www.cjr.org, and the Romenesko blog at www.poynter.org on a weekly basis in order to follow current debates in the profession of journalism.

Class Requirements & Policies Mandatory daily attendance and participation Completion of all reading & writing assignments Nine Reading Responses (No late papers accepted). Two practice assignments (No late papers accepted). Research Paper (No late papers accepted).

Evaluation Class Participation—20% Two Practice Assignments—15% total Nine Reading Responses—35% total Research Paper—30%

University and Class Policies

Attendance: Our class will rely almost exclusively on classroom and small group discussion. For this format to work, everyone needs to attend class. For this format to thrive, everyone attending class needs actively to participate. If you decide not to come to class or if you come to class unprepared your grade will severely reflect the consequences of your actions. Beginning with your third absence, your final grade will drop 1/3 (e.g. B- to C+). Students who accumulate five or more absences will automatically fail the course. Should you be late, or absent, please have the courtesy to call and let me know ahead of time. You will be responsible for any notes and/or assignments you miss. Missing class is no excuse for not being prepared for the next class.  A missed conference or guided workshop counts as a missed class.

Assignments: I accept assignments only in class.  Do not submit assignments by email, and do not submit essays to my mailbox or my office; do not ask a friend or classmate to hand in an assignment for you.  I will not accept any assignments submitted in any way other than in class, in person.   All assignments are due in class on the day stated in the syllabus. Any work that is handed in late will receive a full grade deduction (e.g. from a B to a C) for each day that it is past due. In addition, I will not comment on work that is submitted late, nor will I always be able to return them promptly.  No work will be accepted beyond the last day of class.

Academic Honesty: Saint Louis University’s standard policy for violations of academic honesty will apply in this course. Please review this policy here: http://www.slu.edu/x12657.xmlAny student who plagiarizes any assignment will receive a zero for that assignment on the first offense; a second offense will result in course failure.  Please note that a zero is less than an F; therefore, a zero could jeopardize your ability to pass the course.  All offenses will be documented in a permanent departmental file of academic honesty violations.  This policy is nonnegotiable and does not distinguish between complete or partial plagiarism, intentional or “unintentional” plagiarism.  To be safe, simply cite the source if you reference or even allude to material from somewhere else. In submitting an essay for this class, you are certifying the following:

1. This is original work, written by me for this class. I have not submitted this essay (or portions of it) for other courses, nor do I intend to submit it for another course.2. All writing and ideas presented here are completely my own.3. I understand that changing or rearranging a handful of words from another source constitutes plagiarism.4. I understand that copying sentence structure can constitute plagiarism.5. I realize that borrowing ideas without citing their original source(s) is another form of plagiarism.7. I realize that my instructor is available to help me with any problems I am having with the essay or to answer any questions about the paper before it is due, including questions about plagiarism or citation.8. I understand the University’s policy on plagiarism and the consequences of plagiarism.

Special Needs: Any student who feels that he or she may have circumstances that require special attention from the instructor should feel free to contact me in order to make the learning environment as comfortable and conducive as possible.

Subject-to-Change Clause: This syllabus is subject to change at the instructor’s discretion; such changes will be announced in class, and a revised schedule will be distributed if necessary.  It is the student’s responsibility to be aware of changes in policies or schedules. 

Reading and Writing Schedule

Week 1: Introduction1-21—No Class, Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday1-23—Introduction, Syllabus1-25—Michael Schudson “News as Public Knowledge” —Robert Dahl, “What is Democracy?”

Week 2: Individualism, Associations & the Press1-28—Alexis de Tocqueville, Democracy in America, v1, p2, ch3-41-30—Alexis de Tocqueville, Democracy in America, v2, p2, ch1-72-1—Reading Response 1 DUE

Week 3: Phantom Public or Great Community? 2-4—Walter Lippmann, “The Nature of News,” “News, Truth, and a Conclusion,” “The Appeal to the Public”2-6 —John Dewey, “Search for the Great Community”2-8—Reading Response 2 DUE

Week 4: The Public Sphere2-11—Craig Calhoun, “Habermas and the Public Sphere”2-13—Michael Schudson, “Was There Ever a Public Sphere?”2-15—Reading Response 3 DUE

Week 5: History of Journalism2-18—Michael Schudson, The Sociology of News, Ch. 42-20—Gerald Baldasty, “The Rise of News as a Commodity: Business Imperatives and the Press of the 19th Century”2-22—Richard Kaplan, Conclusion from Politics and the American Press: The Rise of Objectivity, 1865-1920

Week 6: The Press in Practice2-25—Kovach & Rosenstiel, The Elements of Journalism, “Intro” & Ch. 1-42-27—Kovach & Rosenstiel, The Elements of Journalism, Ch. 5-6 2-29—Reading Response 4 DUE

Week 7: Problems with the Press in Practice3-3—Kovach & Rosenstiel, The Elements of Journalism, Ch. 7-103-5—James Carey, “The Dark Continent of American Journalism” 3-7—Practice Assignment 1 DUE

Week 8: News as Culture3-10—Michael Schudson, The Sociology of News, “Intro” & Ch.1-23-12—Michael Schudson, The Sociology of News, Ch. 33-14—Michael Schudson, The Sociology of News, Ch. 5

Week 9: Spring Break3-17—No Class, Spring Break3-19—No Class, Spring Break3-21—No Class, Spring Break

Week 10: News as Culture, cont.3-24—No Class, Easter Monday3-26—Michael Schudson, The Sociology of News, Ch. 6-8 —Reading Response 5 DUE3-28—Michael Schudson, The Sociology of News, Ch. 9-10

Week 11: Imperiled Democracy?3-31—Robert Entman, Democracy Without Citizens, “Intro” & Ch.1-24-2—Robert Entman, Democracy Without Citizens, Ch.44-4—Robert Entman, Democracy Without Citizens, Ch.5, 7

Week 12: Local News4-7—Reading Response 6 DUE 4-9—Post-Dispatch articles4-11—Guest Speakers

Week 13: Public Journalism4-14—Antony J. Eksterowicz, “The History and Development of Public Journalism”4-16—William F. Woo, “Public Journalism: A Critique”4-18—Reading Response 7 DUE

Week 14: Online Advances4-21—Rachel Smolkin, “The Expanding Blogosphere” —Matt Welch, “Blogworld and Its Gravity” —Barb Palser, “Online Advances” —Gail Beckerman, “Beware the Bloggers” —Jay Rosen, “Terms of Authority”4-23—Nicholas Lemann, “Amateur Hour: Journalism Without Journalists”4-25—Reading Response 8 DUE

Week 15: Conclusions4-28—Alexis de Tocqueville, Democracy in America, v2, p4, ch1-64-30—James Carey, “The Press, Public Opinion, and Public Discourse: On the Edge of the Postmodern”5-2—Michael Schudson, “The News Media and the Democratic Process”

Week 16: Wrap-Up5-5—Last Class —Reading Response 9 DUE —Practice Assignment 2 DUE

Monday, May 12—Final Paper DUE