6 ECTS credits
157 h study time
Offer 1 with catalog number 4019911FNR for all students in the 1st semester at a (F) Master - specialised level.
This course provides students with an in-depth overview of concepts and theories relevant for the study of the political economy of journalism. It devotes attention to the so-called critical school of political economy in communication sciences, but will also include insights from scholars situated in other paradigms.
This course aims to provide an overview of relevant theories and concepts in the broad field of the political economy of journalism. It sets out from a general introduction to political economy, political economy of media/communication, the various political/economic systems of the press/journalism in Europe, which allows for a more advanced study of specific sub-aspects of the political economy of journalism. This more advanced study’s objective is to make students actively read and evaluate what they read on issues such as the fourth estate status of journalism in democratic and also capitalist societies.
The course consists of three parts:
Teaching Methods
This description of the teaching methods is indicative, in order to assess the expected study load.
Lecture: 31 hours
Seminar: 8 hours
Self: 114 hours
After having followed this course, students:
The final grade is composed based on the following categories:
Oral Exam determines 80% of the final mark.
PRAC Presentation determines 20% of the final mark.
Within the Oral Exam category, the following assignments need to be completed:
Within the PRAC Presentation category, the following assignments need to be completed:
You need to participate in the exam and the presentation session (the full seminar sessions, including other presentations) to be able to pass. Not participating in one of the components (exam or presentation) implies an 'absence' for the entire course.
The distribution of grades remains identical in the second session.
The general principle for the second session is: if you failed for the course in its totality, you retake all of the parts you did not pass. In the second session too, you need to participate in the exam and, in lieu of the group presentation, an individual presentation. Not participating in one of the components (exam or presentation) implies an 'absence' for the entire course.
In a bit more detail:
If you need to participate in the second session, but scored minimum 10/20 for one of the two parts of the evaluation, the partial result of the part of the evaluation you scored minimum 10/20 for (presentation or the oral exam) is transferred to the second session. If you wish to retake that part you scored minimum 10/20 for in the second session, you need to send an e-mail to yazan.badran@vub.be within five days after the publication of the exam results. In case you retake that part in the second session, your first session result is cancelled and the second session result becomes the official result (even if it is lower than the first session result).
If you need to retake the course in the next year, the same rules apply. Partial results from 10/20 (for presentation or oral exam) are transferred to the next academic year. If you want to retake a part, you need to request this before the end of October by mail to yazan.badran@vub.be.
This offer is part of the following study plans:
Master of Communication Studies: Journalism and Media in Europe