Class, Thursday, April 16

First, class will meet today as scheduled. Next, thank you for your patience and understanding as we move toward the end of the semester. I would like to apologize for any inconvenience I may have caused because of the responsibilities I have as chair of the department at TAMUK and as a professor who took an extra load because of the university's inability to hire another instructor to help with other courses which I had to take on.

Now, we are nearing the end of the course. Here is our "suggested" schedule as I see it for the rest of the year. I will try to stick to it to the best of my ability. Again, I ask for your patience and understanding. Be aware, no one who has completed their assignments and has attended class regularly is in danger of failing this class. If you have any questions about this, please contact me at the office: 361-593-3401 or on my cell: 361-813-7808. If I don't answer, leave a message and I will get back with you as soon as possible; I promise.

Now, here is the schedule:

Thursday, April 16 - (Class will meet). Selected students were scheduled to present book reviews. However, this will be toward the end of class. The class today will cover lectures from Chapters 11-18. There are no more blog posting responses. All blogs from now on are reviews.

• Thursday, April 23 - (Class will not meet. I will be in Houston with the TAMUK Advertising Team at the District 10 National Student Advertising Competition sponsored by the American Advertising Federation). Blog assignments on chapters 20-25 will be posted for you to review. You will be asked to review postings on the current state of the media. Your Final Project is due on this date.

• Thursday, April 30 (Class will meet). Selected students present book reviews. Selected final projects may be discussed. This is the day where we will let students give oral reviews of their books. Prepare for final exam. This is the last exam. It will be posted on Tuesday My 5 and due on exam date (which is different for both campuses).

• Thursday, May 7: (Class will meet). Selected students present book reviews and discuss final projects.

IN CASE YOU FORGOT:

Final Project: Write a biography of a longtime media professional—still working or retired—from one of our area media outlets. You can find some biographical details in city and county records or on website of newspapers or broadcast media outlets. Other information can come from friends, acquaintances, co-workers and relatives. Much of the information will come directly from interviews with your subject or with people who knew your subject. The professor will provide a list of potential subjects. In addition to finding out the details of your subject’s life and professional career, you’re also interested in learning how the business was conducted during the time your subject was working in the profession. What was it like? What experiences did your subject have? How has the profession changed? The biography should be at least 8 pages long, word-processed and double-spaced. You may submit this electronically. Deadline for final project is April 23. You MORE THAN LIKELY WILL be asked to discuss your project with the class, depending on class progress through the semester. This project is worth 20 percent of your final grade.


Book Review: One book review is required. The assignment will be both written and oral (presentation before the class). The written review must be submitted in MS Word format. The presentation can be a power point, slide or overhead project presentation OR JUST AN ORAL DISCUSSION IN CLASS. A list of approved books will be provided later this semester. The professor must “approve” the book. The book must be a biography or autobiography of a journalist or the history of a newspaper or other journalistic organization or the function of a certain group in journalism and communication (i.e. Hispanics in the media, the Chicano newspapers of the 20th century, the Black press in history, etc.). This is worth 20 percent of your final grade.