Usc Annenberg School of Communication

CMGT 599/ Syllabus

USC ANNENBERG SCHOOL OF COMMUNICATION MEDIA WORK, PRODUCTION CULTURE AND THE ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRY CMGT 599

Professor: David Craig Contact: [email protected] Phone: 213-281-1613 Office Hours: Contact me via email to set up a time.

“a growing army of media professionals, producers and others work in this expanding sector of the economy, many of them in freelance, temporary, subcontracted and underpaid (and sometimes unpaid) positions […] They are also often at the forefront of processes of organizational change including new flexible work regimes, reflexive corporate cultures, and the introduction of digital technologies, multimedia production and multi-skilled practices.” - Simon Cottle (2003)

COURSE DESCRIPTION:

In the wake of the Digital Age, the entertainment industry is experiencing revolutionary upheaval with no end in sight. Some consider this moment in time as the Golden Age of Media while others consider this mass media’s death knell. Regardless, this period has resulted in a fascinating if complicated time for communication scholars and academics to study and theorize culture/media industries, production culture and the Hollywood community.

Furthermore, on a practical level, there are massive changes occurring in the organizational and industrial composition of the industry. This has affected the structure of media conglomerates, the division of film studios and television networks and the nature and development of new media companies. In turn, these changes are directly affecting the lives and careers of media professionals in the field and will continue to do so indefinitely.

Format: The course will synthesis various approaches for examining the topic, as follows: - Academic readings focusing on the evolution of media industry studies, production culture and media work, - An analysis of the organization and management of an entertainment conglomerate, including the corporate structure and the departmental structure of the film studio(s) and television network(s). - Case studies of new media companies; and, - A glimpse at the practices of media professionals from an array of guest speakers.

4/27/18 CMGT 599/ Syllabus

SPEAKERS: in addition to discussions and lecture, the course will feature guest speakers from some of the following organizations within the entertainment industry:  Corporation  Home video, Licensing,  Film Studio merchandising  Production Company  Television station and Cable  Distribution/Exhibition Affiliates  Television and Cable  Publishing and Print Programming/ Production  Radio  Below-the-Line/Trade  New media entertainment Professional  Commercial Website  Research  Gaming  Publicity/marketing/advertising  Mobile programming

INTRODUCTION: Professor Craig is an Emmy-nominated Producer and Partner in Media Nation, a content provider currently developing feature films, scripted and unscripted television series and new media. Craig was previously a programming executive at A&E Television and Lifetime Television, where he supervised the production of over 30 television movies, mini-series and drama series. Craig has also worked as a film development executive, consulting editor in publishing and a stage producer. Craig is a member of the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences and the British Academy of Film and Television. He has his Masters in Cinema Studies from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts and has previously taught at Drexel University and other institutions.

Credits and further info may be found here: http://pro.imdb.com/name/nm0185829/

READINGS:

Deuze, Mark (2007). Media Work. Cambridge, UK: Polity Press.

Caldwell, John Thornton. (2008) Production Culture: Industrial Reflexivity and Critical Practice in Film and Television. Durham, NC: Duke University Press.

Mayer, Vicki, Banks, Miranda J. & Caldwell, John Thornton (Eds.) (2009) Production Studies. New York, NY: Routledge.

Supplemental Readings: these will be provided in either a course reader or posted online on Blackboard.

Christopherson, Susan. (2008) Beyond the Self-expressive Creative Worker. Theory, Culture and Society. 25(7-8), 73-95.

DeFillippi, Robert, Grabher, Gernot & Jones, Candace. (2007). Introduction to Paradoxes of creativity: managerial and organizational challenges in the Cultural economy. Journal of Organizational Behavior. 28: 511-521.

Dewdney, Andrew & Ride, Peter. (2006). The New Media Handbook. New York: Routledge. Shapters 1, 2, 4, 10 and 15.

Hartley, John. (2008) “From the Consciousness Industry to Creative Industries: Consumer-created content, social network markets and the growth of Knowledge. In Jennifer Holt and Alissa Perren (eds) Media Industries: History Theory and Methods. Oxford: Blackwell.

Hesmondhalgh, David. (2007). The Cultural Industries. 2nd Edition. Sage. Chapters 1,2,3,6,8 and 9.

Hesmondhalgh, David & Pratt, Andy C. (2005) Cultural Industries and Cultural Policy. International Journal of Cultural Policy. 11(1), 1-14.

Hesmondhalgh, David & Baker, Sarah. (2006). Creative Work in the Cultural Industries. Presented at the International Symposium “Transformations in The Cultural and Media Industries”.

Holt, Jennifer & Perren, Alisa (Eds.) (2009). Media Industries: History, Theory And Method. UK: Wiley-Blackwell. Chapters 1,3,11,19.

O’Connor, Justin. (2007). The Cultural and Creative Industries: A review of the literature. A report for Creative Partnerships. The University of Leeds.

Schafer, Mirko Tobias. (2008). Bastard Culture! User Participation and the Extension Of Cultural Industries. The Netherlands: All Print Utrecht.

Segers, Katia & Huijgh, Ellen. Clarifying the complexity and ambivalence of the Cultural industries. Working paper for The Centre for Media Sociology.

Seifert, Coray. Day in the Life: Coray Seifert, Producer and Designer, Large Animal Games. www.gamasutra.com.

Slyke, Brandon Van. How a Game Gets Made: A Game’s Journey from Concept to Store Shelves. www.gamecareerguide

GRADING/ASSIGNMENTS 20% Reading Discussions 30% Group Presentations (10% each) 20% Interview/Podcast/Presentation 30% Final Essay Exam

ATTENDANCE/ PARTICIPATION – although you will not be graded, your attendance and participation is vital, especially since the final essay will include questions relating to class discussions, presentations and guest speakers.

READING DISCUSSIONS - each student will be assigned one or more chapters or an essay or two to distill and lead discussion with the class.

Instructions: if you are leading discussion, you are to email Professor Craig the main points of the reading NO LATER THAN Sunday midnight the week of your discussion. The Professor will review and offer suggestions. The discussions should last between 15 and 30 minutes. You will be graded on the thoroughness of your analysis of the reading, the clarity of your distillation and the rigor of the class discussion. This means it is vital for you all to have read the material AND participate in these discussions.

GROUP PRESENTATIONS – there will be three group presentations.

MEDIA CONGLOMERATE – the class will be assigned one of the major multinational media conglomerates and each student will be assigned a corporation or company within the conglomerate, focusing on the specific entertainment divisions, e.g, film production and distribution, broadcast and cable networks, television production, radio/music division, home video department, publishing and new media companies. The presentation should include a description, corporate structure, executive staff and a brief financial overview.

Here are the instructions. Let me know if you have any questions.  Since we now have a smaller class, you may take up 10 minutes to make your presentation, but only if you feel you require it.  You are may provide handouts or have visual presentations but that is optional.  Email me your presentation in advance to confirm your facts.  Your grade will be based on your content and clarity (not so much style).  You will need to post your presentation online after the class to make it available to the other students in the event there is a question on the final exam.

Your presentation should include:  What your division does, for example, service or profit center, news or entertainment division, film or broadcast or cable television, etc.  A dossier on the top 3 executives including a brief background on their careers.  If applicable, a brief review of the business revenue/expenses, profit/loss and what this represents as a portion of News Corp’s total budget.

 A description of the top product (if any) produced in the past year.  Any synergistic connections between this division and other divisions OR outside corporations or entities.  Anything else you feel is relevant or unique to your division that explains why this division is a valuable asset to News Corp.

FILM STUDIO and TELEVISION NETWORK – the class will present the departmental structure of a film studio and broadcast or cable television network. Each student will assume the role of one of the corporate executives and describe the nature and responsibilities of that position and their managerial oversight.

NEW MEDIA – the class with be divided into 5 groups and each group is to present the business models for existing new media content companies. These need to be companies already operating online and the focus of the company should be on providing content, not commerce, social networking or other net applications. The group’s selection must be approved in advance by the Professor Craig. Here are your directions for this assignment:

You will be presenting case studies of your websites (not business proposals). This is very similar to what you have done for your other presentations.

This link is very helpful and also lists cast studies (on the left side) as examples: http://digitalenterprise.org/models/models.html

Be warned. This information may be even harder to obtain than with previous presentations. Start early. Extra consideration if you obtain insider information or an interview with someone running the company. Time limit: 20 minutes per group (time your presentations carefully; you will be cut off after 20 mins)

Format: Powerpoint or Prezi

Grading: on content; however, if there are serious weaknesses that impact clarity in your format or presentation, you will be penalized.

Content to include: name and description of website and company description of content including any notable postings/downloads/content. description of their business model (see the link above)

4/27/18 CMGT 599/ Syllabus any revenue, profit/loss information traffic, reach, pageviews, audience analysis ownership information pertinent history management information including primary executives, notable other executives, and organizational structure anything you can dig up about working conditions, culture and practices at the company any notable press about the website or interviews with management ancillary business in addition to the website best example of content (limit to 3 mins.)

Instructions:, every student is to email Professor Craig his /her presentation NO LATER THAN Sunday midnight before the presentations. He will review and return with comments or suggestions. You may present using handouts or powerpoint presentations. Each individual in the presentation will be limited to 5 minutes and, in the New Media presentations, each group will be limited to 20 minutes. Presentation will be graded on the student’s understanding of the topic and the clarity of the presentation.

INTERVIEW/PODCAST/PRESENTATION: each student is to interview a working media professional (not including any guest speakers), post the podcast online and present the podcast to the class.

Instructions: The interviewee and questions are to be approved by Professor Craig in advance. While the interview may be much longer, the podcast can be no longer than 5 minutes and your presentation another couple of minutes. The focus will be on the content, not the style of the podcast. That said, the lighting should be sufficient, you may use multiple cameras, editing is not required but it may help to keep from exceeding the time limit. Grading will be based on the caliber of the interviewee (in other words, no waiters, dogwalkers or housekeepers), the content of the interview (make sure you know and ask relevant questions about their work, not just about the weather), the form of the podcast (is it watchable?) and the effectiveness of your presentation (what did you learn the most? What should the class “take away” from this interview?).

FINAL ESSAY EXAM - students will write 3 essays from a selection of questions based on the readings, discussions, presentations and speakers. This means you must pay attention to the speakers, their comments and the details of their careers! The questions will be posted on Blackboard after the last official class and are due via email by 6pm the day of the Final. Each essay should be between 1200 and 1500 words, plus references (if any). Make sure you are familiar with the essay form. If you need help, consult the Writing Lab and practice in advance.

Late assignments/Emergencies: No late assignments will be accepted. If you have a legitimate and verifiable emergency that makes it impossible to turn in your assignment on time you must: (1) email me before the beginning of class the day the assignment is due to notify me of your emergency, (2) provide official proof (doctor’s note or other evidence) and (3) arrange to email the assignment at a time to be determined.

Academic Dishonesty: All work you submit must be your own and you may not inappropriately assist other students in their work beyond the confines of a particular assignment. There is a no-tolerance policy for academic misconduct in this course! The minimum penalty for academic misconduct will be a failing grade (F) for the course. It is the policy of the School of Communication to report all violations of the code. Any serious violations or pattern of violations of the Academic Integrity Code will result in the student’s expulsion from the Communication major or minor.

Schedule and Topics Readings Assignments

1/13 Introduction and Course Description, Lecture: Welcome to the Media Jungle The Culture of Hollywood Model

Screen: SWIMMING WITH SHARKS

1/20 Culture/Creative Industry A Review of Culture Industries Texts/ Justin O’Connor Clarifying the Complexity and Ambivalence of the Cultural Industries/ Segers and Huijgh Development of Cultural Industries and the Spread of New Technologies/ Primorac From the Consciousness Industry to Creative Industries/ Hartley

1/27 Media Industries Media Industries, Intro, 1 Media Industries, 2-3 Global Multi-Media Business Networks Assign Discussions and Media Conglomerate IT Services to discuss Podcasts and resources

2/3 Production Studies Production Studies, Intro, 1 Production Studies, 2-3 Production Studies, 5, 7-8

2/10 Media Work Creative Work in the Cultural Industries/ Hesmondlagh and Baker Introduction to Paradoxes of Creativity: Managerial and Organizational Challenges in the Cultural Economy/ DeFillippi, Grabher and Jones Media Work, 3-4 Media Work, 5-6

2/17 MEDIA CONGLOMERATE presentation

2/24 Media Industries Finish Media Conglomerate presentations Assign Film Studio/ Television Network presentations Media Industries, 19

3/3 Production Culture Production Culture, Intro, 1 Production Culture, 2-3

3/10 FILM STUDIO/TELEVISION NETWORK PRESENTATION Assign New Media Teams

3/17 SPRING BREAK

3/24 Production Culture Production Culture, 4-5 Production Culture, 6-7

3/31 New Media Work New Media Handbook, 1, 2 and 4 New Media Handbook, 10 and 15

4/4 Game Industry Work Media Work, Chapter 7 How a Game Gets Made/ Van Slyke Gamasutra – A day in the life of a Game Designer

4/14 NEW MEDIA PRESENTATIONS

4/21 Media Industry Studies: theory and practice Media Work, 1-2 Media Industries,11 and 20 Production Culture, Conclusion

4/29 MEDIA INTERVIEWS/PODCASTS/PRESENTATIONS Final Essay Exams to be posted online after class.

5/5 FINAL ESSAY EXAMS are due online no later than 6pm.

4/27/18