Communication Policies
Code: 103095 ECTS Credits: 6| Degree | Type | Year |
|---|---|---|
| 2501933 Journalism | OB | 3 |
Contact
- Name:
- Carmina Crusafon Baques
- Email:
- carmina.crusafon@uab.cat
Teachers
- Laura Cervi
- Carmina Crusafon Baques
Teaching groups languages
You can view this information at the end of this document.
Prerequisites
No previous knwoledge needed.
Objectives and Contextualisation
- Define and explain the fundamental elements of the study of media policies and contextualize them in the political, social, economic and cultural framework within the Catalan, Spanish, European and international landscape.
- Promote critical reflection on media policies in today's society.
- Create jointly, within the classroom, the appropriate instruments for reflection on communication policies and their close realities
- Develop a work dynamic within the classroom that allows the student to generate innovative proposals on media policies in the digital scenario.
Competences
- Act with ethical responsibility and respect for fundamental rights and duties, diversity and democratic values.
- Demonstrate adequate knowledge of Catalonia's socio-communicative reality in the Spanish, European and global context.
- Differentiate the discipline's main theories, its fields, conceptual developments, theoretical frameworks and approaches that underpin knowledge of the subject and its different areas and sub-areas, and acquire systematic knowledge of the media's structure.
- Disseminate the area's knowledge and innovations.
- Introduce changes in the methods and processes of the field of knowledge to provide innovative responses to the needs and demands of society.
- Properly apply the scientific method, raising hypotheses regarding journalistic communication, validating and verifying ideas and concepts, and properly citing sources.
- Students can apply the knowledge to their own work or vocation in a professional manner and have the powers generally demonstrated by preparing and defending arguments and solving problems within their area of study.
- Students must be capable of collecting and interpreting relevant data (usually within their area of study) in order to make statements that reflect social, scientific or ethical relevant issues.
- Students must be capable of communicating information, ideas, problems and solutions to both specialised and non-specialised audiences.
- Students must develop the necessary learning skills in order to undertake further training with a high degree of autonomy.
- Take account of social, economic and environmental impacts when operating within one's own area of knowledge.
- Take sex- or gender-based inequalities into consideration when operating within one's own area of knowledge.
Learning Outcomes
- Analyse a situation and identify its points for improvement.
- Analyse the indicators of sustainability of academic and professional activities in the areas of knowledge, integrating social, economic and environmental dimensions.
- Analyse the influence of the media on public opinion.
- Apply scientific methods in a cross-cutting manner in the analysis of the relations between technological change and media access.
- Apply theoretical principles to the analysis of audiovisual processes.
- Appraise the social impacts of technological mediation in modern communication.
- Critically analyse the principles, values and procedures that govern the exercise of the profession.
- Describe Catalonia's socio-communicative reality in the Spanish and European context from the political point of view.
- Disseminate the area's knowledge and innovations.
- Establish links between communicative knowledge and social, human and technological sciences in the process of implementing strategies and communication policies.
- Explain the explicit or implicit code of practice of one's own area of knowledge.
- Identify phenomena and consider theoretical problems regarding audiovisual communication.
- Identify situations in which a change or improvement is needed.
- Identify the fundamentals of theories and the history of communication.
- Identify the principal forms of sex- or gender-based inequality and discrimination present in society.
- Identify the social, economic and environmental implications of academic and professional activities within one's own area of knowledge.
- Identify the theoretical principles of audiovisual production and consumption.
- Lay the foundations for modern semiotic trends and apply them to communication and journalism.
- Propose new methods or well-founded alternative solutions.
- Propose new ways to measure the success or failure of the implementation of innovative proposals or ideas.
- Propose projects and actions that incorporate the gender perspective.
- Propose viable projects and actions to boost social, economic and environmental benefits.
- Students can apply the knowledge to their own work or vocation in a professional manner and have the powers generally demonstrated by preparing and defending arguments and solving problems within their area of study.
- Students must be capable of collecting and interpreting relevant data (usually within their area of study) in order to make statements that reflect social, scientific or ethical relevant issues.
- Students must be capable of communicating information, ideas, problems and solutions to both specialised and non-specialised audiences.
- Students must develop the necessary learning skills in order to undertake further training with a high degree of autonomy.
- Weigh up the impact of any long- or short-term difficulty, harm or discrimination that could be caused to certain persons or groups by the actions or projects.
- Weigh up the risks and opportunities of both one's own and other people's proposals for improvement.
Content
SYLLABUS
Theme 1: Media policies
Definition, typology, and methodological proposal
Historical evolution of media policies
Theme 2: Policymaking and regulation
How are media policies defined and implemented?
The actors, instruments, and mechanisms of media policies
Legal framework and regulatory authorities
Theme 3: Public Service, Contents, and Cultural Diversity
Public Service policies: the European perspective
Cultural Diversity: the instrument for the protection and promotion of cultural contents
Content policies
Theme 4: Policies of the Digital Society
Technological transformation and its impact on media policies
The International Digital Policy Agenda
Digital Policies in the European Union
Theme 5: Policies to combat disinformation and the deployment of artificial intelligence
Disinformation: the global problem and its impact on democracy
Instruments to combat disinformation
The actions of the European Union to develop an AI strategy
The content will be sensitive to aspects related to the gender perspective.
The calendar will be available on the first day of class. Students will find all information on the Virtual Campus: the description of the activities, teaching materials, and any necessary information for the proper follow-up of the subject
Activities and Methodology
| Title | Hours | ECTS | Learning Outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Type: Directed | |||
| Lectures | 37.5 | 1.5 | 6, 8, 10 |
| Seminars | 15 | 0.6 | 4, 6, 8 |
| Type: Supervised | |||
| Tutorials | 7.5 | 0.3 | 9 |
| Type: Autonomous | |||
| Personal work | 82.5 | 3.3 | 4 |
The subject will be developed in theoretical-practical sessions. The lectures will focus on the key concepts of media policies. The seminars will have the following modalities: case analysis, theme assignments, debates, and presentations.
Annotation: Within the schedule set by the centre or degree programme, 15 minutes of one class will be reserved for students to evaluate their lecturers and their courses or modules through questionnaires.
Assessment
Continous Assessment Activities
| Title | Weighting | Hours | ECTS | Learning Outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Assignment - Theme 3 | 10 | 1 | 0.04 | 1, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, 13, 15, 16, 17, 19, 20, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 28 |
| Assignment - Theme 4 | 10 | 1 | 0.04 | 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 10, 11, 12, 13, 16, 17, 19, 20, 21, 23, 24, 25, 26, 28 |
| Assignment - Theme 5 | 10 | 1 | 0.04 | 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 15, 16, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 27, 28 |
| Case analysis 1 | 10 | 1 | 0.04 | 1, 3, 6, 7, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 20, 21, 23, 24, 25, 27, 28 |
| Case analysis 2 | 10 | 1 | 0.04 | 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 17, 19, 20, 23, 24, 25, 27, 28 |
| Inclass participation | 20 | 1.5 | 0.06 | 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11, 14, 15, 23, 24, 25, 26 |
| Test | 30 | 1 | 0.04 | 3, 6, 7, 8, 10, 11, 14, 18, 24 |
The subject assessment is summative, requiring a minimum of 10-point grade on the test. To obtain a final grade, participation in all assessment activities is mandatory.
The evaluation activities are:
- 2 case analysis: 20 points (10 + 10)
- 3 seminar assignments: 30 points (10 + 10 + 10)
- Test: 30 points
- Active participation in class: 20 points
Attendance in evaluation activities is mandatory for all students. In any case, a set of circumstances can promptly be exempt from assistance with the corresponding supporting evidence (illness, surgical operation, death of a relative, etc.).
When you cannot attend for the reasons above, the student will send an email to the professor through the Virtual Campus platform. Due to the teaching program, the activity cannot be reprogrammed another day during the semester, but the student can continue with the continuous evaluation.
Evaluation activities that could not be performed for the reasons above may be recovered in June 2025. The date will be announced on the first day of class.
To obtain the score for active participation in the large group, you must attend 80 percent of the sessions. If attendance is less than this percentage, no score will be added, but the activity will count as participated and the requirement for continuous assessment will be fulfilled.
Assignments should be handed in on the class schedule and follow formal requirements. They should meet deadlines to get grading. The grades of the activities will be published through the Virtual Campus. Complaints and inquiries about the grades should be made for a maximum period of 10 days after their publication.
To clarify doubts or attend consultations, the teachers have office hours for attending students.
The student will be entitled to the revaluation of the subject if he or she has been evaluated on the set of activities, the weight of which equals a minimum of 2/3 of the total grade of the subject. To have access to revaluation, the previous grades should be 3.5. The activity that is excluded from the revaluation process is class participation.
The student who performs any irregularity (copy, plagiarism, identity theft...) will be qualified with 0 for this actof evaluation. The subject's final grade will be 0 if there are several irregularities.
In the case of a second enrolment, students can do a single synthesis exam/assignment consisting of a test and practical exercises. The subject's grading will correspond to the synthesis exam/assignment grade.
SECOND ENROLMENT: In the case of the second enrolment, students can do a single synthesis test consisting of content control and practical exercises. The subject's grade will correspond to the grade of the synthesis test. The student who wants to take a single test must communicate it in writing to the coordinator of the subject.
SINGLE ASSESSMENT:
The single evaluation system of the subject is based on the following percentages:
A) 50% Theoretical test on the content syllabus
B) 30% Written test of resolution of 3 practical cases.
C) 20% Oral presentation to comment and argue about any communication policies studied.
The single evaluation grade results from the sum of the different evaluation tests.
The dates of these tests will be announced at the beginning of the course through the calendar of the subject.
REVALUATION OF THE SINGLE ASSESSMENT: It will consist of a synthesis test incorporating test questions on content, resolution of cases, and a part of the oral presentation. Those students who have taken the tests of the single evaluation and have obtained at least a 3.5 in the overall grade of the subject may be presented. The date will be announced at the beginning of the course.
Bibliography
ALBORNOZ, Luis Alberto i GARCÍA LEIVA, Mª Trinidad (eds.) (2017) Diversidad e industria audiovisual. El desafío cultural del siglo XXI. México: Fondo de cultura económica.
DONDERS, Karen (2021). Public Service Media in Europe. Law, Theory and Practice. London: Routledge.
DONDERS, Karen; PAUWELS, Caroline i LOISEN, Jan (eds.) (2014). The Palgrave Handbook of European Media Policy. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
MANSELL, Robin i RABOY, Marc (2011). The Handbook of Global Media and Communication Policy. Londres: Blackwell.
PICARD, Robert (2020). Media and Communications Policy Making. New York: PalgraveMacmillan.
RANAIVOSON, Heritiana, Sally BROUGHTON MICOVA, Tim RAATS (eds.) (2023) European Audiovisual Policy in Transition. London: Palgrave
VAN CUILENBURG, Jan and MCQUAIL, Denis (2003) “Media Policy Paradigm Shifts: towards a New Communications Policy”, European Journal of Communication, vol. 18, 181-207.
Software
There is no specific software.
Language list
| Name | Group | Language | Semester | Turn |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| (SEM) Seminars | 11 | Catalan | second semester | morning-mixed |
| (SEM) Seminars | 12 | Spanish | second semester | morning-mixed |
| (SEM) Seminars | 13 | Catalan | second semester | morning-mixed |
| (SEM) Seminars | 21 | Catalan | second semester | morning-mixed |
| (SEM) Seminars | 22 | Spanish | second semester | morning-mixed |
| (SEM) Seminars | 23 | Catalan | second semester | morning-mixed |
| (TE) Theory | 1 | Catalan | second semester | morning-mixed |
| (TE) Theory | 2 | Catalan | second semester | morning-mixed |