Catalog Description: Development of broadcast systems from radio through the Internet. Technological and aesthetic innovations, socio-economic forces, government, private industry, advertisers, creative producers, and audiences from a historical perspective. U.S. and global perspectives.

Detailed Description: There are three primary components to any system of broadcasting: the industry, institution, and audience. The industry is defined as the systems and modes of production and distribution that sustain broadcasting. Institutions are governing bodies that oversee the system of broadcasting in any given nation-state and marketplace. In large part, the audience constitutes those who use broadcasting as a primary means of revenue generation. You are the product.

This course explores several fundamental questions about the economic, social, and technical organization of broadcasting, including (but not limited to):

1. How are systems of broadcasting organized and developed, both domestically and internationally?

2. What are the operative actors and rationales that govern the functions of broadcasting?

3. How does the evolution of technology shape broadcasting?

4. What role can or should the public play in the maintenance and evolution of broadcasting systems?