LT138-4-AU-CO:
History of Journalism
2023/24
Literature, Film, and Theatre Studies
Colchester Campus
Autumn
Undergraduate: Level 4
Current
Thursday 05 October 2023
Friday 15 December 2023
15
22 March 2022
Requisites for this module
(none)
LT144
(none)
(none)
LT144, LT231, LT232
BA P500 Multimedia Journalism,
BA P501 Multimedia Journalism (Including Year Abroad),
BA P503 Multimedia Journalism (Including Placement Year),
BA P590 Journalism and Modern Languages,
BA P550 Journalism and Criminology,
BA P551 Journalism and Criminology (Including Placement Year),
BA P552 Journalism and Criminology (Including Year Abroad),
BA P540 Journalism and Sociology,
BA P541 Journalism and Sociology (Including Placement Year),
BA P542 Journalism and Sociology (Including Year Abroad),
BA P510 Journalism and English Language,
BA P511 Journalism and English Language (Including Placement Year),
BA P512 Journalism and English Language (Including Year Abroad),
BA P530 Journalism and Literature,
BA P531 Journalism and Literature (Including Placement Year),
BA P532 Journalism and Literature (Including Year Abroad),
BA P570 Journalism with Human Rights,
BA P571 Journalism with Human Rights (Including Year Abroad),
BA P572 Journalism with Human Rights (Including Placement Year),
BA P580 Journalism and Politics,
BA P581 Journalism and Politics (Including Placement Year),
BA P582 Journalism and Politics (Including Year Abroad),
BA P565 Film and Journalism,
BA P566 Film and Journalism (Including Foundation Year),
BA P567 Film and Journalism (including Placement Year),
BA P568 Film and Journalism(including Year Abroad),
BA P595 Journalism and Language Studies
This module covers the history of journalism in Britain from its beginnings in the 17th century to the start of the internet age. Topics include: the impact of printing; the first news serials; government attempts to control the press from the 17th to the 19th centuries; the emergence of mass circulation papers; the role of press barons in the 20th century; radio and the rise of the BBC; the press from 1945 to 2000; the arrival and development of television; ownership and control of the media; and the impact of the internet. The module critically considers the evolving political, economic and social contexts of journalism and the media more generally, underpinning and informing the content of all other elements of the degree course.
The aims of the module are to:
1. give you an understanding of how British journalism got to where it is now
2. give you an understanding of the changing political and economic constraints on media freedom
3. give you a sense of how ownership and control of news media have changed over time
4. give you an introduction to interpretative controversies in media history
5. enable you to relate journalism's past to contemporary debates about its role and ethics.
At the end of this module you will:
1. be able to place today's journalism in Britain in a historical context
2. have a good sense of how controversies over censorship, freedom of expression, media ownership and the influence of mass media on politics and society have played out in the past five centuries
3. have a working knowledge of how technological change has affected the news media over time
4. understand the origins of contemporary concerns about journalistic ethics.
Essential Reading:
Hargreaves, Ian (2014) Journalism – A Very Short Introduction, Oxford: Oxford University Press
Curran, James and Seaton, Jean (2016) Power Without Responsibility: Press, Broadcasting and the Internet in Britain, London: Routledge. EBSCOhost ebook collection.
Recommended / supplementary reading:
Marr, Andrew (2005) My Trade: A Short History of British Journalism, London: Pan Books.
Conboy, Martin and Steel, John (2014) Routledge Companion to British Media History, London: Routledge
Conboy, Martin (2004) Journalism: A Critical History, London: Sage
Anticipated teaching delivery:
The module will be taught through a combination of lectures, discussions and practical examples and case studies. Teaching will be based on a weekly two-hour seminar, comprising a lecture and interactive discussion delivered by journalism staff, enhanced by guest lecturers as appropriate with expertise in the history and practice of journalism.
-
James Curran and Jean Seaton (2018i)
Power Without Responsibility: press, broadcasting and the Internet in Britain. Eighth edition. Abingdon: Routledge. Available at:
http://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/9781351212298.
-
-
Black, J. (2002) ‘“From woodcuts to steam press”’, BBC History Magazine, pp. 12–14.
-
Harris, M. (1997) ‘Farewell to Fleet Street?’, in A journalism reader. London: Routledge.
-
James Curran and Jean Seaton (2018h)
Power without responsibility: press, broadcasting and the Internet in Britain. Eighth edition. Abingdon: Routledge. Available at:
http://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/9781351212298.
-
Lucy Brown (1992) ‘The British press, 1800-1860’, in The encyclopedia of the British press, 1422-1992. Basingstoke: Macmillan.
-
Joel H. Wiener (1988) ‘How new was the New Journalism?’, in Papers for the millions: the new journalism in Britain, 1850s to 1914. New York: Greenwood Press.
-
Colin Seymour-Ure (2000) ‘Northcliffe’s legacy’, in Northcliffe’s legacy: aspects of the British popular press, 1896-1996. New York: St. Martin’s Press.
-
Andrew Crisell (2002b)
An introductory history of British broadcasting. 2nd ed. London: Routledge. Available at:
http://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/9780203995006.
-
Greenslade, R. (2003b) Press Gang: how newspapers make profits from propaganda. London: Macmillan.
-
Pettegree, A. (2014)
The Invention of News: How the world came to know about itself. New Haven: Yale University Press. Available at:
https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.2307/j.ctt5vm7hz.
-
Black, J. (1987)
The English Press in the Eighteenth Century. London: Croom Helm. Available at:
https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/universityofessex-ebooks/detail.action?docID=957858.
-
Hannah Barker (1998)
Newspapers, Politics and Public Opinion in late eighteenth-century England. Oxford: Clarendon Press. Available at:
http://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/9781315840635.
The above list is indicative of the essential reading for the course.
The library makes provision for all reading list items, with digital provision where possible, and these resources are shared between students.
Further reading can be obtained from this module's
reading list.
Assessment items, weightings and deadlines
| Coursework / exam |
Description |
Deadline |
Coursework weighting |
| Coursework |
Essay (1,500 words) |
|
100% |
Exam format definitions
- Remote, open book: Your exam will take place remotely via an online learning platform. You may refer to any physical or electronic materials during the exam.
- In-person, open book: Your exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may refer to any physical materials such as paper study notes or a textbook during the exam. Electronic devices may not be used in the exam.
- In-person, open book (restricted): The exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may refer only to specific physical materials such as a named textbook during the exam. Permitted materials will be specified by your department. Electronic devices may not be used in the exam.
- In-person, closed book: The exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may not refer to any physical materials or electronic devices during the exam. There may be times when a paper dictionary,
for example, may be permitted in an otherwise closed book exam. Any exceptions will be specified by your department.
Your department will provide further guidance before your exams.
Overall assessment
Reassessment
Module supervisor and teaching staff
Mr Paul Anderson, email: paul.anderson@essex.ac.uk.
Paul Anderson
LiFTS General Office - email liftstt@essex.ac.uk.
Telephone 01206 872626
Yes
No
Yes
No external examiner information available for this module.
Available via Moodle
Of 20 hours, 20 (100%) hours available to students:
0 hours not recorded due to service coverage or fault;
0 hours not recorded due to opt-out by lecturer(s), module, or event type.
Disclaimer: The University makes every effort to ensure that this information on its Module Directory is accurate and up-to-date. Exceptionally it can
be necessary to make changes, for example to programmes, modules, facilities or fees. Examples of such reasons might include a change of law or regulatory requirements,
industrial action, lack of demand, departure of key personnel, change in government policy, or withdrawal/reduction of funding. Changes to modules may for example consist
of variations to the content and method of delivery or assessment of modules and other services, to discontinue modules and other services and to merge or combine modules.
The University will endeavour to keep such changes to a minimum, and will also keep students informed appropriately by updating our programme specifications and module directory.
The full Procedures, Rules and Regulations of the University governing how it operates are set out in the Charter, Statutes and Ordinances and in the University Regulations, Policy and Procedures.