Exams. Students will complete three exams, each covering half of the course material (readings, lectures, and presentations). Make-up exams will be given only (a) when arrangements have been made with the instructor in advance and (b) in case of illness verified by a physician's note. Exams will be given on October 8, November12, and during final exam week. Each exam will count 50 points.

Computer Assignments. The Department of Communication is committed to training students in computer literacy. This course will also highlight how computers are becoming an important medium in mass communication. So, students will complete several computer assignments.

1. By September 26, each student must send an e-mail message to the instructor (my e-mail address is at the top of the syllabus). This assignment is worth 1 point.

2. As we will learn, the Internet has become an important promotional/informational medium for mass communication industries. Students should locate WWW home pages for any five industries (e.g., advertising, television, cable, radio, film, music, books, magazines, newspapers) and prepare a short (less than one-page) description of that home page. This description should include the address of the home page and a summary of the highlights of the information they provide. What is outstanding about the material? What is ordinary? On a scale of 1 - 10, where 1 is useless and 10 is outstanding, how would you rate this web site? Each WWW report is worth 6 points. The class reading packet includes the addressess of some interesting sites, but students should not limit their reviews to sites on that list. These WWW reports are due by the day that the medium/industry is discussed in class.

Internet Paper. After experimenting with Internet links to mass communication industry and research, I expect that students should begin to form some ideas about how computers will compete with or complement traditional mass media. Students will complete a three-page paper that presents their thoughts about the relationship between the computer and/or the Internet and the traditional mass media. This paper must be typed (on a word processor) and is due in class on December 10. This assignment is worth 10 points.

There will be a total of 191 possible points in this class. Grades will be assigned as follows: