PUBLIC RELATIONS AND PUBLICITY
Bachelor	TR-NQF-HE: Level 6	QF-EHEA: First Cycle	EQF-LLL: Level 6

Course Introduction and Application Information

Course Code	Course Name	Semester	Theoretical	Practical	Credit	ECTS
NMD3202	Media Critics	Spring	3	0	3	5

This catalog is for information purposes. Course status is determined by the relevant department at the beginning of semester.

Basic information

Language of instruction:	English
Type of course:	Non-Departmental Elective
Course Level:	Bachelor’s Degree (First Cycle)
Mode of Delivery:	Face to face
Course Coordinator :	Dr. MELİS ÖZBEK
Recommended Optional Program Components:	None.
Course Objectives:	This course aims to raise awareness of bias and ideology in the media that surround us daily. The course does not promote a particular political viewpoint, but challenges you to engage media critically, thereby becoming better informed citizens. Teaching method of the course: lecture, readings, group presentation, discussions, case studies

Learning Outcomes

The students who have succeeded in this course;
- Apply structuralist and semiotic approaches to analyze media texts, identifying key elements such as signs, signification, myth, discourse, and ideological structures.
- Examine media content using theories of representation, framing, agenda-setting, and discourse analysis, assessing how various groups and issues are portrayed.
-Utilize CDA methods to evaluate media narratives, particularly in relation to racism, ideology, and power structures in news coverage.
- Investigate how media portrayals shape public perceptions of minorities, refugees, women, LGBTQ+ individuals, and racialized groups.
- Analyze journalistic practices in disaster reporting, considering ethical concerns, representation of victims, and media biases in coverage.

Course Content

This course aims to raise awareness of bias and ideology in the media that surround us daily. The course does not promote any political viewpoint, but challenges you to engage with media critically, thereby becoming more critical and literate on contemporary cultural, social, and political issues.

The primary objective is to let the students gain the knowledge and problem-solving skills to understand and criticize the patterns and processes that underlie modern media institutions, their production and practices, and the consequences of those patterns and processes on the way media audiences understand and interpret the world.

This course examines global media industries (film, television, news, new media, etc.) and their content through specific national and international case studies. It reviews cultural, media and communication theories to learn about the political and cultural roles of media.

Weekly Detailed Course Contents

Week	Subject	Related Preparation
1)	Introduction to the course
2)	Introduction to media criticism	Hartley: medium/media, news values, objectivity, literacy
3)	Medya metninin anlamını aramak: Yapısalcılık ve Göstergebilim	Easthope, A., & McGowan, K. (Eds.). (2004). A critical and cultural theory reader. University of Toronto Press. pp. 3-12. Bignell, J. (2002). Media semiotics: An introduction. Manchester University Press, pp. 5-16 Hartley: binary oppositions, language, functions of langue, meaning, myth, narrative, parole, rhetoric, semiotics/semiology, sign, signification, structuralism
4)	Medya metninin anlamını aramak: Göstergebilim, ideoloji ve söylem.	Easthope, A., & McGowan, K., pp. 33-42 & 94-102 Bignell, pp. 16-27 Hartley: discourse, hegemony, ideology, ideological state apparatus, interpellation, myth
5)	Approaches to analyzing the media content: Representation, framing, agenda-setting, discourse analysis	Bignell: pp. 79-104 Hartley: bias, content analysis, representation, gatekeeper, mass communication, stereotype, text/textual analysis Hall, 1997, Representation, pp. 79-104 Hall, 1980, Culture, Media & Language, pp. 117-128
6)	Eleştirel Söylem Analizi	Wodak, 2015, Critical Discourse Analysis. Fairclough, 2010, Critical Discourse Analysis, pp. 230-255 Van Dijk, 2000, New(s) racism - A discourse analytical approach. Van Dijk, 2008, News, Discourse and Ideology Van Dijk, 2015, Racism in the Press.
7)	Migration and media I: Minorities in Turkey	Koksal, 2016, Memory, Identity: The Turkish Context, pp. 1-25. Özbek, 2022, The Netflix Effect on Turkish Television, pp. 75-93. Supplementary course material will be announced through Itslearning.
8)	Midterm
9)	Migration and media II: Refugees and immigrants	Bingell, pp. 79-104 Hall, Representation, 1997, pp. 223-291 Supplementary course material will be announced through Itslearning.
10)	Race, gender, and media I: Sports and the new concepts of race and racism	Easthrope & McGowan; pp. 87-90 Hartley: Ethnic/ethnicity; race; subjectivity
11)	Race, gender, and media II: Media coverage on women and LGTBQ+	Easthrope & McGowan: pp.143-177 & 191-197 & 102-108 Hartley: subjectivity, gender
12)	Disasters and media I: Media outlets and journalistic factors	Supplementary course material will be announced through Itslearning.
13)	Disasters and media II: Coverage of victims: women, children, survivors	Supplementary course material will be announced through Itslearning.
14)	Evaluation of the term before final exam

Sources

Course Notes / Textbooks:	Bignell, J. (2002). Media semiotics: An introduction. Manchester University Press. Easthope, A., & McGowan, K. (Eds.). (2004). A critical and cultural theory reader. University of Toronto Press. Hartley, J. (2012). Communication, cultural and media studies: The key concepts. Routledge. Ott, B. L., & Mack, R. L. (2020). Critical media studies: An introduction. John Wiley & Sons.
References:	Bignell, J. (2002). Media semiotics: An introduction. Manchester University Press. Easthope, A., & McGowan, K. (Eds.). (2004). A critical and cultural theory reader. University of Toronto Press. Hartley, J. (2012). Communication, cultural and media studies: The key concepts. Routledge. Ott, B. L., & Mack, R. L. (2020). Critical media studies: An introduction. John Wiley & Sons.

Evaluation System

Semester Requirements	Number of Activities	Level of Contribution
Attendance	1	% 10
Presentation	1	% 20
Midterms	1	% 25
Final	1	% 45
Total		% 100
PERCENTAGE OF SEMESTER WORK		% 55
PERCENTAGE OF FINAL WORK		% 45
Total		% 100

ECTS / Workload Table

Activities	Number of Activities	Duration (Hours)	Workload
Course Hours	13	3	39
Study Hours Out of Class	14	6	84
Midterms	1	2	2
Final	1	2	2
Total Workload			127

Contribution of Learning Outcomes to Programme Outcomes

No Effect	1 Lowest	2 Low	3 Average	4 High	5 Highest

	Program Outcomes	Level of Contribution
1)	To prepare the students to become communication professionals by focusing on strategic thinking, professional writing, ethical practice and innovative use of traditional and new media.	2
2)	To be able to have the ability to explain and identify problems associated with the relationships between events and facts in the areas of public relations, persuasive communication, communication management, corporate communications.	3
3)	To be able to understand how an organizational culture works and how employees and leaders create messages as a communication tool.	3
4)	To be able to critically discuss and interpret theories, concepts, methods, tools and ideas in the field of public relations.	2
5)	To be able to create effective public relations plans using fundamental planning components that include situation analysis, public profile, objectives, strategies and tactics.	1
6)	To be able to analyze primary and secondary research data in the fields of perception and reputation management and corporate communication practices.	1
7)	To be able to develop creative and persuasive management skills in terms of reputation, employee relations, leadership and similar corporate practices.	3
8)	To be able to explain and describe business marketing activities, economics, business law and global business practices.	3
9)	To be able to search, write, and design articles, newsletters, and fliers, brochures, and announcements, in styles and formats appropraite various audiences, mediums and settings.	2
10)	To be able to to use information, communication technologies and computer software with the required level of public relations, marketing communication, persuasive communication, communication management, corporate communications.	3
11)	To be able to recognize national and international, social and cultural dimensions of public relations.	3
12)	To be able to apply theoretical concepts related to mass communication, consumer behavior, psychology, persuasion,sociology, marketing, and other related fields to understand how public realtions works.	3
13)	To be able to apply the underlying theories of communication and the necessities of work safety to different types of public relations processes and campaigns.	1
14)	To be able to take responsibility in an individual capacity or as a team in generating solutions to given scenarios which can occur in public relations processes.	3