Critique. Challenge. Influence.
Media and Power
This minor considers how the technologies, institutions and networks of communication are shaped by economic and political power. Become familiar with how media communication institutions/industries work, critique the exercise of power through contemporary electronic networks, and reflect upon the significance of contemporary media issues in Aotearoa/New Zealand.
What can I expect over the next two years?
By the end of Year 2, students in this minor will understand the historic significance of two media revolutions: mass communication 1850-1950; and internet/social media communication from 1990 onwards. They will be knowledgeable about controversies concerning the political, the economic and social power of mass media/internet/social media. Students will also have acquired the research skills to analyse the economic power, business models and the social influence of corporations in the following areas: media entertainment; telecommunications; information-communication technologies; social media; and search engines. By the end of Year 3, students in this minor will understand how electronic networks are used by disparate groups e.g., Occupy, MeToo, Black Lives Matter, National Front. They will also appreciate how electronic networks drive ruling systems of coercion, exploitation and surveillance. Further, students will have the capacity to assess the future of public media across broadcasting, print, television and the internet in Aotearoa-New Zealand.
Key features
Analyses of media-entertainment and social media corporations, their economic power and social influence
Explanations of how electronic networks, worldwide, generate: surveillance and exploitation practices; social justice activism; and eco-chambers of hate, prejudice and conspiracy
Critiques of the New Zealand media system: ownership concentrations; policy frameworks; and patterns of content
Hear more about this pathway from Wayne Hope
A Minor in Media and Power
This consists of 60 points and you will take the following papers over two years
COMM605 Global Media Giants
COMM606 Media Impacts and Effects
COMM713 Power, Communication and Networks
COMM714 Media Issues in Aotearoa/New Zealand
See yourself as
An informed critic of how New Zealand media organisations are performing from class, cultural and gender perspectives
Knowledgeable about how Facebook and Alphabet (Google) profit enormously from their users
Understanding how and why conspiracy theories and fake news are so widespread in society
