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| COMU0024-2 | Morphology of communication groups
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| Duration : | 30h Th |
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| Credits/ECTS : |
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| Holder(s) : | Geoffrey Geuens |
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| Language : | Langue française |
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| Course contents : | The course will construct the morphological profile (divisions, turnover, etc.) for the main communication groups in Europe and North America in the media sector, in advertising, or in film production. The analysis of the leadership and financial structure of the companies studied will lead us to critical reflections on the relationship between communication and political power, and this will be done within the framework of a strict interdisciplinary and comparative approach. |
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| Course objective : | Because a field of scientific reflection like this one is crisscrossed from every direction by ideological and political agendas, regarding which one must absolutely take one's distance, this course will be based primarily upon the use of an empirical method. With this in mind, here are the principal objectives aimed at by the course :
1) to present the main European and North American groups that operate in the area of communication (divisions, turnover, stockholders, structure of executive power) ;
2) to measure relationships of competition and/or cooperation that obtain between private and public companies in our sample ;
3) to evaluate the logic of diversification, consolidation, and concentration operating in the sector ;
4) to study the increasing interpenetration between the boards of directors of the main communications groups and various other institutions such as international economic organizations, business lobbyists, governmental advisory boards, think tanks, unions, etc. ;
5) to rethink in a fundamental way the relations between the media, political power, and society, avoiding misleading (though sometimes dominant) representations of this situation.
The course wil retrace as well the recent history of the main communication groups studied, and will attempt to keep an eye on current events in the sector during the second quadrimester (mergers, acquisitions, new CEOs, etc.). |
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| Prerequisites : | Students are advised to have mastered English at an elementary level at the least in order to be able to understand the portfolio of texts that will be presented in lecture, or that will accompany lectures. |
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| Workshops : | None |
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| Organization : | See http://cipl82.philo.ulg.ac.be/horaires |
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| Written notes : | Students are obliged to get and read : a portfolio of lectures containing texts that will be referred to - authored by French-speakers and by Anglo-Saxons - in the area of the political economy and socioeconomics of the communications industry. |
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| Assessment : | The oral examination will try to test the theoretical knowledge acquired by the student , the capacity of students to adopt a critical standpoint concerning the material that has been reviewed in class, and the ability of students to monitor current events connected with the communications industry in Europe and in North America (merger possibilities, takeover attempts, new executives being named, etc.). The material over which students will be examined includes : theoretical lectures by the teacher, including information communicated through PowerPoint slide shows and school cases that have been the object of detailed analysis; without notice to the contrary, examinations will cover all the texts contained in the portfolio of lectures ; in addition, examinations may cover recent events connected with the European and North American communications industries. |
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| Contacts : | Instructor : Geoffrey Geuens, Département des « Arts et Sciences de la Communication », Place du 20-Août, 7, 4000 Liège (Bldg. A1, 4th floor). Tel. : 04 366 52 30. Fax : 04 366 51 84. E-mail : Geoffrey.Geuens@ulg.ac.be Geoffrey Geuens will meet students during office hours, every Wednesday morning from 9h to 11h.
Secretary : Anne-Marie D'Acchille, Département des « Arts et Sciences de la Communication », Place du 20-Août, 7, 4000 Liège (Bldg. A1, 4th floor). Tel. : 04 366 32 79. Fax : 04 366 51 84. E-mail : AM.DAcchille@ulg.ac.be |
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| Remarks : | GENERAL STRUCTURE OF THE COURSE (see below)
I. Research into communication multinational companies from a historical point of view
1. NOMIC, « cultural imperialism » and communication-related industries
2. Globalization of the media and mercantilization of culture
3. Going beyond traditional theoretical paradigms : contributions and limits of global studies
II. Analysis of the financial structure of industries of communication
1. Structures of ownership and control of European groups (France, Belgium)
2. Structures of ownership and control of North American groups (US)
3. Cartels, cooperation or real competition ?
III. Sociology of press ownership and major communication industry ownership
1. Methodology and key concepts for research
2. Executive officers of European communication-related groups (France, Belgium)
3. Executive officers of North American communication-related groups (US)
Conclusion Media Multinationals and diversity in governance systems |
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