Unit 1. Introduction to the Subject: Introduction to the course syllabus and the main concepts that will be used throughout the course. Post-truth and reference systems. Journalistic objectivity. Truthfulness, neutrality, impartiality, and equidistance. Concentration, pluralism, and corporate integration processes.
Unit 2. The Media System from the Perspective of Cultural Studies: The class addresses the schools of thought and theorists that are currently considered part of Cultural Studies, with special emphasis on theories applicable to the contemporary analysis of media systems. The objective is to understand that the media system is not simply a set of organizations dedicated to the production and dissemination of information, but an active agent in shaping identities, values, and world representations.
Unit 3. American Media Conglomerates: AT&T, Comcast, Disney, SONY, National Amusements, and News Corp: The class delves into the analysis of their business models (logic of ownership concentration and national/international expansion), media convergence strategies, and the implications of their influence in social and political spheres.
Unit 4. The Second Tier of the Media System. European Groups: Often with strong national roots and a significant presence in the audiovisual, publishing, and radio sectors, this unit identifies their internationalization strategies, their role in the European market, and, in specific cases, their relationships with regulatory and cultural policies in their respective countries. It examines their alliances and rivalries, their ability to compete with American giants, as well as their contribution to¿or limitation of¿pluralism and diversity.
Unit 5. The Third Tier of the Media System (I). The Long Shadow of the West: The third tier of the media system includes national and regional communication initiatives that do not belong to the first two levels but play a relevant role in the information system, particularly those actors that serve as a counterbalance to the major groups in the upper tiers. The unit examines their initiatives in producing non-Westernized national content, studying the importance of these media as spaces for expressing local identities, defending cultural diversity, and promoting alternative news sources, but also for representing institutionalized and propagandistic information. The first part focuses on the following news agents: news agencies (Thomson Reuters, Agence France-Presse, Associated Press, Deutsche Presse-Agentur, and EFE), regionalized international channels (CNN, BBC World, and Euronews), and government-owned national channels (China¿s CGTN and Russia¿s RT).
Unit 6. The Third Tier of the Media System (II): This second part of the third media tier is dedicated to South America and the Middle East: Mexico (Televisa), Brazil (Globo), Venezuela (Cisneros and TeleSur), Israel (Haaretz and Channel 14), Qatar (Al Jazeera), and Saudi Arabia (Al Arabiya). The class identifies the structure, concentration, and transformations in the media of the Latin American Southern Cone and the particular characteristics of the two most significant national broadcasters in the Middle East.
Unit 7. New Trends in the Structure of the Media System. Non-Profit Foundations, Digital Natives, Freelancers, and Community Media: The class addresses non-corporate trends in journalism, with special attention to non-profit news organizations or foundations, freelance journalists, and alternative community media, identifying how these actors can contribute to the production of high-quality, plural, and diverse information, overcoming the dominant logic of major media outlets.
Unit 8. Review
Unit 9. The Internet Giants (I). Social Networks: In the U.S. (Google, Apple, Meta, Amazon, and Microsoft) and Asia (Baidu, Alibaba, Tencent, Huawei, Xiaomi, Yandex). The class analyzes how these companies have become central players in the media system, controlling information distribution, online advertising, and the very infrastructure of the internet. Their business models, data collection and exploitation capabilities, and the implications of their influence on the media system are explored.
Unit 10. The Internet Giants (II). Artificial Intelligence: The unit explores the influence of AI on communication and how its ability to process and exploit large volumes of data poses ethical, regulatory, and social challenges.
Unit 11. The Media System in Spain (I). Corporate Groups: The unit focuses on corporate groups (Planeta, Mediaset, Prisa, Imagina, Unidad Editorial, and Vocento). The goal is to explore the business models that have emerged in the context of digitalization, identifying the challenges traditional media face in adapting to the new ecosystem and how these factors could affect news pluralism. The rise of VoD in Spain is also examined.
Unit 12. The Media System in Spain (II). Non-Corporate Media: The unit covers the most relevant non-corporate media in Spain (small digital natives, non-profit foundations, freelancers, community media, etc.). The Spanish public system is also explored: RTVE and regional broadcasters.
Unit 13. Shareholding and the Financial System: The unit examines the relationship between ownership structures, shareholder influence, and the dynamics of the financial system with the media industry. The analysis focuses on how profitability demands and pressures from financial markets shape the strategic decisions of media companies.
Electronic Resources *