ACC20040 Business, Media & Corporate Communications

Academic Year 2020/2021

This module introduces students to the role that media plays in influencing the environment for business, markets and organisations in the digital age. It also examines how organisations devise strategic responses to address this influence.

The module explores the pivotal role that media plays in shaping reputational and commercial outcomes for firms (and individuals) and examines in detail how firms manage media ‘issues’ impacting them.

The module examines many of these themes through the lens of business/financial journalism and also strategic communications strategy. It also focuses on the role played by individuals and large technology platforms in creating the modern digital media landscape that firms and organisations must navigate.

It aims to equip students to read and interpret modern media content and write and communicate effectively themselves in a multimedia environment, either as traditional journalists or as practitioners of ‘citizen or civic journalism’ or producers of user-generated content (UGC).

Among the seminars will be sessions exploring: the history of media from Gutenberg to Instagram, communication models, persuasion, media and global markets, reading media and fake news, writing media and newsworthiness, reputation protection, strategic communications, message creation, crisis communications, political media /public affairs.

The seminars will consist of slide presentation, video content, images and a series of case studies highlighting how media content is produced in a business context and how firms are shaped by media actors and the nexus between media platform and firms.

The case studies will include Inside Bloomberg and How Financial News is Produced, 24 Days: the Downfall of Enron, the Irish Financial Crisis: the Media Role and Response, the Downfall of Social Media Site Gawker, Reputation Incineration: the Story of BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill, Bad Blood: How the Wall Street Journal brought down pharma firm Theranos.

See our video for more information from lecturer Emmet Oliver: https://qsblc.ucd.ie/permalink/v125d1c99ba57uwz0jc3/

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Curricular information is subject to change

Learning Outcomes:

Having successfully completed the Business, Media and Communications Module,
participants should be able to:

• Critically evaluate the role modern media plays in shaping the environment for companies, organisations and leaders
• Understand the evolution and growth of media platforms and how they interact with national and global organisations.
• Describe and understand the many platforms, both digital and traditional, that impact organisations and markets in todays business world.
• Describe, identify and analyse the various strategic decisions organisations take to shape how their reputation is impacted by media influence
• Assess how social media platforms have changed how organisations operate in an ‘always-on’ news environment
• Explain how organisations effectively communicate to stakeholders groups in a changing business culture and political landscape.
• Understand what makes persuasive media content by developing strong reading and advanced writing skills using the techniques and practices utilised by media professionals and UGC content producers on social media.

Student Effort Hours: 
Student Effort Type Hours
Lectures

24
Autonomous Student Learning

80
Total

104
Approaches to Teaching and Learning:
Various approaches. 
Requirements, Exclusions and Recommendations

Not applicable to this module.


Module Requisites and Incompatibles
Not applicable to this module.
 
Assessment Strategy  
Description Timing Open Book Exam Component Scale Must Pass Component % of Final Grade
Project: The individual project concerns organisational reputation Varies over the Trimester n/a Standard conversion grade scale 40% No

60
Group Project: Group project relates to creating a suite of media formats, including digital media. Throughout the Trimester n/a Standard conversion grade scale 40% No

40

Carry forward of passed components
No
 
Resit In Terminal Exam
Autumn No
Please see Student Jargon Buster for more information about remediation types and timing. 
Feedback Strategy/Strategies

• Group/class feedback, post-assessment

How will my Feedback be Delivered?

Feedback post assessment.

Horgan, John, and Flynn, Roddy (2017) Irish Media – A Critical History, Dublin: Fourcourts Press

Hamilton, James (2004) All the News Fit to Sell, Prnceton University Press

Croteau and Hoynes. The Business of Media

Gant, Scott. We are All Journalists now

Abramson, Jill. Merchants of Truth: The News Revolution

Briggs, A & Burke, P: A Social History of the Media From Gutenberg to the Internet

Bloomberg, M. Bloomberg by Bloomberg.

Mahoney, J. Strategic Communication: Principles and Practice
Name Role
Dr Jamie O'Neill Lecturer / Co-Lecturer