COURSE NUMBER: MBA295N.1A
COURSE TITLE: Media: New and Otherwise
UNITS OF CREDIT: 1
INSTRUCTOR: Roy Bahat
E-MAIL ADDRESS: *roybahat@gmail.com *
MEETING DATES: Spring A
only (1/22-3/12)
PREREQUISITE(S): None
CLASS FORMAT: Students will present
strategies for media companies, hear from guest speakers, and discuss the
transformations happening in media -- much as they would if they worked for a
media company. Students should expect to have significant input into the
companies and topics we discuss, and may create media as part of the course.
Note: This course is
best for students who already have a strong interest -- personal or
professional -- in media. It assumes a high level of curiosity about what is
happening in news, entertainment, and related industries. No professional
experience in media is expected.
REQUIRED READINGS: Textbook and some industry
overview books, as well as a course reader. No cases.
BASIS FOR FINAL GRADE: Project and class
participation, no exams.
ABSTRACT OF COURSE'S CONTENT AND OBJECTIVES:
News, online, movies, advertising, television, podcasts, mobile, videogames,
music, books, social media -- all part of the industry of informing and
entertaining, and all being revolutionized. In this course we will do a quick
overview of the media business -- from startups to global conglomerates.
We will address a wide range of
topics: the economics of media organizations (and industries), their
organizational structures, cultures, brands, and approaches. Students will have
the possibility of creating original media as part of the course.
Some of the questions we’ll
discuss:
How do you design a career in media?
What kinds of media companies are likely to
succeed in the future?
How do traditional media address changing
technologies?
How is the media business driven by metrics
and data? How is it driven by artistic creativity?
CAREER FIELD: Entertainment, news, media --
business or creative
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH:
Roy Bahat
(@roybahat) is the head of Bloomberg Beta, a venture
capital fund that invests in the future of work, and machine intelligence in
particular. He co-chaired, with New America's Anne-Marie Slaughter, the Shift
Commission on Work, Workers, and Technology, a partnership studying the
possible effects of automation over the next 20 years.
In the past, Roy has spent time building
startups from day zero (as co-founder of a venture-backed, Kickstarter-launched
game console), as a corporate executive (at News Corporation), in government
(in New York's City Hall), media (running online media service IGN
Entertainment), and academia -- and is one of Fast Company’s Most Creative
People in Business.
He is on the board of the Center for Investigative Reporting, the country's oldest nonprofit newsroom. Roy graduated from Harvard College. He was a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford University. He writes at http://also.roybahat.com