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