Communication and Media Management

CMGB 6550. Advanced Business Communication. (3 Credits)

Communicating effectively is essential to successful management, yet many managers lack an understanding of their own communication skills. This course instructs students on what effective management communication means for teams and leadership styles, including communicating change, managing stakeholders, empowering others, and presenting compelling ideas. Students learn how to provide constructive feedback and how to examine their own communication style, applying theories and concepts via practical means in course activities and assignments.

Attribute: MOE.

Mutually Exclusive: CMGB 7550.

CMGB 7500. Media Systems and Markets. (3 Credits)

Introduces students to all of the key elements that constitute contemporary media systems and to the key stakeholders in—and evolving dynamics of—contemporary media markets. Includes comparative analyses of international media systems and the economic, technological and regulatory parameters under which they operate. Also provides historical, economic and technological perspectives on the evolution of media systems and markets. PREVIOUSLY TITLED: MEDIA & COMMUNICATION INDUSTRIES.

Attributes: ABEB, PMMA.

CMGB 7525. Cross Cultural Negotiation and Communication. (3 Credits)

Explores how cultural differences and international settings affect business communication and negotiation—key skills for managers who seek to get solutions accepted and implemented. The dimension of culture is used to increase the student-managers’ self-awareness and reflection and to build flexibility in their conceptual understandings and skills. Emphasizes specific strategies, styles, and techniques that help the negotiator/communicator.

Attributes: ABGS, ABIB, BLEB, GSSE, PMMA.

CMGB 7530. Innovation in Media Business Models. (3 Credits)

This course examines the factors that have contributed to the emergence, institutionalization, and decline of traditional media business models, as well as to exploring, assessing, and critiquing the wide range of new and innovative business models that are emerging in the contemporary media environment. Students will draw upon these analyses to develop new business models or innovative variants of existing business models for discussion and critique.

Attribute: ABEP.

CMGB 7531. Comm Corp Image Responsibility. (3 Credits)

Demonstrates the value of pragmatic public relations activities through basic principles, case studies and guest speakers. Examines how inept communications and resulting public perceptions can create or deepen corporate crises. Stresses criteria for selecting outside counsel, establishing relationships with the media and communicating with employees and stockholders. Also offered as MKGB 7782.

Attributes: ABGS, MEMG.

CMGB 7534. Public Relations. (3 Credits)

This course examines the use of public relations strategies to replace or augment more traditional communications efforts. It will feature agency publicists and company representatives who will discuss this trend. This course will also include case studies that illustrate how techniques such as video press releases, expert spokespeople, and inventive news pegs are used as part of an overall communications plan.

Attributes: MEMG, PMMA.

CMGB 7537. Crisis Communication and Leadership Strategies. (1.5 to 3 Credits)

Every organization faces crises. Yet, how crisis is handled is critical to helping its brand move forward. Students learn theoretical conceptualizations, public relations and crisis management skills to handle real world crises. Students assess how public-relations fits into the strategic management and decision-making of an organization during a crisis situation. Possible remedies for crisis are examined by applying best strategies for specific situations, using both traditional and new media, while also focusing on strategies and approaches for crisis prevention.

Attributes: ABIB, MEMG, MOE, PMMA.

CMGB 7540. The Business of Music. (3 Credits)

This course has a rotating focus each semester that it is offered, but each instance will involve an intensive focus on a single industry sector. Specific sectors that will be the subject of semester-long intensive analysis include the television industry, the music industry, and the motion picture industry. Students will apply the analytical skills and conceptual understandings developed in other courses in the curriculum as part of an effort to achieve a detailed understanding of the challenges and opportunities facing an individual media sector. Students will also gain a detailed understanding of the history, evolution, economics, and key stakeholder dynamics of these individual industry sectors.

Attributes: MEMG, PMMA.

CMGB 7541. Applied Project. (3 Credits)

This course provides students the opportunity to apply their skills to a project with a real client. Students will gain real-world experience as they learn how to manage a project and client relationship virtually as they maintain effective client engagement. Students will be responsible for managing their project and the client relationship, as well as submitting deliverables on time. During this course, we will discuss effective project management and the importance of stakeholders. We will review the various deliverables for this project, including the project management deliverables and final presentation deliverable.

CMGB 7550. Leadership Communication. (3 Credits)

MBA FLEX CORE COURSE A leader's success hinges on the ability to communicate effectively with diverse stakeholders in divergent settings. This applied course introduces students to academic theories that describe, explain, and predict effective and ineffective leadership communication behaviors. Throughout the semester students solicit candid and constructive feedback about their leadership communication strengths and improvement opportunities. Then, they apply practical strategies, validated by academic research, to improve their communication effectiveness as leaders. Previously titled Management Communication.

Mutually Exclusive: CMGB 6550, MMGB 6650.

CMGB 7554. Consumer Adopt of New Med. (3 Credits)

Examines new communications technologies using guest speakers, videotapes and case studies. Surveys cable, video, satellite transmission, digital television, Internet media and other new and emerging forms of information transmission, with particular emphasis on their interaction and impact on society and business. PREVIOUSLY TITLED: NEW MEDIA AND MASS COMMUNICATIONS.

Attributes: ABEB, PMMA.

CMGB 7556. Law of Trad & New Media. (3 Credits)

Analyzes the legal parameters and constraints on freedom of expression that govern traditional and new communications technologies, focusing on the Internet. Probes the various constitutional, statutory and regulatory protections accorded the Internet and more traditional media, such as print, broadcast and cable, as well as governmental attempts to regulate certain aspects of them. Topics include modern First Amendment interpretation, defamation, privacy, commercial speech, indecency/obscenity, contracts, intellectual property and e-commerce. Also offered as BLGB 7325.

Attributes: ABEB, MEMG.

CMGB 7561. New Media Product Dev Prac I. (3 Credits)

Intended to help students understand the practical application and integration of compelling content and the various formats of modern media in business application. The course includes most forms of video, audio, and social media. Students will develop a media strategy, delivery plan, and create actual media to solve communications challenges for real companies.

Attribute: MEMG.

CMGB 7563. Ethics & Soc Resp in Media Ent. (3 Credits)

This course explores the wide range of ethical issues affecting contemporary media enterprises and the role that social responsibility should play in the operation of these unique and influential enterprises. Specific issues addressed in this course include consumer privacy, codes of conduct and self-regulatory principles, the concepts of the 4th and 5th estates and their evolving role in the operation of media enterprises, and issues of media effects and how such potential effects should factor into decision-making.

Attribute: ABGS.

CMGB 759B. Sports Media& Promotional Comm. (3 Credits)

Sports Media and Promotional Communication examines the mass media industry in relation to the sports field. The sports industry is unique in its economic structure and its consumers – the sports fans. The course focuses on the "off-the-field" industries of television, digital communication, advertising, sponsorship, marketing, and public relations that greatly impact all sports. The course looks at various sports as well as various forms of media and various promotional communication strategies. Students will get an understanding of the industry today, as well as learn about the history of the sports media and the pivotal people who helped shape the field.

Attribute: PMMA.

CMGB 759L. Comm for Entrepreneurs. (3 Credits)

This advanced course, granted an “Entrepreneurship and Venture Initiation” (ENT) designation, will help you launch your venture. Specifically, this class with help you: (1) Pitch your ideas with clarity and confidence. (2) Sell your ideas to critical stakeholders. (3) Brand yourself and establish your credibility in less than 60 seconds. (4) Spin your ideas so they “stick” in a crowded marketplace. (5) Gain valuable feedback about your ideas, brand, and expertise.

Attribute: ABEP.

CMGB 759O. International Comm & Neg. (3 Credits)

Addresses three broad topics: 1. Culture and Behavior: How culture, and cultural differences, affect human behavior in general and communication in particular. 2. Culture and business communication needed adaptations in correspondence, presentations, and meeting behavior to accommodate cultural differences 3. Culture and Negotiation. How culture becomes a factor in business negotiations, how it changes "the game".

CMGB 759R. Social Media. (3 Credits)

Study and application of social media communication and strategy, including social media platforms and user devices, message distribution, and personal and professional online, social environments. The course examines relationships between the technical affordances of technology and the social norms, and how to understand emerging technologies (and social media that doesn’t exist yet!). Students will also gain practical social media skills: understanding the landscape, learning “best practices,” and using different social media technologies throughout the class to create and propagate content.

Attributes: ABEP, MEMG, PMMA.

CMGB 759Z. Gaining Global Bus Pers:Galway. (3 Credits)

This course provides students the opportunity to travel to Galway, Ireland and participate in a week-long study program that will focus on global business from an Irish perspective. The objectives of the course include: Understand the business environment in Ireland Understand the role of multinational versus start-up organizations within Ireland; Identify benefits to investing in Ireland; Practice key communication skills for global business. The course will include academic sessions and industry site visits. Participants of the course will include Executive MBA students, MBA students, eligible MS students, and executive education participants. Please click here for more information. Please contact Francis Petit, Associate Dean at petit@fordham.edu for additional information on registration, logistics and cost. Professor Dr. Meghann L. Drury, Ph.D., M.A., H.Dip.B.S. Assistant Professor, Communication and Media Management.

Attribute: ABIB.

CMGB 75AA. Media Executive Playbook. (3 Credits)

This course will take an in-depth look at the strategies, plans, and programs developed and implemented by media industry executives to help their businesses survive and thrive in an increasingly changing and competitive media industry environment. The course will include case studies, topic-specific projects, and reviews of current industry trends, issues, and opportunities. Media industry executives and subject matter experts will be asked to guest lecture certain classes to provide a practical perspective about how to address and solve industry challenges. The class will look at the business’ audience and marketplace dynamics, content offerings, media distribution and delivery platforms, branding, marketing, business models, and operations. We will also review how a business’ mission, vision, strategic plan, goals, strategies, priority initiatives, operating plans, financials, etc., create a successful business. The course includes lectures, discussion and guest speakers along with current articles and other readings, video materials, and digital sources. Whenever possible, the course draws on Fordham’s unique setting in New York City, the media capital of the world.

Attribute: PMMA.

CMGB 75AB. The Power of Open Knowledge. (3 Credits)

This is a hybrid course and include active participation in MOOC (Massive Open Online Learning Course). The goal of this course is to prepare business students to the foundations of open knowledge creation, use, dissemination, and evaluation, to collaborate with professionals from other cultures and disciplines, and to work effectively in rapidly changing knowledge environments. It has been designed to help students develop a high level of self-determination in their own learning, which is a critical skill for future professional success.

CMGB 75AC. Organizational Comm & Theater. (3 Credits)

In this course students critically analyze theatrical works about business and leadership issues using through the lens of organizational communication theories. Throughout the semester students analyze a range of theatrical works and performances through readings, guest lectures, and attendance at theatrical events outside of class. Upon completion of the course students will have developed a unique perspective on how theatrical works bring organizational communication concepts and theories to life.

CMGB 75AD. The Storytelling Project. (3 Credits)

In this course students apply narrative theories from multiple disciplines - communication, psychology, literature, neuroscience, and theater - to critically analyze the anatomy of effective and persuasive stories. Investigating historical folklore and contemporary narrative paradigms from the 21st century, students analyze why some stories and forms are more persuasive, inspiring, and mythic than others. Through practice and developmental coaching, students enhance their own repertoire of persuasive storytelling abilities and discover their own authentic and rhetorical voices.

CMGB 75AE. Graduate Study Tour Poland. (3 Credits)

Media and technology industries in Poland and Central Europe Study Tour Course for Graduate Business students Krakow, Poland.

CMGB 75AF. Business and Entertainment. (3 Credits)

This course will give students the opportunity to analyze different entertainment artifacts (television programs, movies, theatrical productions, and written publications) using a curated body of academic organizational communication theories.

CMGB 75AG. The Business of TV. (3 Credits)

Television has been one of the cornerstones of media for more than 75 years and has become a medium through which we understand and study our culture. From the first moon landing to “Who Shot JR," from the White Ford Bronco chase involving OJ Simpson to the 2016 presidential election, television has helped to shape our industrial paradigms, social trends, and culture, and has served as a mirror to society. This class will study the sociocultural issues and effects associated with television by looking at it from various angles—including social, economic, political, and entertainment perspectives—and by reviewing the past, present, and future of television.

Attribute: PMMA.

CMGB 75AH. Professional Communication. (3 Credits)

This course will prepare you for communicating in the workplace with multiple levels in an organization. We will examine group communication, decision making in organizations, professional presentations, and strategic communication, including issues and solutions for each. This course is appropriate for multiple levels in an organization, and you do not need a background in communication. It will help you better communicate at work whether you are a seasoned communicator or a novice wanting to improve.

CMGB 75AJ. Financial Media. (3 Credits)

Financial Media examines the complex interactions between business, politics, and the press. The course is designed to help students achieve a better understanding of how business content is delivered and retrieved in the current media environment. The course focuses on the dynamics of reporting about companies and business industry leaders who are using the media to deliver critical messages to several stakeholder groups, including investors and consumers. The course provides numerous examples of business or political leader interactions with the media and debates their communication strategy as well as their outcomes.

Attribute: PMMA.

CMGB 75AK. Persuasive Corporate Communications. (3 Credits)

Business professionals have long known that the ability to influence is a critical business skill. Developing long-term relationships with clients and developing an effective corporate culture is highly valued. Students will critically examine contemporary scholarship from the academic and applied field detailing effective and ineffective practices for persuading stakeholders at various levels. Students will examine how different communication channels can impact the degree to which an audience is persuaded. The course will focus on internal and external organizational communication.

Attributes: MOE, PMMA.

CMGB 75AL. Investor Relations. (3 Credits)

A corporate Investor Relations program formulates and communicates the financial performance and strategic direction of diversified corporations to the global investment community. Investor Relations professionals are well versed in accounting, compliance, finance, governance, marketing and communications. They collaborate with senior management and the Board of Directors to convey and interpret corporate matters to the public. This course will teach students the skills and competencies required to become a corporate Investor Relations professional. The course utilizes a course textbook, case studies, investor relations guest speakers and participation in investor relations events.

CMGB 75AM. Sponsorship. (3 Credits)

Total global sponsorship spending is now an estimated $60 billion annually with most major companies employing sponsorship as a way to achieve a variety of brand goals. This course focuses on the unique advantages of sponsorship as a form of marketing communication. Students will understand how and why sponsors choose certain properties, how properties prospect, recruit, and retain sponsors, the unique opportunities for brand exposure and brand recall, the brand image opportunities created through a brand association, and the importance of product category exclusivity. Special attention will be placed on sponsorship activation and the development of a flexible, customizable sponsorship to fulfill specific brand goals. The course will also focus on evaluation and measurement in determining the effectiveness of the sponsorship.

CMGB 75AN. Digital Media Sales Technologies and Strategies. (3 Credits)

This course will provide a thorough understanding of the technologies underpinning digital media sales and advertising technology (Adtech) and the strategies by which publishers maximize monetization. Students will learn about the full life cycle of digital advertising and all the different technologies an ad impression funnels. The course will cover the different types of ad capabilities and monetization strategies that are available on all existing types of digital content, such as websites, apps, social platforms, and OTT. Students will be challenged to synthesize all aspects of ad tech and provide a critical analysis toward potential monetization strategies and the upcoming industry predictions.

Attribute: PMMA.

CMGB 75AP. Business of Media and Entertainment. (3 Credits)

An introduction to the substantive business operations and media economics issues in the publishing, broadcasting, recorded music, new media, and film industries. A required project links the course to the student's specific business discipline.

CMGB 75AQ. Financing New Media Ventures. (3 Credits)

This course is designed for students to learn how to launch new business lines in large media corporations or new startups directly to market. Learn the critical thinking processes of venture fund managers and corporate innovation leaders in charge of dispensing capital to finance new media ventures. Students will also master effective channels of communication with key stakeholders and champions while utilizing venture capital metrics to quantify and evaluate strategic market opportunities.

CMGB 75AR. Influencing Through Content and Communication. (3 Credits)

There’s a battle raging in digital media today for attention, with power shifting from organizations to individuals to the tune of $3.7 billion a year. Now consumers control the narrative, “media” is in the mind of the beholder, and influencers shape the messaging. So, it’s essential to understand the best way to work with influencers and to know how to make influencer-worthy content yourself in order to get communications out to the right audience. In this hands-on course, you’ll learn the skills needed to execute innovative and disruptive content that drives advocacy and influence, to think differently to foster originality, to implement impactful influencer content plans, and to look to the future for breakthrough solutions right now.

CMGB 75AS. Visual Business Communication Design. (3 Credits)

A hands-on, workshop-style class that teaches students how to design effective business communication assets such as decks, one-pagers, and data visualizations. Students will be introduced to the foundational elements of visual communication. In this learn-by-doing model, weekly student projects will explore design techniques to graphically communicate through persuasive messaging and storytelling.

CMGB 75AT. Managing Diversity in Media. (3 Credits)

Today’s media managers find themselves at a critical moment in which audiences and communities are rapidly becoming more and more diverse. Managing diversity as a media executive comes with unique considerations that extend beyond the employee composition of the firm, as both audiences and the content distributed play a role in maintaining diversity and inclusion. In this course, students will learn about how to better understand the race, ethnicity, and cultural backgrounds of media audiences; the social, political, and economic effects of creating content that features diverse topics, casts, and themes; and the value of having a diverse workforce of artists, producers, and managers. Over the course of the semester, students will develop a strategic diversity plan for a real-world media firm that includes a stakeholder register; PEST analysis; business need and justification; diversity goals and metrics; and specific recommendations, actions, and tactics with which the firm should proceed.

CMGB 75AU. Designing Your Life. (3 Credits)

This course teaches design principles for building an intentional, fulfilling life and career. In the same way that designers solve problems to build technology, products, and spaces that serve the needs of their users, participants will employ design thinking to develop their personal and professional lives. The class offers a framework, tools, and, most importantly, a place and a community of peers and mentors where we’ll work on these issues through assigned readings, reflections, and in-class exercises. Topics include the integration of work and worldviews, ideation techniques, a portfolio approach to thriving, designing to increase balance and energy, and prototyping all aspects of your life. We also touch on the realities of engaging the workplace and practices that support vocation formation throughout your life. This is an experiential class that includes seminar-style discussions, personal written reflections, and individual mentoring/coaching.

CMGB 75AV. Going Viral: Best Practices for Communication Leaders. (3 Credits)

This course is designed to help students develop skills to address one of the most requested yet misunderstood directives for content today: “Make it go viral!” This course demystifies such “viral content” by analyzing it as a utility (vs. fad). Instead of studying influencers who are often famous for being famous, this course elucidates best practices for content as implemented by unknown copywriters and indie filmmakers as well as content creators from the tourism, startup, sports, and entertainment fields.

CMGB 75AW. Forecasting Trends in Media Industry. (3 Credits)

This discussion and project based course is designed to interrogate new technologies and trends for media professionals (and consumers). By taking this course, students will understand how the digital revolution has upended traditional media and study examples of innovative media and technology. We will systematically explore the future of media and technology in order to forecast it so that we might all make better professional decisions in the present. In teams, students will use strategic foresight and trend analysis to conceive, develop, and pitch scenario-based strategic responses.

CMGB 75AX. Media Dealmaking. (3 Credits)

This course is designed to give students in the media industry an introduction to negotiating and implementing deals involving production, licensing and/or reselling (both for publishers, and resellers, of content), co-marketing, outsourcing, partnerships, joint ventures, and acquisitions. We will explore common deal structures, terms, transactional frameworks, and the negotiating and contract drafting process. By the course's end, students will have the tools to analyze common deals involving media products and related services, know the basics of negotiation strategy and tactics, and be capable of developing basic deal term sheets. The course will employ text and internet resources, lecturer notes, spreadsheets, and case studies; students should have a knowledge of basic financial accounting, common business terms, some familiarity with copyright conventions, and Excel.

CMGB 7811. Media Management Internship. (1 to 3 Credits)

CMGB 8999. Independent Study. (3 Credits)