Who are our guest lecturers?

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At the introductory lecture, I told you we had a great lineup of guests who will come and give guest lectures during the start-up phase of the course. Up until now you have had to take my word for it, but now you can check out the schedule for yourself.

Although all guest lecturers are not 100% confirmed yet, those that are confirmed can be found on a "webpage" in Bilda (see Contents/Guest Lecturers). This page will be updated as things fall into place during this and the next week.

We do our best to accommodate the wishes of our guests, and there is chance that one or a few lectures will have to be moved. There will also be some lectures added to the schedule, and we might also cancel a few of the currently-planned lectures. You will be informed about changes in the schedule through this blog.

As a result of the feedback I got from everyone who attended the introductory lecture, I now have a much better idea of what other courses you take. We will do our very best to make sure that any further changes in the schedule will not come into conflict with AK2038 (since a large minority of you take that course). We also have our eyes on the smaller minorities who take the courses AK2203, MJ2673, MJ2613, and even on the handful of people who take ME2016. All other courses are not on our radar and will not be taken into consideration in matters that concern the schedule.

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Changes in the schedule

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There are so many students taking this course that I have had to book larger lecture halls. Below are changes for the next two weeks, there will be further changes in the schedule later - especially concerning the seminars.

The updated schedule is available online - here are the changes in plain text:

Week 35 (this week):

- Thu Sept 1 at 8-10 moved to lecture hall D2

- Thu Sept 1 at 15-17 moved to lecture hall B1

Week 36 (next week)

- Tue Sept 6 at 8-10 moved to lecture hall Q2

- Thu Sept 8 at 8-10 moved to lecture hall D2

And finally, something very important: Next week's seminar was scheduled for Mon Sept 5 at 13-15 but has been moved to Friday Sept 9 at 8-10. Since you already have a task to complete this week (essay 1), it makes more sense to push the seminar forward a few days. Instructions for seminar 1 will be published later this week.

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Essay 1 - instructions

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You have to write an individual essay twice during the course; in the beginning and in the end. Writing these essays are compulsory and they must be written individually. Below are the instructions for the first essay.

Please download and use the template that is available in Bilda ("FoM essay 1") when you write your text. Use your family name when you name your file ("Pargman essay 1") and upload it to the "drop box" that has been created exclusively for this purpose in Bilda. Do note that you can only upload the file formats .doc (MS Word) or .pdf to the drop box.

Deadline for handling in the essay is Sunday September 4 (23.59). That should be plenty of time as the task is neither very comprehensive nor time-consuming.

Instructions

1A. "Expectations and apprehensions". Although this course might seem to be brand new, it really isn't. This is the 9th time the course is given, but it has changed shaped and morphed into an English-language course this time around. Some students have talked about the course with older students, or seen earlier final presentations, while others know very little about the course beyond the course introduction that was given earlier today. In both of these cases, it is important for us teachers to avoid misunderstandings, to adapt the course according to the participants' preferences (where possible) and to explain why that is impossible in other instances.

Please write 200-600 words (0.5 - 1.5 pages) about the hopes and expectations, or the fears and apprehensions that you had/have as the course now starts - based on whatever information you have available right now. Perhaps you have opinions that you would like to get heard about the form or the content of the course?

1B. "My relationship to radio". Please write 400-1000 words (1 - 2.5 pages) about your personal relationship to radio. What does radio mean to you? How do you consume radio (or podcasts or web radio)? What do you listen to on the radio? In what context? Have your radio habits changed lately or at some earlier point in your life? If you don't listen to radio a lot, why do you think that is? Have you ever been involved in making (recording, producing, broadcasting) radio? Are there already now radio-related issues that you find particularly interesting and that you would like to immerse yourself in (or suggest that someone else should immerse themselves in) during the project phase of the course?

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Guest Lecture 02 - Sept 01 (15-17) - Adam Davidson

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Time and place: Thursday September 1, 15-17, lecture hall B1

Title: "The past and the future of public radio in the US"

Guest: Adam Davidson, International business and economics correspondent, radio host and producer on the public radio network NPR.

Talk: Adam will join us from New York by Skype and he will talk about the hunger for smart, long form audio, and the current lack of a successful business model to capitalize on that hunger. The old business model will surely die soon, and radio producers will need to be more creative in pursuing new ways of connecting to, and raising money from their listeners in order to create great radio in the future. Adam will also talk about NPR Planet Money, a radio show/podcast that he co-hosts and that he is the co-founder of.

About: Adam Davidson has a degree from the University of Chicago, has worked in radio for two decades and has won every major award in broadcast journalism. His award-winning radio documentary about the housing crisis, "The giant pool of money", has been named one of the top ten works of journalism of the decade. Adam is the co-founder and co-host of bi-weekly Planet Money podcast. His personal website is www.adamdavidson.com.

Literature: To prepare for the lecture, you should listen to two podcasts and read the text below:

- Planet Money podcast #261 - Economists on federal funding for NPR

Should NPR (public radio) and this radio show receive federal funding in the US? We try to look at the question through the cold, hard lens of economics.

- Planet Money podcast #227 - Lighthouses, autopsies and the federal budget (optional)

What should the government pay for? The basic economist answer is that government should pay for public goods; things that ww all need and that will make our lives better, but that the market will not and cannot provide. The textbook example is a lighthouse, and other examples of public goods include national defense and autopsies. How about radio?

- Chana Joffe- Walt, "The tricks of Planet Money". Chana is a Planet Money reporter and she explains the Planet Money style and the Planet Money approach to making (boring) economy into (interesting) stories. The text is not so much about the business of radio, but more about storytelling and about the craft of making great radio.

Note: You can listen to the podcasts online (use the links above), or you can download them as mp3 files from Bilda.

Disclaimer: Planet Money is my favorite radio show/podcast and I have made a list with some suggestions of great Planet Money radio shows of lately. /Daniel

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Guest Lecture 01 - Sept 01 (8-10) - Nina Wormbs

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Time and place: Thursday September 1, 8-10 in lecture hall D2

Title: "Radio history - cultural importance and technological dependence"

Guest: Nina Wormbs, associate professor at the Division of History of Science and Technology, KTH

Talk: Nina will talk about the social construction of radio in the 1920's, about the allocation of radio frequencies in Europe for broadcasting in Europe, and about the cultural and political importance of radio from its inception and forward.

About: Nina has done extensive research on radio, television, satellites and broadcast technologies. She wrote the book "Radio och TV efter monopolet: En kamp om politik, pengar, publik och teknik" ["Radio and TV after the monopoly: A struggle about politics, money, audience and technology"] together with Lars-Åke Engblom 2007. Nina has a (Swedish-language) blog where she writes about technology, culture and society.

Literature: Nina refers to her latest publication in the area, "Technology-dependent commons: the example of frequency spectrum for broadcasting in Europe in the 1920's". It is published in the International Journal of the Commons, Volume 5, Number 1 (February 2011) and it is available online.

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Welcome to the course!

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At the moment, it seems 64 students have registered for the course DM2571 Future of media (Correction: 68 students as of Aug 24).

The course changes it's theme every year and this year's theme is "Future of radio/Radio of the future".

The course starts on Monday August 29 at 13.15-15.00 in lecture hall L52. A lot of information about the course will be communicated at that time and there will also be time to ask questions - so it is important that you come if you plan to take the course. Be sure to get in touch with me (pargman at-sign kth.se) if you plan to take the course but for some reason can not come on Monday.

Yours,

/Daniel Pargman & Åke Walldius