The French Media: From Ink to Link

This subject will consider the French news media landscape from a historical point of view where the French nation-state played a central role as a regulatory body, to new forms of ownership and deregulation in global contexts of news production and consumption. Students will examine the historical development of the French press in light of changing technological, political and economic factors. The relationship between political satire, caricature, scandals and censorship will be considered and the central role of the French printed press in shaping public opinion and sustaining national identity problematised. Students will also be introduced to a range of discourse analysis techniques to examine critically media discourse as it unfolds in French/French speaking contexts. This subject will be taught and assessed in French. Prior experience in Journalistic Studies is neither assumed nor required.