William is an instructor of Web Design and Interactive Media at the Art Institute of Pittsburgh and will be pursuing a Ph.D. in Media Studies at the University of Texas at Austin beginning in Fall, 2009.

The “Must List” for Mass Media History

Posted: April 15th, 2009 | Author: wjm | Filed under: Art Institute of Pittsburgh, Media | Tags: | No Comments »

This is a list of recommended viewing or reading based on conversations from my Fundamentals of Media course at AIP

I’ve been wanting to start this list as the essential reading and viewing list for anyone interested in media studies and I figured a blog post would be the first way to get it started. Eventually, this will make its way into becoming a page and should remain a static reference for those who have any interest in the history of the media. As always, comments and suggestions are welcome.

    The List:

  • Network [film], the 1976 film featuring the character Howard Beale and the line, “I’m mad as hell and I’m not gonna take it anymore!”
  • Citizen Kane [film], the 1939 film featuring Charles Kane and his quest to dominate the newspaper industry … a thinly-veiled reference to William Randolph Hearst
  • The Battle Over Citizen Kane [film], an award-winning directory that chronicles the lives of William Randolph Hearst and Orson Welles, culminating with the fight over whether the film Citizen Kane should be released. It tells the story behind the power that media moguls can wield when confronted.
  • 1984 [book], the story of Big Brother.

Post your suggestions in the comments!