COM 250: Media Literacy

Fall 2027

Number of credit hours: 3

Prerequisites: None; COM 101 recommended

Course Details

Day and Time: [tbd]

Meeting Location: [tbd]

Instructor Contact Information

• Name: Ben Shors
• Office Location: Jackson Hall 361
• Email: bshors@wsu.edu
• Office/Student Hours: Mondays and Wednesdays, 11 a.m.–noon

 

Course Description

Between deepfaked videos, AI-generated news stories, and social feeds engineered to keep you scrolling, media literacy isn't optional anymore — it's survival skill. This course provides a hands-on introduction to reading media critically in the AI era. Learn to verify claims, spot bias and framing, tell human-made content from AI-generated content, and understand the algorithms shaping your feed. These skills help prepare you to navigate the modern media landscape as a citizen, not just a student.

 

Course Materials 

Books: 

• Potter, W.J. Media Literacy (10th ed. or latest). SAGE Publications. ISBN varies by edition. Available at the WSU Bookie or as an e-book.

Other Materials: Selected open-access readings posted on Canvas (Hall, Entman, Wardle & Derakhshan, Wineburg & McGrew, and others) — no cost.

Fees: None

Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs) [add more lines if necessary]

Course Learning Outcomes (students will be able to:)	Activities Supporting the Learning Outcomes	Assessment of the Learning Outcomes
Extend and critically apply theoretical frameworks for media literacy introduced in COM 101 — including semiotics, encoding/decoding, cultivation theory, agenda-setting, and media ecology — to contemporary and AI-mediated media texts.	Readings and Lectures. Week 1 framework refresher, Week 2 Hall reading + Reading Response #1, Week 3 theory worksheet, and Week 11 re-application to AI/synthetic media.	Theory Application Worksheet: apply two theoretical frameworks to a contemporary media text.
Critically evaluate news and information sources using verification methods such as lateral reading, source triangulation, and fact-checking protocols.	Readings and Lectures. Week 5 lateral-reading exercise, Week 7 fact-check practicum, Week 10 quiz check.	Factchecking and Verification Assignment: verify five real/realistic claims using lateral reading
Identify and analyze bias, framing, and rhetorical strategies in news and media content across outlets and platforms.	Readings and Lectures. (bias/framing analysis) → Week 4 objectivity groundwork, Week 6 Entman reading + paper assignment, Week 10 paper due.	Bias & Framing Paper: comparative framing analysis across outlets

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Dates	Lesson Topic	Assignment	Assessment
Week 1	Applied Media Literacy in the Modern Media Landscape	Media inventory: 48-hour personal media-use log (start of Media Diary & Reflective Portfolio)	None due this week — log is graded later as part of the Media Diary & Reflective Portfolio
Week 2	Encoding/Decoding	Reading Response #1	Quiz 1
Week 3	Media Effects & Audience Theory in Practice — cultivation theory, agenda-setting, uses & gratifications, media ecology	Theory Application Worksheet	Ungraded practice; informs Participation grade
Week 4	How News Is Made: Newsroom Structures & Norms — objectivity, gatekeeping, and news values	None	Quiz 2
Week 5	Evaluating Sources & Lateral Reading	Factchecking and Verification Assignment (lateral-reading exercise)	Factchecking and Verification Assignment (10% of course grade)
Week 6	Bias, Framing & Objectivity	Bias & Framing Paper assigned	None due this week
Week 7	Misinformation, Disinformation & Malinformation	Fact-Check Practicum	Fact-Check Practicum (5%); Quiz 3
Week 8	Visual & Data Literacy	None	Midterm Exam (15%)
Week 9	Filter bubbles, echo chambers, recommendation systems	In-class algorithm-audit exercise	Ungraded practice; informs Participation grade
Week 10	Media Ownership, Business Models & the Economics of News	Bias & Framing Paper due	Bias & Framing Paper (10%); Quiz 4
Week 11	AI and Media I: Generative AI, Synthetic Media & Deepfakes	AI in Media exercise, Part 1 (identify AI-generated vs. human-made media)	None due this week
Week 12	AI and Media II: AI in the Newsroom — Promise and Controversy	AI in Media exercise, Part 2 (draft an AI-use disclosure policy)	AI in Media exercise, Parts 1–2 (10%)
Week 13	Governing Media & AI: Policy, Platforms & Regulation	Reading Response #2	Quiz 5
Week 14	Media Literacy as Responsible Digital Citizenship	Capstone campaign drafts due for peer review	None due this week
Week 15	Capstone Presentations & Course Synthesis	Capstone Media Literacy Campaign due; reflective portfolio due	Capstone Media Literacy Campaign (10%); Media Diary & Reflective Portfolio (10%)

 

 

Expectations for Student Effort 

This is a 3-credit-hour course. Consistent with WSU Academic Regulation 27, students should expect to spend a minimum of two hours on coursework outside of class for every hour of in-class instruction — approximately 6 hours per week of reading, verification exercises, and assignment work outside of scheduled class time, in addition to the 3 hours of class meetings (roughly 9 hours/week total).

 

Grading

Assignment Breakdown

Type of Assignment (tests, papers, etc)	Points	Percent of Overall Grade
Media Diary & Reflective Portfolio (initial log + final reflection)	10	10%
Reading responses (2)	10	10%
Factchecking and verification assignments	10	10%
Fact-Check Practicum	10	10%
Midterm Exam	15	15%
Quizzes	25	25%
Capstone Media Literacy Campaign	10	10%
Participation & In-Class Exercises	10	10%

 

Grading Schema

Grade	Percent	Grade	Percent
A	93–100%	C	73–76.9%
A-	90–92.9%	C-	70–72.9%
B+	87–89.9%	D+	67–69.9%
B	83–86.9%	D	60–66.9%
B-	80–82.9%	F	Below 60
C+	77–79.9%

Rounding policy: Final percentages are rounded to the nearest whole percentage point using standard rounding (e.g., 89.5% rounds up to 90% and earns an A−; 89.4% remains a B+). Grades are not rounded up as a courtesy for any other reason.

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Attendance and Make-Up Policy 

Attendance

Attendance will be vital as exercises and group discussions will count towards the final grade. As noted above, students may have three (3) unexcused absences per semester.

For each absence beyond three (3), students will lose 0.5 percentage points from their participation grade. Tardy students will be marked absent, unless otherwise arranged with the instructor. Students with 10 or more absences will automatically receive a failing grade. Computers are to be used for coursework only. Cell phones may not be used during class unless required for coursework.

Make-Up Exams

Make-up exams are permitted only for documented emergencies, illness, or university-approved absences (e.g., religious accommodation, official university activity), and must be arranged with the instructor as far in advance as possible, or within 48 hours of the missed exam in the case of emergencies.

Academic Integrity Statement

• Fail the assignment or fail the course, at the instructor's discretion
• Be reported to the Center for Community Standards.
• Have the right to appeal my decision.
• Not be able to drop the course or withdraw from the course until the appeals process is finished.

If you have any questions about what you can and cannot do in this course, ask me.

If you want to ask for a change in my decision about academic integrity, use the form at the Center for Community Standards website. You must submit this request within 21 calendar days of the decision.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) Use Statement

Because this course examines the role of AI in media and media literacy, thoughtful and transparent engagement with AI tools is itself part of the curriculum — but that does not mean "anything goes." This course's AI policy is assignment-specific:

• Reading responses, the fact-check practicum, and exams: AI tools may be used only for brainstorming or checking grammar, not for generating substantive analysis or written content to be submitted as your own; any such use must be disclosed in a short note at the end of the assignment.
• AI in Media Exercises: use of generative AI tools is required and central to the assignment; students will document exactly which tools they used and how, as part of the exercise itself.
• Capstone campaign: AI tools may be used for ideation, drafting visuals, or production support, provided their use is disclosed in an appendix describing which tools were used, for what purpose, and how outputs were reviewed or edited by the team.

Undisclosed use of AI tools where disclosure is required, or use of AI tools where prohibited, will be treated as a violation of the Academic Integrity Policy described above. When in doubt about whether a specific use is acceptable for a specific assignment, ask before submitting.