This course will examine the history of online news beginning with the earliest experiments with news delivered via dedicated terminals. From there, we’ll look at the impact of the personal computer’s growth and the rise of proprietary dial-up online services. The open, Wild West nature of the early Web brought new possibilities but also the beginning of debates about credibility, free vs. paid content and competitive challenges that continue to this day. We’ll focus on key figures in technology and journalism who shaped the new medium, and trace how its growth undermined traditional economic models even as it enabled the rise of new ones, continuing through today’s world of mobile apps, aggregators and social media.

Reserved seats will be released during Phase 2 of enrollment. For more information on the enrollment process for this course, please visit https://mediastudies.ugis.berkeley.edu/course-enrollment-information/#

Freshmen are not permitted to enroll in this course.

Credit Restrictions

Students will receive no credit for Media Studies 104E after taking Media Studies 190: Special Topics: History and Development of Online News.

Repeat Rules

Course is not repeatable for credit.