News, Media, and Democracy
Course Title: News, Media, & Democracy
Day and Time: Tuesdays, 6:30 p.m. - 9:30 p.m.
In Washington, D.C., politicians, advocacy groups, think tanks, federal agencies and others continuously compete to set the political agenda. Positioned between these institutional actors and the public is the media.
Encompassing both traditional print and broadcast and non-traditional digital platforms, newsletters, podcasts, and social channels, the media actively filter, frame and construct narratives through which citizens understand current affairs which further shapes public trust and democratic decision-making.
The course challenges students to think critically about how modern news systems balance commercial pressures, algorithmic curation, social platforms, and emerging AI-driven content strategies against the public’s need for information. Course materials comprise books and articles (both academic and journalistic), as well as multi-media materials (films, podcasts, etc.), that span public policy, communications & media studies, political science, and sociology.
Eunju Namkung & Scott Talan
Eunju Namkung is a technologist and change management specialist who has led digital transformation in public policy, technology, non-profits, local government and higher education. Currently, she is a PhD candidate in the Planning, Governance, and Globalization program at Virginia Tech’s School of Public and International Affairs. Her research interests lie in the intersection of how the digital world is realized in the built environment and the implications for communities as both consumers and citizens. Namkung holds a Master of Public Administration (MPA) and Master of Urban & Regional Planning (MURP) from Virginia Tech and a Bachelor of Arts from Yale University.
Scott Talan is a Senior Professional Lecturer at American University. His career has spanned nonprofits & NGOs (March of Dimes, United Nations); politics & government (former elected official and Mayor of Lafayette, California); TV news reporter (on-air reporter for local NBC & CBS; ABC News broadcast writer); and PR & COMMS (Harvard University, Network of Schools of Public Policy, Affairs, and Administration (NASPAA)). Talan has previously taught as an adjunct faculty member at George Washington University and Johns Hopkins University. He received the AU Career Champion Award in 2023 and the Jack Child Teaching with Technology Award in 2016. Talan holds a Master of Public Administration from Harvard University, a TV News Certificate from Stanford University and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Economy from University of California, Davis.
