MDST 3680

The class is interesting, but Andrews is definitely someone that's hit or miss. Some people LOVE him, but others are turned off (that was my experience). I understand his protocol for papers, but I really do feel like it's completely random at times, which is disappointing given how important the papers are for the grade. I feel like this class has a lot of information, but a lot of it can also be learned/talked about in other classes at UVA that are a lot more fun than this one.

TAKE THIS CLASS! Definitely not for those who just want to slack off, but you will come out a better writer and have actually LEARNED useful information. The professor teaches you about the in's and out's of the news media. It's so interesting. Not to mention he is very nice and cares about his students. Seriously. He seems scary at first but he truly wants everyone to learn something from his lecture. Come to class prepared and stay engaged, it's worthwhile.

unlike the other commenters, I didn't find the lectures TOTALLY engaging and amazing. The lectures managed to be kinda theatrical but also super slow at the same time. I never read the readings. i think the trick to getting an A in the class is to basically summarize his main points on the papers while adding some of your own research/examples.

also, just gonna throw it out there--- he's got a unabashed liberal bias, which i'm personally chill with, but many times he came across as quite elitist imo.

As many have said before, this is a phenomenal class that ideally everyone should have to take. There were lots of media studies and non-media studies majors in there. You get a basic overview of all types of news outlets and coverage, from traditional newspapers, broadcast and cable television, news on social media, national, local, satire, and more. Helps you understand the difference between all of these, making you a more informed and critical viewer of news! Very essential to know in today's climate of political polarization and fake news. Prof. Andrews incorporates a lot of current events to keep the class spicy. The main assignments are three papers that ask you to analyze the news in different ways, not too bad once you understand the (very specific) expectations. There are also "randoms" in which you have to find a random news article every day, which gives you practice at sifting through lots of news. While the work is sometimes tedious you will thank yourself at the end of the semester for taking it!

This class is very hard, but ultimately life-changing. Professor Andrews is one of the most distinguished and impressive professors I've had yet, which can make him a little intimidating at first, but soon you see that he is very nice but just pretty blunt. Class is very engaging because he uses current examples to prove his points, and many of them are hilarious. Satire and news blunders are a big part of the class. The papers are very hard because Prof Andrews wants you to use "Blunt Force Clarity" where you have to be extremely concise. Luckily you get a rewrite on the first paper, and he guides you through all the steps to getting an A if you go to office hours. He is extremely accommodating and wants you to do well. Finally, be prepared to be randomly called on once or twice in the semester for the "Randoms" (you have to find an article about a certain topic) to get discussion points. Take this class!!! You will NEVER look at news the same way!!

One of the most challenging MDST courses I've taken but definitely worth it. As other reviews mentioned, he does seem intimidating but is actually very nice and actually wants you to take away a lot from the course. I'm glad I was able to take the class, especially during the 2020 election season.

One of my favorite classes at UVA. professor has a passion for uva and journalism. He brought in amazing speakers to class. This class changed the way I viewed all news. He assigns weekly new summaries from students and randomly picks students twice a semester, which provide participation points, these summaries are low pressure. He has a strict set of writing guidelines that are difficult to produce but he helps and provides feedback and second chances (on the first paper). Papers are only about 2-3 pages, but need a time to edit to his liking. He provided straight forward guidelines on how to write paper if you attend office hours. Great class must take at some point at UVA. Love the class.

#tCF2020 Taking this course during the election was a really great experience! I would honestly recommend taking the News Media at any time, though, since Professor Andrews changes his syllabus throughout the semester based on real-life events. There is a participation part of the grade, but this is really simple to get - for F20, you only had to speak once to get full credit. He gives random prompts for each lecture, so you have time to prepare what you want to say! The rest of the grade is based off three papers. You have the chance to request a regrade for the first one, but not the other two! Professor Andrews is really particular about essays, but as long as you read through his requirements and think about the words you're putting down, it's not too hard. Overall, I'd recommend this class as an interesting MDST course, but be aware of Professor Andrew's very liberal viewpoints and the amount of effort that is needed for the essays.