Media in the Making: Podcasting HBO

1 Course Unit

In this applied media history course, students will work with the HBO Oral History Project, a series of 38 wide-ranging interviews with key figures in the channel’s creation and early development. Working in groups, students will research, script, record, and edit a series of podcast episodes, using audio extracted from the project. Readings and screenings on television history, the emergence of cable in the 1970s, and HBO in particular will be combined with readings, guest lectures, and audio on the development of podcasting as a distinctive medium. The course will rotate between two modes. The television and podcasting history components of the course will be conducted as a discussion-based seminar. In the applied workshop mode, students will be exposed to podcasting best practices, equipment, and software. Over the course of the semester, students will develop and produce standalone podcast episodes, linked by themes established in discussion. No prior podcasting or audio-editing experience is required. 1 Course Unit