Media and U.S. Politics In a Global Context - POLS 216
| Georgia Duerst-Lahti |
Fall 2007 |
| x 2333 |
office: MI 205 |
| Office Hours: |
M-12-1, Wed 11-12 |
| Drop-in |
M 4-5; T, Th 3-4 |
| Email |
duerstgj@beloit.edu |
Although the constitution recognizes the importance of the role of the press as a guarantor of democracy, we worry about its decline in practice. Political science has only studied the media seriously for several decades. Like many “linkage mechanisms,” we came to know them systematically only after the behavioral revolution in scholarship, which began during the 1950s. The study of media in U.S. politics arose through a focus on voting, elections, and presidential rhetoric, through the area of political socialization and the effects of political experiences--including communication--on individuals for their understanding of politics, and on the role non-news media play in shaping politics, often through popular culture, but also through the creation and support of mass belief systems and shared understandings that serve as a foundation for politics and government. Of course, effects on individuals can have major aggregate consequences, particularly in terms of mass beliefs systems, ideology, and other “common knowledge” that creates the reifications we understand to be government and politics.
Three themes have gained considerable attention of late. The first is the role the media have come to play as political actors in their own right, as an institution larger than “the Fourth Estate,” whose political activity is far more involved than merely reporting events of other political actors; the news media have become political actors in their own right, by shaping politics and by their celebrity status. Most importantly of late is their role in terrorism, war, “public diplomacy” through “information intervention,” and other global security matters. The second focuses on the implications of new technologies such as satellite transmission, and the “new news media” of the internet that provide access to sources globally, and enable blog “journalists” to cover news. The third focuses on the consequences of the recent concentration of news media ownership into a few huge corporations often which have numerous other interests (e.g.,General Electric, Disney). Along with elections, we give special attention to these three new thrusts.
LEARNING GOALS
- Capacity to locate reliable sources of scholarly and critical resources related to media and politics.
- Ability to compare across types of media (tv, radio, newspaper, blog, etc.) and to analyze the differential constraints and capacities of each.
- Awareness of debates surrounding purported media bias—domestically and globally—and the ability to articulate and defend your own position about media bias.
- Knowledge about the context and processes of news production and the consequences of those processes on global politics.
- Improved written, oral, and visual communication skills.
- Improved capacity to read, absorb, and summarize information quickly.
- Gain a sense of the community of political news practitioners and their assumptions, ethics, and career conditions.
Readings at the Bookstore
Students should purchase the following books; they are available at the Turtle Creek Bookstore. ALL BOOKS FOR THIS COURSE ALSO ARE ON RESERVE. I expect you to read them if you do not purchase them. If you buy on line, make sure purchase the right edition!!! This field changes quickly.
We use these in their entirety throughout the course.
Doris A. Graber, Media & American Politics 7th ed. Washington DC: CQ Press, 2005. 1-56802-917.
Lance Bennett, News: The Politics of Illusion 6th ed. New York: Addison Wesley Longman, 2003. 0-321-22466-3 (News)
Steve M. Barkin, American Television News: The Media Markeplace and the Public Interest. Armonk, NY: M.E. Sharpe, 2003. 0-7656-0923-1 (ATN)
Darrell West, Air Wars: Television Advertising in Election campaigns, 1952-2004, 6th ed. Washington DC: CQ Press, 2005.
Students must read ONE from EACH of the following sets:
Set A: Al Jazeera
Mohammed El-Nawawy and Adel Iskandar, Al-Jazeera: The Story of the Network that is Rattling Governments and Redefining Modern Journalism. (Updated with new Epilogue) Westview Press, 2003. 0-8133-4149-3 (AJ)
Hugh Miles, Al Jazeera: How Arab TV News Challenges America. Grove Press, 2005. 0-802117899
Set B: Media Consolidation
Robert McChesney, The Problem of the Media. Monthly Review Press, 2004. 1-583671056
Ben H. Bagdikiam, The New Media Monopoly. Boston: Beacon Press, 2005. 080761875
Set C: Terrorism
Media and the War on Terrorism, Marvin Kalb, editor. Washington DC: Brookings Institution Press, 2003. 0-815735812
Brigitte L. Nacos, Mass-Mediated Terrorism. Lanham: Roman & Littlefield Publishers, 2002. 0-7425-1083-2
On reserve and OPTIONAL to buy: ( Students will divide out chapters).
Monroe Price and Mark Thompson eds., Forging Peace: Intervention, Human Rights, and the Management of Media Space, Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press.
The Press, Geneva Overholser and Kathleen Hall Jamieson, editors. New York: Oxford University Press, 2005.
ASSIGNMENTS
Class citizenship: 10%, throughout
Do the readings. Be prepared. Discuss intelligently and appropriately. (Neither monopolize nor sit silently.) Don’t miss class. Missing more than two classes will damage your grade. Participate fully in all class projects, such as country assignments and book pairs. Post assignments on time. Attend departmental and YOLAC events. Includes media “watchdog” source and class presentation.
Watching the Watchdog: 10%, Sep. 6, and throughout Post reply by Sep. 11.
Identify one web source that critiques the quality of news coverage. The approach can be analytic or represent a point of view. Post that source to the forum. Your short paragraph should include a complete and hot-linked web address, a statement of the sources “owner,” general purpose (commentary, analysis, promoting an “agenda”), and the political orientation—if any—of the source’s owner or the editor of the source. The purpose is to find a good source that we can use throughout the course to add related commentary and critique from sources that watch the news media. To be useful for this purpose, an ability to search the source’s archives is usually necessary. An example of such a source is: http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/media/media.html.
You each will provide one suggested source for topics throughout the course; usually we will look at that source during class.
Media As Political Actor–10% October 25
In 5-7 pp., double-spaced in 10 -12 point font, answer the following questions: In what ways was Al-Jezeera a political actor in post 9-11 politics? How does it compare journalistically to CNN, the BBC, Fox or other multinational news networks? What are the implications of its emergence? In what ways has it changed the broadcast news networks as an institutional actor in politics? Why?
Country Comparisons: Toward A Global Understanding–15% combined
This assignment has several components that build over the course of the semester. The object is to learn about the way media and politics co-exist and interact in other countries, and to make comparisons that illuminate the media’s effect on politics and political knowledge.
You may choose any country, although I especially urge you to pursue country that you may want to study in, including China, Japan, Russia, Ecuador, Mexico, Senegal, France, Germany, Turkey, Morocco, Pakistan or India, South Africa, France, or Italy. International students are invited to contrast the U.S. with their own country, but certainly may pursue other combinations. Students who have studied abroad are encouraged to pursue that country. I very much urge you to choose a country that uses a language that you are currently studying.
Steps:
- Decide which country you would like to study, and find a suitable partner to use in comparing news media information. (Suitable: Countries share many characteristics or are widely divergent on key items).
- 5% Make a table of data about news media in the country and pair it with a classmate. Post it on Moodle by 10 p.m., September 20th. Read others’ postings for class on the 22nd and reflect upon the “big picture” one gains from comparing across countries.
The table should include information such as number of television and radio stations, newspapers, news magazines (hard to find), etc; ease or rate of access to internet; nature of ownership of news outlets (public, private [laissez-faire or heavily regulated], joint); extent and type of government regulation, which in part can be surmised from the nature of the current government system and regime—authoritarian, liberal democracy, corporative democracy, etc; and a bit about the country such as population and geographical size, date of independence or founding; annual governmental budget, latest annual GDP and GNP, type of governmental system (presidential, parliamentary, etc.), current head of state or executive, other facts
Also for your country, locate at least ONE, and preferably THREE, news sources you can read( Le Monde) or follow (e.g., webcast) on the web; also locate up to three sites in as many of the categories as exist; not all categories exist in all countries so if you cannot find any briefly explain why these are not likely to exist. The categories: scholarship on or critique of (news or mass) media; political commentary and/or (one) humor; voter information; news sources. Assess each for quality and write a 2-4 line summary describing it for another user. Be sure to include the source or owner so we can interpret the site. This also is posted. Make sure you include the sources and dates of your information on an attached set of endnotes.
- 5% September 22: Present the facts with your partner, with the goal of teaching your peers the basic background of the countries. Reflect upon similarities and differences in your presentation. Seven minutes total. The short time (not unlike what TV journalists must contend with), means that you must carefully determine what you will say and how you will say it. Read your classmate’s postings prior to class and reflect upon the global picture from a national and local perspective.
- 5% November 8: Post and discuss in class the top news stories (e.g., lead on TV radio --webcast, front page above the fold or its web equivalent). For three days (November 5-7) follow the news in ont to three country news sources. Post a brief analysis that explains the perspective (government or party paper, conservative TV station, traditional "objective" journalism) of the each source you’re following and a synopsis of the topics covered along with an analysis of the way one might interpret how it is covered according to the readings.
Book Pairs 15%: In groups, present the books to your classmates
Each of you is responsible for reading ONE of the books in EACH of three book pairs. We will form into four groups, with two groups reading one book. Each group will post a 2 to 3 page synopsis of the book that includes the book’s purpose, approach, and major points. Each student will write a 300-word statement about one profound insight or lesson to be garnered from the book (or a reasoned critique of why no lessons can be derived). 5% for each book.
Job Shadow 10%. At a news media site.
Spend the significant portion of a shift with a news media professional. The time of day and duration will vary by the media type and the opportunities available to us. The purpose of this job shadowing is to participate and observe in order to test what you “know” or otherwise expect. Prior to your on-site visit, you must articulate and post on Moodle your background in this area and your attitude or beliefs about this type of news media, (quality, merits, motivations, etc.). You also will detail your expectations about how it works (processes in production), what the professional(s) think about their role in news media (their attitudes toward their work, view of professionalism, why they’re in it), and the function(s) it serves for democracy. When you report orally in class, we will look at these expectations You will complete the shadowing, taking notes and recording activities and impressions while there. Then you will write a reaction to your initial articulation and expectation, both posting and giving me a hard copy. The FACS suggestion sheet is useful in guiding your time there and should be part of your learning.
Very important: FACS has made the initial contacts for us. Pick from this list or arrange your own option, which I approve. These shadow sites are the potential sponsors of internships, places that hire our graduates, and in other ways have relationships with Beloit College. You are to comport yourself in your most professional manner throughout, in making contact and arranging for the visit, while there, and in follow up with a personalized thank you note. Follow the conditions that FACS has arranged. You are a representative of the institution. It is possible to use the FACS car if you need transportation, but you must arrange for this well in advance.
“A Production,” with analysis 20%
Your purpose is to teach your peers about a topic of interest to you that relates to the course. You may do the presentation in teams of up to four, or by yourself. Each student must write an analytic paper that includes both content and process, and considers the transferable intellectual and applied skills you gained from this exercise. You should use video clips, digitized images, or radio segments, and/or excerpts from newspapers or magazines (adequately displayed) that illustrate your points. The quality of your “production” will be considered in your grade, but it is more important to try new techniques that to have absolutely polished results. Should be a maximum of 15 minutes for four-student teams, 12 for three-student teams, 9 minutes for two-student teams, and 7 minutes if alone (timed, like TV and radio shows). The length and nature of your paper will be determined by your production. If your presentation/production was extensively produced and mediated, (video, quick clips, a series of images with captions, a news magazine article with photos or boxed text), the paper can be shorter, reiterating and extending analytic points, and highlighting key ideas and sources, focusing on the process of creating the product and why you selected items you did from those that would have been ideal given unlimited production resources. In one team document, students may write about their portion of the product(ion). If the presentation was mostly a talking head, the paper should be longer, more along the lines of a standard research paper in addition to your analysis of your transferable skills learning. The paper should include and extend the analysis of your presentation; it should not be a written version of your oral remarks. All papers should have a reference page that includes sources from scholarly journals and primary sources. See Denzil Showers in AV to learn about digital editing.
Take-home Final Exam 10%
Due Friday, December 16th at noon, hard copy at my office door and posted to Moodle. Will receive one week prior.
POLICIES
If you have a learning disability or need accommodations, I’m happy to work with you. Please visit the LSSC (Learning Support Services Center) located on the first floor of 635 College St. You will need to provide appropriate documentation of your disability to Diane Arnzen, Director of the LSSC. If you wish to receive accommodations in my class please provide me the LSSC Accommodation Verification Letter dated for this semester as soon as possible so your learning needs may be appropriately met.
I am happy to accommodate religious observance. Please speak with me in advance if an assignment conflicts with your religious observance.
Missing more than two courses for any reason can adversely affect your grade. Discuss all absences with me.
DAILY SCHEDULE AND COURSE ASSIGNMENTS
| Aug 30 |
Intros, get started |
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Sign onto Moodle for POLS 216 with the password US POLS |
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| September |
| 1 |
FACS on jobs shadows, in MI 208 |
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1:45 meet Chris Nelson, Library |
| 6 |
Media and Power |
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Graber 1; Overholser & Jamieson Intros (all) |
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Media Watch sources due |
| 8 |
Managing Media Space |
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Bennett, preface, 1; Overholser & Jamieson Sec. 1; Price and Thompson Intro |
| 13 |
Ownership and Its Potential |
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Graber 2; Bennett 3; Price and Thompson 1 |
| 15 |
Pondering Freedom |
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Graber 3, Overholser & Jamieson 3; Price and Thompson Section 2 |
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YOLAC Faculty Panel, “International Language.” 7 p.m. Richardson |
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| 18th by 10 p.m., post synopsis for book pair. Post critique paragraph by 19th 10 p.m. |
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| 20 |
Book Pair |
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Robert McChesney, The Problem of the Media. Monthly Review Press, 2004. |
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Ben H. Bagdikiam, The New Media Monopoly. Boston: Beacon Press, 2005. |
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| By 10 p.m., September 20th, post country info. Read others’ postings for Thursday. |
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| 22 |
Country presentations |
| 27 |
Making News,: Routines and Content |
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Graber 4; Bennet 5,6 |
| 29 |
TV News: Beginnings and routines |
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Barkin Preface-6 |
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| October |
| 4 |
TV News: Now |
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Barkin 7-12; Graber 5, 6 |
| 6 |
News and Democracy |
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Overholser & Jamieson 7 (all) |
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Guest expert: Peggy Robinson, Senior Producer, PBS The NewsHour
Prepare and post a question for Ms. Robinsion based upon readins thus far.
YOLAC presentation by Peggy Robinson, “Why Public Broadcast News Coverage Matters for Democracy,” 7 p.m., Moore Lounge, Pearsons |
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| 9th by 10 p.m., post synopsis for book pair. Post critique paragraph by 10th @ 10 p.m. |
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| 11 |
Book Pair |
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Mohammed El-Nawawy and Adel Iskandar, Al-Jazeera: The Story of the Network that is Rattling Governments and Redefining Modern Journalism. Westview Press, 2003. |
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Hugh Miles, Al Jazeera: How Arab TV News Challenges America. Grove Press, 2005. |
| 13 |
Media and “Making” Individuals |
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Graber 7; Bennett 7; Control Room, view |
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| BREAK |
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| 25 |
Paper due: Media as Political Actor |
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Guest Expert: John Nichols, Senior Editor, The Capital Times, author, “Tragedy & Farce: How American Media Spins Wars, Warps Elections, and Destroys Democracy” |
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YOLAC: John Nichols, 7 p.m., Richardson |
| 27 |
Web Media and Campaigns |
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Graber 7, videos |
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| November |
| 1 |
Campaigns 1952-2004 |
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West, Air Wars Preface-4 |
| 3 |
More on campaigns |
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West, Air Wars 5-10 |
| 8 |
Controlling News? |
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Overholser and Jamieson, Sec. 4, Graber 9, Bennett 4 |
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Post country news analysis by 8 a.m |
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In-class discussion and informal presentation |
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| 10 |
The forgotten: Courts, and state and local |
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Graber 10 |
| 15 |
Foreign Affairs and Media |
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Graber 11; reread Price and Thompson 1 |
| 22 |
Legalities of Information Intervention |
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Price and Thompson, Sec. 2 |
| 29 |
Public Diplomacy |
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Price and Thompson, Sec 3 |
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| 30th by 10 p.m., post synopsis for book pair. Post critique paragraph by Nov. 28, 10 p.m. |
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| December |
| 1 |
Book Pair |
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Media and the War on Terrorism, Marvin Kalb, editor. Washington DC: Brookings Institution Press, 2003 |
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Brigitte L. Nacos, Mass-Mediated Terrorism. Lanham: Roman & Littlefield Publishers, 2002. |
| 6 |
Production presentations |
| 8 |
Production presentations |
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Graber 12; Bennett 7; Overholser and Jamieson 25+ |
| 13 |
Close out |
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| Final exam due noon, Friday, Dec. 16th |
