For Class on 11/6:The Media and Public Opinion

This week I would like to create a more open ended conversation around the interaction between public opinion and media. In our world of horse race focused media there is no doubt that public opinion is the source of our daily news coverage of the election. This is the case regardless of the fact that many are concerned about how well various polling agencies conduct their surveys and whether the polls are more important than, say, the issues (or the candidates) themselves. On the other hand polling is the best way for campaigns to know how they are doing and how to strategically move forward. Whether good or bad the polls often become THE story that the media focuses on during election time. For some great sites to use to follow polling you should check out realclearpolitics (click polls at the top), Gallup, and Pew (search through this site for an amazing amount of studies, trends and useful info). In terms of the election predictions (and predictions in general) by far the most nuanced and accessible evaluation of polling for projecting is done by Nate Silver from fivethirtyeight, now hosted by ESPN (for non-existant bonus points can anyone share why its called fivethirtyeight?). I read his blog daily during the election and think that the way that he and his colleagues evaluate all of the data is amazing and very useful. You can click here to see his Senate predictions based on his use of poll data.

Between elections, polling is used all the time but many argue that public opinion does not shape media coverage or political action, instead it is the other way around. Take a look at the video below, from 2000. Though it is a bit dated, the story is still absolutely applicable today.

 

Ultimately I would like you to discuss the relationship between public opinion and media today. Is it used well (if so please give some examples)? If not then why not? Is it helpful in understanding the election or would we be better off without polling or with less of it? More importantly how should public opinion polling be used by the media and by politicians? Any reactions to the sites/video above or other important uses/misuses of public opinion are welcome.

For Class on 10/30: Is the internet democratizing the political process?

We have explored how the media today is largely dominated by a few gigantic corporations and how news organizations have expanded in numbers, with varied and relatively low levels of trust (this recent Pew study is amazing and I strongly urge you to read through as much of it as possible). There are also many indicators that suggest that political news and media are still dominated largely by the political and business elites that have controlled and shaped political messaging for most of American political history. Politicians and political elites still appear to set the political agenda in many ways.

However there are many who are articulating a new vision about political discourse in America and across the globe. They argue that the tools of the internet are providing individuals and organizations new opportunities to get their messages out. Citizen journalism is changing the role that the public plays in political media, and movements from the revolutions in Egypt, Tunisia, and Syria (to name a few) to the Occupy movement here in the U.S. have shown the power that the people can have through the use of the  internet, mobile media, and social networking. In the case of Egypt, it even led the government to try to turn off the internet.

Are these examples of what political discourse will be in the emerging information political communication revolution or just exceptions to the rule that political communication will always be controlled by the small numbers of political elites? Is political power becoming more democratic as more and more citizens and organizations gain access and have the ability to cheaply and easily reach a global audience, or are they merely using new tools in an ever changing game of catch up, dominated by the political elites and drowned out by the noise of millions of voices online? What role will the media play in the democratic discourse and democratic politics of the future?

Feel free to respond to any of these questions and expand your discussion to events and politics outside of the United States. Please share important examples and add links if you think they are helpful. As much as possible please remember to respond to one another.

For Class on 10/23: The midterms and the media

We all know that the media plays a huge role in the lead up to Election Day. The media obviously played a very important role in the 2012 presidential race including many major political media events such as the debates, coverage of major campaign events and major gaffes like The leaked Mitt Romney 47%  video.

Turning our eyes to the role of media during the midterm elections taking place next month, I would like you to take 30-60 minutes exploring various aspects of media during this election. You can get a lay of the land by looking at the race ratings for all Senate, House, and Governors races and you can always see Nate Silver's predictions for the Senate majority and individual races here (from fivethirtyeight) .

Next I would like you to focus on TV ads. Take a look at this fascinating study, just released by the Wesleyan Media Project analyzing the amount of money spent on ads, who is spending it, (if we know), and how positive or negative various races are (spoiler alert: its a lot of cash!). Finally take a look at many of the ads that have been aired during this contentious (or downright nasty) campaign season.

Feel free to use any of the prompts below to start a wide ranging discussion about the midterms and media:

1. What are the most notable aspects of media use during this election cycle? What does that suggest about campaigning today or the changing role of media?
2. What media strategies should campaigns use to help win in the future?
3. Who is in the driver's seat, the media or the campaigns?

For Class on 10/21: Midterm Review Blog

This week you will have two blog opportunities. Please use this blog to review for the exam. This will be available up until the exam. Feel free to post general or specific questions or thoughts and then respond to each other. You do not need to write anything more than brief blog entries but I strongly encourage you to check into the blog regularly to look for questions and to help share ideas to review for the exam. The more entries that each of you adds the better for everyone. Make sure to review other entries so that you have correct concepts before the exam. Maximum of one blog credit per person this week but you should feel free to post regularly.

For Class on 10/16: Going Public

Political leaders have a love/hate relationship with the media. They love getting support and the ability to speak to their constituents and set the agenda, they hate being scrutinized, investigated, and antagonized in public. As a result many have used used technology to circumvent the media in order to talk directly to the people. This strategy is generally referred to as "Going Public." All politicians in the modern era do this to one degree or another and some do it much more effectively than others.

One modern version of going public occurs everyday on Twitter. Take a look at who is active on twitter and who is not. My guess is that most of the national politicians that you know are tweeting pretty regularly. You can also take a look at how politicians use good old facebook here along with going to individual politicians sites.

Finally take a look at how President Obama goes public all the time. You may or may not be aware of the fact that the President makes a weekly address each week (like a modern day fireside chat). Take a look at his latest one (and others if you want) here (click on video gallery under the briefing room tab on the upper left, then look for the most recent weekly address).  You can also look around at other ways that he tried to directly connect with the people by going over and around the media.

After looking through much of this use the following questions as a jumping off point for your discussion:

1. What do you think are particularly successful examples of going public which are being utilized today by congress? Other politicians? Political organizations? Obama?
2. What do you think of  the weekly address? Why might this be a good/bad strategy?
3. How might you advise politicians who are trying to use the strategy of going public?

For Class on 10/9: Regulating the Media

This week we start to take a look at the various ways in which the government, or particular politicians or organizations try to influence or shape the media. This discussion will start with regulations. Some people view government regulations, in general, as an infringement into our lives and the lives of private companies. Others see regulations as the government actively safeguarding the people and helping society.

When we think about media regulation in particular, some think that popular media (and potentially the news media) should be regulated in order to keep it decent, safe, and fair. Another side of the debate focuses on the freedom of the press, a founding principle of American democracy, and often argues that regulation of other forms of media amount to censorship and unnecessary government infringement. The primary agency in charge of regulating the media is the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and you can check out their website and all that they do here.

I am interested in a wide ranging conversation on the topic of government regulation of the media, directed both at news media and broader entertainment media. In order to get the conversation started I'll pose the basic questions below:

1. How would increasing or decreasing the regulations on news media help or hurt democracy or democratic discourse in America?
2. Should the government regulate popular entertainment media? If no, why not? If yes,  what standards should they use.

Please feel free to take this discussing in any direction and respond to your classmates.