Politics and the Media midterm
Answer the following question. Work independently. You may consult your texts, your class notes, the news, and reference materials, but consult no other person in composing your answer. Document and attribute thoroughly, using APA style. The more complete, and the better documented, your answer, the better your score.
Bruce Bimber posits that the effects of changes in information are resulting in a change in political form, producing an increasing independence from traditional political and social structures.
Consider all of our readings and discussions to date — from Graber’s anthology, the Rove book, the news, and outside materials. Do they support or refute Bimber’s position? Assemble evidence for your position, and support it in an essay of not more than 5-6 pages in length, double-spaced, (not including bibliographic references). You should consider the current political campaign in your answer, including the presidential debate of Oct. 3.
Print, staple, and turn in your answer, in hard copy, by 3:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 4, to my office, 378 Treadaway. E-mail a copy of the answer to: bisrael@stmarytx.edu
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The point of constructing the matrix is to help you to review, digest, compare, and contrast the main readings and discussion that we covered in class, beginning with Bimber, so that you can answer the exam question as it’s posed, once your comparisons are complete. In other words, the matrix is your study guide, preparatory to answering the midterm question. The point of your matrix’ third column is to relate what the authors say, relative to the concept of hegemony. This may differ from Bimber’s focus, but you’ll want to think about both, and how/whether they relate to each other.
Therefore, startbegin your matrix by documenting the main points of our readings, beginning with Bimber, and tracing the other authors we read, in the same way, including the following chapters:
1. How Information Shapes Political Institutions, Bruce Bimber
3. Why Democracies Need an Unlovable Press, Michael Schudson
5. Losing the News: The Future of the News that Feeds Democracy, Alex S. Jones
13. News and the Visual Framing of Elections, Maria Elizabeth Grabe and Erik Page Bucy
14. Learning about the Candidates, Darrell M. West
15. The Miscast Institution, Thomas E. Patterson
16. New Media and the Revitalisation of Politics, Rachel Gibson
17. Electing the President 2008: The Insiders’ View, Nicolle Wallace and Anita Dunn
18. Open Season: How the News Media Cover Presidential Campaigns in the Age of Attack Journalism, Larry J. Sabato
and, the Rove book.
Once you’ve gone through these study steps and brought the material to a clear focus, THEN you can outline your answer to the exam.
