MEDIA AND PUBLIC POLICY
Journalism 107b
Spring 2018
Instructor: Eileen McNamara
Time: Tuesday and Friday, 9:30 a.m. to 10:50 a.m.
Place: 316 Brown
Office Hours: Tuesday and Friday 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m. and by appointment, 321 Brown
e-mail:
Telephone: 781-736-3049 (office), 781-929-1934 (cell)
COURSE DESCRIPTION:
This course examines the intersection of politics and the media, the ways in which each influences the other – for good and ill – and the consequences for democracy. Through analytic texts and contemporaneous news articles we will explore the relationship between public policy decisions and media coverage of the major issues of the day. We will consider how corporate ownership, the entertainment culture, and bias influence coverage of everything from presidential campaigns to foreign wars. We will examine, too, the conventions of journalism and politics that can impede or enhance efforts to report the truth.
REQUIREMENTS:
This is not a lecture course. Students are to read the assigned material prior to class in order to participate fully in discussions. The Washington Post is to be read daily; get a free subscription using you brandeis.edu-email-address. To help develop a daily news habit, there will be a weekly news quiz. Attendance is mandatory. Absences for illness or family emergency will be excused if I am notified by e-mail in advance. All computers are to be closed and electronic devices turned off before class. Two essays, the length of four typed, double-spaced pages, will be assigned. Each may be revised to improve your writing skills and your grade. (Revisions must be stapled to the original essay and submitted no later than one week after the original is returned.) To stimulate our discussions, students will respond by midnight each Sunday on our LATTE page to questions posted there about that week’s readings. An 8-to-10-page research paper analyzing news coverage of a public policy issue will cap the semester.
GRADING:
Essays are to be thoroughly researched, well argued and original. No paper should be submitted without having been proofread. All essays are to be submitted on paper and on time. E-mail submissions will not be accepted. Points will be deducted each day a paper is late. Students must follow the news; many of the issues we will be discussing will be playing out there. Because participation is critical to the success of our discussions, it is important that students treat one another civilly, neither dominating debate nor disparaging those with opinions contrary to their own. Those who are shy are encouraged to join the fray. Our goal is an open and free exchange of ideas. Each essay will count for 20 percent of your grade, as will class participation, including your weekly Latte posts. The final paper will count for 40 percent of your grade.
ACCOMODATIONS: If you are a student who needs academic accomodations because of a documented disability, please contact me and present your letter of accomodation as soon as possible. If you have questions about documenting a disability or requesting academic accommodations, you should contact Beth Rodgers-Kay in Academic Services (x6-3470 or .)Letters of accomodation should be presented at the start of the semester to ensure provision of accommodations. Accommodationscannot be granted retroactively.
REQUIRED READING: Books are available at the Brandeis Bookstore and from online booksellers. Be sure to purchase the correct edition. Links will be posted on Latte to additional articles so check our course site regularly.
News: The Politics of Illusion, 10th edition, by W. Lance Bennett
Media Politics: A Citizen’s Guide, 3rd edition, by Shanto Iyengar
IMPORTANT DUE DATES:
First Essay: February 27
Second Essay: March 23
Topic and List of Sources for Research Paper: March 27
Research Paper: April 27
CLASS SCHEDULE:
January 12: Introduction
An overview. Reading: “The Nature of News,” by Walter Lippmann and “The Year 2017 in Review,” by Dave Barry, both posted on Latte.
January 16-19: Journalism Under Fire, Democracy Under Threat
What is the relationship between media and politics? Do reporters influence policy? Do politicians shape news coverage? What happens when the public trusts neither group? Reading: Iyengar, Chapter 1; Bennett, Chapter 1.
January 23-26: The Foundation and the Limits of Press Freedom
The constitutional roots of a free press are found in the First Amendment. What did the framers intend? Are there limits to press freedom? How does the U.S. stack up against the rest of the world on free expression? Reading: Federalist Papers, No. 10 & No. 51; Freedom of Speech and Press: Exceptions to the First Amendment, by Kathleen Ann Ruane, on Latte.
January 30-February 2: Media Ownership & Regulation
Is consolidation of the news media in a few corporate hands a threat to democracy or has the Internet let a million voices bloom? Are Facebook, Twitter and Google media companies or neutral platforms? Should government regulate media ownership to prevent monopolies and/or to ensure a balanced public debate or would that violate the First Amendment? Reading: Bennett, Chapter 7; Iyengar, Chapter 2.
February 6-9: News & Public Opinion
Just how and how much does the news media shape public opinion? Do journalists have a duty to educate the public about policy issues? How do they get the attention of a distracted audience? Reading: Bennett, Chapter 3; Iyengar, Chapter 8; articles on Latte.
February 13-16: The Bias Question
If there is a “liberal bias” in the media why did the press corps underestimate Bernie Sanders’ presidential campaign? Why did lead contamination in the drinking water of Flint, Michigan go unreported for so long? We’ll look at the bias that matters most in the media. It is not what you think. Reading: Bennett, Chapters 2 and 6; articles on Latte.
February 19-23: Winter Break
February 27-March 2: Who Gets Heard
The relationship between policy makers and journalists is symbiotic – each needs the other to do their jobs. Which forces influence who gets heard in the public debate on the important issues of the day? Reading: Iyengar, Chapter 3; Bennett, Chapter 4; articles on Latte.
March 6-9: Who Does Not Get Heard
Reporters never miss a presidential tweet so how did they fail for so long to recognize that sexual harassment was the scourge of the workplace? Or that police shootings were taking the lives of unarmed black men? Reading: articles on Latte.
March 13-16: Exposing Reality: Reporters as Watchdogs
What happens when journalists look behind the story, below the surface? When they ask the questions and read the documents that call the official version of events into question? Reading: Bennett, Chapter 5; articles on Latte.
March 20-23: Manipulating the Media: Reporters as Lapdogs
How did the media fail so spectacularly in its fact-checking duties in the run-up to the War in Iraq? Reading: Iyengar, Chapter 4; articles on Latte.
March 27: Paper Topics
Bring your topic and a list of sources to class for us to discuss as a group.
March 30-April 2-6: Spring Break
April 10-13: Campaigning with the Media
Campaigns are about more than polls and the horse race, offering particular challenges for reporters trying to get past the spin and the gaffes to cover actual policy issues. Reading: Iyengar, Chapters 5 and 6 and 9; articles on Latte.
April 17-20: Governing with the Media
Governance is more than the scripted remarks delivered in the White House briefing room. How reporters get beyond the daily “talking points.” Reading: Iyengar, Chapter 7 and 10; articles on Latte.
April 24-25: The Future
There is a revolution underway in media, from book publishing to newspapers. What are we losing? What are we gaining? How can we improve the media landscape to enhance democracy? Reading: Bennett, Chapter 8; Iyengar, Chapter 11. Research paper due on April 27.