Class Discussion Blog Post #2 was due by 11 a.m. today. Post ASAP if you did not do it yet. Penalty is 25% off if submitted within 24 hours from now. Go to the board and write the topic of one article you blogged about. Well go around the room and discuss them. BENNETT CH. 3 DR. KRISTEN LANDREVILLE CITIZENS & THE NEWS The Mediator How many of you have direct, personal experience with Illegal Immigration? Middle-East Peace Process? Foreign Trade? How about Taxes? Jobs? Health Insurance? Point Many issues are not ever personally experienced. If Love is a Battlefield, Try News The Kingdom of Public Opinion News is a battleground forYOU! Thoughts: Political attention Group Influence: Formation of issue publics. Behavior: Shaping political behavior (e.g., voting). Soldiers in battle are Journalists Politicians Public relations and marketing reps Lobbyists for interest groups Celebrities Opinion Management Goal: Get their agenda and message out Step 1: Hire communication professionals Step 2: Keep their issue personal rather than distant Step 3: Take advantage of the 4 information biases Stage dramatic events (e.g., Glenn Beck / Al Sharpton rallies) Personalize the issue (e.g., Joe the Plumber) Inspire authority distrust (e.g., Obamas 2008 campaign message of not trusting Republican administration and Bush- associated allies) Assist in fragmentation of news by focusing on present, dramatic, and personal events Step 4: Hire polling firms to confirm their agenda But, What Public Opinion? Issues are complex Recent health care bill was more than 1,000 pages News focuses on horserace Political drama of issues Media strategy of power players Endorsements by power players Public does not always have opinions Do you have concrete opinion on all issues? Fear & Loathing of the Dont Knows Result: Push Polls Fear: News pushes respondents to have opinion Dont know can mean I dont care. Im in the middle, moderate, and can see both sides. I really dont know what I think. One word or phrase can change everything Loathing: Interest groups use their language in polls Welfare vs. poor (Smith, 1987) Welfare led to less generosity Welfare led to thoughts of waste and bureaucracy Read the Fine Print CITIZENS & THE NEWS BLOG POST #3 Blog Post #3 originally due on Mon. 9/13 by 11 a.m. Now due on Wed. 9/15 by 11 a.m. Instructions now posted to COJO 2480 tab on klandreville.wordpress.com Contrived Pursuit of Domination Public not utterly polarized and paralyzed Benefits elites to be polarized News reports issue polarization Push pulls conducted to trigger divisions Reality: Public-at-large is OK with their side losing Remember the purple! News, What News? I Was Watching American Idol. Media landscape reflects and reinforces social fragmentation and increasingly personalized lives. Its Like Getting the Attention of a 2-Year-Old Politicians, interest groups, etc., who want our attention create messages that are: 1.Simple 2.Emotional (fear and anger) 3.Mass 4.Repeated So that we: 5.Think theyre correct 6.Communicate (especially via interpersonal channels) Some Tricks of the Trade Examples of Political Campaigns Using These Tactics Marketing the Iraq War From a marketing point of view, you dont introduce new products in August, Andrew Card, White House chief of staff. Battle Plan, Start Date = Fall 2002: Simple Message: A link between Saddam, Iraq, and al Qaeda exists. Fearful Message: We cant risk letting Saddam off the hook. Mass Message: Make news every night. Repeated Message: Bush, Rice, Powell, Rumsfeld, Cheney Public Opinion Result: Saddam helped Osama bin Laden and has WMDs. What could have media done better in their pre-war reporting? Lets Revisit the Kingdom of Public Opinion Citizens are the insurgents battling a kingdom run amok. We feel disconnected from politics. There is little room for alternative agendas in mainstream news. Kingdom does not speak to us, especially young people. Hard to reach Unlikely to get involved Best left to state of inattentiveness Got My iPod In My Ears And My Cynicism On High More Data Less than 10% of year-olds view a nightly network news program Vs. 23% of men and 32% of women over age election debate vs. WWE Smackdown! Smackdown! Drew 4 times audience year-olds and comedy TV shows 7 times more likely to learn about elections from comedy than voters older than 50 So I Dont Vote Voter Turnout Rates Among Year Olds State2000 Pres Pres. % Change2002 Mid Mid. % Change Colorado37%50%13% Points29%31%2% Points Wyoming47%53%6% Points30%26%-4% Points Hawaii23%34%11% Points20%21%1% Point Minnesota51%71%20% Points45%43%-2% Points National40%49%9% Points22%25%3% Points So Just How Knowledgeable Are YOU? Political Knowledge Quiz Modified Delli Carpini & Keeter Political Knowledge Quiz Write answer on paper. 1.How many four-year terms can the president of the United States serve? Unlimited 2.Whose responsibility is it to determine if a law is constitutional or not? President Congress Supreme Court Political Knowledge Quiz 3.How much of a majority is required for the US Senate and House to override a presidential veto? One-half plus one vote Three-fifths Two-thirds Three-quarters 4.In general, thinking about political parties in Washington, would you say that Democrats are more conservative than Republicans, or Republicans are more conservative than Democrats? Democrats are more conservative Republicans are more conservative Political Knowledge Quiz 5.Do you happen to know which party currently has the most members in the House of Representatives in Washington? Republicans Democrats 6.Which of the following countries shares a border with Afghanistan? Russia Pakistan Iraq Kazakhstan 7.Which of the following agencies was founded in the wake of the terrorist attacks on 9/11? Office of Homeland Security Delta Force National Security Agency Department of Civilian Defense Political Knowledge Quiz 8.Would you say there is more, less, or about the same amount of crime in the US today as compared to 10 years ago? Less Same More 9.For every dollar spent by the federal government in Washington, what percent of each dollar do you think goes to foreign aid to help other countries? 10.What is the Democratic candidate for Wyomings governor race? 11.What is the Republican candidate for Wyomings governor race? Answers 1.How many four-year terms can the president of the United States serve? 2 2.Whose responsibility is it to determine if a law is constitutional or not? Supreme Court 3.How much of a majority is required for the US Senate and House to override a presidential veto? Two-thirds 4.In general, thinking about political parties in Washington, would you say that Democrats are more conservative than Republicans, or Republicans are more conservative than Democrats? Republicans more conservative Answers 5.Do you happen to know which party currently has the most members in the House of Representatives in Washington? Democrats 6.Which of the following countries shares a border with Afghanistan? Pakistan 7.Which of the following agencies was founded in the wake of the terrorist attacks on 9/11? Office for Homeland Security 8.Would you say there is more, less, or about the same amount of crime in the US today as compared to 10 years ago? Less Answers 9.For every dollar spent by the federal government in Washington, what percent each dollar do you think goes to foreign aid to help other countries? Less than 5% 10.What is the Democratic candidate for Wyomings governor race? Leslie Peterson 11.What is the Republican candidate for Wyomings governor race? Matt Mead Average Correct = 5 YES WE CAN! CHANGES IN YOUTH PARTICIPATION Changes in Youth Participation Some hope young people are changing 2004 Presidential Campaign Changes in Youth Participation 2008 Presidential Campaign What Is More Important? Compromise Or Stand Firm? Who Should Take a Lead Role In Making Politics More Civil? The Youth Vote 2000 & PROCESSING THE NEWS Not Just A Vegetable 2 Views of the Audience 1.Passive Audience: People are easily influenced, persuaded, and manipulated by media. When audience is unfamiliar with issue, they are more passive. 2.Active Audience: People develop interpretative strategies to help them actively construct meanings from the news. Personal issues mean an active audience is more likely. What can I do to help? People need to feel empowered. In what circumstances are you an active vs. passive audience member? I MY TV Yes, You Actually Learn Too! Yes, you actually learn! TV stimulates our brains in comprehensive ways. TV gives us words, sounds, sights, and text to learn from. Visuals generate more emotion, which leads to more attention and learning. Newspapers better for learning when: You regard issue as personally affecting you. You already closely follow the issue. You are motivated to dig into the issue. Results: less personal, less episodic, and more thematic understanding of issue. But In The End, We Are All Cognitive Misers News is complex, confusing, and confrontational! We take cognitive shortcuts : 1.Cueing 2.Bolstering 3.Weighing 4.Personal Organizing 1.Cueing: Using cues and labels from trusted and familiar reference groups. Democrat/Republican or Pro-life/Pro-choice 2.Bolstering: Selecting factoids provided by cues to support arguments Our arguments mirror reference groups. Example: Obama wants to extend Bush-era tax cuts But In The End, We Are All Cognitive Misers 3.Weighing: Using emotions in news to direct attention and learning. Negative campaigning: We hate it. We try to ignore it. But it works (sometimes). Why? We forget the source of negativity. If negativity is not addressed and countered, then we adopt those beliefs. Solution for the attacked: Wink and a shrug approach. 4.Personal Organizing: Filtering news by ones values, interests, experiences, and lifestyle choices Example: Relating and understanding news stories with a student lens. So Why Do We Watch News Anyways? News for Democratic Purposes: Learn about politics, form opinions, take political action News for Curiosity and Surveillance: Keep tabs on world We like new events and novel twists on old themes. Example: Freedom of choice related toabortion, drugs, doctors News for Entertainment and Escape: Drama, conflict, emotion, intriguing characters Art imitates life / ripped from the headlines Example: Iraq War & Battlestar Galactica Example: Law & Order on NBC News for Social and Psychological Adjustment Vicarious involvement Parasocial relationships For Next Time Blog Post #3: See instructions Due Wed. 9/15 by 11 a.m. Read Bennett, Ch. 4 on How Politicians Make the News