Principles of democracy and the Constitution, all the way to civil liberties and equal protection

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PowerpointChapter6_TheMedia.pptx

THE NEWS MEDIA

Chapter 6

Roles of the Mass Media in Democracy

The central idea of democracy is that ordinary citizens should control what their government does.

The media can help citizens help themselves

Popular Sovereignty requires an knowledgeable and informed citizenry

Roles of the Media #1

Watchdog over government

Protected by the First Amendment

No prior restraint

High standards for proving libel/slander

Examples?

Roles of the Media #2

Clarify what electoral choices the public has

What political parties stand for

The qualities/positions of candidates

Problem deciding what is important versus what is interesting

Examples?

Roles of the Media #3

Present a full and enlightening set of ideas about public policy to the public

Pros and cons about policies that have already been in place

Alternative policy ideas

Examples?

Is the News Biased?

Professional bias

Journalists tend to be liberal but media tycoons (owners of the mass media) are conservative=> balance

“Biases” in Political News

Nationalism: Pro-America

Ethnocentric point of view in most news reports about foreign affairs

Dependence on U.S. government news sources

 most foreign news coverage supports U.S. foreign policy.

“Biases” in Political News p.2

Pro-Capitalism

Free market

Free trade

Anti-welfare type programs

Ex. Socialized medicine

Episodic, Fragmented, Incoherent coverage of political information

“Biases” in Political News p.3

Negativity and Scandal

Infotainment

The massive invasion of entertainment values in political reporting

Sensation and scandal replace stories about domestic policies, foreign policies, international issues, etc.

Affect of the Media on Public Opinions and Policy

Agenda-setting effects — the topics that get the most coverage in the media are the same ones that most people say are the most important problems

The media’s framing or interpretation of stories affects how people think about political problems.

In other words, not changing opinions as much as telling people what to think about and how to think about it

Affects of the Media

Fueling Cynicism

Attack journalism: serious consideration of the issues or of the behavior of institutions has lost out to regular coverage of personal misbehavior.

Negativity bias=Cynicism

Crash Course_Freedom of the Press

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PowerpointChapter5_IdeologyandPublicOpinion.pptx

Chapter 5

PUBLIC OPINION

Democracy and Public Opinion

Public opinion: the political attitudes expressed by ordinary citizens

Evaluating democracy: how closely does government policy correspond to the expressed wishes of its citizens?

Measuring Public Opinion

Importance of random sampling

Traditional and emerging problems in political polling

Wording “closed-ended” or “forced-choice” questions

decreased willingness of Americans to participate in surveys

increased use of “caller ID” to screen pollster calls

difficulty of surveying people who rely on cell phones

Poll video from the Daily Show

Learning Political Beliefs and Attitudes: Political Socialization

family

schools

popular culture

college education

major events

news media

marriage

retirement

Characteristics of American Political Culture

Individualism

Equality of opportunity: inequalities of wealth are acceptable to most Americans as long as individuals can compete fairly with one another

Rugged individualism: people are responsible for their own destiny and everyone has a chance to achieve the American dream if they just work hard enough

Characteristics of American Political Culture p.2

Private Property

Emphasis on private property and a trust in the efficiencies of the free market

Not pure free market ideal but more trust in private sector than government

Characteristics of American Political Culture p.3

Distrust of Government

If government is too powerful, it will interfere with private property, individual rights, and the effectiveness of the free market

Paradox: we expect the government to solve every problem and yet we don’t trust it

Conservatives v. Liberals

Economic Conservatives: favor private enterprise/free market and oppose government regulations on spending

Economic Liberals: favor government regulation of business and government spending for social programs

Conservatives v. Liberals p.2

Social (lifestyle) liberals: People who oppose government regulations on individual choices and, in turn, favor civil liberties, abortion rights, and alternative lifestyles.

Social Conservatives: favor traditional social values: tend to support strong law-and-order measures and oppose abortion and gay rights.

Crash Course_Political Ideology

PowerpointChapter7_Interest_Groups.pptx

Interest Groups

Chapter Seven

Interest Groups in a Democratic Society

Roles of interest groups

Interest groups are private organizations that try to shape public policy.

Interest groups try to influence the behavior of political decision makers

Interest Group Formation

Escalation in the number of interest groups

Interest groups formation tied to the existence of certain structural factors

When there are many interests

When the political culture supports the pursuit of private interests

Diversity of interests in the United States

Rules of the political game encourage the formation of interest groups.

The First Amendment guarantees citizens basic rights that are essential to the ability of citizens to form organizations.

Government is organized in such a way that decision makers are relatively accessible to interest groups.

Because of federalism, checks and balances, and the separation of powers, there is no dominant center of decision making.

Interest Group Formation and the Growth in Government

As government takes on more responsibilities, it has a greater impact on facets of economic, social, and personal life.

People, groups, and organizations are increasingly affected by the actions of government.

What Interests Are Represented

Interest groups may be classified by the type of interest they represent.

Public interests are interests that are connected in one way or another to the general welfare of the community.

Private interests are associated with benefits for some fraction of the community.

Private Interest Groups

Producer groups

Professional groups

Unions

Public Interest Groups

They try to get government to do things that will benefit the general public rather than the direct material interests of their own members.

What Interest Groups Do

Interest groups are composed of people with common goals or interests who try to convey the views of some sector of society and to influence government on their behalf.

The two basic types of interest group activity are the inside game and the outside game.

The Inside Game

The inside game involves direct contact of the interest group representative and government officials.

The politics of insiders, of the old-boy network, of one-on-one persuasion in which a skilled lobbyist tries to persuade a decision maker to accept the point of view of the interest group

Lobbying Congress

Lobbying the executive branch

Lobbying the courts (amicus curiae briefs)

The Outside Game

The outside game is an indirect form of influence that involves interest group efforts to mobilize public opinion, voters, and important contributors.

Mobilizing membership

Organizing the district

Shaping public opinion

Involvement in campaigns and elections

Success of an Interest Group Depends on:

Access

Information. If a group has demonstrated that they have that accurate and reliable information

Status of Group: ex. American Medical Association

Leaders: ex. Rainbow Coalition/Jesse Jackson

Number of Followers

Group unity

Success p.2

MONEY: not as important as the media would lead us to believe

Narrow goals: focus their resources in a more effective manner

Offensive vs. Defensive: Groups that seek to sustain the status quo tend to me more successful than groups seeking change or reform

Objectives of the Group

The Interest Group System and Democracy

Representational inequalities

Resource inequalities

Access inequality

Interest group liberalism

Iron triangles, or subgovernments

The special place of business corporations

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Exam3StudyGuide_Spring2024.pdf

PSCI 1201 Final Exam Study Guide Congress (Chp.11) Article I

--Enumerated powers Roles/Powers of the House/Senate

--Terms Prohibitions on Congress

Ex post facto laws Bills of attainder Suspending writ of habeas corpus

Committees: Purpose and Types -standing -joint -conference -select

markups, riders, pork, amendments filibuster and cloture vetoes leadership positions how a bill becomes a law bicameral reapportionment/redistricting gerrymandering Presidency (Chp.12) Article II electoral college formal powers cabinet informal presidential power power of the VP Judiciary (Chp. 14) Article III Original v. appellate jurisdiction judicial review (Marbury v. Madison) judicial restraint rule of four ripeness incorporation majority, concurring, dissenting opinions writ of certiorari amicus curiae briefs Chapter 15: Civil Liberties Bill of Rights Property Rights=19th Century Incorporation (selective v. total) Barron v. Baltimore Ordinary v. Intermediate v. Strict Scrutiny Free Speech Free Press Establishment Clause/Lemon Test

Chapter 16: Civil Rights Ordinary v. intermediate v. strict scrutiny Dred Scot v. Sanford Harris v. Forklift Chapter 17: Economic Policy Redistributive Policy Regulatory Policy Fiscal Policy Monetary Policy Federal Reserve Board Council of Economic Advisors FINAL EXAM ESSAY QUESTION Minimum of 1000 words. Worth 50 points.

First, write about some of the most important things you have learned in this course, from the principles of democracy and the Constitution, all the way to civil liberties and equal protection. (800 words minimum)

Secondly, are you hopeful for the future of the United States? Or are you discouraged? Explain your thoughts. (200 words minimum)

PowerpointChapter17_BudgetandEconomicPolicy.pptx
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PowerpointChapter3_Federalism.pptx
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PowerpointChapter1_Democacy.pptx
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ChapterFourteen_UnderstandingtheFederalCourtSystem.pptx
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PowerpointChapter9_PoliticalParties.pptx
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PowerpointChapter2_TheConstitution.pptx
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PowerpointChapter11_Congress.pptx
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Powerpoint_Chapter16_14thAmendmentEqualProtection.pptx
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PowerpointChapter15_CivilLiberties.pptx
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