Essay

Times New Roman, 12 pt. font, minimum of 1000 words. The works cited are not included in the minimum word count. Any articles/web links given in the assignment prompt MUST be cited in your paper and works cited. Any additional research must be cited as well. The work citation must have all sources listed below. You will need to answer through the web links provided, and then do any extra research necessary to answer the questions below in the essay format. Make sure the answers are in order of the question.

Media and Politics

Sources:

https://www.macalester.edu/news/2017/04/how-news-has-changed/

https://www.thebalancecareers.com/how-politicians-use-media-to-win-elections-2315204

https://journalism.uoregon.edu/news/six-ways-media-influences-elections

https://reportgarden.com/2017/09/18/social-media-political-landscape/

1.) How has media changed over time?  Does the way information is delivered impact the message being delivered?  (think about the game of telephone we used to play as kids--does word of mouth, reading a newspaper, watching the evening news, reading an online news article or getting information on social media impact the message?)

2.) How do candidates/politicians use the media to get his or her messages across to us? 

 

3.) Reading "Whats at stake" in the text, what does this tell us about living in the information bubble?  How do you feel about this?

4.) We keep hearing about the media being an enemy to democracy.  Is the assault on the media new?  What has changed causing the media to be more "to blame" in politics?

  

5.) Because candidates and lawmakers have unlimited access to social media, has this changed the exchange of information between citizen and politician? Explain.

6.) What about the "fake news" claims?  How valid are these claims and how seriously should these claims be taken?  If there really is a rise in fake news, how should we, the voters in this country, respond?  How can you spot the fake news? How will you as a conscientious voter (or potential voter), delineate fact from fiction and spot the bias in most news organizations. 

7.) Finally, as a citizen, potential citizen, voter, potential voter, what are your overall thoughts about the media?  Do you trust the information being delivered is the truth? How will you decide who you will vote for, knowing how information is delivered and the potentiality of it being fake, biased, etc?