Instructor: Bill White
Office: 192 College Ave, Rm 305; phone 932-7304/1722; messages 843-3593
Hours: Tu Th 3-5 p.m.
E-mail address: whitew@eden.rutgers.edu
WWW address: http://scils.rutgers.edu/~whitew
The philosophy that gives shape to the understanding of the process of political discourse in America is grounded in the notion of a "marketplace of ideas" in which free expression of ideas, even repugnant ones, is presumed to lead to a consensus of the majority and an expression of the will of the people.
There are very few, however, who would argue that American political discourse actually consists of a free and open exchange of ideas, and blame is placed in a variety of corners. Critics on the right accuse the mass media of possessing an inherent "liberal bias" while those on the left argue that the economic domination of mass media by large corporations systematically eliminates views incompatible with the interests of those corporations, the wealthy, and entrenched political interest groups. Other critical perspectives exist as well — but the point that may be taken from many of them is the centrality of the mass media to the practice of politics, and the importance of understanding how media and political institutions interact in order to understand how political discourse — the debates around social goals, priorities, and policies — is enacted.
The purpose of this course is to examine the influence of the mass media on political discourse, particularly in how media structures, media routines, and the professional practices of journalists and politicians interact to shape political and public decision-making. Additionally, we will examine the influence of political forces and structures upon mass media institutions and discuss the nature of the political audience and public opinion.
Finally, we will extend the discussion of mass media and political discourse by examining the topics of the media and political crisis (exemplified by the Persian Gulf War of 1991) and the matter of art and politics.
The primary method of evaluating students' learning will be a five-question take-home essay examination that will be discussed at length on the last day of class. The questions for this exam are appended to this syllabus.
Your grade will be determined by the number of points out of 100 that you are awarded for completing the various course requirements. The distribution of points among assignments is as follows:
|
Assignment |
Format |
Point Value |
| Class Notes and Summaries | 10 sets @ 5 pts. each |
50 |
| Take-Home Essay Exam | 5 questions @ 10 pts. each |
50 |
The distribution of grades by point totals is as follows:
| Total Points | Grade |
| 91-100 |
A |
| 87-90 | B+ |
|
81-86 |
B |
|
77-80 |
C+ |
|
71-76 |
C |
|
61-70 |
D |
|
0-60 |
F |
Each of the first 11 class meetings will concern a different topic — some topics will be of broader scope than others, however — and these topics will be addressed through a discussion of the readings, my lectures on what I hope is interesting material, and the presentation of videotapes and other mediated information which are germane to the issue at hand. In order to help you take in and organize this diverse assortment of sources, I am requiring you to prepare and submit 10 sets of what can be called "class notes and summaries."
Essentially, these are your written summaries of the readings, lectures, classroom discussion and other material covered in class for a particular topic. Note that I am only requiring to submit notes and summaries for 10 of our class meetings; you may choose which class for which you wish to forego submission of notes. Optionally, you may submit an eleventh set of notes; I will consider this to be "extra credit," if you like. The twelfth class meeting ("Conclusions") will not require notes and summaries.
There are a few requirements for the notes and summaries you do submit.
Other than that, you should feel free to use whatever format that suits you best. You may construct your notes and summaries as running observations on what you read, see, and hear, or as a topical outline of things which are presented by various sources, or as a short essay organizing your thoughts on a topic.
Generally, I am going to require that class notes and summaries be submitted within two class periods of the day the topic is discussed. You may wish to submit both sets of notes from the previous week on the following Tuesday, for example, or simply hand in your notes for the previous class the next time the class meets. I recommend that you keep a copy of your notes and summaries. I will attempt to return them within two class sessions from when you give them to me.
Fully half of your grade will be the outcome of your work on five essay questions which you will hand in no later than the last day of class. Your answers should be typed, double-spaced, and complete in and of themselves (that is, you should not answer any one question by referring to your answer to another question).
I have no specific length in mind — you should answer in sufficient detail for me to assess how carefully and thoughtfully you have considered the question. On the other hand, cogency and succinctness are virtues devoutly to be wished; I would estimate that each question can probably be reasonably well answered in three or four typed manuscript pages. Of course, if you play with the margins or the font size, as students are wont to do, it could conceivably require more pages.
The actual questions for the final exam are attached to this syllabus. You may turn in a copy of your responses whenever you feel that you can answer the questions. However, this does not relieve you of the responsibility to come to class session number 12, when we will discuss the final exam questions.
Many of you will feel some level of anxiety because of the weight assigned to the final exam. In order to help allay this Angst, I will allow you to submit a draft response to one question, which I will comment upon and return to you if I receive it no later than class session number 9.
My conception is that the classroom will serve as the locus for a number of activities — the presentation of lectures by myself and others, the viewing of relevant films and videos, and the discussion of class material as students articulate their questions about and their understandings of what we talk about.
It is important that you, as a student, view the time we spend in class not as a place where I put on a performance of some kind twice a week for you to ingest but rather as a chance for us to explore a topic of at least some mutual interest — specifically, the diverse domain encompassed in the intersection of the concepts "mass media" and "politics."
There is thus no formal mechanism for assessing participation in the classroom. I do, however, reserve the right to award or retract up to three "extra credit points" based on your participation in the discussion of the final exam on the last day of class.
Class 1 — Introduction: Mass Media
and Political Discourse
Models of Mass Communication & Theories of Discourse
Carey, J.W. (1993). The mass media and democracy: Between the modern
and the postmodern. Journal of International Affairs, 47(3), 1-21.
Van Mill, D. (1996). The possibility of rational outcomes from democratic
discourse and procedures. Journal of Politics, 58, 734-752.
World Wide Web Pages:
Class 2 — California 1934: In Media
Res
An Early Case Study of Media Politics
Goldfarb, L. (1993). We have a plan [videorecording].
Alexandria VA: PBS Video.
Mitchell, G. (September 1988). How Hollywood fixed an election.
American Film, 14, 26-31.
Mitchell, G. (1992). The campaign of the century: Upton Sinclair's race
for governor of California and the birth of media politics. New York: Random
House (optional).
World Wide Web Pages:
Class 3 — The Shape of Politics,
Part I
Political Campaigning
Kaid, L.L., Gobetz, R.H., & Garner, J. (1993). Television news and
presidential campaigns: The legitimization of televised political advertising,
1972-1978. Social Science Quarterly, 74, 274-285.
Pennebaker Associates and McEttinger Films (1993).
The War Room [videorecording]. Vidmark Entertainment.
Sandman, J.H. (1989). Winning the presidency: The vision and values
approach. Presidential Studies Quarterly, 19, 259-266.
World Wide Web Pages:
Class 4 — The Shape of Politics,
Part II
Political Discourse
Ball, M.A. (1996). The role of language, media, and spectacle in constituting
a presidency. Journal of Communication, 46, 176-182.
Brenders, D.A., & Fabj, V. (1993). Perceived control and the Clinton
presidency: Political discourse in an alienated age. American Behavioral
Scientist, 37, 211-224.
Lehrer, J. (1980). TV democracy [videorecording].
University Park PA: Pennsylvania State University.
Revisit Carey (1993) and Van Mill (1996).
Class 5 — Mass Media Structures
The Institutions of Mass Communication
Achbar, M. (1992). Manufacturing consent [videorecording].
New York: Zeitgeist Films.
Bagdikian, B.H. (1992). The media monopoly. Boston: Beacon
Press, pp. 1-26.
Streeter, T. (1994). Selling the air: Property and the politics of U.S.
commercial broadcasting. Media, Culture & Society,16, 91-116.
World Wide Web Pages:
Class 6 — Media Technologies: "Traditional"
Media
Television, Radio, and Print News and Advertising
Barnouw, E. (1992). Barnouw looks at television
and the elections [videorecording]. New York: Paper Tiger Television.
Behr, R.L. & Iyengar, S. (1985).
Television news, real-world cues, and changes in the public agenda. Public
Opinion Quarterly, 49, 38-57.
Brians, C.L., & Wattenberg, M.P. (1996). Campaign issue knowledge
and salience: Comparing reception from TV commercials, TV news, and newspapers.
American Journal of Political Science, 40, 172-193.
London International Advertising Awards (1992). Political
advertising of the 1980s [videorecording].
World Wide Web Pages:
Class 7 — Media Technologies: The
New Media
Electronic Communication & "Teledemocracy"
Diamond, E., McKay, M., & Silverman, R. (1993). Pop goes politics:
New media, interactive formats, and the 1992 presidential campaign. American
Behavioral Scientist, 37, 257-261.
Dutton, W.H. (1996). Network rules of order: Regulating speech in public
electronic fora. Media, Culture & Society, 18, 269-290.
World Wide Web Pages:
Class 8 — The Journalist: Actor
or Instrument?
The Role of the Reporter
Berkowitz, D. (1991). Assessing forces in the selection of local television
news. Journal of Broadcasting and Electronic Media, 35, 245-251.
Bernstein, C. (1987). All the president's men [videorecording].
Burbank CA: Warner Home Video.
Leff, D.R., Protess, D.L., & Brooks, S.C (1986). Crusading journalism:
changing public attitudes and policy-making agendas. Public Opinion
Quarterly, 50, 300-315.
Wicks, R.H. & Kern, M. (1993). Cautious optimism: A new proactive role
for local television news departments in local election coverage? American
Behaviorial Scientist, 37(2), 262-271.
World Wide Web Pages
Class 9 — Public Opinion
Polling and the Public
Meyer, P. (1990). Polling as political science and polling as journalism.
Public Opinion Quarterly, 54, 451-459.
Mondak, J.J. (1994). Question wording and mass policy preferences: The
comparative impact of substantive information and peripheral cues. Political
Communication, 11, 165-183.
Shah, D.V., Domke, D., & Wackman, D.B. (1996). "To thine own self
be true": Values, framing, and voter decision-making strategies. Communication
Research, 23, 509-560.
World Wide Web Pages:
Last chance to hand in optional draft response to one exam question for my comments
Class 10 — The Media and Political
Crisis
Wars, Controversies, and Other Crises
American School Publishers (1992). The road
to war in the Persian Gulf [videorecording]. New York: American School
Publishers.
Bennett, W.L. & Manheim, J.B. (1993).
Taking the public by storm: Information, cuing, and the democratic process
in the Gulf conflict. Political Communication, 10, 331-351.
Patiris, P. (1992). The Iraq campaign 1991:
A television history in color [videorecording]. San Francisco: Phil
Patiris Modern Television.
Peer, L. & Chestnut, B. (1995). Deciphering media independence:
The Gulf War debate in television and newspaper news. Political Communication,
12, 81-95.
Wilz, J.E. (1995). The making of Mr. Bush's war: A failure to learn from
history? Presidential Studies Quarterly, 25, 533-554.
World Wide Web Pages:
Class 11 — Art and Politics
Political Art and Politics in Art
Beck, F. (1991). Dangerous songs: Censors,
rock, and the first amendment [videorecording]. New York: American
School Publishers.
Bernard-Donals, M. (1994). Jazz, rock 'n' roll, rap and politics.
Journal of Popular Culture, 28, 127-138.
Hodge, G. (1991). Zygosis montage [videorecording].
New York: First Run/Icarus Films.
Class 12 — Conclusions
Bringing It Together, Wrapping It Up, and Closing It Down
Take-Home Essay Final Examination
Due In Class
Be Prepared to Discuss Your Answers
1. Provide an explanation or model of the political process that describes the roles, functions, and interactions of mass media institutions and actors, political operatives and agents, and the public.
2. Any medium may be conceived as possessing both technical and institutional (or organizational) characteristics. Using one or more media as examples, compare these characteristics and assess their relative influence on the political process, whose nature you should also consider.
3. The mass media are afforded certain privileges by the democratic state in order that they should serve particular roles or functions in the action of democracy. What are these privileges, what functions do they support, and how well do media institutions carry them out, in your considered opinion?
4. The media may be conceived as either a social force or a social conduit — that is, as an active agent exerting its own influence upon the social realm or a passive one transmitting the force of other actors. Similarly, the action of the mass media may be conceived as either tending to bring about social change or attempting to maintain social stability. In your opinion, which of the four possible pairs of states (force for change, force for stability, conduit of change, conduit of stability) best characterizes the mass media? Support your answer with specific evidence and examples.
5. What one aspect of the mass media do you consider to be most problematic? What criteria did you use in making this judgment? What remedies might be implemented to correct this dysfunction? What obstacles exist to such implementation?