PUBLIC OPINION AND MEDIA Response Papers (due at the beginning of class, April 4)


INSTRUCTIONS: Your response paper should be relatively short: 2-3 pages,
 double-spaced.  You do not have to fret over rules such as how to report
citations or what font size to use.  No folders, plastic covers, or other
enhancements are necessary.

ADVICE: Make sure you answer the question thoughtfully, in an organized way that
shows detailed familiarity with the readings.  If you summarize too much or
take up too much space with quotations, you are unlikely to have written a
good essay.  The emphasis should be on analysis and illustrating your
level of understanding (or your ability to identify clearly and
comprehensively what you do not understand) about the readings.

Answer one of the following questions, drawing heavily on the assigned
readings for the topic:

1) People often fear that public opinion can be manipulated by the
mass media.  Given what you've learned about the behavior of media
organizations, coupled with what you've learned about the behavior
of public opinion, do you believe that this fear is a valid one?
Or do you believe that people should not worry too much about
manipulation of the public?  Does Jesse Ventura's book excerpt
influence your thinking on this question in any way?

2) Sabato argues that the media engage in feeding frenzies in which they
tear like sharks into politicians.  Patterson, on the other hand, tells
of the extensive effort that goes into coordinating presidential travels --
which sounds like an extensive effort to ensure good media coverage for
the chief executive.  Judging from what you've read about the media in
the textbook, as well as the essays by those two authors, would you say
that coverage of the president is too harsh or too friendly?  Defend
your answer.

3) Lippmann gives a fairly negative portrayal of the American public
and how it interacts with government, as (indirectly) do Jacobs and
Shapiro.  The textbook, on the other hand, does recognize the limits
of the American public but ultimately concludes with a fairly positive
portrayal.  What is your judgment?  On balance, would you say that
American voters do a good job carrying out their duties as citizens
in a democracy, or would you say they do a poor job?