Grading:

·        Co-leading 1-2 class discussions, depending on the size of the class, as well as intelligent and regular class participation. Here, you are asked to lead a discussion of approximately 1 hour of the assigned reading for the evenings of Mar. 7-21. 25%

·        Assignment 1, review essay and oral discussion: due on day of your assigned presentation  Mar. 7-21st (20%)

·        Assignment 2, Zaller Assignment due Apr. 25 (20%)

·        Final Comprehensive Essay Take Home exam due in my box in the Dept. office on May 22 by 5pm.(35%)

Written Assignment 1

Write a 5-7 page bibliography essay providing an assessment and update of Erikson and Tedin's discussion on one of the "macro" public opinion issues: health care, terrorism abortion, taxes, civil rights, Iraq, defense or sexual equality. Or, you may choose to focus  on a particular demographic characteristic of opinion such as race, age, gender, religion class or region. Be prepared to make a presentation of your finding in the class in which we are discussing these issues. I'll discuss bibliographic sources for this essay in class.

 Written Assignment 2:

Evaluation of John Zaller’s, “A Theory of Media Politics”

The title of Zaller’s book, “A Theory of Media Politics: How the Interests of Politicians, Journalists, and Citizens Shape the News,” makes no mention of election coverage. In fact, Zaller (1-3) argues plainly that his theory is meant to be a general one that applies, with appropriate adaptations, to political news coverage in general:

This book aspires to be more than a study of the role of media politics in presidential elections; it aims to be a study of media politics in a context in which the dynamics of media politics happen to be relatively easy to observe and study. As I shall argue, there are good reasons to believe that the forces that animate media politics are essentially similar in both electoral and non-electoral contexts. 

Treat this assignment as you would a take-home exam with a single question. The assignment is to apply Zaller’s theory to another political arena, besides electoral politics, to determine how well it explains news coverage of say, the Middle East crisis, the war against terrorism, the budget battles in Congress, news coverage of the White House, or some other area or news story of your choosing. Based on your reading of 3 or so newspaper articles on a given story, as well as common sense, evaluate which assumptions, behavioral rules, and deductions appear to apply, which do not, and why or why not?  Also suggest how the theory might be adapted to fit as a better explanation of the news area you have chosen. Should the assumptions, behavioral rules, or (selected) deductions of Zaller’s theory be modified to fit your news area? Are there additional “actors” and their goals that may need to be considered?  Will the modified theory still be parsimonious or is it likely to be so complex that its utility would be compromised? In the final analysis, do you prefer Zaller’s analysis or something more akin to Thomas Patterson?

Your essay will be graded by three criteria: 1) your understanding of Zaller’s theory, 2) your analysis, application and critique of his theory to a different news area, and 3) the clarity and organization of your arguments, as evidenced by use of proper grammar, proof-reading, and so on.

The assignment is due at the beginning of class, April 25th, and should be about 3-4 double-spaced typed pages with standard one-inch margins.