Impact of Media on Public Policy Debate & Gun Legislation Policy Assignment
There are more media choices available today to ordinary citizensthan ever before. In fact, in the United States and in many othernations, citizens are dramatically decreasing the amount of time spentconsuming news through traditional media, such as nightly newsbroadcasts and daily newspapers. Instead, citizens are dramaticallyincreasing the amount of time spent on a vast array of alternative newsresources. Therefore, media outletswhether on television, in print, oron the Internetneed to digest often-complex policy issues into smallsnippets that can be understood and communicated in a short amount oftime.
But just how do the media focus upon a relativelylimited number of policy issues for their daily reporting? How do themedia prioritize what stories and issues are printed and broadcast?After reading the assigned chapters in McCombs’s book, you willrecognize just how the reporting cycle occurs at major news outletsacross the country. Although the diversity of media outlets is stunning,it is remarkable that there are also important similarities in how newsoutlets choose what to report. They often choose sensational items thatpeople can easily understand, such as issues of crime and violence, adeteriorating economy, or threats to the natural environment. Issuessuch as taxation also get substantial and consistent coverage becausethey affect the pocketbooks of individual Americans.
As you review this week’s Learning Resources, pay closeattention to the role of the media in public policymaking. Consider howthe media acts as an outlet for the promulgation or blocking of publicpolicy agenda items.
The Assignment 1-1.5 pages:
1. Select a public policy you are most interested in. (Gun legislation)
2. Select one media outlet that has promulgated or attempted to block thedebate on the public policy issue you chose.
Resources Provided:
https://www.annenbergpublicpolicycenter.org/
https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs 1st Amendment
https://www.mediamatters.org/
https://www.ted.com/#/
Laureate Education (Producer). (2014). The media and public policy [Video file]. Baltimore, MD: Author.
Kelly, D. M. (2011). The public policy pedagogy of corporate and alternative news media. Studies in Philosophy and Education, 30(2), 185198.
Chakravartty, P. (2011). Making our media: Global initiatives toward a democratic public sphere. Vol. Two: National and global movements for democratic communication. Canadian Journal of Communication, 36(1), 189192.
Barnes, M. D., Hanson, C. L., Novilla, L. M. B., Meacham A. T., McIntyre E., & Erickson, B. C. (2008). Analysis of media agenda setting during and after Hurricane Katrina: Implications for emergency preparedness, disaster response, and disaster policy. American Journal of Public Health, 98(4), 604610.
You Need access to this book:
McCombs, M. (2014). Setting the agenda: The mass media and public opinion (2nd ed.). Malden, MA: Polity Press.
Chapter 1, “Influencing Public Opinion” (pp. 123)
Chapter 2, “Reality and the News” (pp. 2438)
Chapter 3, “The Pictures in Our Heads” (pp. 3962)
Chapter 4, “Why Agenda-Setting Occurs” (pp.6378)
Chapter 5, “How Agenda-Setting Works” (pp. 7995)
Chapter 6, “Consequences of Agenda-Setting” (pp. 96110)
Chapter 7, “Shaping the Media Agenda” (pp. 111133)
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