Suchergebnisse

Presidents and the media in a representative democracy -- The president as a news hook : the first "W" -- Covering the White House -- The White House P.R. machine -- Delivering the president's message -- Presidential media events -- Old basics, new technologies -- The president and popular media -- Ongoing media relationships and how to deal with them

Politics and democracy as conversation -- Say what? characteristics of a good conversation -- Conversational strategies -- The value of conversation in a democracy -- Rising above shared ignorance : the informational requirements of a good conversation -- The social setting of contemporary conversation -- The language of political conversation -- The new technology of conversation -- Institutionalized conversation -- Beyond talking.

"From the beginning of the Republic, members of Congress have been in the media spotlight. In recent years, the expansion of media venues has provided both challenges and opportunities to Representatives and Senators, the public, and even the media itself. Legacy media such as newspapers and broadcast television each carry with them their own needs and accepted usages affecting the kind and volume of news about Congress delivered to the public. These sources still serve important roles for much of the public and are covered here. This book goes beyond the traditional legacy media to include Congress' portrayal on live television, in political cartoons, in film, as a part of the emerging "infotainment" venues, and through social media such as web pages, Facebook, and Twitter. We increasingly live in a world where the lines between traditional news and others sources of information have been erased. This is an exciting, if challenging, time, for Congress, the media, and the public as each attempts to sort out the new media environment and employ it to its advantage. Using a comprehensive analysis of previous research, dozens of interviews, and the inclusion of empirical data, this book assesses the current status of the relationship between Congress and the media and sorts out the temporary changes from those likely to represent future trends. Whether one is associated with Congress, is an interested citizen, or is part of the media industry, understanding the relationships and developments between and among them is key to understanding how the public behaves in relation to Congress, and vice versa."--Provided by publisher

Democratic theory mandates that candidates be judged on the basis of policy initiatives and professional capabilities. In reality, gaffes on the campaign trail too often replace substance as the criteria used to assess qualifications, especially in an era when a smart phone video clip can go viral in a matter of minutes. At times gaffes do represent character flaws or reveal significant personal shortcomings. As many a modern presidential candidate has discovered, an innocent slip of the tongue can quickly become a fatal mistake

.cs2654AE3A{text-align:left;text-indent:0pt;margin:0pt 0pt 0pt 0pt}.cs566403DE{color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-family:Times New Roman; font-size:12pt; font-weight:normal; font-style:normal; }In 1982, Ronald Reagan invited Lenny Skutnick-the government employee who dove into the icy waters of the Potomac River to rescue passengers following the crash of Air Florida Flight 90-to sit with First Lady Nancy Reagan in the House of Representatives balcony during the State of the Union address. Since that time, presidents have found it useful during major addresses to recognize ordinar

The courses outlined below are designed to analyze various aspects of the American political process utilizing the capabilities of C-SPAN, the cable coverage of the U.S. Congress. Before exclaiming "Gee, goody, we get to watch T.V.," a few words of explanation are necessary. Until recently, most students of public policy and particularly the Congress were limited to studying it from afar. Woodrow Wilson wrote his classic book Congressional Government (1888) without ever coming to Washington D.C. Many contemporary scholars and journalists interview the participants in the political process and rely on written records, but most cannot base their research on viewing Congress in action. The serious student has had to rely on selective and limited news coverage or wait for a number of years while a select group of events percolated through the academic publishing process to become part of "the literature". Students often come away from political science courses with the impression that the discipline is solely retrospective and lack a feeling for how the tools of political science can be applied to the here and now.

This annotated syllabus outlines a procedure for integrating televised coverage of the U.S. Congress into a regular course on the U.S. Congress or the legislative process. The first section is a facsimile of the syllabus students would receive. A number of suggested assignments are included from which the faculty or students would have to choose. The appendices describe the written assignments in detail. The course begins with the premise that introducing television coverage of Congress can augment traditional methods making the educational experience better, but it is not a replacement for the faculty member of a panacea for a poorly designed or implemented course.

Integrating C-SPAN coverage into a traditional course provides some unique opportunities and burdens. On the opportunity side, the ability to see the subject matter relatively directly sparks interest, verifies class material and allows for some creative activities not possible using traditional resources. On the more negative side, the approaches outlined in this paper do not necessarily make teaching easier. Since faculty seldom have the opportunity to become C-SPAN "junkies" watching all the coverage, students will bring questions and examples to class which challenge the instructor more than the material stimulated by contact with traditional written sources. In evaluating many of the exercises, the instructor will have to rely on the student's interpretation and the quality of data selection and analysis. Grading will more often be based on how well the student makes his case, rather than the instructor knowing the contours of what the student should conclude ahead of time.