POLITICAL SCIENCE 475, 2008
Mark Peffley
REVIEW QUESTIONS FOR MIDTERM EXAM (40% of final grade)
10/15/2008
First question: would you prefer
to prepare for 20 review questions or an infinite number of possible exam
questions (i.e., no review questions)?
Ground Rules: The
exam will consist of approximately 30 multiple choice
questions and 1 to 2 short essay questions. The review questions below are
designed to focus your preparation on theories and concepts from which the exam
questions will be selected and formulated. If you are prepared to answer these
questions, you should do well on the exam. During the exam, you may not rely on
notes. Bring both a # 2 pencil for the multiple choice questions and a
ball-point pen and a blue book for the essay questions. Better essays will be
organized and efficiently written.
The exam will cover
class discussions (see Lecture Outlines for topics I – IV); chapters 1-3 in
Iyengar and McGrady’s Media Politics; chapters 1-4 in Jamieson and Cappella’s Echo Chamber; and Fenton’s book, Bad News.
1.
Compare two
theories of democracy--Classic Representative and Elitist theories—in terms of
the role that masses, representatives and especially journalists are expected
to play in a democracy. How does the role of journalists fit with the roles
played by the masses and elites in these theories? Thinking about the same
question from a slightly different angle: How do John Dewey and Walter Lippmann
differ in their recommendations for the role that journalists should assume in
a democracy?
2.
Describe
three major ideal roles for the news media in a democracy that we talked about
in class and the “journalist’s dilemma” that we talked about, drawing from
Robert Entman’s work?
3.
How does the
profit motive of the U.S. news media influence their ability to attain ideal
news coverage in a democracy?
4.
Describe 3
ways that corporate control influences news content that we talked about in
class, using examples.
5.
Compare the
U.S. and European news media in terms of regulation and public funding and how this
influences differences in news content in the U.S. and Europe. Also, what are some of the limitations of the
public-ownership model of television, according to evidence reviewed by Iyengar
and McGrady.
6.
Evaluate
this statement: “The news is inherently selective and slanted, or biased.” In what way is this statement true (or not)?
7.
How do
journalists define “fair and neutral” reporting and how does this influence the
content of the news?
8.
What are
some of the general problems with studying political bias in the news? Use examples.
9.
Evaluate the
major findings and merits of the following studies of political bias in the
news:
a.
Lichter and
Rothman, The Media Elite, 1986
b.
Vallone et al’s study of the hostile media phenomenon
c.
D'Alessio et al’s (2000) meta-analysis of content analysis studies
d.
Kahn and
Kenny study of senatorial endorsements
10.
How would
you summarize the empirical evidence on the question of whether the mainstream
news media is politically biased in the U.S.?
11.
Describe 3
important functions of the media in democratic societies, according to Iyengar
and McGrady (I&M).
12.
Describe the
causes and consequences of the transition from party politics to media politics
in the U.S., according to I&M.
13.
According to
Iyengar and McGrady, why has the quality of news
coverage fallen in the U.S.?
14.
According to
Iyengar and McGrady, why does local broadcast news
tends to focus on violent crime stories with Black or Hispanic suspects?
15.
What is news
indexing, according to Iyengar and McGrady, and how
well does it describe U.S. news coverage?
16.
In what
important ways has the news audience changed from the 1970s to the present,
according to I&M?
17.
In what
important ways do organizational processes and routines influence the news,
according to I&M?
18.
What
specific reasons does Fenton give for why US citizens don’t trust the news
media?
19.
In the
chapter, “How We Got There,” what are the reasons Fenton gives for the
reduction in foreign news coverage?
20.
In “The
Culture of Spin,” Fenton argues that the news media has failed badly in
counteracting spin. Why? What are some of the examples of the oversights and
omissions of the 9/11 Commission and Bush administration spin that the news
media failed to counteract?
21.
How does the
rest of the world see us, according to Fenton (cite examples), and what is the
paradox of massive choice in information sources in the US that Fenton talks
about?
22.
Evaluate
Fenton’s argument that, “[T]here’s no rule that intelligent news and profits
work in inverse ratio to each other.”
23.
In what ways
does the conservative media constitute a “conservative media establishment” and
how does it function as an “echo chamber,” according to Jamieson and Cappella?
Why did the authors decide to study these particular outlets and programs? What
are some of the limitations of their analysis, in your view?
24.
How did the
CME’s (conservative media establishment) coverage of the Kerry-Brown exchange
differ from that of the mainstream media, and what were the goals of the
coverage in the CME, according to Jamieson and Cappella?
25.
What are
some of the major beliefs of the conservative coalition and how do their
beliefs about liberals and the liberal media help to keep the coalition intact,
according to Jamieson and Cappella?
26.
How did the
CME cover the Trent Lott controversy and its aftermath and what were the goals
of this coverage, in Jamieson and Cappella’s view?