Politics and Media

Catalog description

The purpose of this course is to explore the role of communication in modern American politics. The accelerated changes in the ways we receive our news and form our opinions has compelled political leaders, campaigns, and candidates to adjust their methods of persuasion and communicating with the public. Newsmakers and journalists alike have had to rethink their craft and how they approach the relationship with their audiences. The evolution in electronic communication has affected how, where, and when we consume information or news and the tools and tactics used for the purpose of informing or persuading. It has had repercussions for politics, policy, and public discourse. Throughout the semester we will discuss those repercussions and explore the impact of modern communication and the mass media (legacy or traditional media and new/digital media) on U.S. politics. We will examine the role strategic communication plays in campaigns and government, including the interplay of news events, the mass media, the power of imagery, information processing, and political strategy. We will also explore one of the most powerful persuasion and communication tools in politics and media: imagery. Imagery has played an outsized and consequential role in contemporary American politics. From television or digital coverage of campaigns and elections to visual memes and images of leaders circulated on social media, visual portrayals leave impressions that shape perceptions and opinions. Strategic use of images or imagery as a consequence of news events can frame our perceptions of issues, candidates, and causes that will impact voting behavior. The impressions created from images, information, and news we consume and the vast and diverse platforms by which that information is consumed, influences public sentiment/opinion and moves the public (voters) to action. The public’s sentiment…