• 1. The United States in a Turbulent World
• 2. The Expansion of U.S. Power
• 3. Dynamics of Decision Making
• 4. Presidential Power
• 5. Congress Beyond the "Water's Edge"
• 6. The Foreign-Policy Bureaucracy
• 7. Public Opinion at Home and Abroad
• 8. The Impact of Mass Communications
• 9. Social Movements and Interest Groups
• 10. National Security and Defense Policy
• 11. Economic Statecraft
• 12. Transnational Policy Problems

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Chapter 8: The Impact of Mass Communications

Exercises

Comparing and Analyzing News Coverage

1. Access the world news pages at both CNN ( www.cnn.com/WORLD/ ) and the BBC ( http://news.bbc.co.uk ).

2. What are the top news stories for each of these media outlets? What pictures and captions do they use? Do they cover and report the same stories? How are the main articles written or broadcasted? Specifically, what is the tone and how is the message conveyed?

3. When did the events that are covered happen? What is gained from either quick or slow coverage of the issues you looked at?

4. What influence do you think these stories would have on public attitudes toward the president, other countries, and international institutions? Would it matter which news source the reader accessed? Why or why not?

Investigating “Soft News”

1. Choose one of the following television programs: the Daily Show, the Oprah Winfrey Show, or Rush Limbaugh. Access the show online and choose an episode which deals with an aspect of foreign policy.

2. Summarize the show. What is the issue being discussed? How is it covered? What techniques are used to convey the issue (humor, satire, personal reflections, etc…)?

3. Using CNN, MSNBC, PBS, or another “hard news” source, compare the coverage of the issue. What differences emerge? What similarities exist? Which programming do you think has more of an effect on the target audience?

 

 

Managing the News Media

1. Access the White House Press Office at www.whitehouse.gov/news/briefings/ . Choose a few press briefings to read that deal with foreign policy issues.

2. Is this briefing a response to an inquiry by the press, a new policy, or a reaction to an existing policy? What questions are asked by reporters? Are the questions being answered?

3. What types of rhetoric are used during the briefing? Are the messages being framed and if so, by whom?

4. Do you envision the press briefing being covered by the news media? Why or why not? What would the story look like? Who might be interviewed? What news outlets might pick up the story?