Television
and Politics
HUM/COMM 640
Spring 2007
Professor: Dr. Jeffrey Jones
Office: Hughes Hall 2124
Office Phone: 683-6267
E-mail: jpjones@odu.edu
Office Hours: M, 11-12; T & TH 1:00-2:30, and by appt.
Class:
W, 7:10-9:50 p.m., BAL 3060
Web Page: http://www.odu.edu/al/jpjones
Course Description
Television’s unique ability to
deliver rapid and immediate visual imagery into households is the source of the
medium’s power. But so is society’s
willingness to accept this mediated form of reality, especially in the realm of
politics. As such, society continues to
wrestle with the ways in which this powerful medium shapes the political
process—from the conduct of politics to citizen perceptions and attitudes
toward political life. This class employs
both a cultural and institutional perspective in attempting to come to terms
with television’s role in contemporary politics.
The first part of the course examines
television’s place within American political culture. We begin by assessing TV
as a central location for the public sphere, and then examine the news industry
as the traditional mediating force in public life. Next we study the impact of corporate control
of the media, while interrogating conservative claims that media are liberal. We
then examine the changing relationship of television to politics, from comedy
political talk shows to the potential impact of celebrity and consumer culture
on official politics.
The second part of the course focuses
on television’s place in the formal institutional political process. We begin by examining the role of television
in communicating information to voters during elections. If advertisements are a candidate’s most
popular means of communicating with the electorate, then what are the strengths
and weaknesses of the form? Next we
examine how television helps citizens understand and stay informed about the
three branches of government—the presidency, congress, and the judiciary. We examine how television has affected the
conduct of presidential communication, whether television is capable of
providing effective and/or meaningful coverage of congress, and how cameras impact
court proceedings.
The class concludes by examining the
role of television in American foreign policy, or the supposed CNN-effect. That is, we examine the theory that American
foreign policy is affected by the availability of television images of war,
famine, civil unrest, etc., and whether that imagery “creates” public support
for military or humanitarian actions.
Finally, we examine transborder television flows in the developing
world, namely the role of the Arab news station, Al-Jazeera, comparing it to
Western systems of news and its place in Middle Eastern politics.
Activities and Evaluation
1. Weekly
2. Take-Home Mid-Term Exam: The
mid-term will ask a critical question based on the readings from the first part
of the semester. More information to
follow. Due March 14. Worth 20%.
3. Original Research Paper: This
is a typical graduate level research paper based on your own original research
(20-22 pages). It should be more than a
literature review of existing knowledge on the subject (though that should
certainly be included as well), and should contain a sufficient amount of
scholarly citations to demonstrate that you are in conversation with other
thinkers in the field. Like a journal
article, you should seek to advance your own argument on a subject of your choosing. Worth 40%.
You are to submit the following as part of the
paper writing process. Failure to submit
individual components will affect the final grade:
Jan. 24: Topic approval (what is it you plan to
study?)
Feb. 14: Research
question and methodology (what is the specific question you will ask and
try to answer in your paper and how will you go about answering it?)
Feb. 28: Bibliography
of materials (what books, journal articles, newspapers and magazines will
you use in your paper?) [note: simply a list, not an annotated bibliography]
March 28: Paper Outline (a formal outline that denotes
each section of the paper and the arguments advanced in each)
April 18: Presentation
(a 10-minute summary your research question, your data, and findings)
April 25: Final
Paper (double-spaced, titled, pages numbered, works cited page in MLA,
Chicago, or APA).
4. Class Participation: As
a graduate student, it is expected that you will come to class having read the
material and prepared to discuss it. As
a once-a-week class, absences should be kept to a minimum. This grade also includes the quality of your
presentation of your original research on the last class day (5%). Worth 20%.
Class Policies
Attendance:
As a graduate class
that meets weekly, it is expected that absences will be kept to a minimum. Please do not exceed two absences for either
sickness or other personal matters.
E-mail account activation
As a participant in this
class, you are required to have an active ODU e-mail account. This is important for class communication, as
well as required for you to access Blackboard and to fill out the teaching
evaluations at the end of the semester.
Student Evaluations of Teaching
As a participant in this class, you are required to fill out a student
evaluation of teaching performance on-line at the end of the semester.
Paper Submission and Late Papers:
Papers will be deducted
one letter grade per calendar day.
Papers over 5 calendar days late
will not be accepted under any circumstances.
I do not accept papers via
E-mail.
Blackboard
Some of the readings are posted in .pdf files (readable with Adobe
Acrobat) in Blackboard. If your computer
does not have Adobe (most do), it can be downloaded for free at
http://www.adobe.com.
Students with Disabilities
Reasonable accommodations
are provided for students with disabilities.
Students should present me with the appropriate documentation from the
Office of Disability Services and contact me as soon as possible to discuss the
appropriate accommodations.
Grades:
The graduate grading
scale will be used: student earn either an A, A-, B+, B, B-, C+, C, C-, or
F. There is no D grade given at the
graduate level.
Required Texts:
Bennett, W. Lance.
2006. News: The Politics of Illusion, 7th ed.
Cohn, Marjorie and David Dow. 2002. Cameras
in the Courtroom: Television and the Pursuit of Justice.
Corner, John and Dick Pels (Eds.). 2003. Media
and the Restyling of Politics.
Dahlgren, Peter. 2002.
Television and the Public Sphere.
Farnsworth, Stephen J. and S. Robert Lichter. 2006. The Mediated Presidency: Television
News and Presidential Governance.
Green, Philip. 2005. Primetime Politics: The Truth
about Conservative Lies, Corporate Control, and Television Culture.
Jones, Jeffrey P.
2004. Entertaining Politics: New Political Television and Civic
Culture.
Richardson, Glenn.
2002. Pulp Politics: How
Political Advertising Tells the Stories of American Politics. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN: 0742501000
Blackboard
January 10:
Class Introduction: Television
and Political Mediation
January 17:
Television and the Public Sphere
January 24:
Television and the Public Sphere
January 31: Corporate Control and the Myth of the Liberal
Media
February 7: News and Politics
February 21: Discussion and Deliberation: Political Talk
Shows
March 7: ***Spring Break***
March 14: Political
Advertising and Elections
March 21: The President and Congress
March 28: Monitoring
the Judiciary
April 4:
Foreign Policy and War
Blackboard
Blackboard
Outside Viewing: The
Control Room (documentary)
April 18: Student
Presentations of Research Findings