Political reporting: Covering elections, governance and the ...

This course teaches students the fundamentals of covering the American political world, as well as larger concepts that can help generate deeper context and understanding. Many reporters at some time in their careers are tossed into covering local races for school boards, city councils or county offices. Others make careers out of covering large city governments or state and federal government. This course is designed to provide a broad overview of this beat, from the grassroots to the White House.

The animating idea of this syllabus is that political reporting should be informed by deeper knowledge. Theory and practice need not be at odds. Students can learn the ?nut-and-bolts? through deadline exercises and spot assignments; but they can also develop a deeper sense of research insights about the system and its structural contours.

The course is built on the belief that the purpose of journalism is to serve the community and the purpose of political journalism is to give citizens the information they need to participate in civic affairs. To those ends, political reporting here covers government and governance, campaigns and candidates, tactics and strategies and policy issues in the public arena. Political journalists should serve as watchdogs to assure honest governance and campaigns and seek to focus their coverage on issues of importance to society and not just daily ?spin.?

This syllabus can be downloaded as a PDF or as a fully editable Doc version.

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Course description
Emphasis is placed on deadline writing and critiquing of political and public policy news. Students are also encouraged to explore the use of social media to cover and explain campaigns and policy. Use of materials from Journalist?s Resource is also required to add depth to spot news coverage. The course encourages familiarity with the methods and insights of political and social science; the selection of readings includes many pieces of original research. Students should come away with the confidence to use such materials to inform their future reporting.

Learning objectives
The purpose of this course is to help students develop:

• Critical thinking skills about political issues and dynamics
• Strong instincts for finding good political stories
• Sharp writing skills and an attention to detail and nuance in reporting
• The ability to operate effectively in deadline situations
• A fluency with political and social science research methods and insights

Course syllabus
This syllabus is a general plan for the course and its development; any changes deemed necessary by the instructor will be announced during class. Often, breaking political news or developments can and should change the syllabus. Debates, candidate appearances or spot news developments during a semester provide a learning opportunity for students to be assigned to cover events and critique media performances.

Required texts

• Shanto Iyengar, Jennifer A, McGrady, Media Politics: A Citizen?s Guide. W.W.Norton, 2011.
• Doris Graber, Mass Media & American Politics. Congressional Quarterly Press, 8th edition, 2010.

Recommended books and articles

Required daily readings and news consumption

A few minutes of each class period will be devoted to the past week?s major political stories and how they were covered. Examples of good stories and bad stories in all media should be critiqued.

Guest speakers
Instructor should seek to bring to class or Skype with political reporters and editors as well as political communications professionals such as pollsters or press secretaries. Subjects of discussion can include what they believe to be good and bad political reporting as well as the nature of their relationships with the media.

Expectations
One paper is required: Write a report about social media that considers some of the following questions: (1) How are political campaigns using social media? (2) How are political journalists using social media to cover campaigns? (3) What might journalists do to improve their use of social media to cover politics? (4) How does all of this affect citizen participation in campaigns and democracy? The paper should be long enough to cover the subject adequately, but no more than 2,500 words. One good background piece to consider is ?Effects of the Internet on Politics: Research roundup,? at Journalist?s Resource. Other relevant readings can be found in the syllabus in week 7, class 2. The paper is due in class that session.

Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4 | Week 5 | Week 6 | Week 7
Week 8 | Week 9 | Week 10 | Week 11 | Week 12 | Week 13

Week 1: Overview on politics and the press

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Class 1: What makes for good political reporting?

Topic: Politics is often portrayed as a ?game.? Indeed, sports and metaphors pepper political writing. Unlike other ?games,? political ones have real world consequences: war or peace; high taxes or low; jobs or unemployment; health care or not. We discuss what constitutes ?politics,? why it is important and how it affects daily lives; we will also look at the purpose of political reporting and what goes into good political reporting. Just how do political journalists do their job and what do they do? What are their goals, and whom do they serve?

Readings:

• Jack Shafer, ?Presidential Campaigns, Sports Writing and the Fine Art of Pretending,? Reuters, 2012.
• Jay Rosen, ?Why Political Coverage Is Broken,? Jay Rosen?s Press Think, August 26, 2011.
• Jodi Enda, ?Campaign Coverage in the Time of Twitter,? American Journalism Review, 2011.
• Jeremy W. Peters, ?Latest Word on the Trail? I Take It Back,? New York Times, 2012.
• Paul Farhi, ?Off the Bus,? American Journalism Review, 2009.
• John Harris, ?Shifting Influence From Institution to Individual,? Nieman Reports, 2008.

Assignment: Assessment of your own consumption of political journalism; 300 to 350 words, due at the start of the next class. You should list the average amount of time per week you spend consuming political news, the sources (i.e., Wall Street Journal, Politico.com, CNN, etc.), medium (print, on-line, broadcast), and possible biases (does the source have inherent political, ethical, gender, race religious, economic, or other biases). What did you like/dislike about the political journalism you consume?

Class 2: Framing and crafting a political story

Topic: We will discuss how to write a political story and put facts in wider context. Other subjects include understanding your audience and the news itself; providing balance; how to write tight, declarative sentences, use quotes, and break through writers? block; and work with editors.

Readings:

• William Safire, ?How to Read a Column,? New York Times, January 24, 2005.
• Michael Kinsley, ?Cut This Story,? The Atlantic, January/February 2010.
• George Orwell, ?Politics and the English Language,? 1946.
• Thomas Patterson, ?The Case for Knowledge-Based Reporting,? Journalist?s Resource, 2012.
• John Sides, ?How Political Science Can Help Journalism (And Still Let Journalists Be Journalists)? (PDF), The Forum, 2011.
• Hans Noel, ?Ten Things Political Scientists Know That You Don?t? (PDF), The Forum, 2010.
• ?Research chat: Nicholas Lemann on journalism, scholarship and more informed reporting,? Journalist?s Resource, 2012.

Assignment: In-class deadline writing exercise. You will be given the text of a recent speech or news program; write and submit a 250-word story about it by the end of the class period. The purpose of the exercise is to give you an idea of what it feels like to produce deadline political copy.

Week 2: Local-level politics, part 1

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Class 1: City and town hall reporting

Topic: Covering local politics is the meat-and-potatoes beat of American journalism. Along with the police and courts, this has long been a ?starter? beat for many reporters. However, today many news organizations don?t cover it regularly but instead parachute reporters in to spot news events.

Readings:

• Mass Media & American Politics, Chapter 4, ?News Making and Reporting Routines?; Chapter 10, ?Covering the Justice System and State and Local News.?
• Media Politics: A Citizen?s Guide, Chapter 4, ?Reporters, Official Sources, and the Decline of Adversarial Journalism.?
• ?Ten Hints for Covering Government,? Journalist?s Resource, 2011.

Class 2: Political reporter as watchdog

Topic: The role of the reporter is both to inform citizens about the formal workings of government and to serve as a watchdog on potential waste and abuse. We talk about what it takes to serve in this role and the structural factors that often contribute to corruption.

Readings:

• ?High Salaries Stir Outrage in Bell,? Los Angeles Times, 2010-2012.
• Pulitzer Prize-winning series on mayoral corruption, Detroit Free Press, 2008.
• R. Alison Felix, James R. Hines, Jr. ?Who Offers Tax-Based Business Development Incentives?? National Bureau of Economic Research, 2011.
• Filipe R. Campante, Quoc-Anh Do, ?Isolated Capital Cities, Accountability and Corruption: Evidence from U.S. States,? Harvard Kennedy School, Singapore Management University, 2012.

Assignment: Attend a city council, town council or school board meeting. Write a 500-word story focusing on the most important issue addressed in the hearing; in addition, write a brief memo outlining story ideas that came from the meeting that you think merit further investigation.

Week 3: Local-level politics, part 2

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Class 1: Budgets, boards and departments

Topic: A political reporter?s capacity to write great stories will only be as strong as his or her grasp of policy details and the specific mechanisms of power. Understanding how governance works and a willingness to examine it critically are crucial, no matter the area ? from school board policies and public safety agencies to land use projects and municipal budgets.

Readings:

• Soni Sangha, ?Putting in Their 2 Cents,? New York Times, March 30, 2012.
• LynNell Hancock, ?Tested: Covering Schools in the Age of Micro-Measurement,? Columbia Journalism Review, March/April 2011.
• Amy Brittain, Mark Mueller, ?N.J. Doctor Supplied Steroids to Hundreds of Law Enforcement Officers, Firefighters,? Star-Ledger, December 12, 2010.

Class 2: States, agencies, laws and regulations

Topic: Laws, rules and regulations can vary widely among the states, and their enforcement can be very uneven at the county and local levels. Part of a political reporter?s role is to hold agencies and officials accountable for the rules they oversee and the responsibilities to the public they have.

Readings:

• Raquel Rutledge, ?Cashing in on Kids,? Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 2009.
• Danny Hakim, ?At State-Run Homes, Abuse and Impunity,? The New York Times, March 12, 2011.
• Damian Paletta, ?States Mine Federal Funds Long After Need Is Gone,? Wall Street Journal, April 18, 2012.
• Ryan Gabrielson, Paul Giblin, ?Reasonable Doubt,? East Valley Tribune, 2008.
• James E. Alt, David D. Lassen, ?Political and Judicial Checks on Corruption: Evidence from American State Governments,? Economics & Politics, September 10, 2007.

Assignment: Read the study ?Public Participation, Procedural Fairness and Evaluations of Local Governance? in Journalist?s Resource and use it as a lens through which to see the budgeting process for a town, city council or local governing board of any kind. Given the study?s findings, examine the rules, procedures and opportunities for public input on the budget. How participatory is the process for constituents? Interview several people in the community involved in the budget, then write an 800-word blog post about these dynamics and your findings.

Week 4: Civic engagement and participation

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Class 1: Citizens and governance

Topics: Though some citizens have a strong sense of civic duty, many do not, and commentators have long noted apathy and alienation among segments of the populace. A reporter is sometimes one of the few people at hearings and meetings. How can a reporter better connect the citizenry to the workings of government? What is the reporter?s role in all of this?

Readings:

• ?How the Public Perceives Community Information Systems,? Pew Research Center/Knight Foundation, on Journalist?s Resource, March 1, 2011.
• ?The Open Society: Governments Are Letting in the Light,? The Economist, February 25, 2010.
• Elisabeth Rosenthal, ?I Disclose ? Nothing,? New York Times, January 21, 2012.
• Alex Howard, ?Data for the Public Good,? O?Reilly Radar, February 22, 2012.

Class 2: Voting and participation

Topics: Nonvoting is far more prevalent in the United States than in nearly all other democracies. Elections, ballot measures and votes often record the opinions of tiny fractions of communities. Why is this? What implications does this dynamic carry for political reporters? What does this mean for American democracy? And how do the changing demographics of the country intersect with this issue?

Readings:

• ?The Impact of Race and Ethnicity, Immigration and Political Context on Participation in American Electoral Politics,? Journal of Social Forces, 2012.
• Robert Putnam, ?Tuning In, Tuning Out: The Strange Disappearance of Social Capital in America,? PS: Political Science & Politics, 1995.
• Ron Brownstein, ?Our Diverse Suburbs,? National Journal, 2012.
• Thomas Patterson, ?The Vanishing Voter: Why Are the Voting Booths So Empty?? National Civic Review, Winter 2002.
• Mark Seibel, ?Making Reporting About Voting Part of the Political Beat,? Nieman Reports, Spring 2004.

Assignment: Read the study ?Voter Participation in Presidential Primaries and Caucuses? and then interview 10 people of voting age about when they last voted and their thoughts on why they did or didn?t participate. Write an 800-word blog post about voter participation that is informed by the study and that includes information from your interviews.

Week 5: Political communication: Messages that matter

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Class 1: Spinning: How politicians use the media to make policy

Topic: We analyze how politicians use and control the media to lead public opinion. Vast resources and effort are used to stage events and manipulate reporters. Much of what is now called ?governing? is simply developing and executing strategies designed to further a political agenda.

Readings:

• Mass Media & American Politics, Chapter 6, ?The Media as Policy Makers.?
• Media Politics: A Citizen?s Guide, Chapter 7, ?Going Public: Governing Through the Media.?
• Nicholas Lemann, ?The Controller,? The New Yorker, May 12, 2003.
• David Barstow, ?Message Machine: Behind TV Analysts, Pentagon?s Hidden Hand,? New York Times, April 20, 2008.
• Sarah Allen Gershon, ?Press Secretaries, Journalists, and Editors: Shaping Local Congressional News Coverage,? Political Communication, April 26, 2012.
• John G. Bullock, ?Elite Influence on Public Opinion in an Informed Electorate,? American Political Science Review, August 2011.

Class 2: How the media shape public opinion ? scandal, sensation and getting it right

Topic: We examine the power and limitations of the media to shape public opinion and the tendency of the media to overplay scandal and sensationalize news. We look at the tactics that do and don?t work to shape how Americans? view issues and those of politicians; we?ll discuss the difficulty of countering spin and misinformation once narratives are established, facts have been asserted and assumptions have become hardened.

Readings:

• Mass Media & American Politics, Chapter 7, ?Media Influence on Attitudes and Behavior.?
• Media Politics: A Citizen?s Guide, Chapter 8, ?News and Public Opinion.?
• Brendan Nyhan, ?Why the ?Death Panel? Myth Wouldn?t Die: Misinformation in the Health Care Re?form Debate? (PDF), The Forum, 2010.
• Riccardo Puglisia, James M. Snyder Jr., ?News Coverage of Political Scandals,? Journal of Politics, August 2011.
• Dennis Chong, James N. Druckman, ?Dynamic Public Opinion: Communication Effects Over Time,? American Political Science Review, December 10, 2010.
• Brendan Nyhan, Jason Reifler, ?Misinformation and Fact-Checking: Research Findings from Social Science,? New America Foundation, February 28, 2012.

Assignment: Review the available media releases and press appearances of a prominent politician over the past month that relate to a particular policy issue. Write an article about the politician?s apparent strategy, and interview sources who can speak to the effectiveness of the given messages.

Week 6: The campaign: Television

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Class 1: Television ads

Topic: We?ll chart evolution of political television commercials. To do this, let?s begin by going to Livingroomcandidate.org starting with 1952 and watching a few commercials from each party in each cycle. Pay special attention to the 1952 ?I Like Ike? ad and Kennedy ads in 1960 and contrast them with the ?Daisy ad? run by the Democrats in 1964. Also watch the 1988 ?Willie Horton? ad run by Republicans against Michael Dukakis. How are ads changing? What techniques do producers use? Are the Web ads replacing broadcast political commercials? Are negative ads effective and if so, in what way? How are stereotypes and prejudices used?

Readings/video:

• John Sides, Andrew Karcha, ?Messages That Mobilize: Issue Publics and the Content of Campaign Advertising,? Journal of Politics, March 27, 2008.
• Alan Gerber, James Gimpel, et al, ?How Large and Long-lasting Are the Persuasive Effects of Televised Campaign Ads?? American Political Science Review, February 2011.
• Deborah Jordan Brooks, ?A Negativity Gap? Voter Gender, Attack Politics and Participation in American Elections,? Politics & Gender, September 20, 2010.
• T.W. Farnam, ?Obama Has Aggressive Internet Strategy to Woo Voters,? Washington Post, April 6, 2012.
• Kathleen Hall Jamieson, ?Flackchecking Political Sleeze,? Personal Democracy Forum, 2012.

Class 2: Television

Topic: Television is the most important force in our culture. How do political figures use it? A news director or television broadcast producer or journalist could be a helpful guest for this session.

Readings:

Assignment: Read the American Journal of Political Science study ?Variability in Citizens? Reactions to Different Types of Negative Campaigns? at Journalist?s Resource. Review some negative ads from the last campaign cycle and interview 10 citizens about their feelings with respect to negative campaigns. Write an 800-word blog presenting your understanding of how negative advertising works in contemporary American politics.

Week 7: The campaign: Money and new media

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Class 1: Campaign Finance

Topic: Who owns politicians? We try to make sense of campaign finance issues in the wake of recent court decisions.

Readings:

• Charlotte Grimes, ?Elements of Money in Politics Stories,? Journalist?s Resource, 2011.
• Anthony Corrado, ?Financing Presidential Nomination in the Post-Public Funding Era,? The Making of the Presidential Candidates 2012.
• R. Sam Garrett, ?State of Campaign Finance Policy: Recent Developments and Issues for Congress,? Congressional Research Service, July 18, 2011.
• John Aldrich, ?The Invisible Primary and Its Effects on Democratic Choice,? PS: Political Science & Politics, January 8, 2009.

Class 2: Internet campaigning and journalism

Topic: Since 2000, the Internet has become an increasingly crucial tool for organizing, campaigning and communicating. We look at how the digital space is being used by campaigns and activists.

Readings:

• Mass Media & American Politics, Chapter 8, ?Elections in the Internet Age.?
• Media Politics: A Citizen?s Guide, Chapter 5, ?New Media, New Forms of Campaigning.?
• ?Twitter and the Campaign,? Pew Research Center, December 8, 2011.
• Julia K. Woolley, Anthony M. Limperos, Mary Beth Oliver, ?The 2008 Presidential Election, 2.0: A Content Analysis of User-Generated Political Facebook Groups,? Mass Communication and Society, November 20, 2010.
• Aaron Smith, ?The Internet and Campaign 2010,? Pew Research Center, March 17, 2011.
• Keith Hampton, et al., ?Social Networking Sites and Our Lives,? Pew Research Center, June 16, 2011.
• ?Research chat: Nicco Mele on five ideas that animate the Internet,? Journalist?s Resource, 2011.

In-class assignment: Campaign season means fast deadlines for reporters. You will be given the text of a recent speech or news program related to a political campaign. Write a 250-word story about it by the end of the class period. The purpose of the exercise is to give you an idea of what it feels like to produce political copy on a short deadline. Copy needs to be e-mailed to by the end of class.

Note: Social media paper due (instructions in syllabus introduction.)

Week 8: Polling and Election Day

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Class 1: Topic Polls and Exit Polls.

Topic: We?ll discuss use and abuse of polling, drafting questions, interpreting data and the pitfalls of writing about them.

Readings:

• ?Polling Fundamentals and Concepts: An Overview for Journalists,? Journalist?s Resource, November 17, 2011.
• Sheldon R. Gawiser, Ph.D., G. Evans Witt, ?20 Questions a Journalist Should Ask about Poll Results,? National Council on Public Polls.
• Michael W. Traugott, Christopher Wlezien, ?Dynamics of Poll Performance during the 2008 Presidential Nomination Contest,? Public Opinion Quarterly, 2009.
• Christopher T. Stout, Reuben Kline, ?I?m Not Voting for Her: Polling Discrepancies and Female Candidates,? Political Behavior, 2011.

Class 2: Election Day

Topic: Coverage on Election Day has brought out both the best and worst in American journalism. Premature verdicts and faulty trends are among the many sins committed by journalists. Still, the public has a hunger to know results, voters have often faced obstacles, and the political reporter?s role during this period remains crucial.

Readings:

• Wendy R. Weiser, Lawrence Norden, ?Voting Law Changes in 2012,? Brennan Center for Justice, October 3, 2011.
• Christopher F. Karpowitz, et al., ?Political Norms and the Private Act of Voting,? Public Opinion Quarterly, Winter 2011.
• Janine A. Parry, et al., ?When Ballot Issues Matter: Social Issue Ballot Measures and Their Impact on Turnout,? Political Behavior, 2012.
• Michael Henderson, D. Sunshine Hillygus, Trevor Tompson, ??Sour Grapes? or Rational Voting? Voter Decision Making among Thwarted Primary Voters in 2008,? Public Opinion Quarterly, March 31, 2010.
• Thomas Patterson, ?Eleven Recommendations for Improving Election Night Coverage? (PDF), Joan Shorenstein Center, 2004.

Assignment: Find a recent poll on a political issue that you think may be questionable. Analyze its results in an 800-word blog post and present some hypotheses as to why certain aspects of the polling may not tell the whole story. Be sure to look at the wording of the questions, the methodology, etc. Even if you cannot critique the poll?s statistical methods, at least ask critical questions about the poll?s approach and potential flaws. What questions might you put to polling experts?

Week 9: National politics and the federal system

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Class 1: Congress

Topic: In the process of making laws, the members of Congress represent various interests within American society, giving them voice and attention in the national legislature. That at least is the theory. In recent years, many observers have noted the accelerating partisanship of the body and the gridlock associated. We look at the implications for political reporting and the reporter?s role in covering the business of Congress.

Readings:

• Articles 1 through 3 of the United States Constitution.
• James Madison, Federalist No. 10, ?The Union as a Safeguard Against Domestic Faction and Insurrection,? November 23, 1787. Note: The Federalist Papers were a series of essays written in 1788 by James Madison, Alexander Hamilton and John Jay during the debate over the Constitution?s ratification.
• Alexander Hamilton or James Madison, Federalist No. 51, ?The Structure of the Government Must Furnish the Proper Checks and Balances Between the Different Departments,? February 8, 1788.
• Norman J. Ornstein, Thomas E. Mann, ?When Congress Checks Out,? Foreign Affairs, November/December 2006.
• Norman J. Ornstein, Thomas E. Mann, ?The Hill Is Alive with the Sound of Hearings,? Foreign Affairs, March 21, 2007.

Class 2: President and commander-in-chief

Topic: Presidential power depends on the president?s own abilities, but even more on circumstances ? on whether the situation demands strong leadership and whether political support for that leadership exists. We look at the functioning of the White House, particularly the president?s ?power to persuade.?

Readings:

• Ezra Klein, ?The Unpersuaded: Who Listens to a President?? The New Yorker, March 19, 2012.
• Louis Fisher, ?Teaching the Presidency: Idealizing a Constitutional Office,? PS: Political Science & Politics, January 2012.
• Robert F. Trager, Lynn Vavreck, ?Political Costs of Crisis Bargaining: Presidential Rhetoric and the Role of Party,? American Journal of Political Science, July 2011.
• Matthew A. Baum, Tim Groeling, ?Shot by the Messenger: Partisan Cues and Public Opinion Regarding National Security and War,? Political Behavior, 2009.

Assignment: Using the C-SPAN video library, locate and review videos relating to a single national security issue that was the subject of both a Congressional hearing and was featured in a speech by the president. Write a 1,000-word blog post referring to the two videos and examining the different tactics of rhetoric and persuasion, and political framings, around the issue. The ideas in the two political science studies listed above should inform your discussion.

Week 10: The interplay of the three branches

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Class 1: Legislative-executive dynamics

Topic: In America?s system of divided government, the constitutional power to enact legislation rests with Congress. Yet, on issues of national significance, the president often serves as ?chief legislator.? The White House typically initiates major programs, setting the stage for congressional action on the proposal. We will discuss the interplay of the presidency and Congress in the making of laws, and how reporters can properly interpret these dynamics.

Readings:

• Mass Media & American Politics, Chapter 9, ?The Struggle for Control: News from the Presidency and Congress.?
• Media Politics: A Citizen?s Guide, Chapter 10, ?The Consequences of Going Public.?
• Matt Bai, ?Obama vs. Boehner: Who Killed the Debt Deal?? New York Times, April 1, 2012.
• Norman Ornstein, ?Worst. Congress. Ever.? Foreign Policy, July 19, 2011.
• Brendan Nyhan, et al., ?One Vote Out of Step? The Effects of Salient Roll Call Votes in the 2010 Election,? American Politics Research, March 6, 2012.

Class 2: The federal judicial system

Topic: Though their job is to deliver impartial verdicts, federal judges and justices are political officials ? they constitute one of the three coequal branches of the national government. Because the Constitution is a sparsely worded document and must be applied to new and changing situations, a debate over exactly how the law should be interpreted and enforced has remained at the heart of American politics.

Readings:

Assignment: Read the New York University Law Review study ?The Declining Influence of the U.S. Constitution? at Journalist?s Resource. Write an 800-word blog post presenting the findings of the study and explaining what U.S. domestic dynamics may be at work in this apparent trend. Explore in particular the issue of Constitutional interpretation and intensifying political controversy in recent decades.

Week 11: Special interests and lobbying

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Class 1: Interest groups: Influence and coverage

Topics: Interest groups have an organized membership and pursue policy goals that stem from members? shared interests. But the nation?s various interests are not equally well organized. We look at their influence and the challenges of covering their role in the democratic process.

Readings:

• Nicholas Lemann, ?Conflict of Interests?? The New Yorker, August 11, 2008.
• Kenneth T. Andrews, Neal Caren, ?Making the News: Movement Organizations, Media Attention, and the Public Agenda,? American Sociological Review, 2010.
• Eric Pooley, ?How Much Would You Pay to Save the Planet? The American Press and the Economics of Climate Change,? Joan Shorenstein Center, 2009.
• Jacob S. Hacker, Paul Pierson, ?Winner-Take-All Politics: Public Policy, Political Organization, and the Precipitous Rise of Top Incomes in the United States,? Politics & Society, June 2010.

Class 2: Lobbying and the money trail

Topic: Lobbying is the effort by groups to influence public policy through contact with public officials. We?ll look at both ?inside? and ?outside? lobbying ? and the strategies employed, from public pressure to direct donations to politicians. Students should come to class familiar with the latest findings from the resource and watchdog websites listed below.

Readings:

Resource/watchdog sites: Sunlight Foundation, Opensecrets.org, Followthemoney.org, United States Senate lobbying database.

Assignment: Choose a politician now holding national office and, using the sites and resources above, analyze the patterns of his or her support. Write an 800-word blog post about your findings.

Week 12: Navigating the partisan minefield; gender issues

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Class 1: Liberals, conservatives and reporters

Topic: We look at how to report fairly in an increasingly polarized and partisan political culture.

Readings:

• Sarah Sobieraj, Jeffrey M. Berry, ?Incivility and Outrage in American Politics: Political Discourse in Blogs, Talk Radio and Cable News,? Political Communication, 2011.
• ?Beyond the Facts: A Partisan Era Requires a Vigorous Press,? Columbia Journalism Review, January/February 2011.
• ?Partisan Polarization Surges in Bush, Obama Years,? Pew Research Center, June 4, 2012.
• ?Twitter and Political Polarization,? Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence, 2011.

Class 2: Gender and politics

Topic: We look at women?s rise in politics and the continuing challenges for female political figures and women involved in public life.

Readings:

• ?Women and News: Expanding the News Audience, Increasing Political Participation, and Informing Citizens? (PDF), pages 32-62, ?A Narrative Overview of the Research,? Joan Shorenstein Center, Harvard Kennedy School, 2008.
• Richard L. Fox, Jennifer L. Lawless, ?Gendered Perceptions and Women?s Equality in Electoral Politics,? American Journal of Political Science, October 25, 2010.
• Rachel Joy Larris, Rosalie Maggio, ?Name It, Change It: The Women?s Media Center?s Media Guide to Gender Neutral Coverage of Women and Politicians? (PDF).
• Sarah F. Anzia, Christopher R. Berry, ?Why Do Congresswomen Outperform Congressman?? American Journal of Political Science, July 2011.
• Alexis Gelber, ?Digital Divas: Women, Politics and the Social Network,? Joan Shorenstein Center, Harvard Kennedy School, Spring 2011.

In-class assignment: You will be shown a video of a short news event such as a stump speech or a Sunday TV appearance. In an email to the instructor, do mock tweets while you watch the event. Then post a 300-word blog at the bottom of the story. The purpose of the exercise is to give you an idea of what it feels like to produce deadline political copy.

Assignment: Read the American Journal of Political Science study ?Barriers to Sustaining Gender Diversity in Politics.? Write an 800-word blog post on its findings and, based on further research, looking at the current configuration of Congress and the relative power of women within it.

Week 13: Freedom, fairness and ethics for the political reporter

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Class 1: Ethics and rules

Topic: We?ll discuss the ethics of political journalists, and the formal and informal rules of the game.

Readings:

Class 2: Review and preview

Topic: What are the takeaways from this course? Where is this business headed, and what can students do now to prepare to meet it?

Readings:

• Mass Media & American Politics, Chapter 12, ?Current Trends and Future Directions in Media Policy.?
• Media Politics: A Citizen?s Guide, Chapter 11, ?Evaluating Media Politics.?
• Ken Auletta, ?Non-stop News,? The New Yorker, January 25, 2010.
• Mark Leibovich, ?The Man the White House Wakes Up To,? New York Times Magazine, April 25, 2010.
• Jemima Kiss, ?Andy Carvin: The Man Who Tweets Revolutions,? The Guardian, September 4, 2011.
• W. Lance Bennett, ?Toward a Theory of Press-State Relations in the United States,? Journal of Communication, June 1990.

In-class assignment: For your final exam, you will be shown a news situation in class and asked to email a series of tweets to the instructor while the event is taking place, posting a four- or five-paragraph blog followed by a 400-word news story. All copy must be emailed to the instructor by the close of the final exam period.

By Journalists Resource | August 6, 2012

Source: http://journalistsresource.org/syllabi/political-reporting/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=political-reporting

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Army general: don't hobble commanders in sex assault cases

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Sexual assault victims in the U.S. armed forces have been robbed of their trust in its justice system, but military leadership is still in the best position to restore that confidence, the new top Pentagon official charged with combating the problem says.

In one of his first interviews since taking over last month, Army Major General Gary Patton acknowledged the extent of what he called "a terrible, repugnant and humiliating crime."

But reports of sexual assault should continue to be investigated, and if necessary punished, within existing channels, said Patton, director of the Pentagon's Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Office.

That could put him at odds with lawmakers who say the system has failed, and want sexual assault cases handled by a military body outside the traditional chain of command.

Patton, a former commander of U.S. forces in Iraq and Afghanistan, assumed his post at a time when the military is under intense criticism for the most sweeping sexual assault scandal in more than a decade.

At Texas' Lackland Air Force Base, 38 people alleged they were raped or sexually harassed by trainers, triggering two Air Force investigations and calls for a congressional probe.

There were 3,192 reports of sexual assault in the military last fiscal year, a 1 percent increase from the previous year. But only 791 subjects were disciplined, as commanders routinely lack sufficient evidence to prosecute cases.

The Defense Department estimates that only one out of six assaults is reported, because of victims' fear of reprisal or inaction.

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta increased the department's scrutiny of sexual assault in April when he issued guidelines mandating that reports for the most violent crimes automatically go to top-level commanders.

Patton said his goal is to wipe out sexual assaults from within the U.S. military's ranks.

"It is an affront to the very values we defend," Patton said. "It has no place in the Department of Defense, period."

He said he will increase the number of conversations he has with sexual assault victims, and intensify scrutiny on why so few cases are prosecuted. He has met with forensic experts to learn more about the science of sexual assault investigations.

Patton said he trusts existing investigation methods used by the military. Currently, when a victim reports a sexual assault, an office within the unit investigates and commanders are tasked with punishing offenders.

"If you were to take the disciplinary component and put it into some external, centralized, whatever, body, independent, apart from the chain of the command, you've just removed the commander from the problem and tied the commander's hands," Patton said.

BILL PENDING

U.S. Representative Jackie Speier introduced a bill last November that would bypass the military's chain of command for sexual assault cases and instead give responsibility for investigating to an independent body within the military.

Advocates say the bill, awaiting action by the House of Representatives Armed Services Committee, is the best way to investigate sexual assaults.

"Right now, the authority is invested in the unit commander," said Speier, one of Congress' most outspoken advocates for military rape victims. "They have no judicial training, they have no legal training and yet they are making decisions on whether a case merits prosecution."

The military needs to "explain why all these scandals keep happening," the California Democrat said.

The House Armed Services Committee held a closed hearing last week with the secretary of the Air Force on the Lackland scandal, but Speier said witnesses were uncooperative and unable to answer basic questions about the investigations.

Speier wants Congress to launch its own investigation. "I don't think they know how to fix this," she said.

Patton, who helped implement the repeal of the Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy toward gays in the military before taking his current post, said he will work to create a culture where offenders know they will be caught.

"It is about affording dignity and respect to everyone. And a unit that has that climate ... you prevent from occurring," the general said.

TURNOVER

SAPRO, as Patton's office is known, has cycled through three directors in little more than a year. Victims' advocates say its founding director had little grasp of the scope of the military's sexual assault problem.

Advocates were also critical of Patton's predecessor, Major General Mary Kay Hertog, saying she placed too much trust in commanders who have too often ignored victim's complaints.

Hertog had served in a command position for one of the largest training wings at Lackland.

Patton himself is under scrutiny as part of a congressional probe into whether whistleblowers were stopped from exposing decrepit conditions at Dawood National Military Hospital, a U.S.-funded Afghan military hospital where patients died from simple infections and starved to death routinely.

Patton, through a spokeswoman, declined to comment on the issue.

Nancy Parrish, president of the advocacy group Protect Our Defenders, said Patton should take a hard-line approach to revamping the military's justice system instead of focusing on education programs that are SAPRO's hallmark.

"Silly education program" will not stop the serial predators within the military's ranks, said Parrish, who supports the creation of an independent agency within the military.

"The military code of justice was created in the '30s and it needs to be modernized," she said. "Its unintended consequence was to reinforce a culture that once existed in our own world ... of how we think of women."

Despite years of promised reforms - most recently, with Panetta's new guidelines - the number of sexual assaults and rapes has continued to climb, Parrish said. Her criticism was echoed last month by President Barack Obama's nominee to be the next Air Force chief of staff.

"We've done a lot of work, and we've made no difference," General Mark Welsh, commander of U.S. Air Forces in Europe, told the Senate Armed Services Committee. "Everyone is trying to do the right thing and figure out some way of stopping this."

(Editing by Warren Strobel and Xavier Briand)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/army-general-dont-hobble-commanders-sex-assault-cases-222125629.html

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Bike Atv | Automobile & Motorcycles

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Usain Bolt wins 2nd consecutive Olympic 100 gold

LONDON (AP) ? Pulling away from the pack with every long stride, Usain Bolt crossed the finish line and wagged his right index finger.

Yes, he's still No. 1 in the 100-meter dash. Maybe not better than ever, but Bolt is definitely back.

Only about sixth-fastest of the eight runners to the halfway mark Sunday night, Bolt erased that deficit and overwhelmed a star-studded field to win in 9.63 seconds, an Olympic record that let him join Carl Lewis as the only men with consecutive gold medals in the marquee track and field event at the Summer Games.

"I executed, and that's the key," Bolt said. "I stopped worrying about the start. The end is what's important."

Ever the showman, the Jamaican kept right on running for a victory lap that included high-fives for front-row fans, a pause to crouch down and kiss the track and even a somersault. Thousands in the crowd chanted the champion's name: "Usain! Usain! Usain!"

Bolt's training partner and Jamaican teammate, world champion Yohan Blake, won the silver in 9.75, and 2004 Olympic champion Justin Gatlin of the U.S. earned the bronze in 9.79. Everyone in the final broke 10 seconds except former world-record holder Asafa Powell of Jamaica, who pulled up with a groin injury.

At Beijing four years ago, the 6-foot-5 Bolt electrified track and field, winning gold medals in world-record times in the 100, 200 and 4x100 relay ? something no man had ever done at an Olympics. His 100 mark of 9.69 set there, the one that came despite some slowing down for celebratory chest-slapping, only lasted until the next year's world championships, when he lowered the record to 9.58.

But The World's Fastest Man had been something less than Boltesque since then, in part due to a string of minor injuries to his back and legs. In 2010, he lost to Tyson Gay, the American who cried inconsolably after ending up fourth Sunday. A false start knocked Bolt out of the 100 at last year's world championships, creating an opening for Blake. Then came recent, much-discussed losses to Blake in the 100 and 200 at the Jamaican Olympic trials.

Bolt never let any of that affect him in London.

After easing up down the stretch and basically jogging through the finish while winning his semifinal heat earlier Sunday, he mugged for the cameras and said, "I'm back, baby. All day, every day."

Then he went out about two hours later and proved it, running the second-fastest 100 in history.

He came to these Olympics with the stated intention of becoming a "living legend."

If he hasn't accomplished that already, he's sure close. Bolt begins defending his title in the 200 in Tuesday's heats.

Some saw no reason to wait to see what Bolt does the rest of the way this week.

"There's no doubt he's the greatest sprinter of all time now," said seventh-place finisher Richard Thompson of Trinidad and Tobago, who was 0.35 seconds back on Sunday.

Thompson was the silver medalist in Beijing, despite trailing Bolt by a hard-to-believe 0.20.

That race began a stretch of dominance by Jamaica, an island nation of 3 million people that now owns seven of the last eight Olympic men's and women's sprinting golds, including relays.

About 1? hours before Bolt's latest victory, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce stepped to the top of the medal stand in the stadium and received the gold she earned in the women's 100 on Saturday night. Like Bolt, she's a repeat champion.

Bolt gets the distinction as the only man to cross the finish line first in back-to-back dash finals. Lewis' victory in Seoul in 1988, following his first 100 title at Los Angeles in 1984, was awarded only after apparent champion Ben Johnson of Canada was stripped for failing a drug test. Johnson hailed from the same Trelawny parish in Jamaica that is home to Bolt.

___

Follow Howard Fendrich on Twitter at http://twitter.com/HowardFendrich

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/usain-bolt-wins-2nd-consecutive-olympic-100-gold-215307490--oly.html

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Study: Fitter kids may make better grades

FRIDAY, Aug. 3 (HealthDay News) -- Middle school students who are physically fit are likely to score higher on standardized tests measuring reading and math abilities, a new study has found.

And, the average scores went up in correlation with levels of fitness, the findings showed.

"The more physically fit kids were, the higher their scores," said the study's lead author, Trent Petrie, director of the Center for Sport Psychology at the University of North Texas in Denton.

"Parents should encourage their kids to be physically active. There are some real cognitive and academic benefits that come from physical fitness," Petrie said.

Results of the study are scheduled to be presented Friday at the annual meeting of the American Psychological Association in Orlando, Fla.

The study included more than 1,200 middle school students from five schools in a suburban area of Texas, with 561 boys and 650 girls.

About 57 percent of the children were white, and nearly one-quarter were Mexican American. Nine percent were black and about 2 percent were of Asian descent.

The school district provided the researchers with information on the children's race, age, grade level and whether they qualified for the free school lunch program, which was an indicator of the family's socioeconomic status. The schools also provided scores to the tests, which were given between one and four months after the researchers had assessed the children's levels of fitness.

Fitness tests were administered during physical education classes to determine the youngsters' heart and lung health (cardiorespiratory fitness), as well as their body mass index (BMI), an indicator of how much body fat a person has. The children also filled out questionnaires that helped the researchers determine factors such as self-esteem and social support.

After accounting for factors such as age, sex, family income and self-esteem, the researchers found that for both boys and girls, higher levels of cardiorespiratory fitness predicted better scores on both the math and reading tests.

For boys, perceived social support also seemed to boost their reading scores, the investigators found.

In girls, while being physically fit predicted higher reading scores, so too did a higher BMI -- which indicates more body fat. "We were a little surprised by this finding," Petrie said.

"It was not as strong an association as the one with physical fitness," he added. The authors suspect it may have something to do with girls this age entering puberty, which may be related to a higher BMI and slightly higher cognitive (brain) development. He said he plans to look for this relationship again in larger studies to see if it was a chance finding, or if the association holds up.

"While we can't say 100 percent that physical fitness causes better academic performance, we can say that there is a strong and predictive relationship between physical fitness and academic performance," Petrie said.

"It's hard to tease apart the exact reason for this association," said Becky Hashim, an attending clinical psychologist and assistant professor in the departments of psychiatry and pediatrics at the Children's Hospital of Montefiore, in New York City.

"It may be that the children are getting more oxygen. When the heart and lungs are working at a higher capacity, it may allow the brain to work at peak performance. Children who are less fit may be sleepier during school," she noted. "I personally feel that there's probably a strong relationship between the confidence you get from being able to do something physical well and academic performance."

Whatever the reason behind this association may be, "there's certainly no harm in pushing physical fitness," Hashim added.

"Physical fitness may make you feel better, give you more confidence and improve your performance across the board," she said.

Petrie agreed. "Physically fit kids are happier, have higher self-esteem, tend to have better relationships, and now we're beginning to see, there also seem to be benefits cognitively and academically. Our study sends a strong warning to policymakers to reconsider the utility of physical education classes for kids," he said.

Because this study was presented at a medical meeting, the data and conclusions should be viewed as preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed journal.

More information

Read more about keeping kids active at the U.S. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/fitter-kids-may-better-grades-study-160412660.html

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technology and relationships ? The Life-Charged Life

technologies are just a tool

This weekend I?m sharing a few thoughts about communication.

Unfortunately, we live in a culture where many people seem to lack the fundamental skills necessary to discuss dissimilar viewpoints without shaking their fists, yelling, and becoming defensive and belligerent.

Sadly, today?s cutting edge communication technologies seem to have achieved little other than exacerbating the problem by giving the thoughtless even less time to consider ?a more excellent way.? Constructive conversation will always require grace to get off the ground, and grace is a spiritual gift seemingly in short supply when it comes to communication in 2012.

1978-79: Back when Rebekah and I were dating (and then engaged) she completed her first year of graduate school in Atlanta while I was still in central Florida. We managed one expensive phone call per week. I?ll never forget the long-distance argument that cost well over $30. I sat in a phone booth in the Student Union Building at Stetson, feeding quarters into the phone until I ran out of money. The conversation wasn?t over, but when the phone went dead I thought that maybe the relationship was!

So I fine-tuned my letter-writing skills, we went out of our way to get together as soon as possible, we learned to listen more deliberately, and we did everything possible to communicate at the highest level we could.

INTENTION: Today our options for connectivity are beyond amazing. Yet so many people still fail to make any real effort to understand one-another?s point of view.

Ineffective communication is cited as one of the primary reasons that marriages fail, children become alienated from their parents, neighborhoods stop being neighborly, friendships falter, churches stagnate, communities fragment, governments remain ineffective and nations go to war.

Our grandson, David (aka Mr Wonderful) may live in Connecticut, far away from Grandaddy Derek and Grandmama Rebekah, but he knows us quite well despite the distance. Yes, the technology helps (our Skype connection is amazingly clear), but it?s the specific and consistent intentionality of, ?We want to communicate and we?ll go out of our way to do it?? that?s really building the relationship.

Our daughter, Naomi, calls several times a day. We exchange text messages. She shoots us 30-second?grand-baby?video clips. We catch her facebook updates. She knows that we care deeply about her life with her husband Craig, and we know that they want to be a part of our lives too.

I know people who both live in the same house yet talk less!

GOT TO HAVE THE WANT-TO:?But there?s no level of technological connectivity that will ever compensate for the fundamental lack of effort that besets so many of the people who complain that their relationships don?t work.

• So turn off the game already, and actually talk to your wife!
• Schedule a conversational family meal time at least three nights a week.
• Show some interest in other people rather than droning on about yourself all the time!
• Use your smart-phone as a communication tool rather than A) a gaming device, B) a means to drop biting one-liners about other people?s politics, and C) an excuse to work instead of talking with your family over dinner?.

at least be polite! (stock photo)

AND AT LEAST BE POLITE: We are a world desperately in need of more people willing to understand one-another. However, too many of us seem to have forgotten the essential elements of polite and meaningful conversation. Here are five to go on:

1. Respect is more important than agreement.
2. Listen more than you talk.
3. There?s no need to raise your voice.
4. Poor manners and rudeness never facilitate a meeting of the minds.
5. Always be prepared (and delighted) to learn something from the other person.

The real beauty of two (or more) people with a variety of opinions is the opportunity we have to learn from one another. Unfortunately, some of the least willing to listen without instant defensiveness and aggressiveness are people who claim to follow God!

Paul?s? advice here is hard to ignore:

^?Let love be genuine.?Hate what is evil; cling to what is good.^?Be devoted to one another in love.?Honor one another above yourselves.^?Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor,?serving the Lord.?Be joyful in hope,?patient in affliction,faithful in prayer.?^?Share with the Lord?s people who are in need.?Practice hospitality.?^?Bless those who persecute you;?bless and do not curse.?Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn.^?Live in harmony with one another.?Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position.?Do not be conceited. (Romans 12)

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Source: http://derekmaul.wordpress.com/2012/08/04/technology-and-relationships/

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Zambian miners kill Chinese manager in riot

Zambian coal miners killed a Chinese mine manager and injured his colleague in a riot over wages at a mine known for tensions with the Chinese investor in southern Zambia, state media reported.

"Wu Shengzai, aged 50, has been killed by protesting workers after being hit by a trolley which was pushed towards him by the rioting miners as he ran away into the underground where he wanted to seek refugee. He died on the spot while his colleague is in hospital," Southern province police commissioner Fred Mutondo told state news agency the Zambia News and Information Services on Sunday.

The injured manager is also Chinese.

Zambian mineworkers on Saturday rioted during a strike at the Chinese-owned Collum Coal mine in Sinazongwe, 325 kilometres (200 miles) south of the capital Lusaka to protest delays in implementing a new minimum wage.

Labour Minister Fackson Shamenda told AFP he would investigate the incident.

"The killing is regrettable and I don't understand why there is always tension between Chinese investors and workers at Collum," he said.

In 2010 two Chinese Collum mine managers were charged with attempted murder after they allegedly opened fire on a group of protesting miners. Eleven Zambian workers were injured in the incident and the mine has since then been a source of controversy between Chinese investors and Zambians.

Chinese own several mines in the southern African countries, including coal and copper operations.

Chinese investment in Zambia topped $1 billion (800,000 euro) in 2010.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/zambian-miners-kill-chinese-manager-riot-133950322.html

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