STRAW MAN FALLACY Unfair representation of the opposing view Exaggeration or oversimplification of the opposition

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1 UNIT 1: INTRO TO THE POLITICAL ENVIRONMENT ISSUE RESEARCH: Immigration, Af/Pak War, Mid-Term Elections, Economy/Deficit Issue SIDEBAR: MEDIA SIDEBAR: CONSTITUTION WORK UNIT 2: LAWMAKING (FOCUS ON LEGISLATIVE BRANCH) UNIT 3: LEADERSHIP (FOCUS ON EXECUTIVE BRANCH) LETTERS TO PUBLIC OFFICIAL UNIT 4: JUSTICE (FOCUS ON JUDICIAL BRANCH) ISSUE RESEARCH UNIT 5: AMERICA IN THE WORLD COMMUNITY WHAT IS REPORTED? HOW IS IT REPORTED? 24 HOUR CABLE CHANNELS COMPETE FOR YOUR ATTENTION Countdown with Keith Olberman is on during prime time (pictured on the left). Rush Limbaugh is the leading conservative radio talk show host (13 million listeners daily). Sean Hannityis on Fox during prime time and argues from a far right perspective (ultra conservative like Limbaugh). HOW DO THE 24 HOUR NEWS CHANNELS CONTRIBUTE TO DIVISIONS AMONG THE POPULATION? What makes a controversial issue CONTROVERSIAL? (Latin = controversia meaning opposite) COMPLEXITY NO EASY ANSWERS QUESTIONS OF MORALITY OR DEEPLY HELD BELIEFS PEOPLE HAVE TAKEN SIDES A HISTORY TO THE ISSUE ISSUE CAUSES IMMEDIATE ARGUMENT OR PEOPLE HAVE TROUBLE TALKING ABOUT IT STRAW MAN FALLACY Unfair representation of the opposing view Exaggeration or oversimplification of the opposition Those who oppose the war are unpatriotic and do not support the troops. Obama is a Democrat and he will lead the country to socialism! 1

2 EITHER/OR FALLACY Complex issues reduced to only two sides no alternatives Either we ban all guns for private citizens or we have no gun control. Those are the only two choices facing the US today. Any domestic drilling for oil is wrong we must promote more use of alternative energy. AD HOMINEM FALLACY ATTACK THE MAN The person making the argument is attacked rather than the validity of the argument itself. Obama is a terrorist. You re really stupid to think that way! BANDWAGON FALLACY Popularity means something is good You should agree simply because the majority feels that way Polls indicate that Obama is quite popular. You should vote for him too. It s s obvious to everyone that voters were rejecting Obama in the mid-term elections. RYKKEN S THREE PROPOSITIONS ABOUT CONTROVERSIAL ISSUES 1. EVERYONE HAS A RIGHT TO THEIR OPINION, BUT THAT DOESN T MEAN EVERYONE S OPINION IS RIGHT. 2. INTELLIGENT AND REASONABLE PEOPLE CAN GENUINELY DISAGREE ON ISSUES AND STILL RESPECT EACH OTHER. 3. EMPATHY IS AN IMPORTANT. CAN YOU SEE SOMETHING FROM ANOTHER PERSON S POINT OF VIEW? ROSENAU REVISITED HOW INFORMED ARE WE? OPINION MAKERS: 1% ATTENTIVE PUBLIC 10-25% MASS PUBLIC 75-90% KNOWS VIRTUALLY NOTHING THE ROLE OF THE MEDIA IN THE AMERICAN POLITICAL ENVIRONMENT Starting Assertion: The domestic political environment that our leaders operate in is shaped, in large measure, by this dynamic: WHAT stories are reported HOW those stories are reported 2

3 THE MEDIA IN AMERICA THE GATEKEEPER? The decision concerning what will actually be covered day to day THE SCOREKEEPER? Who is up and who is down politically THE WATCH-DOG? Holding the government and elected leaders responsible exposing corruption NEWS FATIGUE 2008 INTERNATIONAL STUDY/ GLOBAL MEDIA ESPECIALLY FOCUSED ON YOUNG PEOPLE OVERWHELMED WITH FACTS, SHORT SNIPPETS OF NEWS STORIES LACKED CONTEXT FOR UNDERSTANDING SIMULTANEOUS USE OF OTHER MEDIA WHILE WATCHING NEWS TOO MUCH STIMULATION, NOT ENOUGH CONCENTRATION EVENTUALLY WE TUNE OUT EVEN IF WE ARE ENGAGED IN THE NEWS, WE SUFFER FROM TWO PROBLEMS: SELECTIVE EXPOSURE We tend to tune in only the portions of the media, which express opinions that go along with our points of view. Democrats mainly listen to Democrats, and Republicans listen to Republicans. Liberals usually read liberal magazines and newspapers, which are rarely seen by conservatives and visa versa. SELECTIVE INTERPRETATION We tend to interpret messages in terms of the beliefs and attitudes we already hold. Selective interpretation, for example, is a major reason why politicians are so vague in answering questions. THE ECHO CHAMBER EFFECT One purveyor of information will make a claim, which many like-minded people then repeat, overhear, and repeat again (often in an exaggerated form) until most people assume that some extreme variation of the story is true. EXAMPLE: In the buildup to war in Iraq, the echo chamber repeated the Bush administration's claims that Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction,, was tied to Al Qaeda,, and that the people of Iraq would welcome a U.S. invasion as "liberation." A LEADERSHIP PROBLEM: INCESTUOUS AMPLIFICATION ONE ONLY LISTENS TO THOSE WHO ARE ALREADY IN LOCK-STEP AGREEMENT, REINFORCING SET BELIEFS AND CREATING A SITUATION RIPE FOR MISCALCULATION. And... One last problem with news coverage and how issues are framed? THE PROBLEM OF FALSE EQUIVALENCY FOR EXAMPLE: 2+2=4 WHAT IF SOMEONE SAYS, NO! 2+2=8 DOES THAT PERSON DESERVE TO BE HEARD? IF 90% OF THE PEOPLE BELIEVE SOMETHING IS TRUE, HOW MUCH WEIGHT SHOULD THE 10% BE GIVEN IN THE REPORTING? 3

4 WHAT MESSAGES ABOUT MEDIA? WHAT IS CHANGING WITH MEDIA? CRITICS OF THE PRESS ARGUED THROUGHOUT THE CAMPAIGN OF 2008 THAT THE MEDIA WAS OVERLY SYMPATHETIC WITH OBAMA CAN YOU PASS THE UNITED STATES CITIZENSHIP TEST? YOU WILL FIND OUT VERY SOON! THE INFORMATION YOU NEED TO KNOW IS SPELLED OUT FOR YOU! YOU WILL ALSO BE COMPLETING WORK ON THE VARIOUS CONSTITUTIONS THAT IMPACT OUR LIVES IN THE PROCESS! CONSTITUTION STUDY GUIDE WORK Along with your ISSUE RESEARCH and the CITIZENSHIP TEST this work accounts for 30% of your term grade ( project ) EXPLORING THE CONSTITUTION Hard copy of this available in class includes the Appendix On-line version also Appendix is a separate link Answers need to be thorough it needs to be clear to me that you have done the reading. ALL OF THIS NEEDS TO BE COMPLETED TO RECEIVE FULL CREDIT. You also need to read some pages in your TEXTBOOK as you work on this STARTING ON PAGE 4 OF STUDY GUIDE you need to use the links I have posted (you will see those in the lab today) to complete the work. WHO ARE YOU POLITICALLY? YOU WORKED ON A FORCED CHOICE TEST. YOUR TOTAL SCORE INDICATED YOUR POLITICAL LEANINGS AT THIS POINT. ON THE REVERSE OF THE ANSWER SHEET THERE IS A DESCRIPTION OF THE VARIOUS POLITICAL POSITIONS. WE WILL BE USING THIS AS WE PROCEED IN THE COURSE. 4

5 1. Maintain your intensity 2. Process large amounts of information 3. Organize your thinking 4. View learning as a process IMPROVING FORUM SCORES Have the motivation to improve Take better notes/ listen more actively DO THE TEXT READING AND TEXT WORK CAREFULLY! STUDY THE VOCAB! BECOME A BETTER STUDENT GRADING THE TEXTBOOK WORK THIS IS FOUNDATION WORK FOR YOU AS FAR AS UNDERSTANDING THE MATERIAL THAT WE ARE STUDYING. IT IS PART OF YOUR TEST GRADE. 20 POINTS POSSIBLE YOU WILL SCORE 16 IF ALL QUESTIONS ARE COMPLETED AND THE WORK IS ADEQUATE TO SCORE BETWEEN YOUR WORK WILL NEED TO SHOW MORE EFFORT, MORE WRITING, MORE THOUGHT HAS GONE INTO IT Integrators, who get the news from both traditional sources and the internet, are a more engaged, sophisticated and demographically sought-after audience segment than those who mostly rely on traditional news sources. HOMOPHILY OR SERENDIPITY? THE HUMAN TENDENCY TO LINK UP WITH ONE ANOTHER IN WAYS THAT CONFIRM RATHER THAN TEST OUR CORE BELIEFS. BIRDS OF A FEATHER, FLOCK TOGETHER. HOW DO POLITICIANS USE THE MEDIA TO THEIR ADVANTAGE? Presidents use the bully pulpit to sway public opinion! The President as the #1 Newsmaker in the Country (world)? ROSENAU PYRAMID HOW INFORMED ARE WE? OPINION MAKERS: 1% ATTENTIVE PUBLIC 10-25% MASS PUBLIC 75-90% KNOWS VIRTUALLY NOTHING 5

6 ??????????????????? SHOULD THE LEADERS SEEK GUIDANCE FROM THE PUBLIC? SHOULD THE LEADERS DIRECT THE PUBLIC? TWO DISTINCT VIEWS Minimal input, if any, due to lack of knowledge! Maximum input due to the nature of our political system! HOW MUCH INVOLVEMENT BY THE PUBLIC? Nature of the Issue Complexity The degree of public interest RYKKEN S STRATEGIES FOR BEING INFORMED 1.Make a decision to become informed 2.Read the news as opposed to only watching it especially if there is a BIG story going on 3.Subscribe to a weekly news magazine and carry it around with you 4.Use internet to access 2 or 3 papers and get in a habit of looking at those 5.Seek variety 6.Have discussions with people who are into the news WHY DO WE HAVE WRITTEN CONSTITUTIONS? EXPRESSES THE SELF-DETERMINATION OF THE CITIZENS Citizens are stating that they have a right to govern themselves EMBODIES THE CIVIC SPIRIT OF THE MOMENT Constitutions express the hopes and aspirations for the people both at the time it was written and forever after ESTABLISHES A LEGAL FRAMEWORK FOR DEMOCRACY We are a government of law, not of men in other words, all must operate within the bounds established in the Constitution WHAT S THE CONNECTION BETWEEN... WELTANSCHAUUNG (WORLD VIEW) POLITICAL IDEOLOGY (Liberal v. Conservative) POLITICAL PARTIES People with similar ideologies Attempting to control the government 6

7 YOUR POLITICS: WHERE DO THEY COME FROM? POLITICAL SOCIALIZATION How politics is passed on to the next generation. Parents/ Home Environment Media Environment Education WHEN YOU GREW UP! (Think ) HOW SHOULD MEDIA OUTLETS BALANCE THEIR STORIES? WHAT IS MEANT BY THE EXPRESSION FALSE EQUIVALENCIES? The Newshouris on at 6:00 on PBS 5-8 minute news summary Lead Story fairly extensive and in-depth reporting PODCASTS RSS FEEDS (Really Simple Syndication) ALERTS ROSENAU REVISITED HOW INFORMED ARE WE? OPINION MAKERS: 1% ATTENTIVE PUBLIC 10-25% MASS PUBLIC 75-90% KNOWS VIRTUALLY NOTHING Millions of Americans accept what they are told and think they understand what they see. And what they are told and what they see is not often news as much as it is a manipulated commodity. But the facts that really count rarely reach a significant number of the public s s ears or eyes. -- Dan Schechter/ Newsday/ /

8 HOW DOES THE FIRST AMENDMENT IMPACT THE AMERICAN MEDIA ENVIRONMENT? HOW MUCH SHOULD THE PUBLIC KNOW? HOW HAS THE INTERNET CHANGED THE ENVIRONMENT? THREE PARENT QUESTIONS: 1.WHILE GROWING UP, DID THEY LIVE IN A HOUSEHOLD WHERE PEOPLE WATCHED THE NEWS AT A REGULAR TIME EACH DAY? 2.ARE THEY FAMILIAR WITH THE NAME WALTER CRONKITE? 3.DID THEY GROW UP IN A HOUSEHOLD THAT RECEIVED A DAILY PAPER? THE FAIRNESS DOCTRINE Was a policy of the US Government s Federal Communication Commission (FCC) that required broadcasters to present controversial issues in an honest, equitable, and balanced manner. The FCC abolished this in Opponents claimed it restricted free speech and free press. Defenders argued that it would bring balance to news coverage. Since the late 80s, we have seen an explosion of programming that is completely PARTISAN in nature. This has been especially true on AM Talk Radio. WE ARE UTILIZING A VARIETY OF NEWS FORMATS IN THIS CLASS THINK ABOUT THESE QUESTIONS: THE PURPOSE OF THE FORMAT? DO YOU DETECT A BIAS? IS THE FORMAT EFFECTIVE? NEWS EXHIBIT: WASHINGTON WEEK IN REVIEW FRIDAY NIGHTS: 7:00 ON PBS THE REPORTERS ARE AN EXAMPLE OF ROSENAU S OPINION-MAKERS (TOP 1% OF POPULATION) 8