Hollywood & Politics – Tuesday, November 15th

Which movie or TV show offers your favorite representation of politics? Be sure to offer specific examples to support your answer. You only need to refer to one class reading in support of your response.  

Election Recap – Thursday, November 10th **Note different due date!

How would you assess the coverage of the election results? What forms of campaign communication do you think were most effective for the winning candidate? What hurt/was the least effective for the loser? Refer to at least two previous class readings to support your response. 

Consultants, Pundits & Polls – Tuesday, October 25th

What role are consultants, pundits, special interests, and polls playing in this election? Offer an example of the impact each group has had on the 2016 presidential campaign.

Comedy & Politics – Tuesday, October 18th

How are the presidential candidates being presented on comedy programs? What impact do you think these satirical shows are having on this year’s election? And how does it compare to previous campaigns? Finally, if you were a campaign consultant, would you recommend that your candidate appear on one of these shows? 

Talk Shows – Tuesday, October 11th

Have talk shows been an effective way for the candidates and their surrogates to campaign during this election? If you were a campaign strategist, would you suggest more or less use of talk shows as campaign platforms? You should reference Jones Ch. 3 as well as at least three media examples from this year’s campaign to support your answer.     

Advertising – Tuesday, October 4th

What types of ads are we seeing this year? Are they more positive or negative in tone, and how do they compare to ads in previous campaigns? Based on the categories outlined by Trent et al Ch. 5 and Campaigns Ch. 3, offer examples of at least three different types of ads from the 2016 campaign and compare them to three similar historical ads that can be found on the website “The Living Room Candidate.” 

Debates – Thursday, September 29th **NOTE due date!

Assess each candidate’s performance in the first presidential debate. What debate strategies (noted in Trent et al Ch. 8) did they employ? How did their performances compare to those of previous candidates? And, if you were a debate coach, what advice would you give each candidate going into their next meeting? *Note: The due date for this blog post is noon on THURSDAY, September 29th. This will give you time to reflect on the first debate.