H I G H S C H O O L
Sample Chapter
Welcome to Government Alive! Power, Politics, and You. This document
contains everything you need to teach the sample chapter “Public Opinion
”
and the Media. We invite you to use this sample chapter today to discover
how the TCI Approach can make civics come alive for your students.
Contents
Letter from Bert Bower, TCI Founder and CEO 2
Letter from the National Constitution Center 3
Benefits of Government Alive! Power, Politics, and You 4
TCI Technology 5
Program Contents 7
Program Components 9
How to Use This Chapter 10
www.teachtci.com
Student Edition: Sample Chapter 9: Public Opinion and the Media 12
Lesson Guide 30
Lesson Masters 40
Visuals 48
Placards 52
Welcome!
G ove rn m e n t A l i ve ! Powe r, Po l i ti c s , a n d Yo u
T eaching government to restless twelfth graders in Mountain View, California, back in
the 1980s was a daunting task. Most students already had their eyes on life beyond
high school. The content interested few of them, and I was forced to breathe life into the
subject using little more than the traditional thick, boring text. How many of my students,
I wondered, would ever bother to vote?
Surprisingly, not much has changed in civic education over the past 30 years. To counter-
act this trend, TCI has created Government Alive! Power, Politics, and You. This is the first
nationally available curricular program and text that actively connects government to the
everyday lives of high school students. This program personalizes government by having
students participate in a wide range of civic exercises.
Government Alive! includes hands-on lessons that challenge students to think like active
citizens. Classroom engagement soars with activities such as reviewing a death row
case to write an amicus brief for or against the claim of denial of due process; simulating
presidential candidate debates, primaries, national conventions, and popular and electoral
votes; analyzing persuasive techniques and creating presidential campaign commercials;
and interviewing historical figures in the Capitol’s National Statuary Hall about key ideas
that influenced democratic government in the United States.
To hook student interest, a government program must stay up-to-the-minute. For this
reason, I am proud to announce our partnership with the National Constitution Center
in Philadelphia. On the National Constitution Center’s Web site, you’ll find breaking news
of current constitutional issues, including background information, recent votes, and
current legislation. There’s also a wealth of information on elections and candidates, as well
as on what’s happening in Congress today; a Citizen Action Center with pros and cons on
controversial topics; and instant email connections to all elected officials and the media at
the local, state, and federal levels.
Paired with the National Constitution Center’s extensive online resources, standards-
based Government Alive! will provide high school students with lively opportunities to
do democracy. There has never been such a comprehensive, hands-on civics program.
But then again, there has never been a time when we need to excite students about
welcome
active citizenship more than now. I hope you’ll join the wave of teachers across the
nation who are saying no to passive education and yes to total student involvement.
Use this sample chapter of Government Alive! with your students to discover the joy
of true student interaction.
Best,
Bert Bower
TCI Founder and CEO
2
Dear Educator
G ove rn m e n t A l i ve ! Powe r, Po l i ti c s , a n d Yo u
525 Arch Street | Independence Mall
Philadelphia, PA 19106 | T 215 409 6600 | F 215 409 6650
www.constitutioncenter.org
W e are pleased to introduce Government Alive! Power, Politics, and You, a
collaboration between TCI and the National Constitution Center. We are excited
to work with TCI on this dynamic new program, which will connect government to high
school students’ everyday lives. By creating opportunities to practice the rights and
responsibilities of citizenship, Government Alive! Power, Politics, and You will prepare
high school students to become active and informed citizens.
The National Constitution Center is a museum, an education center, and a forum for
deliberation on constitutional issues. The Constitution Center is located in Philadelphia on
”
America’s “most historic mile, where America’s founders met, deliberated, and created
the system of government we still live under today. It is the only museum in the world
dedicated to increasing public understanding of the United States Constitution and the
ideas and values it represents.
The museum dramatically tells the story of the U.S. Constitution from Revolutionary times
to the present through more than 100 interactive, multimedia exhibits, film, photographs,
text, sculpture and artifacts, and features a powerful, award-winning theatrical perfor-
mance, Freedom Rising.
The Constitution Center also houses the Annenberg Center for Education and Outreach,
the national hub for constitutional education.
Through this collaboration, Government Alive! Power, Politics, and You will provide a
unique combination of hands-on lessons and online resources for students to explore.
The resources and expertise of the National Constitution Center are made available to
students and teachers as they access breaking news on current constitutional issues,
gain the tools to analyze and assess information on civic matters, and utilize our extensive
online exhibits to further examine issues being addressed in the Government Alive!
program. Every day at the National Constitution Center thousands of visitors are encour-
aged—and we trust inspired—to make the choice of becoming more engaged and active
citizens. We believe that Government Alive! and its innovative use of the Center’s online
resources can encourage your students to make the same decision.
Sincerely,
welcome
Joseph M. Torsella
President & CEO
3
Benefits of Government Alive! Power, Politics, and You
G ove rn m e n t A l i ve ! Powe r, Po l i ti c s , a n d Yo u
Let’s face it. Today’s high school seniors are more interested in the prom and life after
graduation than learning about U.S. government. The current government curriculum is not
motivating students. Most seniors are graduating with a lack of interest in politics that
translates into civic apathy. Case in point: our nation is experiencing low voter registration
and turnout from people ages 18 to 24. TCI is committed to changing this attitude and behavior,
which is why we’ve created Government Alive! Power, Politics, and You—to give students
the tools and passion to contribute to our society well into their adult lives.
S
tudents immediately appreciate TCI’s Doing Democracy: A Toolkit for Civic
the difference between our Student Action provides step-by-step instructions
Edition and the traditional government and how-to templates on
textbook. The highly visual presentation of • registering to vote.
information makes the content easier to • evaluating candidates for political office.
remember and understand. And the study • presenting an issue at a school
of local and state government is integrated board meeting.
with national government, rather than • sponsoring a ballot initiative.
treating each in isolation. TCI’s program • and more…
provides hands-on lesson in which
Government Alive! Power, Politics, and
students You was created by teachers, for teach-
• discover how power is distributed, ers. The program is flexible and easy to
exercised, and checked under our use, providing a variety of ways to meet
Constitution. diverse student needs and curriculum
• study how the media, political parties, configurations. Teachers can
and interest groups shape public policy. • conduct the full classroom activity
• practice ways that citizens can influence supported by the chapter reading and
public policy. Interactive Student Notebook
assignments.
Our partnership with the National
Constitution Center provides resources • choose to assign only the reading
for students and teachers to of a chapter with its accompanying
Reading Notes.
• find background and breaking news on
current constitutional issues. • modify instruction for English language
learners, learners reading and writing
• locate, analyze, and assess information below grade level, learners with special
on civic matters. education needs, and advanced learners.
• communicate instantly with local, state,
Together we will inspire and prepare
and national public officials and media.
students to do democracy in the classroom
benefits
and beyond.
4
G ove rn m e n t A l i ve ! Powe r, Po l i ti c s , a n d Yo u
TCI’s cutting-edge technology solutions for both teachers and students are designed to
enhance teaching and learning.
TeachTCI TeachTCI is the most dynamic social studies technology ever created for teachers.
It delivers a wealth of teaching materials directly to teachers via the Internet. Using
Technology for Teachers TeachTCI technology, you can plan, present, and manage your TCI lessons all in one
place. Access the technology online, at your convenience, at www.teachtci.com.
PLAN
Here you’ll find everything you need to conduct a memorable, knock-their-socks-off
lesson—Lesson Guides, Student Handouts, Visuals, and more—in pdf format, all in
one place, and organized by chapter. Other features include:
• Customized state correlations
• Easy-to-use assessment tool—use TCI’s assessments or customize your own
• Enrichment Resources to enhance instruction
• Discussion Groups—share best practices with teachers nationwide
TEACH
TCI’s state-of-the-art Classroom Presenter slideshows translate the printed
Lesson Guide into a visual format that teachers can use with students.
The Classroom Presenter has:
• Rich images that are the hallmark of TCI lessons
• Concise, step-by-step instructions for each chapter’s classroom activity
• A powerful toolbar to enhance presentations—zoom, draw, and write on slides
to emphasize important information
LEARNTCI
See what your students see in LearnTCI before assigning it to them.
LearnTCI includes:
• The Student Edition text
• Game-like Reading Challenges in which students show what they know
• A highlighter, Main Idea Viewer, in-text key term definitions, text-to-audio
features, and more
technology
MANAGE
In one easy-to-use place, you can:
• Set up digital classes
• Assign chapters
• View your students’ Reading Challenge results individually and by class
• Manage accessibility features for individual students
5
G ove rn m e n t A l i ve ! Powe r, Po l i ti c s , a n d Yo u
LearnTCI LearnTCI—www.learntci.com —enables students to interact with content
online and apply what they’ve learned in a fun and engaging way. LearnTCI
Technology for Students motivates students to read—and they enjoy it more when it’s online!
As students read their Student Edition online, they can:
• Highlight the main ideas and then check their understanding using the
Main Idea Viewer
• Click on key terms and see their definitions, right in line with the text
• Have the text read to them
Reading Challenges use game-like settings to engage students’
interest through visuals, primary sources, maps, and audio cues.
Students are challenged to think about the content of each chapter
in ways that stimulate learning.
Students’ Reading Challenge scores are recorded in TeachTCI so teachers
can learn which topics may need reinforcement and which students may
need extra help. Assignments can be monitored from any computer at a
teacher’s convenience.
technology
6
Welcome!
Program Contents
G ove rn m e n t A l i ve ! Powe r, Po l i ti c s , a n d Yo u
In Government Alive! Power, Politics, and You, an Essential Question organizes each
chapter and its corresponding activity. By reading the Student Edition and participating
in the classroom activity, students gain a deeper understanding of the content.
Unit 1: Power, Authority, and Government 5 The Bill of Rights and Civil Liberties
1 The Nature of Power, Politics, and How are your rights defined and protected
Government under the Constitution?
Why should you care about power, politics, Problem Solving Groupwork activity:
and government? Students simulate a Supreme Court
Experiential Exercise: Students participate hearing on a First Amendment case that
in a trading game to explore how people focuses on a conflict of rights.
gain and exercise power.
6 Federalism: National, State, and
2 Comparing Forms of Government Local Powers
How should political and economic power How does power flow through our federal
be distributed in a society? system of government?
Response Group activity: Students Response Group activity: Students
take on the role of representatives at a discuss three case studies illustrating the
constitutional convention that is charged challenges of defining state and national
with creating a stable government and powers in the federal system.
an economic system for a fictitious,
newly independent country. Unit 3: Political Participation and Behavior
7 Citizen Participation in a Democracy
Unit 2: Foundations of American Government
How can you make a difference in a
3 The Roots of American Democracy democracy?
What ideas gave birth to the world’s first Visual Discovery activity: Students
democratic nation?
identify forms of civic participation that
Experiential Exercise: Students “walk individuals or groups have used to effect
through” the National Statuary Hall in change on the local, national, and
the U.S. Capitol to interview historical international levels.
figures about key ideas that influenced
democratic government in the 8 Parties, Interest Groups, and
Public Policy
United States.
Political parties and interest groups: How
4 The United States Constitution do they influence our political decisions?
How and why did the framers distribute Experiential Exercise: Students work in
power in the Constitution? groups to create informational Web sites
Social Studies Skill Builder: Students about simulated presidential candidates
delve into the Constitution during three and interest groups before participating
contents
engaging challenges that require them in a meet-and-greet to learn about the
to examine specific provisions of the relationship between politicians and
document as well as its overarching interest groups.
principles.
7
9 Public Opinion and the Media 14 The Federal Budget
G ove rn m e n t A l i ve ! Powe r, Po l i ti c s , a n d Yo u
To what extent does the media influence Does the federal government budget and
your political views? spend your tax dollars wisely?
Experiential Exercise: Students work in Social Studies Skill Builder: Students
groups to analyze persuasive techniques assume the role of budget experts in
and then create and evaluate campaign the Office of Management and Budget
commercials for presidential candidates. to recommend a spending plan for the
president to submit to Congress.
10 Political Campaigns and Elections
Elections and voting: Why should they Unit 6: The Judicial Branch
matter to you?
15 Courts, Judges, and the Law
Experiential Exercise: Students partici-
How is the U.S. judicial system organized
pate in parts of the electoral process in to ensure justice?
a presidential race, from the primaries to
Response Group activity: Students
the Electoral College.
analyze primary source documents,
Unit 4: The Legislative Branch images, and a recording, as well as data
and diagrams, to determine which type of
11 Lawmakers and Legislatures
court each set of information represents.
What makes an effective legislator?
Social Studies Skill Builder: Students 16 The Criminal Justice System
become staff members for a newly From doing the crime to doing the time:
elected member of Congress and How just is our criminal justice system?
participate in an orientation for new Writing for Understanding activity:
congressional staff to learn important Students review the criminal case of
aspects of being an effective legislator. a death row inmate and write an amicus
brief in support of or opposing his
12 Congressional Lawmaking
claim that his constitutional rights
How do laws really get made?
were denied.
Experiential Exercise: Students create
a mock House of Representatives to Unit 7: The United States and the World
experience steps in the legislative 17 Creating American Foreign Policy
process—including working in committee, How should the United States conduct
party caucuses, and floor debates—as foreign policy?
well as other factors that influence the Response Group activity: Students
lawmaking process. assume the role of members of the
National Security Council to advise
Unit 5: The Executive Branch
the president on three foreign
13 Chief Executives and Bureaucracies policy scenarios.
What qualities do modern presidents need
to fulfill their many roles? 18 Confronting Global Issues
Problem Solving Groupwork activity: How effectively do international
contents
organizations respond to global issues?
Groups create interactive exhibits on a
day in the life of a modern president for Experiential Exercise: Students assume
four presidential libraries and museums. the role of delegates to the United
Nations to debate a fictitious draft
resolution on global climate change.
8
Program Components
G ove rn m e n t A l i ve ! Powe r, Po l i ti c s , a n d Yo u
All the components of Government Alive! Power, Politics, and You fit together to deliver
powerful and memorable learning experiences. These components can be purchased in
print format, digital format with a TeachTCI subscription, or a combination of both.
• Provides recommendations for differentiating
instruction for English language learners,
students reading and writing below grade level,
learners with special education needs, and
advanced learners
Lesson Masters
• Contain reproducible student and teacher
masters for classroom activities, organized
by chapter
• Include Student Handouts, Information
Student Edition Masters, and assessments
• Provides considerate text that is uncluttered
Visuals
and easy to navigate for students at all levels
• Provide vibrant, colorful images
• Contains well-structured and manageable
chapters to make civics understandable and • Build and enhance visual literacy skills
relevant to students • Offer data in visual and graphic formats to
• Organizes each chapter around an Essential promote critical thinking skills
Question to focus student learning
Placards
• Includes powerful graphic elements that
• Include full-color, laminated picture cards to
support visual learning and spark student
promote critical thinking skills
interest
• Support hands-on activities
• Contains eighteen “Power, Politics, and
You” sections that present viewpoints on • Tap students’ visual skills during active
provocative issues that encourage students learning sessions
to do democracy
Sounds of Government Recorded Tracks
Lesson Guide • Stimulate learning with dramatizations,
• Provides simple, step-by-step procedures speeches, and sound effects
for each lesson • Enhance the drama and realism of many
• Lists materials and objectives for each lesson student activities
components
• Includes answers to assessments and a Guide Doing Democracy: A Toolkit for Civic Action
to Reading Notes for easy reference
• Provides practical templates to facilitate active
• Contains lesson enhancements with the participation in civic affairs—from researching
National Constitution Center, Online Resources, public issues to influencing public policy
Supreme Court cases, and more
9
How to Use This Chapter
G ove rn m e n t A l i ve ! Powe r, Po l i ti c s , a n d Yo u
1
E x p e r i e n t i a l E x e r c i s e C H A P T E R
Step 1
Public Opinion
and the Media 9
To what extent do the media influence your political views?
Overview Materials
Plan Instruction
Students learn about the role that public opinion and the media play in Government Alive!
American politics. Power, Politics, and You
Review the Lesson Guide (pages 30–39) to familiarize yourself with the chapter
Preview Students analyze a political advertisement and identify the purpose Transparencies 9A–9D
of such media. Placards 9A–9H (2 sets)
Activity In an Experiential Exercise, students work in groups to analyze Lesson Masters
persuasive techniques and then create and evaluate campaign commercials for • Notebook Guide 9
presidential candidates.
(1 per student)
Processing Students write position statements on the reliability and effective- • Information Master 9
ness of campaign commercials.
objectives and step-by-step procedures for the classroom activity. Be sure to review
(1 transparency)
(Note: Chapter 9 is the second part of a three-part Experiential Exercise. See the • Student Handouts 9A
second option in “Deeper Coverage” for tips on how to connect this activity to and 9B (1 of each per
the activity students participated in for Chapter 8.) group)
Objectives
In the course of reading this chapter and participating in the classroom activity,
the materials list (page 30), and prepare materials as needed. Also, consider the
students will
• analyze the role of the media in shaping public opinion.
• evaluate the extent to which the media act as a free press.
• analyze the influence of media coverage, political advertising, and public
opinion polls on local, state, and national elections.
• identify persuasive techniques and their application in U.S. campaigns.
options for differentiating instruction (pages 36–37).
• write position statements about the influence of political advertising on voters.
Public Opinion and the Media 97
2
N O T E B O O K G U I D E C H A P T E R
Step 2
Public Opinion and the Media
9
To what extent do the media influence your political views?
S p e a k i n g o f P o l i t i c s R E A D I N G N O T E S
Preview the Chapter with Students
As you complete the Reading Notes, use these terms After you read each section, answer the corresponding
in your answers: questions in your notebook.
Follow the steps under Preview in the Lesson Guide (page 31) to explain to
public opinion mass media
political socialization spin Section 9.2
opinion poll media bias 1. List six forces that shape political socialization. Rank
margin of error negative campaigning them in order from 1 (most influence on my political
socialization) to 6 (least influence). For the top two
items on your list, briefly explain why they have influ-
students what they will be learning in this chapter.
enced your political socialization.
P R E V I E W 2. Create a simple diagram or illustration to represent
each of the three ways that public opinion is shaped.
Analyze Adlai Stevenson’s 1952 campaign poster, shown Label each illustration.
at the beginning of Chapter 9, and record responses to
3. Why is public opinion important in a democracy?
these questions:
• What details do you see?
Section 9.3
• According to the poster, why should people vote for
Stevenson? 1. Explain the difference between straw polls and the
scientific sampling process.
• To whom is this poster designed to appeal?
2. Create a simple flowchart to show the steps of the
• Do you think such a poster could actually influence
polling process. Begin with the sentence shown below.
people’s views in an election?
• What other kinds of political media messages have
you been exposed to? Did they have any influence on Identify the target
your political views? population to be ? ?
surveyed.
3. Create a symbol to represent each of these types of
polls: benchmark polls, tracking polls, exit polls, and
push polls. Then write one or two sentences explaining
whether you think each type of poll should be used in
political campaigns.
© Teachers’ Curriculum Institute Public Opinion and the Media 125
3
Step 3
Introduce the Essential Question and the Student Edition
Introduce students to Chapter 9 in the Student Edition by following the steps in this
section of the Lesson Guide (page 31). These steps prepare students with a clear
question to explore as well as a way to clearly organize their learning throughout the
rest of the lesson.
4
Anti–Walter Mondale Campaign Poster, 1984
P l a c a r d 9 A
Step 4
Conduct the Experiential Exercise
This section of the Lesson Guide leads you step-by-step through the heart of a
TCI classroom activity—in this case, an Experiential Exercise. Students work in
groups to analyze presidential campaign posters. Students then use the persuasive
techniques they learned about to write and produce 30-second campaign commer-
© Teachers’ Curriculum Institute Government Alive! Power, Politics, and You
1
cials for their assigned candidates. During this activity, students read the chapter in
the Student Edition (pages 12–29) and complete the corresponding Reading Notes
how to use
(pages 40–41).
10
How to Use This Chapter
G ove rn m e n t A l i ve ! Powe r, Po l i ti c s , a n d Yo u
5
Step 5
Conduct a Class Discussion
Have students read the “Power, Politics, and You” section of the chapter
(pages 28–29) and facilitate a class discussion using the questions in the
Lesson Guide (page 33).
Step 6
Direct the Processing Activity
Have students complete the Processing activity (page 41).
6
Step 7
7
C h a p t e r 9 A s s e s s m e n t
Mastering the Content
1. The process by which people form their political 6. The release of confidential information to the news
attitudes and values is called media by an unnamed source is known as which of
A. political correctness. the following?
B. political engagement. A. a staged event
Conduct the Assessment
C. political participation. B. a trial balloon
D. political socialization. C. a sound bite
D. a leak
2. Which of the following is the best definition of
public opinion? 7. How can the company conducting an opinion poll
A. the sum of many individual views reduce the margin of error?
B. what journalists think about issues A. ask fewer questions
C. the beliefs of one or more interest groups B. survey a larger sample
D. how politicians express common attitudes C. use mail instead of phone
D. limit the survey to college graduates
Have students complete the Chapter 9 Assessment from the Lesson
3. Which of the following is the most important
reason why a scientific poll is more accurate than 8. Which of these persuasive techniques takes
a straw poll? advantage of people’s desire to conform?
A. the type of questions asked A. bandwagon
B. the number of people surveyed B. card-stacking
C. the method of sampling employed C. name-calling
D. the means of contacting people used D. transfer
4. The founders of our country saw a free press as a
safeguard against
A. negative campaigning.
B. the abuse of power.
C. the rise of parties.
9. The primary purpose of staged events and photo
opportunities is to
A. attract press coverage.
B. discuss issues in depth.
C. collect small donations.
Masters (pages 46–47).
D. political gridlock. D. hear the views of voters.
5. To test the appeal of campaign messages, media 10. How do political analysts determine the voting pat-
consultants often use terns of women and men?
A. focus groups. A. conduct exit polls
B. push polls. B. examine the ballots
C. spin doctors. C. review election results
D. think tanks. D. interview election judges
© Teachers’ Curriculum Institute Chapter 9 Assessment 131
Government Alive!
Power, Politics, and You
how to use
will help you ignite
your students’ passion
for civics—and
re-ignite your passion
for teaching it!
11
12
| Stu d e n t E d i ti o n | L e s s o n G u i d e | L e s s o n M a s te rs | V i s u a l s | P l a c a rd s
To what extent do the media influence
your political views?
Chapter 9
158
| Stu d e n t E d i ti o n | L e s s o n G u i d e | L e s s o n M a s te rs | V i s u a l s | P l a c a rd s
Public
Speaking of Politics
Opinion
public opinion
The sum of many individual opinions,
beliefs, or attitudes about a public
person or issue.
and the political socialization
The process by which people form
their political values and attitudes.
Media
This process starts in childhood and
continues through adulthood.
opinion poll
A method of measuring public opinion.
This is done by asking questions of a
random sample of people and using
■ 9.1 Introduction their answers to represent the views
of the broader population.
Every four years, Americans express their views on margin of error
how this country should be led when they cast their A measure of the accuracy of an
ballots for president. In the months leading up to opinion poll. The smaller the margin of
13
the election, voters are bombarded with television error, the more confidence one can
ads aimed at influencing public opinion about the have in the results of a poll. The mar-
candidates. Vast sums of money are spent on these gin of error usually decreases as the
number of people surveyed increases.
campaign ads in the hope of persuading voters to
support one candidate over another. mass media
Is this the way to choose the leader of the free Means of communication that reach a
world? Adlai Stevenson, the Democratic candidate large audience. Today the mass media
for president in 1952, didn’t think so. When asked include newspapers, magazines, radio,
about running ads on television, Stevenson said, “I television, and the Internet.
think the American people will be shocked by such
spin
contempt for their intelligence. This isn’t Ivory Soap
The deliberate shading of information
versus Palmolive.” about a person or an event in an
The 1952 presidential campaign was the first to attempt to influence public opinion.
use the new medium of television extensively to
reach voters. Rather than try to sell himself like soap, media bias
Stevenson opted to buy time for 18 half-hour speeches Real or imagined prejudice that is
airing from 10:30 to 11:00 two nights a week. Steven- thought to affect what stories journal-
son hoped this use of television would help him build ists cover and how they report those
stories.
a national following. However, both the lateness of
the hour and the dull “talking head” format of his negative campaigning
speeches limited the audience. Most of those who Trying to win an advantage in a
tuned in were already Stevenson supporters. campaign by emphasizing negative
aspects of an opponent or policy.
In the past, this type of campaigning
A 1952 campaign poster for Democratic presidential candidate
was called mudslinging.
Adlai Stevenson
159
| Stu d e n t E d i ti o n | L e s s o n G u i d e | L e s s o n M a s te rs | V i s u a l s | P l a c a rd s
The power of television in
politics first became evident
in the 1952 presidential election.
Dwight Eisenhower used television
ads to promote his candidacy. His
opponent, Adlai Stevenson, did not.
Eisenhower won a decisive victory
with more than 55 percent of the vote.
In contrast, Dwight Eisenhower, Stevenson’s “sell” candidates was generally positive in 1952.
Republican opponent, embraced the use of 20- to In reality, however, figuring out just what “the
30-second “spot” ads in 1952. The idea came from public” thinks is not so easy. The American public
advertising executive Rosser Reeves. Reeves con- today consists of more than 300 million individuals,
vinced Eisenhower that he could reach more viewers each with his or her own personal beliefs, values, 14
with less money by running short ads during popular attitudes, and opinions.
prime time programs. Titled “Eisenhower Answers
America,” each spot featured the candidate answer- How Do Individuals Form Their Political Opinions?
ing a question posed by an ordinary citizen. The ads The opinions you may have on political issues tend
showed “Ike” as a plain speaker responding to real to be shaped by deeply held political beliefs and
people’s concerns. Not only did more viewers see values. The formation of these beliefs and values
Ike’s ads; they also seemed to like what they saw. begins early in life and continues throughout adult-
Eisenhower swept to victory with more than 55 percent hood. Political scientists call this process political
of the votes cast. socialization. To “socialize” an individual means
Stevenson’s loss in 1952 didn’t change his low to teach that person to be a fit member of society.
opinion of television advertising. But when he ran Political socialization involves learning about the
against Eisenhower again in 1956, Stevenson agreed values, beliefs, and processes that underlie a political
to replace his speeches with five-minute spots. The system in order to participate in it effectively.
power of television to shape public opinion was just The process of political socialization is impor-
too hard, even for Stevenson, to resist. tant. No democracy could survive if its citizens did
not share some fundamental beliefs about how their
government should operate. However, this process
■ 9.2 The Formation of Public Opinion does not produce 300 million people who think
exactly alike. Political socialization involves all of
Adlai Stevenson had a low opinion of political the experiences that lead us to view political issues
advertising on television. But did Stevenson’s the way we do. And those experiences are never the
personal views about TV ads match public opinion same from one person to the next.
as a whole? The answer, seemingly, is no, since Many agents, or forces, play a part in political
Eisenhower’s advertising strategy apparently worked socialization. They include family, schools, religion,
so well. From the election results, one might con- friends, and the mass media. The diagram on the
clude that the public’s view of using televised ads to facing page illustrates these agents of socialization.
160 Unit 3 Political Participation and Behavior
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Political Socialization
Political socialization is the process by which we gain our political identity. It begins early in
childhood and continues throughout our lives. This diagram shows some of the forces that help
shape our political values and beliefs as we grow and mature.
Gender and Ethnicity News Media
Gender and ethnic identity affect our political The news media influence what we pay
loyalties. Men are more likely to vote Republican attention to as adults. The effects of the media
than women. Black voters are more likely than vary with our reading and viewing habits.
white voters to cast ballots for Democrats.
Peer Groups Family
As we age, our friends Families play a large role in
and co-workers begin to our early socialization. Most
influence our political high school seniors identify
views. So do the groups with the same political party
we join, such as labor as their parents.
unions and political parties.
Mature
adult 15
Young
adult
Teenager Toddler
Older Young
child child
School
Religion Schools teach us to love our country, respect
Religious teachings help shape political values. the law, and value our rights. The more
People may have more conservative or more liberal education Americans get, the more likely
views based on their religious beliefs. they are to participate in politics.
Chapter 9 Public Opinion and the Media 161
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Historical events are another important factor.
Children growing up in the affluent 1950s, for ex-
ample, tended to have a positive view of government.
Those growing up in the 1960s—a time marked by
political assassinations, urban riots, and the Vietnam
War—were more likely to view government with
considerable distrust.
What Is Public Opinion and How Is It Shaped?
Public opinion is commonly defined as the sum of
many individual opinions about a public person or
issue. This definition assumes that we can find out
what public opinion on a given issue is by asking a
large number of people what they think and adding
up their responses.
With so many opinions floating around among
so many Americans, how does public opinion come Mass protests like this one in early 2007 opposing the Iraq war both
to be shaped? Political scientists who study this ques- demonstrate and influence public opinion. The greater the number
of people involved, the more attention a protest is likely to get from
tion have come up with several answers. Here are
the news media. The more media coverage a protest gets, the more
three to consider. influence it may have on politicians and the general public.
Public opinion is shaped by special interest groups. 16
Some scholars believe that public opinion is less
about what individuals think and more about what simply too large and diverse for that to be true. In-
the special interest groups they belong to advocate. stead, it is more likely to be a range of views held by
Because many such groups represent large numbers many different “publics.”
of people, they are listened to when they speak
out on issues. Public Opinion as Guide, Guard, and Glue
Public opinion is shaped by journalists, politicians, Public opinion serves our democratic system of
and other opinion makers. Scholars who support government in three key ways. First, it guides leaders
this view observe that most of us don’t have time to as they make decisions about public policy. Whether
become informed on every issue. Instead we look conveyed through opinion polls, town hall meetings,
to influential opinion makers for information and letters, or e-mails, public opinion helps politicians
advice. These opinion makers may be journalists, know what their constituents are thinking. Politicians
public officials, business leaders, or activists. Because who ignore what the people care about do so at their
they have access to the media, “their” opinions often own peril. When the next election rolls around, they
become “our” opinions. risk being voted out of office.
Public opinion also serves as guard against hasty
Public opinion is shaped by what politicians say it is.
or poorly understood decisions. President Bill Clinton
This last view recognizes that politicians often talk
found this out when he proposed a complex restruc-
about “what the people think” without evidence to
turing of the national health care system in 1993. As
back up their claims. They may sincerely believe that
public confusion about his proposed reforms mounted,
they have their fingers on “the pulse of the public.”
the plan lost steam. Without public support, it never
Or they may hope that by claiming that the public
even made it to the floor of Congress for debate.
agrees with them loudly enough, they will convince
Lastly, public opinion serves as a kind of glue in a
the American people that it must be true.
diverse society like ours. Widespread agreement on
However public opinion takes shape, it is seldom basic political beliefs holds our society together, even
a single view held by all Americans. Our country is in times of intense partisan conflict.
162 Unit 3 Political Participation and Behavior
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■ 9.3 Measuring Public Opinion show of hands or some other means of counting
preferences. So confident was the Digest of this
In 1936, in the depths of the Great Depression, Liter- method of predicting elections that it boasted of its
ary Digest announced that Alfred Landon would “uncanny accuracy.”
decisively defeat Franklin Roosevelt in the upcom- The magazine conducted its 1936 straw poll by
ing presidential election. Based on his own surveys, mailing out more than 10 million ballots for people
a young pollster named George Gallup disagreed to mark with their choices for president. It predicted
with that prediction. Not only did Gallup choose the winner based on the over 2 million ballots that
Roosevelt as the winner, he publicly challenged were returned. What the Digest editors did not take
newspapers and magazines to show the two polls into account was that their sample was biased. Most
side by side. The result was a triumph for Gallup, of the ballots went to people with telephones or
with Roosevelt winning by a landslide. For Literary registered automobiles. During the depths of the De-
Digest, the most widely circulated magazine in the pression, people wealthy enough to have phones and
country, the embarrassment of wrongly calling the cars tended to be Republicans who favored Landon.
election proved disastrous. Its credibility destroyed, The secret of Gallup’s success was his careful use
the magazine soon slid into bankruptcy. of scientific sampling. Sampling is the process of
selecting a small group of people who are represen-
From Straw Polls to Scientific Sampling: tative of the whole population. Rather than mailing
The Evolution of Opinion Polling out surveys blindly, Gallup interviewed a sample of
After the 1936 election, many wondered how Liter- voters selected to mirror the entire electorate. His
ary Digest had blundered so badly. The magazine survey results underestimated Roosevelt’s popularity
had a record of predicting presidential elections on Election Day, but he did predict the winner cor-
accurately since 1916 using straw polls. A straw poll 17
rectly. His success marked the birth of the modern
is an informal survey of opinion conducted by a opinion poll.
Two Typical Opinion Polls
The basic elements of an opinion poll include (1) the name of the polling organization or sponsor,
(2) the question asked, (3) an analysis of the data gathered, (4) the date of the poll, (5) the sample
size, and (6) the margin of error. Note that the percentages on the graphs below do not all equal 100
percent. That is because they do not show the small percentage of people who answered “unsure.”
Newsweek Poll Gallup Poll
Do you think America is ready to elect a woman, Do you feel that racial minorities in this country have
African American, or Mormon president? equal job opportunities as whites, or not?
Woman president 55% Non-Hispanic 47%
35% 53%
white respondents
African American 56% 30% 17% 81%
Black respondents
president
Mormon president 34% 48% Hispanic respondents 34% 62%
Yes No Yes No
Date: December 6–7, 2006 Date: June 8–25, 2006
Sample: 864 registered voters nationwide Sample: 2,032 adults nationwide
Margin of error: ±4% Margin of error: ±6%
Sources: Newsweek and the Gallup Organization, as reported at PollingReport.com.
Chapter 9 Public Opinion and the Media 163
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The Answer Depends on the Question
How you ask a polling question can make a big difference in the answers people give. The impact of wording was
demonstrated in two polls conducted on unemployment. In the first poll, the question looked at only one side of the
issue. In the second, the question looked at why people are unemployed from two points of view. As the results
show, asking the question in this way made a considerable difference in how people responded.
Poll 1 Poll 2
87%
Do you agree or disagree Some people feel that any
65%
with this statement: Any 65% 43% 39%
22%
able-bodied person can
25%
able-bodied person can find find a job and make ends
a job and make ends meet. 12% meet. Others feel there 9%
10% 4%
are times when it is hard to 18%
get along and some able-
bodied people may not
be able to find work. Whom
do you agree with most?
Agree Disagree Can make Sometimes hard
No opinion No opinion
ends meet to get along
Source: Attributed to Albert H. Cantril, The Opinion Connection, Washington, DC: 1992, Brookings.
In Robert S. Erickson and Kent L. Tedin, American Public Opinion, Boston: 2003, Addison Wesley.
The Polling Process: Sample, Survey, and Sum Up town meeting. Politicians, he said, should view poll
Professional polling organizations today follow results as a mandate from the people. No longer could
much the same methods pioneered by Gallup and public officials ignore voter sentiment, he argued,
other early pollsters, though with a few improve- by claiming that public opinion was unknowable.
18
ments. The first step is to identify the population Today, opinion polls are widely used as means
to be surveyed. The target population might be all of gathering information about public sentiment.
adults, members of a political party, a specific age Businesses use polls to measure consumers’ attitudes
group, or people living in one community. about their products. Groups of all sorts use polls to
Most polling today is done by telephone. Phon- find out what their members are concerned about.
ing people randomly ensures that pollsters interview News organizations commission polls to measure
a representative sample of people. In most random the views of the American people on major issues
samples, every individual has a chance of being of the day. One regularly repeated opinion poll, for
selected. The number of people surveyed usually example, asks people to respond to this open-ended
ranges from 500 to 1,500. Internet surveys are also question: What do you think is the most important
widely used. problem facing this country today?
The opinions gathered in the survey are summed As you might expect, the results change over
up and reported in terms of the percent choosing time as new issues arise and capture the interest of
each response. Most polls also report a margin of the public.
error stated as plus or minus (±) some number of Other news media polls ask very specific public
percentage points. The margin of error indicates how policy questions. CNN, for example, conducted a
accurately the sample surveyed reflects the views of poll early in 2007 to gauge public opinion on the is-
the target population. If the margin of error is small, sue of global warming. The poll asked, Do you think
you can assume that the results reported are close to the government should or should not put new restric-
the opinions of the population as a whole. tions on emissions from cars and industrial facilities
such as power plants and factories in an attempt to
The Use of Polling to Measure Public Sentiment reduce the effects of global warming?
George Gallup saw public opinion polls as the mod- Seventy-five percent of the 500 adults surveyed
ern equivalent of the old-fashioned New England answered that the government should impose new
164 Unit 3 Political Participation and Behavior
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restrictions. Whether such a result would change the
mind of a lawmaker opposed to added restrictions is Polling of Voters on Election Day
hard to know. But a legislator who agreed with the
This poll was conducted with 5,154 voters as they exited
majority view might have been encouraged by this 136 polling places across the country on November 2, 2004.
poll to press harder for new emission controls. Each voter surveyed filled out a questionnaire asking how
Presidents and other public officials use polls to he or she had voted in the presidential election. The results
measure how well they are doing in the eyes of the were close to the actual vote count, with George W. Bush
voters. They use the results to help them develop poli- winning 50.7 percent of the votes cast and John Kerry
48.3 percent.
cies that they hope the public will support. In addi-
tion, the news media report regularly on the rise and Los Angeles Times
fall of presidential approval ratings. During the 1980s, 2004 National Exit Poll
Ronald Reagan came to be known as the “Teflon All 51% 48%
president” because bad news never seemed to stick
long enough to seriously damage his popularity. Men 53% 46%
Women 49% 50%
The Use of Polling in Political Campaigns
Three special kinds of polls are widely used during Whites 57% 42%
elections. A long and detailed benchmark poll is
often used by prospective candidates to “test the Blacks 14% 86%
waters” before beginning a campaign. Candidates Latinos 45% 54%
use information from such polls to identify which
messages to emphasize in their campaigns and which Asians 34% 64% 19
to avoid.
18–29 years old 43% 55%
Tracking polls are conducted during a campaign
to measure support for a candidate on day-by-day 65 and older 55% 45%
basis. Pollsters survey groups of likely voters each
night to find out how their views have been affected George W. Bush John Kerry
by the political events of that day. While each day’s
Source: Los Angeles Times, as reported at PollingReport.com.
poll is just a snapshot of the electorate’s views, taken
together, tracking polls can reveal trends and shifts
in attitudes over time.
Exit polls are used by campaigns and the news In 2004, an exit poll based on interviews with
media to predict the winners on Election Day long voters in 49 states appeared on the Internet early on
before the polls close. An exit poll is a survey of Election Day. The poll showed John Kerry leading
voters taken at polling places just after they have George W. Bush, prompting Kerry’s aides to start
cast their ballots. Because ballots are cast in secret, polishing his victory speech. This false prediction
exit polling is the only way we have of finding out raised serious questions about the accuracy of exit
how different age or ethnic groups of people voted polls. “They are not perfect and they have never been
and why. perfect and we have never taken them to be perfect,”
The use of exit polls by television networks led says a CBS News senior vice president, Linda Mason.
to controversy in 1980 when newscasters predicted
that Ronald Reagan had won the presidency long The Misuse of Polling to Influence Public Opinion
before polls closed in the West. Critics charged that At times polls are used more to shape than to mea-
announcing the winner so early discouraged western sure public opinion. Elected officials and special in-
voters from going to the polls. As a result, television terest groups sometimes claim to be assessing public
networks are more careful now not to predict the opinion by sending out mail surveys. The questions
winner in the presidential race until the polls have in these surveys are often rigged to generate highly
closed everywhere in the country. favorable results for the sponsor of the poll. Former
Chapter 9 Public Opinion and the Media 165
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congressman John Dowdy of Texas, for example, ■ 9.4 The Impact of the Mass Media
once sent a newsletter survey to his constituents with on Public Opinion
this question: A drive has recently been announced
to destroy the independence of Congress by purging Our opinions are shaped, in part, by the informa-
Congressmen who refuse to be rubber stamps for the tion we receive about the world. And never before in
executive arm of government. Would you want your human history has so much information been made
representative in Congress to surrender to the purge available to us through the mass media. By 2000,
threat and become a rubber-stamped Congressman? Americans were buying nearly 60 million copies of
It is hard to imagine anyone answering yes to such daily newspapers and 10 thousand copies of weekly
a highly charged question. Thus, not only are mail-in or monthly magazines. They listened to nearly 9,000
straw polls highly unreliable, as the Literary Digest radio stations and watched an average of six hours of
editors discovered. The results can also be skewed. television a day. Add to that the wealth of informa-
Television and radio shows also use call-in and tion made available through the Internet and you
Internet straw polls to report public opinion. In can begin to see why many people complained of
1992, news anchor Connie Chung reported on the information overload.
basis of a call-in poll that 53 percent of Americans
reported being “worse off than four years ago.” She Where Do Americans Get Their News?
went on to say, “This does not bode well for Presi- A century ago, this would have been an easy ques-
dent Bush.” A scientific poll conducted at the same tion to answer. Americans got their news from the
time, but not released until later, showed that only print media—mainly newspapers and magazines.
32 percent of the population felt “worse off” than A half-century ago, the answer would have been
four years before. By then, however, it was too late less simple. By the 1950s, the broadcast media— 20
to repair whatever damage might have been done to mainly radio and television—had become major
George H. W. Bush’s approval rating. sources of news. Where once the broadcast media
Despite criticism from scientific pollsters, some limited their news offerings to short news summaries
news shows continue to promote call-in or Internet and nightly newscasts, we now have 24-hour news
polls and report the results. One public opinion text- programming available on both radio and cable
book recommends viewing such polls as the expres- television stations.
sion of “bored people with strong feelings on some To make matters still more complex, a growing
subjects [who] are willing to pay a long-distance number of people now get instant news on demand
charge to register their views.” using the electronic media—computers, cell phones,
The 1990s saw the appearance of a highly suspect and other communication devices that connect via
form of polling called the push poll. These are phone the Internet to the World Wide Web. The Web makes
surveys, usually made close to Election Day, on behalf billions of documents stored in computers all over the
of a candidate. The pollsters sound like they want world accessible to anyone with an Internet connec-
your views on the election. But their real purpose is tion. As the graph on the opposite page shows, the
to “push” you away from voting for their candidate’s rise of each new medium has changed the public’s
opponent by spreading damaging information. news-consumption habits.
A typical push poll begins by asking for whom
you plan to vote on Election Day. Should you answer The News Versus the “New” Media
that you plan to vote for the opposing candidate, A generation ago, most Americans looked to trusted
the next question might be, Would you support that news media—newspapers, news magazines, and
candidate if you knew that she wants to cut spending broadcast news shows—for information on politics and
for schools? The purpose of the question is not to public affairs. The news media rely on a small army
give you useful information, but rather to raise last- of reporters, fact-checkers, and editors to research
minute doubts. The American Association for Public and report stories in an accurate, unbiased manner.
Opinion Research has declared push polls to be “an Beginning in the late 1980s, new ways to commu-
unethical campaign practice.” nicate with the public about politics began to appear.
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Where Do You Get Your News?
Fifty years ago, the majority of Americans Changing Sources of News, 1955–2004
got their news from newspapers and
nightly news broadcasts from the three
80
major television networks. As this graph
Percentage of Readers/Viewers
shows, their share of daily readers 70
and nightly viewers has decreased
60
over time. In contrast, the number of
Americans turning to the Internet for 50
their news has surged since the advent 40
of the World Wide Web in the 1990s.
30
20
10
Sources: 1957 News Media Study, 1958 Omnibus
0
Survey of Consumer Attitudes and Behavior, 1967
1955 1960 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005
Political Participation in American Study, and
Year
1972–2004 General Social Surveys, as reported in
Martin P. Wattenberg, Is Voting for Young People?
New York: Pearson Learning, 2007. The State of the Daily newspaper Nightly network Online news
News Media 2006. The Pew Research Center. readers news viewers consumers
These “new” media include talk radio, television talk an era where our lives can be destroyed by a pack of
shows, television news magazines, televised town wolves hacking at their keyboards with no oversight,
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CMYK 21
hall meetings, and cable comedy shows spoofing the no editors, no accountability?”
3rd Proof
news of the day. 7-4-2007
While running for president in 1992, Bill Clinton
© The New Yorker Collection 2000, Dana Fradon from cartoonbank.com.
All rights reserved.
became a master at using the new media to talk directly
to voters. He even appeared on MTV, playing his
saxophone and fielding questions from young people.
More recently, news-oriented Web logs, or blogs,
have emerged as another new medium. A blog is
a journal or newsletter posted on the World Wide
Web. Because the Web is essentially free, anyone can
create a blog to distribute his or her opinions on the
news of the day. Blogs are the most democratic and
unregulated of all the news and new media. At times,
these citizen-journalists have scooped the news media
by reporting stories first. The scandal that eventually
led to President Bill Clinton’s impeachment was
first reported by Matt Drudge in 1998 in his blog, “I’m still undecided—I like Leno’s foreign policy, but
The Drudge Report. Letterman makes a lot of sense on domestic issues.”
Because bloggers do not have to follow the same
standards for accuracy as professional journalists, This cartoon reflects the growing influence of the “new media”
in politics. Talk show hosts like Jay Leno and David Letterman
their reports should be read with caution. Some of
are better known for making jokes about politicians than dis-
what passes for news on blogs may be gossip, false cussing serious issues. However, because the late night shows
rumor, or opinion. This lack of standards prompted reach viewers who may not watch traditional newscasts, many
blogger Mark Coffey to wonder, “Have we entered politicians are eager to appear on them as guests.
Chapter 9 Public Opinion and the Media 167
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The Role of a Free Press in a Democracy off-the-record conversation, the reporter can use
The news media—old and new—have three essential the information but may not reveal the source.
roles in a democracy. The first is serving as a “watch- When speaking on the record, politicians usually
dog” over the government. The second is setting put their own spin on issues. Their goal is to con-
the public agenda. The third is supporting the free vince both reporters and the public that their view
exchange of ideas, information, and opinions. of events is the correct one. They also try to include
One of the greatest concerns of our nation’s colorful sound bites that capture their main points
founders was the potential for government officials to in just a few words. They know that short sound
abuse their power. They saw a free press as a guard bites are more likely to be run in news stories than
against corruption and the misuse of power. For more are long speeches.
than two centuries, the media have fulfilled this watch- Public officials sometimes use off-the-record
dog role by exposing everything from the corruption conversations to float trial balloons. A trial balloon
of the Grant administration to the efforts of President is a proposal that is shared with the press to test
Nixon to cover up the Watergate scandal. public reaction to it. If the reaction is negative, the
Far too much happens in the world for the press official can let the proposal die without ever having
to report on everything, however. News editors and his or her name attached to it.
producers have to choose what to cover and what to Off-the-record conversations are also used to
leave out. These decisions help determine what issues leak information to the press. A leak is the unofficial
get placed on the public agenda. Politicians and release of confidential information to the media.
activists try to harness this agenda-setting power of Public officials leak information for many reasons.
the media to focus attention on issues they care about. They may want to expose wrongdoing, stir up sup-
Finally, the news media serve as a marketplace of port for or opposition to a proposal, spin the way
22
ideas and opinions. The airwaves today are filled with an event is covered, or curry favor with reporters.
opinion journalism—the chatter of “talking heads” In 2000, President Clinton vetoed a bill that would
eager to share their views with the world. Most peo- have made it easier to prosecute government officials
ple who tune into these electronic debates do so not for leaking secret information to the press. Former
to receive objective analysis, but rather because they Justice Department official John L. Martin said of
share the talk show host’s political point of view. the antileak bill:
The biggest leakers are White House aides,
Influencing the Media:
Cabinet secretaries, generals and admirals,
Staging, Spinning, and Leaking
and members of Congress. If this were enacted,
Public officials at all levels of government work hard
enforced and upheld by the courts, you could
to both attract and shape media coverage. The most
relocate the capital from Washington to [the
common way to do this is by staging an event and
federal penitentiary at] Lewisburg, PA.
inviting the press. Presidential press conferences are
an example of staged events.
In 2007, Senator Barack Obama launched his Are the Media Biased?
presidential campaign by staging an event at Illinois’ Many Americans believe that the media have a
Old State Capitol, the place where Abraham Lincoln liberal or conservative bias. Nevertheless, most
delivered his famous “House divided” speech against professional journalists strive to be fair and unbiased
slavery in 1858. As hoped, the event attracted thou- in their reporting. In its code of ethics, the Society
sands of supporters and widespread press coverage. of Professional Journalists calls on its members to
Politicians also try to influence the press by be “honest, fair and courageous.” It cautions that
granting interviews to reporters. Often they set “deliberate distortion is never permissible.”
ground rules that indicate what information report- What critics see as media bias may, in reality, be
ers can use and how they can identify their source. a reflection of how news organizations work. Most
If it is an on-the-record conversation, the report news media outlets are businesses. They need to
can quote the public official by name. If it is an attract readers, listeners, or viewers to survive. With
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How What We Believe Influences What We Watch
People are selective when it comes
Viewers of Fox News Viewers of CNN News
to getting the news. They pay atten-
tion to media that support their views
and screen out those that do not. In
2004, people identifying themselves 30% 36% 39%
as conservative, for example, were 52%
more likely to tune into conservative
Fox News than more liberal CNN for 13% 5%
5% 20%
their news. The opposite was true
for self-described moderates. This
selectivity limits the impact of the
news media on public opinion.
Source: Pew Research Center for the People
and the Press, “News Audiences Increasingly
Politicized,” June 6, 2004. Conservative Moderate Liberal Other
limited space or time to fill, their reporters, editors, people in some way, even if only to make them mad
and producers have to make choices about what or sad? A second is conflict, preferably mixed with
stories to cover. These decisions are less likely to be violence. Does the story involve a crime, a fight, a
motivated by political ideology than by what they scandal, or a disaster? A third factor is novelty. Is the
think will attract and hold an audience. story about a “hot topic” or a breaking news event?
Journalists look at many factors in choosing what A fourth is familiarity. Does the story involve people
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stories to cover. One is impact. Will the story touch we all know and find interesting?
CMYK 23
1st Proof
5-30-2007
While this cartoon makes fun of media
bias, it also demonstrates how journalists
can shape the news through their choice
of stories and the way they cover them.
© Tom Tomorrow
Chapter 9 Public Opinion and the Media 169
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These factors influence what you see and hear as
news. Because reporters like novelty, you won’t see Common Persuasive Techniques Used
many stories about ongoing issues or social problems. in Political Advertising
Because they want conflict, you won’t see much cov-
erage of compromise in the making of public policy. Political campaigns use a number of persuasive techniques
And because they are looking for impact, bad news in an attempt to influence the opinions of voters. The more
you know about these techniques, the better you will be at
almost always wins out over good. As an old saying
analyzing political advertising.
in journalism goes, “If it bleeds, it leads.”
■ 9.5 The Influence of the Media
in Political Campaigns
In 1960, Richard Nixon and John Kennedy partici-
pated in the first televised debate between two presi-
dential candidates. Nixon, weakened by a bout of
the flu, appeared nervous, awkward, and uneasy. His
face looked pale and sweaty, all the more so because
he did not allow the television producers to improve
his appearance with makeup. Kennedy, in contrast,
appeared confident, relaxed, and appealing.
Those who watched the debate on television Name-Calling
concluded that Kennedy had “won.” Those who Using personal attacks on an opponent to distract voters
from the real issues of the campaign. The goal is to inspire
listened on the radio considered Nixon the winner.
doubts about the opponent’s fitness for office by appealing 24
The difference reflected not what the two candidates to people’s fears or prejudices. This 1964 ad uses name-
said about the issues, but rather the images they calling to link presidential candidate Barry Goldwater to
projected. This outcome underscored the growing “right-wing extremists.”
importance of image over issues in political campaigns.
Image Making and the Role of Media Consultants
Kennedy’s television triumph in 1960 contributed to Transfer
the rise of new players in political campaigns: media Using symbols or
images that evoke
consultants. Their job is to advise candidates on how
emotion to some-
to present a positive image to voters. They make sure, thing unrelated,
for example, that their candidates wear flattering such as a candidate
colors that will show up well on television. They or proposition. This
1984 campaign
coach candidates on how to speak to the press and poster links presi-
how to respond to voters’ questions. dential candidate
Media consultants also help candidates plan their Walter F. Mondale
media campaigns. They work with the news media and his running mate
Geraldine Ferraro
to get free coverage of the campaign in newspapers to beloved patriotic
and newscasts. However, most media coverage comes symbols such as
from paid political advertising. Media consultants Liberty and the
American flag.
help decide what ads should say and where and when
they should appear.
Advertising is expensive. Candidates may spend
up to 80 percent of their “war chests,” or campaign
funds, on paid ads. Media consultants use opinion
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Bandwagon
Creating the impression
that “everyone” supports
a cause or candidate.
This technique plays on
people’s desire to con-
form, or “climb on the
The Granger Collection, New York
bandwagon,” rather
than be left behind.
This 1972 ad suggests
that Americans from all
walks of life are backing
Testimonial
presidential candidate
Having a well-known celebrity or personality endorse a can-
George McGovern.
didate or proposal. The hope is that you will follow the per-
son’s example without questioning his or her qualifications to
make such a judgment. In this 1928 ad, famous sports figures
endorse Democratic nominee Al Smith for president.
The Granger Collection, New York
25
Card-Stacking
Presenting facts, statistics, and other evidence that support only one side of an argu-
ment. This ad begins with the fact that as governor of Massachusetts, Democratic
presidential candidate Michael Dukakis supported a plan that allowed murderers to
take weekend leaves from prison. It concludes that “Mike Dukakis is the killer’s best
friend, and the decent, honest citizen’s worst enemy.”
Plain Folks
The use of folksy or everyday images
and language to show that the candi-
date is a regular person who under- Glittering Generalities
stands the needs and concerns of the Using vague, sweeping state-
common people. In this 1872 poster, ments that appeal to voters
President Grant and his running mate emotionally, but don’t actually
appear as common working people. say much of anything specific.
Candidates or proposals are
often described in lofty terms.
This 1952 ad for presidential
candidate Dwight Eisenhower
and his running mate Richard
Nixon urges “Let’s clean
house” without defining what
that might mean.
Chapter 9 Public Opinion and the Media 171
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polls to make sure that money is spent effectively.
They also work with focus groups to test the ap-
peal of campaign messages. A focus group is a small
group of people who are brought together to dis-
cuss their opinions on a topic of concern. Before
the public sees a campaign ad, it has probably been
discussed and tweaked by a focus group.
Types of Campaign Ads: Issue Versus Image
Political advertisements usually fall into two broad
groups. The first group deals with issues, the second
with images. Ads in either group can be positive Not all photo ops work out as planned. Democratic presidential
or negative. Positive ads are aimed at making you hopeful Michael Dukakis learned this the hard way in 1988. Want-
like or respect a candidate, while negative ads are ing to show that he was strong on defense, Dukakis had himself
designed to make you dislike or fear his or her op- photographed riding in a tank. Wearing an oversized helmet, he
ponent. Both types of ads use persuasive techniques looked more comical than presidential.
well known to advertisers. Some of those techniques
are explained on the previous two pages. One of the most famous photo ops in recent
Positive issue ads promote a candidate’s position years occurred in 2003 when President Bush, wear-
on topics calculated to appeal to voters. A positive is- ing a flight suit, landed on the deck of the aircraft
sue ad might highlight the candidate’s determination carrier USS Lincoln to announce the end of “major
to improve funding for schools or to hold the line on combat operations” in Iraq. Clearly visible in the 26
taxes. Negative issue ads, on the other hand, criticize background was a banner stating “Mission Accom-
the opponent’s stand on issues of importance to plished.” Images of President Bush being cheered by
voters. An opponent who opposes the death penalty, the Lincoln’s crew appeared in newscasts and news-
for example, might be criticized in a negative issue papers across the nation.
ad for being “soft on crime.” National nominating conventions are also
A positive image ad might show the candidate as staged to attract maximum media coverage. In the
a selfless public servant, a strong leader, or someone past, conventions were dominated by long-winded
who cares about ordinary people. The candidate speeches and debates over the nominees and plat-
might be portrayed as a hero or as just “plain folk.” form that bored television viewers. As a result, the
In contrast, a negative image ad might portray the broadcast media drastically cut their coverage of
opponent as weak, inexperienced, or lacking in these events. In response, parties have streamlined
integrity. Often negative ads include unflattering their conventions. Most serious business is com-
photographs of the opposition candidate. The desired pleted off camera. Prime time speeches and events
effect is to convince voters that this person is some- are designed mainly to promote the party’s ideas and
how unfit for public office. candidates to the viewing public.
Attracting Media Coverage: Media Coverage of Elections:
Photo Ops and Streamlined Conventions Horse Races and Soap Operas
For all they spend on advertising, candidates and their Studies of election news coverage show that most
media consultants work hard to attract news coverage reporting falls into two distinct patterns. The first
as well. Almost all aspects of a campaign are designed pattern, horse race coverage, treats an election as a
to generate as much free publicity as possible. Often sporting event. Horse race stories focus on who is
this is done by creating a photo op—short for photo winning and why. Issues are discussed only in terms
opportunity—for the candidate. A photo op is a care- of whether they will help or hurt the candidate’s
fully staged event designed to produce memorable chances. Opinion polls, often sponsored by a news
photographs and video images. organization, are used to track who is ahead or
172 Unit 3 Political Participation and Behavior
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behind. The results of the polls are then covered by negative campaigning, also known as mudslinging.
the media as campaign news. The decision to go negative is not taken lightly.
The second pattern of coverage, soap opera stories, Polls show that the public dislikes attack ads. Going
focuses on the ups and downs of candidates and negative also leaves the candidate open to criticism
their campaigns. Soap opera stories thrive on gossip, for running a mean-spirited campaign. As Adlai
scandals, and personality. Questions of “character” are Stevenson warned in 1954, “He who slings mud
more important than issues. During the 2004 election, generally loses ground.”
for example, stories about Democratic presidential Why then take the risk? Cathy Allen, an experi-
nominee John Kerry often dealt more with his “flip- enced media consultant, advises clients to consider
flops” on issues than with the issues themselves. negative campaigning only when the candidate has
In their hunger for soap opera stories, reporters absolute proof that the opponent has done some-
sometimes practice what has become known as “got- thing wrong or when the candidate is facing an
cha” journalism. The aim of gotcha journalism is uphill battle and has little to lose.
to catch the candidate making a mistake or looking In the end, campaigns go negative because it
foolish. An example of gotcha journalism occurred works. Some scholars argue that negative ads work
during the 2000 presidential primaries when a re- by discouraging voters who might have supported
porter gave then-governor George W. Bush a “pop a candidate under attack from going to the polls.
quiz,” asking him to name the leaders of Chechnya, Others contend, however, that negative campaign-
Taiwan, India, and Pakistan. When Bush could name ing actually stimulates voter interest. They argue that
only one leader correctly, reporters ran stories with going negative works not by discouraging voting, but
headlines like “Bush gets an F in foreign affairs.” instead by causing more voters to go to the polls and
choose a different candidate on Election Day. 27
Why Campaigns “Go Negative” Like it or hate it, negative campaigning is part of
At some point during a campaign, media consultants our political tradition. How well it works depends
may advise a candidate to “go negative.” This means on how you and voters like you react to what you see
switching from a positive, upbeat campaign to and hear during each election season.
Summary
In a democracy, public opinion serves as a guide to elected officials, a guard against costly
mistakes, and a kind of glue that holds us together despite our differences. While the mass
media may help shape public opinion, they are also shaped by it.
Public opinion Public opinion is the sum of a large number of individual opinions. Our
basic views about politics are formed early in life through political socialization. Agents of
socialization include family, schools, religion, friends, and the news media.
Opinion polling Public opinion is best measured by scientific opinion polling. Accurate
results depend on surveying a random but representative sample of the target population.
Mass media Americans today receive information from print, broadcast, and electronic
media. The news media serve as government watchdogs, agenda setters, and forums for an
exchange of views.
Political campaigns Politicians depend on both the free and paid media to reach voters
during campaigns. Today, image seems as important as issues in both campaign advertising
and media coverage of candidates.
Chapter 9 Public Opinion and the Media 173
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9 Power, Politics, and You
Should “truth in
advertising” apply False Ads: There Oughta Be a Law!
to political ads? Or—Maybe Not
Political campaigns use a
variety of persuasive techniques by Brooks Jackson readings over the phone and
to influence public opinion. Here’s a fact that may surprise then socked her gullible cli-
But are there limits to what you: Candidates have a legal ents with enormous telephone
those ads can say? If not, whom right to lie to voters just about charges . . .
can you trust to help you sort as much as they want. But there’s no such truth-in-
out fact from fiction? Look for That comes as a shock to advertising law governing fed-
nonpartisan, nonprofit consumer many. After all, consumers have eral candidates. They can legally
advocates for voters. One of been protected for decades from lie about almost anything they
these is FactCheck.org, an false ads for commercial prod- want. In fact, the Federal Com-
Internet source of information ucts. Shouldn’t there be “truth- munications Act even requires
and political analysis. in-advertising” laws to protect broadcasters who run candidate
In this article, Brooks Jack- voters, too? ads to show them uncensored,
son, director of FactCheck.org, Turns out, that’s a tougher even if the broadcasters believe
explains why such an advocate question than you might imag- their content to be offensive 28
is needed. As you read the ine. For one thing, the First or false . . .
article, ask yourself, Do truth-in- Amendment to the U.S. Con- Stations can reject ads for
political-advertising laws make stitution says, “Congress shall any reason from political groups
sense to you? Or do such laws make no law . . . abridging the other than candidates. And they
violate freedom of speech and freedom of speech,” and that may reject ads from all candi-
freedom of the press? applies to candidates for office dates for a given office. But if
especially. And secondly, in the they take ads from one candi-
few states that have enacted laws date, they can’t legally refuse ads
against false political ads, they from opponents . . . Rejecting a
haven’t been very effective. candidate’s ad because it’s false
is simply not allowed.
Bogus Psychics & Twirling So what gives? Surely the
Ballerina Dolls Laws protect- public stands to suffer more
ing consumers from false adver- damage from a presidential can-
tising of products are enforced didate lying about his opponent
pretty vigorously. For example, than from a bogus psychic . . .
the Federal Trade Commission Yes. But . . .
(FTC) took action in 2002 to For one thing, the First
protect the public from the self- Amendment guarantee of free
proclaimed psychic “Miss Cleo,” speech poses a big obstacle
who the FTC said promised free to enacting or enforcing such
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laws—which it should. The very
idea of self-government rests
on the idea that voters—given
enough uncensored informa-
tion—can best decide who
should be in power and who
should not . . . So states have
found it hard to enact laws
against false political advertis-
ing—and even harder to make
them work.
Washington State: The Case
John Morris/www.CartoonStock.com
of the Killer Ophthalmologists
Washington state also ran into
problems trying to enforce its
truth-in-political-advertising law
after a 1991 ballot referendum
fight. At issue was a proposed “Congratulations—you’ve won the
“death with dignity” law. A ‘Truth in Advertising’ award.”
29
group opposed to it, the “119
Vote No! Committee,” issued a
leaflet saying that if the proposal State Supreme Court later struck All this should tell voters
passed it “would let doctors end down the law under which the that—legally—it’s pretty much
patients’ lives without benefit of committee had been charged. up to them to sort out who’s
safeguards . . . your eye doctor The Supreme Court’s major- lying and who’s not in a political
could kill you.” ity opinion questioned whether campaign. Nobody said Democ-
The ballot proposition failed, state government officials had racy was supposed to be easy.
and the state’s Public Disclosure any right to substitute their It is of course the job of news
Commission brought an action judgment for that of the voters organizations to assist; that’s
charging the 119 Committee in matters of political speech. why the First Amendment guar-
with violating the state’s law Quoting earlier court opinions, antees a free press as well as free
against false political advertis- it said . . . speech. We at FactCheck.org try
ing. The commission said the “The First Amendment exists hard to help. But on Election
proposal did contain standards precisely to protect against laws Day, it’s up to you.
and it was false to say it would such as (the Washington state
open the door to killer ophthal- truth-in-advertising law) which Brooks Jackson, an award-
mologists. But the trial court suppress ideas and inhibit free winning journalist, is the
dismissed the charges in this discussion of governmental director of FactCheck.org,
case, too, and the Washington affairs.” . . . based in Washington, D.C.
Chapter 9 Public Opinion and the Media 175
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E x p e r i e n t i a l E x e r c i s e C H A P T E R
Public Opinion
and the Media 9
To what extent do the media influence your political views?
Overview Materials
Students learn about the role that public opinion and the media play in Government Alive!
American politics. Power, Politics, and You
Preview Students analyze a political advertisement and identify the purpose Transparencies 9A–9D
of such media. Placards 9A–9H (2 sets)
Activity In an Experiential Exercise, students work in groups to analyze Lesson Masters
persuasive techniques and then create and evaluate campaign commercials for • Notebook Guide 9
presidential candidates. 30
(1 per student)
Processing Students write position statements on the reliability and effective- • Information Master 9
ness of campaign commercials. (1 transparency)
(Note: Chapter 9 is the second part of a three-part Experiential Exercise. See the • Student Handouts 9A
second option in “Deeper Coverage” for tips on how to connect this activity to and 9B (1 of each per
the activity students participated in for Chapter 8.) group)
Objectives
In the course of reading this chapter and participating in the classroom activity,
students will
• analyze the role of the media in shaping public opinion.
• evaluate the extent to which the media act as a free press.
• analyze the influence of media coverage, political advertising, and public
opinion polls on local, state, and national elections.
• identify persuasive techniques and their application in U.S. campaigns.
• write position statements about the influence of political advertising on voters.
Note: TCI uses the terms “visual” and “transparency” interchangeably.
Public Opinion and the Media 97
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P r o c e d u r e s
Preview
Suggested time: 15 minutes
1 Have students complete Preview 9. Distribute Notebook Guide 9 and project
Transparency 9A: Adlai E. Stevenson Campaign Poster, 1952 or direct students
to the image shown at the beginning of Chapter 9. Review the directions for
the Preview with students. You may want to point out that Adlai Stevenson,
who ran for president in 1952, belonged to the same political party as Franklin
D. Roosevelt, who became president after Herbert Hoover during the Great
Depression. Read each question aloud, and have students respond to them
verbally and then record their responses in their notebooks.
2 Have students share their responses in pairs or with the class.
3 Explain the connection between the Preview and Chapter 9. Students have
just considered how a campaign poster might have influenced voters in the
Notebook Guide 9
1952 presidential election and whether media messages are effective in shap-
ing people’s political views. They will now learn more about the various ways
the media influence and are shaped by politics and public opinion.
Reading
31
Speaking of Politics Encourage students to use the following terms as they
complete their Reading Notes for the chapter: public opinion, political socializa
tion, opinion poll, margin of error, mass media, spin, media bias, and negative
campaigning.
1 Introduce the Essential Question and have students read Section 9.1.
Afterward, ask students to consider possible answers to the Essential Ques- Transparency 9A
tion: To what extent do the media influence your political views?
2 Before conducting the activity, have students read Sections 9.2 to 9.5 and
complete the Reading Notes. Consider the alternative reading and note-
taking strategy in the first option under “Quicker Coverage.”
Experiential Exercise
Suggested time: 180 minutes
1 Prepare the classroom. Hang one set of Placards 9A–9H: Campaign Posters
at three-foot intervals along one wall of the classroom. Hang the second set
along another wall.
2 Place students in groups of four and introduce the activity. Explain that
groups will first analyze campaign posters to identify the persuasive tech-
niques used in them. Then they will use the techniques they learned about
to write and produce 30-second campaign commercials for their assigned
candidates.
Placards 9A–9H
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P r o c e d u r e s
3 Have students review the persuasive advertising techniques presented in
Section 9.5. Then project Transparency 9A again and ask, What persuasive
techniques are used in this ad? (name-calling, card-stacking, plain folks)
4 Have students analyze Placards 9A to 9H. Tell students they will visit the
placards in pairs and quickly identify the persuasive advertising techniques
used in each campaign poster, recording the placard letter and the techniques
in their notebooks. Assign two students from each group to begin at each
placard, and have pairs rotate until they have analyzed all the campaign
posters.
5 Review the advertising techniques used in the posters. Project Transparency
9B: Campaign Posters 9A–9D, and have students quickly identify the tech-
niques used in each poster. Then project Transparency 9C: Campaign Posters
9E–9H and repeat the process. Here are the techniques for your reference:
Placard 9A: name-calling
Placard 9B: card-stacking, plain folks, transfer
Placard 9C: transfer, glittering generalities, bandwagon
Placard 9D: testimonial
Placard 9E: bandwagon, transfer (Note: This poster also uses testimonial, as 32
such celebrities as Clint Eastwood, Nelson Rockefeller, Wilt Chamberlain, and
Barry Goldwater are pictured in the background. Though the technique was
effective, it is unlikely students will identify these celebrities or this technique.) Transparencies 9B–9D
Placard 9F: transfer
Placard 9G: transfer, glittering generalities
Placard 9H: card-stacking
Finally, ask, Which advertising techniques do you think are the most effective,
and why? The least effective, and why?
6 Have students analyze a sample campaign commercial. Explain that a
storyboard is a series of panels that shows the important visual and verbal
components of a television show or commercial. Project Transparency 9D:
Storyboard for a Campaign Commercial, and have students review the story-
board. Then ask,
• What is this commercial’s message?
• What type of commercial—positive, negative, or issue based—is this?
• What persuasive technique or techniques are used?
• What do you think makes this commercial effective or ineffective?
7 Review the requirements for creating campaign commercials. Project
Information Master 9: Creating a Campaign Commercial and review the steps
with the class.
Information Master 9
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P r o c e d u r e s
8 Have groups prepare their campaign commercials.
• Give Student Handout 9A: Candidate Profiles and Student Handout 9B:
Storyboard for Campaign Commercial to each group. Assign half the groups
to represent candidate Cory Mathews and half to represent Taylor An-
drews. Groups can refer to the opponent’s profile, as well as their own, for
preparing their commercials. (Note: The profiles are gender neutral, so
male or female students can play the roles. Feel free to revise the names to
reflect particular cultural backgrounds or genders.)
• Post or project Transparency 9D for students to review as they work on
their storyboards.
• Circulate and provide guidance as students prepare and rehearse their
commercials.
Student Handout 9A
9 Have groups perform or “air” their campaign commercials. Have each
group perform their commercial. Alternatively, have groups record their
commercials ahead of time and then play the commercials in class. This will
allow students to edit and add special features to their commercials using
technology.
10 Have students evaluate the commercials. As each commercial is presented,
have students identify the type of ad and the persuasive techniques used, and 33
record this information in their notebooks.
11 Debrief the activity. Ask,
• Which techniques do you feel were most effective? Least effective?
• Would any of these commercials make you more likely, or less likely, to Student Handout 9B
vote for one of the candidates? Why?
• To what extent do you think political ads influence your political views?
Can you think of any political ads that have greatly influenced viewers?
Power, Politics, and You
Have students read the “Power, Politics, and You” section of the chapter, and
facilitate a class discussion by asking the questions below. Consider having stu-
dents discuss the questions in pairs or small groups first.
• Are voters protected from receiving false information from political candi-
dates? Why or why not?
• Several states have sought to enact legislation to protect voters from receiving
false information from political candidates. Why have those laws been so dif-
ficult to enforce?
• According to the principles of self-government, what is the responsibility of a
voter during an election?
100 Chapter 9
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P r o c e d u r e s
Processing
Suggested time: 20 minutes
1 Have students complete the Processing activity in their notebooks. Students
commercials.
2 Debrief the Processing. Ask, What might be some of the advantages and dis-
advantages of campaign commercials?
Quicker Coverage
Break Up the Reading Have students work in their groups to read and complete
the Reading Notes for Section 9.5 in class before beginning the activity. en
assign students to read and complete the Reading Notes for Sections 9.2 to 9.4 as
homework while they are working on the activity in class.
Use Fewer Placards During the activity, post only Placards 9A through 9D. Or,
analyze the rst four placards as a class by projecting Transparency 9B or projecting
the placards one at a time from TeachTCI.
Eliminate the Performances Instead of having groups perform their commer-
cials, post the storyboards around the room. Have groups circulate to quickly 34
review them, identifying the type of ad and the techniques used in each.
Deeper Coverage
Analyze Political Commercials For the activity, consider setting up computer
stations in a classroom, library, or technology lab where students can view tele-
vision commercials from past political races. e American Museum of the
Moving Image maintains the Living Room Candidate Web site, which makes
available presidential race political commercials from 1952 to the present. To
cover all of the techniques, consider using these commercials:
• (plain folks, card-
stacking, transfer)
• 1960: John F. Kennedy, “Jingle” (glittering generalities, bandwagon)
• 1984: Walter Mondale, “Rollercoaster” (name-calling, transfer, card-stacking)
• 1992: George H. W. Bush, “Arkansas 2” (name-calling, card-stacking)
• 1992: Bill Clinton, “We Can Do It” (glittering generalities)
• 2004: George W. Bush, “First Choice” (testimonial, card-stacking)
Continue from the Previous Activity Consider linking this activity to that in
Chapter 8 as follows:
• Have students stay in their roles—candidate groups or interest group rep-
resentatives—from Chapter 8, rather than using Student Handout 9A to
assign roles.
• In this activity, have each candidate group create a commercial for their
candidate or against one of their opponents.
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P r o c e d u r e s
• Put the 12 interest group representatives into two separate groups, one for the
liberal interests and one for the conservative interests. Have each group create
a commercial in favor of or opposed to one of the candidates or political par-
ties, or have them choose a particular issue or set of issues around which they
can endorse a candidate.
• You may want to post the candidate position statements from Chapter 8 for
students to access while creating their commercials.
A “Deeper Coverage” option in Chapter 10 further extends this exercise, making
it a three-part activity.
Analyze Real Candidates Consider creating and using your own profiles of
current or past candidates from local, state, or national elections in place of the
fictitious profiles on Student Handout 9A. You might use U.S. representatives,
senators, or gubernatorial candidates during midterm elections and presidential
candidates during the year prior to and the year of a presidential election. If it is
an election year, you might direct students to the candidates’ own Web sites to
gather information.
Assessment
35
Masters for the chapter assessment appear in the Lesson Masters.
Mastering the Content
1. D 2. A 3. C 4. B 5. A
6. D 7. B 8. A 9. A 10. A
Exploring the Essential Question
1. about 63%
2. most trusting, Democrats; least trusting, Republicans
3. Republicans are most likely to see the media as biased. They are likely to think
it is biased in favor of Democrats (or has a liberal bias).
4. Students should provide an explanation that supports their answer to the
survey question.
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D i f f e r e n t i a t i n g I n s t r u c t i o n
English Language Learners
Activate Prior Knowledge To help students make concrete connections between
the media and their own lives, consider drawing on their personal experience
by asking how the media affects their lives (such as the clothing they wear or the
music they listen to) prior to discussing the Essential Question in Reading Step 1.
Identify Key Candidate Information In the activity, consider having students
underline key information about the candidate, and read and discuss the profiles
with their group or the class, prior to preparing their commercials. This should
help them identify appropriate political viewpoints to include in their commercials.
Learners Reading and Writing Below Grade Level
Streamline the Note-Taking Process Assign students to their groups of four
for the activity prior to having them do the reading. Assign one or two groups
to read each section, from Section 9.2 to Section 9.5, and to answer the Reading
Notes questions for that section. Then have each group quickly create a poster or
a transparency with the following information:
• section number and title
• key words (not whole sentences) that should be in the answer to each question 36
for that section
Have each group quickly present their section by reviewing what content was
covered and the answer for each question in the Reading Notes while the other
students complete their Reading Notes for that section.
Learners with Special Education Needs
Support the Reading Notes Consider using one of these options:
• Provide a photocopy of the text with important passages underlined to help
students find the answers to the questions.
• Reduce the number of questions for each section. The following questions
focus on the main ideas of each section: Section 9.2, Question 2; Section 9.3,
Questions 2 and 3; Section 9.4, Questions 1 and 4; Section 9.5, Question 1.
Support the Placard Analyses To help make determining the persuasive tech-
niques used in the advertisements less abstract, offer students additional support.
For example:
• Give a copy of the persuasive techniques from the text to each pair of students,
and tell them to circle the word or phrase that best illustrates each technique.
Have them use these pages as a resource as they visit the placards.
• Provide students with a multiple-choice checklist of two or three persuasive
techniques for each placard, one of which is used in the advertisement, and
have them choose which one of the techniques is used.
• Have groups check with you after analyzing each placard to make sure they
correctly identified the persuasive techniques used before moving on to the
next placard.
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D i f f e r e n t i a t i n g I n s t r u c t i o n
Advanced Learners
Evaluate Current Advertisements Have students research and evaluate the
effectiveness of persuasive techniques used in current or recent local, state, or
national elections. Consider having them find one example from each of three
candidates and identify the following information for each:
• name of candidate and office sought
• persuasive techniques used in the advertisement
• brief description of the advertisement
• explanation of why the advertisement is or is not effective
37
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E n h a n c i n g L e a r n i n g
Internet Connections
For related research materials on public opinion and the media, refer students to
Online Resources at www.teachtci.com.
Multimedia
Please follow school and district guidelines for showing films in the classroom.
PBS Frontline: News War This four-part, four-hour series investigates current
challenges and the future facing the news media, especially in regard to shaping
the public agenda. The documentary is based on more than 80 interviews with
key individuals from the print, broadcast, and electronic media, combined with
behind-the-scenes access to several news organizations.
• Parts I and II, “Secrets, Sources, and Spin,” examine the relationship between
the president and the media, using anonymous sources and recent battles be-
tween the federal government and the press over First Amendment rights and
the news media.
• Part III, “What’s Happening to the News,” examines the changing role of print
and broadcast media and the rise of the new media.
• Part IV, “Stories from a Small Planet,” examines media from around the world 38
and reveals how journalism and politics in the United States are influenced by
international forces.
West Wing, Season 7, Episode 6, “The Al Smith Dinner” In this episode, presi-
dential hopefuls Matt Santos (D) and Arnold Vinick (R) face the first negative
turn of their campaigns when a 527 pro-life organization airs a negative ad
against Santos for his pro-choice stance. The episode centers on abortion politics
but effectively highlights tough questions about the decision to “go negative” and
examines the difficulty candidates face in getting their message out via the media.
Consider forwarding through the scenes that take place in the West Wing, as they
do not further the campaign storyline, and because students would need consid-
erable background information to understand them.
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G u i d e t o R e a d i n g N o t e s 9
Following are possible answers for each section of the Reading Notes.
Section 9.2 Section 9.4
1. Answers should include a ranked list of six forms of 1. Traditional media sources: newspapers, magazines,
political socialization—family, school, religion, peer radio, or television. New media sources: talk radio,
groups, gender and ethnicity, and news media—and television talk shows, television news magazines, tele-
include an explanation for the top two ranked items. vised town hall meetings, cable comedy shows, blogs.
2. Answers should include a simple illustration of each Lists of pros and cons will vary.
of the three ways public opinion is shaped: through 2. In a democracy, a free press serves as a government
the clash of special interest groups; by journalists, watchdog, helps set the public agenda, and supports
politicians, and other opinion makers; and by what the free exchange of ideas, information, and opinions.
politicians say it is. 3. To attract and shape media coverage, public officials
3. Public opinion is important in a democracy because can stage events and invite the press. They can grant
it guides leaders as they make public policy decisions, on- or off-the-record interviews with the press and can
serves as a guard against hasty decisions, and serves as use these interviews to spin issues, float trial balloons,
a kind of glue in a diverse society like America, where or leak information.
widespread agreement on basic political beliefs helps 4. Though most Americans would say the media are
hold society together. biased, what is perceived as bias is more likely a
reflection of how news organizations work. These 39
Section 9.3 organizations choose stories they know people will
pay attention to. Also, people tend to pay attention
1. A straw poll is an informal survey of opinion that can to news that supports their views and tune out news
be highly inaccurate because it does not ensure that the that doesn’t.
population sampled is representative of the population
as a whole. Scientific sampling involves selecting a small
group of people who are representative of the whole Section 9.5
population. The results of this type of survey are more Answers should include at least two of the following
likely to represent the views of the larger electorate. terms: media consultant, issue ad, image ad, photo op,
2. soap opera story, mudslinging.
Identify Sum up Report the
the target opinions percent
population gathered in choosing
to be the survey. each possible
surveyed. response and
the margin of
error.
3. Answers should include a symbol and a brief explana-
tion of whether each of the four types of polls should
be used in political campaigns.
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N O T E B O O K G U I D E C H A P T E R
Public Opinion and the Media
To what extent do the media influence your political views?
9
S p e a k i n g o f P o l i t i c s R E A D I N G N O T E S
As you complete the Reading Notes, use these terms After you read each section, answer the corresponding
in your answers: questions in your notebook.
public opinion mass media
political socialization spin Section 9.2
opinion poll media bias 1. List six forces that shape political socialization. Rank
margin of error negative campaigning them in order from 1 (most influence on my political
socialization) to 6 (least influence). For the top two 40
items on your list, briefly explain why they have influ-
enced your political socialization.
P R E V I E W 2. Create a simple diagram or illustration to represent
each of the three ways that public opinion is shaped.
Analyze Adlai Stevenson’s 1952 campaign poster, shown Label each illustration.
at the beginning of Chapter 9, and record responses to
3. Why is public opinion important in a democracy?
these questions:
• What details do you see?
Section 9.3
• According to the poster, why should people vote for
Stevenson? 1. Explain the difference between straw polls and the
scientific sampling process.
• To whom is this poster designed to appeal?
2. Create a simple flowchart to show the steps of the
• Do you think such a poster could actually influence
polling process. Begin with the sentence shown below.
people’s views in an election?
• What other kinds of political media messages have
you been exposed to? Did they have any influence on Identify the target
your political views? population to be ? ?
surveyed.
3. Create a symbol to represent each of these types of
polls: benchmark polls, tracking polls, exit polls, and
push polls. Then write one or two sentences explaining
whether you think each type of poll should be used in
political campaigns.
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N o t e b o o k G u i d e 9
Section 9.4
P R O C E S S I N G
1. Create a simple T-chart. In the first column, list at
least three traditional media sources. In the second Write a paragraph in response to each question.
column, list at least five forms of “new” media. Check 1. Are campaign commercials a good source of infor-
off all the forms of media that you have seen or used. mation about candidates? Why or why not?
Below your chart, identify at least two pros and one
2. How much influence do you think political adver-
con of the new media.
tising has on voters during elections? Why?
2. What is the role of a free press in a democracy?
3. Describe two ways in which public officials can attract
and shape media coverage.
4. Are the media biased? Explain your answer.
Section 9.5
How important do you think a candidate’s image is dur-
ing a political campaign? Use at least two of these terms
in your answer: media consultant, issue ad, image ad,
photo op, soap opera story, mudslinging.
41
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I n f o r m a t i o n M a s t e r 9
Creating a Campaign Commercial
Follow these steps to create a campaign commercial for your candidate.
Step 1 Carefully read the information you receive about your assigned candidate,
and review the profile of your opponent. Identify these things:
• experience that qualifies your candidate to be president
• why your candidate will appeal to the public
• what differentiates your candidate from the opponent
Step 2 Identify the focus of your commercial, including
• the candidate’s message.
• the type of advertisement: positive, negative, or issue based.
• the persuasive technique or techniques you will use.
Step 3 Create a storyboard for your commercial. Use the template you are
given to prepare a commercial that will convince people to vote for your
candidate or against your opponent. Your commercial must 42
• include every member of your group in some way, such as acting as the
candidate, being interviewed, holding a sign, or providing narration.
• use at least one persuasive advertising technique.
• set the scene with appropriate props or costumes.
• include music or background visuals.
• be 30 seconds in length.
Step 4 Practice your commercial in preparation for recording it or presenting
it to the class.
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S t u d e n t H a n d o u t 9 A
Candidate Pro les
Cory Mathews (Democrat)
Cory Mathews is a decorated veteran of the U.S. Air Force. At home, Mathews would like to see Medicaid, the pub-
Mathews served as a combat physician during Operation licly subsidized health insurance program for the poor,
Desert Storm and earned a Purple Heart a er saving the expanded to include any children who do not have health
lives of three fellow soldiers when their helicopter was insurance. Mathews also wants to allow the federal gov-
shot down. Upon returning from Desert Storm, Mathews ernment to bargain with drug companies in the United
worked as an emergency room physician before running States and abroad to acquire the safest drugs at the lowest
for o ce. A er serving two terms as a Democrat in the prices for people on Medicaid.
Florida legislature, Mathews was elected to the U.S. House
of Representatives and has served ve consecutive terms. During a lengthy career in public service, Mathews
Mathews has been married for more than 20 years and has has fought to roll back tax cuts that help the wealthiest
two daughters, ages 19 and 14. individuals in order to fund public education and social
programs for the poor. Mathews is a strong believer in the
Mathews opposes the death penalty except for instances need to eradicate poverty in America. rough a mini-
of terrorism. To keep communities safe and to prevent mum-wage hike and additional job-training programs,
crime, Mathews wants to expand federal funding for com- Mathews believes that the United States can eliminate
munity policing initiatives. poverty and strengthen the middle class. 43
Mathews is a strong environmentalist who has coauthored Although illegal immigration is a problem, the only way
and consistently voted in favor of clean air and water laws the United States will solve the problem is by o ering
and legislation to enact tougher restrictions on car emis- a realistic solution that appeals both to Americans and
sions. To help the United States end its dependence on oil, to undocumented immigrants. Mathews proposes that
Mathews wants to encourage the development of alterna- a guest worker program be created. is would allow
tive fuel sources. As president, Mathews would work to people to come to the United States for up to three years
end subsidies for oil and gas companies and reinvest the to obtain work. At the end of that three years, they could
savings in research to develop alternative fuel sources. continue to work in the United States if they begin the
process of becoming a citizen. Otherwise, they would need
Mathews believes that although the United States needs to return home. Anyone currently in the United States il-
to be a strong and independent nation, it also needs to legally, Mathews believes, should be admitted immediately
rely on diplomacy, rather than military action, to solve to the guest worker program. e government should
global problems. Except for instances in which U.S. also provide English-language classes for people enrolled
security is directly threatened or the United States is in the program, as not knowing English is o en a major
directly attacked, Mathews would like to see the United impediment to applying for citizenship.
Nations take more responsibility for peacekeeping mis-
sions. Mathews believes that the lives of our young people
are too precious to squander and that U.S. military action
should be used only as a last resort.
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S t u d e n t H a n d o u t 9 A
Taylor Andrews (Republican)
Taylor Andrews attended Oxford University in England Andrews advocates keeping the current publicly subsidized
as a Rhodes Scholar, eventually earning a PhD in political health insurance programs, Medicare and Medicaid, but
science. Andrews then spent several decades as a professor wants the federal government to provide no additional
at a prestigious university in California before becoming funding for health programs and no federal funds for stem
the president of a university in New Jersey. Andrews has cell research or cloning.
been married for 27 years and has a son and daughter,
ages 22 and 20. After a distinguished career as a scholar, Andrews feels strongly that any American can succeed
Andrews retired from education and ran for governor of with hard work and perseverance. The answer to society’s
New Jersey. Andrews is currently serving a second term as problems is not to require the federal government to
New Jersey’s governor. put more money into social programs but to encourage
individuals to take responsibility for themselves. Andrews
Andrews supports minimum-sentencing laws for crimi- wants to see federal tax cuts across all income levels so
nals but wants to increase funding for local law enforce- that Americans can keep more of the money they earn.
ment in order to make streets safer and to prevent crime. Additional tax cuts for U.S. businesses will encourage
Andrews supports the death penalty as currently used. those businesses to use the additional revenue to create
Andrews does not support any additional limits on an in- more jobs. Andrews also wants to allow faith-based orga- 44
dividual’s right to own weapons and feels that the United nizations to compete for federal funds to provide social
States needs to focus on criminals who possess weapons services for the poor, rather than the federal government
illegally, not citizens who own them legally. providing those services.
Andrews is a strong believer in the power of unregulated Finally, Andrews feels that the government needs to do
business to improve the American quality of life. Andrews more to encourage legal immigration and discourage ille-
thinks that minimal environmental restrictions are gal immigration. Andrews feels that the most effective way
necessary, but also believes there is no need for additional to do that would be to create a guest worker program that
restrictions. Instead, Andrews feels that government needs allows people to come to the United States for up to three
to focus on areas of the country, such as toxic waste sites, years to obtain work. At the end of the three years, they
that need to be cleaned up. Cleaning up these sites and could continue to work in the United States if they begin
rebuilding on them, Andrews believes, will create jobs and the process of becoming a citizen. Otherwise, they would
provide future sites for businesses and homes. need to return home. Anyone currently in the United
States illegally would need to return to his or her home
Andrews believes that the United States needs to be a country to apply for the guest worker program.
moral leader in the world. It should fight for freedom and
democracy wherever there is a need. While this will ideally
involve diplomacy rather than military action, Andrews
says that the country should not hesitate to use its military
when U.S. interests are threatened or attacked. However,
Andrews feels that American forces should never be de-
ployed to another country without having an exit strategy.
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S t u d e n t H a n d o u t 9 B
Storyboard for Campaign Commercial
Use the storyboard template below to design your campaign commercial.
In the sections labeled “On screen,” quickly explain what viewers will see
during this part of the commercial. In the “Narration” sections, briefly
explain what the actors and narrators will say.
1 2
On screen: On screen:
Narration: Narration:
45
3 4
On screen: On screen:
Narration: Narration:
5 6
On screen: On screen:
Narration: Narration:
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C h a p t e r 9 A s s e s s m e n t
Mastering the Content
1. The process by which people form their political 6. The release of confidential information to the news
attitudes and values is called media by an unnamed source is known as which of
A. political correctness. the following?
B. political engagement. A. a staged event
C. political participation. B. a trial balloon
D. political socialization. C. a sound bite
D. a leak
2. Which of the following is the best definition of
public opinion? 7. How can the company conducting an opinion poll
A. the sum of many individual views reduce the margin of error?
B. what journalists think about issues A. ask fewer questions
C. the beliefs of one or more interest groups B. survey a larger sample
D. how politicians express common attitudes C. use mail instead of phone
D. limit the survey to college graduates
3. Which of the following is the most important
reason why a scientific poll is more accurate than 8. Which of these persuasive techniques takes
a straw poll? advantage of people’s desire to conform?
A. the type of questions asked A. bandwagon 46
B. the number of people surveyed B. card-stacking
C. the method of sampling employed C. name-calling
D. the means of contacting people used D. transfer
4. The founders of our country saw a free press as a 9. The primary purpose of staged events and photo
safeguard against opportunities is to
A. negative campaigning. A. attract press coverage.
B. the abuse of power. B. discuss issues in depth.
C. the rise of parties. C. collect small donations.
D. political gridlock. D. hear the views of voters.
5. To test the appeal of campaign messages, media 10. How do political analysts determine the voting pat-
consultants often use terns of women and men?
A. focus groups. A. conduct exit polls
B. push polls. B. examine the ballots
C. spin doctors. C. review election results
D. think tanks. D. interview election judges
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C h a p t e r 9 A s s e s s m e n t
Exploring the Essential Question
To what extent do the media influence your political views?
The extent to which we are influenced by the media depends, in part, on how
much we trust what we hear, read, and see in the news media. The question of
trust in the media was posed in a 2006 opinion poll. Study the results below, and
answer the questions that follow.
CBS News/New York Times Poll
In general, how much trust and confidence do you have in the news media—
such as newspapers, TV, and radio—when it comes to reporting the news fully,
accurately, and fairly: a great deal, a fair amount, not very much, or none at all?
Not Very
A Great Deal A Fair Amount Much None at All Unsure
All 15% 48% 28% 8% 1%
47
Republicans 9% 43% 35% 13% 0%
Democrats 22% 53% 21% 4% 0%
Independents 13% 49% 29% 8% 1%
Source: CBS News/New York Times, Jan. 20–25, 2006.
1. Based on this poll, about what percentage of Americans trust the news media
much or all of the time?
2. Which group—Republicans, Democrats, or Independents—is most trusting of
the news media? The least trusting?
3. Based on these results, which group is most likely to believe the news media
are biased? What kind of bias is that group likely to see in news reporting?
4. What answer would you give if you were asked this survey question? Explain
why you chose the answer you did.
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V i s u a l 9 A
Adlai E. Stevenson Campaign Poster, 1952
48
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V i s u a l 9 B
Campaign Posters 9A–9D
The Granger Collection, New York
49
Placard 9A Placard 9B
Placard 9D
Placard 9C
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V i s u a l 9 C
Campaign Posters 9E–9H
50
Placard 9E Placard 9F
Placard 9G Placard 9H
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V i s u a l 9 D
Storyboard for a Campaign Commercial
1 2
On screen: On screen:
Narration: Want every person convicted of Narration: Want to turn our national parks over
dealing drugs executed? to private businesses?
3 4
On screen: On screen: 51
Narration: Want to relocate the United Nations
buildings outside of New York City? Sound effects: engine noise, breaking glass
5 6
On screen: On screen:
Narration: Want to provide health care for Narration: If so, then this November, vote
all citizens? Smith for president.
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P l a c a r d 9 A
Anti–Walter Mondale Campaign Poster, 1984
52
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P l a c a r d 9 B
James Garfield Campaign Poster, 1880
53
The Granger Collection, New York
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P l a c a r d 9 C
William McKinley Campaign Poster, 1900
54
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3
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4
9 D
Government Alive! Power, Politics, and You
P l a c a r d
© Teachers’ Curriculum Institute
George McGovern Campaign Poster, 1972
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P l a c a r d 9 E
Richard Nixon Campaign Poster, 1968
56
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P l a c a r d 9 F
Franklin D. Roosevelt Campaign Poster, 1944
57
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P l a c a r d 9 G
Ronald Reagan Campaign Poster, 1980
58
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P l a c a r d 9 H
Anti–Thomas E. Dewey Poster, 1944
59
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