AMA (American Medical Association) IG Research

- either make a flyer or create a powerpoint slide to let the class know what your IG is about
- introduce the class to your group by explaining what its about and researching its activities:
Lobbying, Electioneering, Litigation, Going Public
-explain what your group is about and how it goes about achieving its goals
-find out how it has spent money in support of candidates and issues!

4 CATEGORIES:
1. Lobbying:

• influencing officeholders/ policymakers (provide info about the IG's needs and concerns, ideas about legislation the group would like to have or to get rid of)
• ideas about the enforcement of current laws (regulation, monitoring, etc)
• IG's spend money hiring professionals (lobbyists), whose job is to make the case (to policymakers and staff) 
• what about the IG's policy goals?

2. Electioneering (PACS)

• influencing the selection of officeholders/policymakers 
• outcomes of elections

3. Litigation- NOT legislation, to means going to court even if the group is not suing or being sued. "Filing a friend of the court" (amicus curiae) are briefs in lawsuits to help win specific ruling favorable to the interest group. When an interest group files an "amicus brief" they are not themselves a litigant in the case- although a member of the group might well be, but they are there to influence the outcome of the case because they like the precedent it could set

• Give an example?

4. Going Public

• advertising, social media, website, etc. (communicating with the general public to shape the public's opinion of the industry/interest group itself with the ultimate goal of influencing policy outcomes 
• by influencing the choices voters make in elections, and by influencing the types of policy they will expect, demand, and request from a member of congress
• going public is a step towards getting an IG's issue on the "policy agenda"
• allows the IG to frame the issue 
• example of "framing the issue": a gun rights lobbyist will frame the issue as a matter of fundamental rights and freedom, while an activist for restrictions or regulations on gun ownership will from the issue as a matter of public safety. 

AMA (American Medical Association):

1. Lobbyists 

2. Electioneering

3. Litigation

4. Going Public 

Research for CW and HW

Research:  What are the rules and regulations governing the financing of political campaigns?

Define each of the following and explain how each is intended to protect the integrity of the electoral process:  (You may use this source or any other that seems useful and reliable.)

1. DISCLOSURE

“The most common means of regulating political spending is through various disclosure and reporting requirements.”

Intended to protect the integrity: regulate spending money

People who are elected to be leaders are actually leading and forming their own opinons, limited in its impact because who is listening when you are slavishly trapped by a company who is giving you money  

2. PUBLIC FINANCING

“A third method states use to regulate spending in elections is by providing a means by which candidates can accept public funds to conduct their campaign.”

Intended to the protect the integrity: candidates can accept the public funds to conduct their campaign

3. CONTRIBUTION LIMITS

“The second most common means of regulating money in elections is through the imposition of limits on the amount of money any group or individual can contribute to a campaign.”

Intended to protect the integrity: limiting amount of money that anyone can give to a campaign

Read over this list of key court rulings having to do with campaign finance. 

Explain the circumstances and significance of each of the following Supreme Court decisions.  Include answers to the clarifying questions.

Buckley V Valeo:

•        Contribution limits are constitutional, expenditure limits are not.

First National Bank of Boston V. Bellotti

• ·      States cannot prohibit corporations from contributing money to ballot proposals.

Citizens against rent control V. City of Berkeley

• ·      There can be no contribution limits to ballot initiatives.

Austin V. Michigan Chamber of commerce

• ·      Corporations must keep a separate account from which they can make political contributions, usually by establishing a PAC.

Nixon V. Shrink Missouri Government

• ·      States can also limit the amount of money that any one individual or group can contribute to a state campaign.

McConell V Federal Election Commission

• ·      This case was the first to recognize the link between “soft money” and corruption.  

Randall V. Sorrell

• ·      States cannot limit independent expenditures, and must ensure their contribution limits are high enough to enable the candidate to run an effective campaign.

Davis V. Federal Election Commission

• ·      “Triggering” provisions found in many public financing statutes are unconstitutional.

Citizens United V. Federal Election Commission

• ·      States cannot place limits on the amount of money corporations, unions, or PACs use for electioneering communications, as long as the group does not directly align itself with a candidate.

McCutcheon V. Federal Election Commission

• ·      States can place a limit on how much any individual or group contributes to any one campaign, but cannot impose aggregate limits on how much and individual or group contributes to all campaigns during an election cycle.

Buckley v. Valeo, 424 U.S. 1 (1976)

-What’s the difference between a “contribution” and an“expenditure”?

·      An expenditure is the action of spending funds and contribution is a gift or to a common fund

McConnell v. Federal Election Commission, 540 U.S. 93 (2003)

-What is a PAC (pronounced, “pack”)

·       Political Action Commitee

-What is soft money?

·      a contribution to a political party that is not accounted as going to a particular candidate, thus avoiding various legal limitations.

HW

HW:  Read about the proposed on fairvote.org  Rank them from most to least viable, (ones that won't work the best or successfully)  from your perspective, and explain your answer. Your explanation should make it clear that you have indeed read and understood each of the proposed reforms. 

http://www.fairvote.org/reforms/

5. Ranked choice voting (HP, me, hollie, marina, claudia, windham as 5)

4. [Least Viable] National Popular Vote for President (windham, claudia as 3) (me, hp, marina, hollie as 4)
- causing candidates for presidency to focus all of their attention on one section of the electorate which makes the american population irrelevant in elections

I think this one is the least viable, because not having Americans involved in the Presidental election will not go over too well with any Americans, since this is America and we have a democracy and the people have a say in voting on their leader and being involved in who gets to run our country. 


3. [Second Least Viable] Universal Voter Registration (mg, windham had as number 2) (marina, hp, me, hollie as 3)
-system that automatically registers all citizens to vote
-government automatic process eliminates the complexity of voter rolls

I am not sure if this is a very viable thing because they are involving the government in registering voters, but it is eliminating all of the complexities to voter rolls which is a very good thing and something that America needs, I am just not sure how successful this will turn out. 

2. [Not Sure]Fair Voting/ Proportional Representation (hp, marina, hollie, me for number 2)
-proportional:  systems help ensure that constituencies have representation in government bodies that reflect their share of the electorate
-fair voting: research points to ranked choice voting in multi-winner elections as the best proportional method for U.S. elections, because it honors majority rule, allows for fair representation and maximizes the effectiveness of a voter's ballot.

I honestly have no idea what this one is talking about so I am not sure how viable/ not viable it is. 

1. [Most Viable] Right to Vote in the Constitution (windham, hollie, mg, claudia, marina, me and hp for 1)
- voting system is flawed
-to address this problem it will be put in the constitution that everyone has a right to vote so that neither state not state laws can restrict the ability of citizens to cast a ballot- this ensures that our voting system is equal and fair to everyone.

This one will be one of the most viable ones because it has been shown that there are a ton of problems with our voting system and if every American is constitutionally allowed to vote equally and fairly, then that solves the whole dilemma about voter id laws and voter fraud. 

For my group: Marina, HP, Hollie, Windham, Claudia, MG, and me
Right to Vote in the Constitution: 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3

Fair Voting/ Proportional Representation: 2, 2, 2, 2, 1

Universal Voter Registration: 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2

National Popular Vote for President: 1, 1

Ranked choice voting


For whole class:
Right to Vote in the Constitution: 32

Fair Voting/ Proportional Representation: 17

Universal Voter Registration: 16

National Popular Vote for President: 6

Ranked choice voting:

Political News! (8)

The Climate Causes Terrorist Attacks?!

Obama and guests paying their respects in Paris. 

     Obama believes the attack in Paris to be caused by climate change. "'What great rejection of those who would tear down our world than marshaling our best efforts to save it.'" (cnn.com) Obama then visited one of the locations where 90 people had been killed and put a white house rose on top of all the other roses. He is also stating that the United States has something to do about the climate change (with carbon emission) and that we will do something about it. This carbon emission is changing the climate and this could be what caused the attack. The commitments he makes are the work towards a greener economy, new clean energy. He also says that a strong economy and a safe environment do not have conflict with each other anymore. I am conflicted with our role in all of this Paris stuff. I don't understand why we have to defend Paris so much and take on all of the things that they should be doing as a country. 

The Low Trust in Media is Shaping the 2016 Election

Trump just bending the truth!

     In the 2016 Election, it has been quite a time of rumors and lies! This "fact-checking" business has only made apologies stronger. A perfect example of this would be Donald Trump. He has made several accusations towards Muslims, "thousands and thousands of Muslims celebrated the 9/11 Terrorist attack" and he has made several comments on Mexican immigration and Syrian Refugees, and his data is just straight up wrong. His reply to all of this, "'What am I going to do? Check every statistic?'" (nbcnews). He has been targeted as the biggest liar ever with 41% of all of his statements reported false and a 21% are "pants on fire" kind of lying, but he is not the only one. Ben Carson has 43% rated false and 13% are the pants on fire, Hilary Clinton 11% are false and 1% is pants on fire says politifact. So why are these liars the frontrunners for the Presidency? Because the evidence shows it is not the candidates the Americans distrust, it is the fact-checkers. 65% of Americans think that the News has a negative effect on the way things are going in America. On top of that only 32% of Republicans say they have confidence in the news media versus the 55% of Democrats who have complete confidence. 

Calling an Action on Guns, Again?

Obama speaking on the Colorado shooting along with
Paris and other important topics of our Nation. 

     After the Planned Parenthood shooting, Obama wants to call an action on guns again. Addressing the Planned Parenthood shooting in Colorado Obama said that "'States, and local governments have to act in order to prevent 'people who are deranged or have violent tendencies' from getting weapons that can magnify the damage that they do'" (nor.org). Little harsh there, in my opinion. He is basically putting this whole thing on states and saying that we need to control Guns, but he isn't doing anything about it. Paul Ryan called this event "'appalling'" and he said that the main reason for this problem was mental health. Hilary Clinton shares a different view, "'WE should be supporting Planned Parenthood, not attacking it.'" It is interesting to read all of the different view points of potential Presidents. Trump was very direct, per usual, and called the person who shot these people a "sick-person." I just don't get why people think that the way to solve their "problems" is shooting them away.

San Bernardino 

A woman who got critically injured during the San Bernardino shooting. 

     Who shoots up a disability home? How crazy are people these days? More people were killed in this shooting than the Sandy Hook shooting and three people had knowingly agreed to go in there and kill as many people as they could. I am just baffled that people are going into disability homes and killing innocent people. The Inland Regional Center is a non profit organization that helps families who have people with disabilities, they serve over 10,000 people, and they help these families with anything and everything. I read an article of a mother on thedailybeast.com and she wrote about her son, Edmund, who has Cri Du Chat syndrome and by the end of the article I was in tears. I couldn't imagine watching this on the news and thinking that this could have been your child because this family uses the same Center. I couldn't imagine being disabled and all of the criticism and hatred a child must get for being "different." It shocked me to hear this story from my grandmother at lunch, and I was shocked that something like this could happen. It makes no sense to me and probably never will. 

Trump in Iowa

Donald Trump speaking at a campaign rally in Iowa on Saturday. 

     Did he get Iowa? I know her wants it, and he certainly made his presence known as he usually does wherever he is. At a rally in Iowa, Donald Trump stated his bold opinions about Muslims in our country, "'total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering our country until our representatives can figure out what's going on'" (yahoo.com). This is basic Trump code for get everyone out of our country but Americans and that is obvious because of what his campaign declared, Trump wants to prevent all Muslim immigration. His campaign says that this is "okay" because a large amount of Muslims 'have a hatred towards Americans.' And my question to that would be, how many of those "Hating Americans Muslims" coming into the United States? The facts are: not all Muslims are terrorists, and not all Muslims hate Americans. Trump asks, Why should we allow Muslims to come into our country who believe in Jihad and put our country at risk like that? And honestly, I see his point and I see where he is coming from but he should not basically classify all Muslims as terrorists and state that they are all a threat to this country because that is just a false accusation. Yet, Trump of course contradicts himself when he was on a talk show and said that he has "Many Muslim friends. They are wonderful people" (yahoo).

Political News (7)!

Paris 

A man weeping over a lost loved one in Paris
after the bombings. 

          We all know about the horrible happenings in Paris that happened weekends ago. It is a scary thought people we trust in our own country to be the ones who destroy it. Paris authorities seem to have two men who were involved with the shooting. 129 people (at least) were left dead. A man by the name of Salim Benghalem, was a french national and joined ISIS several years ago. He along with the ISIS deputy are the ones responsible for this attack. They attacked 6 places in Paris (stadium, theater, several restaurants). The prime minister announced that "France is at war." He said, "France will move an air craft carrier to the Middle East as part of an effort to intensify its bombing campaign in Syria" (npr.org). He did announce that the French will go about capturing all who are involved in a merciless way. They have detained 23 suspects and have 100 under house arrest. I have heard on the news that it is unsafe to fly into Rome, Russia, and Germany for fear that they are next and because they are all closely connected to Paris. All of these cities and countries fly directly into Greece, that is the only way to get there (and cruise ports), but Greece is bankrupt and they rely heavily on tourism, so this is not a good situation for Europe as a whole, or America. My father thinks we are going to be next.

His Response

President Obama's face when he was addressing
the Paris situation. 

     When I heard about everything in Paris the first thing that came to mind was what Obama said about it. It is becoming evident that Obama is not taking action against ISIS killers, because if he was this attack in Paris would have never happened. He got questioned by Jim Acosta, "Why can't we take out these bastards?" And the press continued to ask questions just like this and Obama replied, "These questions are getting a little repetitive." Which only means that he was not answering their questions, which leads me to believe that he knows he's not doing anything and he is not sure how to answer their questions. This man told everyone when he was campaigning that he would end the Iraq war and is now telling people that he refuses to send our men on the ground over there. So, the question is and still is what are we going to do about it? My father thinks like Donald Trump, bomb the whole city and wipe them out. My grandmother thinks the complete opposite, that we should not bomb them because there are innocent lives, but she doesn't think we need to put troops on the ground because if our guys get captured then there is no hope for them, and we shouldn't draw out because I would rather us be fighting a war over there than a war over here. It is a tough situation to say the least. I was asked by family members what I would do and I honestly do not know. Either way you loose. I just want there to be a solution and a way to end all of this madness.

Russia and ISIS

President Obama shaking hands with Russian
Prime Minister. 

     President Obama did announce last Sunday that America will not relent in helping our foreign countries and the best thing now is to have no fear. ISIS was accused of bringing down a Russian plane which killed 224 people. ISIS is just awful. I mean who in their right mind would want to kill anyone? I am just so flabbergasted that this type of organization exists. I just cannot fathom it. Countries around the world are terrified of them. It is one thing to be a world away, when stuff is happening in Paris, and it doesn't even seem like anything bad is happening. But, the thought of it coming here seems so unrealistic at first, but when you really think about it, it is completely realistic. This organization has killed 250,000 people, displaced over a million, and now they are sparking refugee camps in Europe. Around 20 nations across the world, have decided to start to make peace or treaties with the Assad government by january 1st. Obama wants America to change their view of terrorism and that not everyone from Syria, and Iraq are terrorists. He knelt down beside a child from one of those countries and said "This is not terrorism." He says, if we as politicians are afraid of this, and we are fearful of children then we are not being as good as we can be. And what he is saying is the truth! We cannot view these children as terrorists, but they are a product of their fathers and mothers and if they are members of ISIS, then these children will be the ones to continue the ISIS organization.

Women in ISIS?

This is Hasan Aitboulahcen throwing
up some peace signs. 

     ISIS members are obviously taking a lot on, bombing big cities in Europe, so they began to think about the role that women play in their attacks. Hasan Aitboulahcen was the first female suicide bomber. She died in the Paris suburb of St. Denis. She was described as a french morrocan national who was 26 years old. Hasan was hit by a suicide vest bomb that hit police cars and got too close to the place she was hiding out with 2 other islamic terrorists. She was intact wearing a suicide vest but she did not detonate it, someone else detonated it. It was not actually confirmed that she volunteeringly wore the vest, but if she did she would be the first suicide bomber that Western Europe has ever seen for any organization, including ISIS. She was crying for help which drew the police to her and then she detonated her bomb, and it was so powerful that it caved in the whole apartment floor. It is just absolutely so amazing that a 26 year-old woman, someone who has barely even begun her life, is a suicide bomber. What is wrong with this world?

Political Parties in Canada!

2. What type of government does this country have?
"Canada is a constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary type of government wherein the Crown is the foundation of the judicial, legislative, and executive branches of government. Canada is also a federation in the sense that the provincial governments and the federal government have separate jurisdictions of political authority. There are three territorial governments, but the territories are not sovereign divisions and are part of the federal realm" (canadafaq.ca). 

How is power organized?
"The federal or national government is the central level of government in Canada, and is involved in many aspects of Canadians’ lives. The federal government plays a role in such things as the provision of social services, the economy, national defence and security, criminal law, foreign affairs and First Nations policy" (mapleleafweb.com). 

Is there a head of state?
"The Monarch is the national head-of-state and has significant, albeit mainly ceremonial, powers" (mapleleafweb.com). 

A legislative brach?
"The legislative branch of government is responsible for debating and passing legislation and, in Canada, holding the executive accountable" (mapleleafweb.com). 

Is it a unitary or federal system?
It is a federal system!

3. Find out how many parties there are- provide an estimate or exact count:
There are 5 different parties: The Conservative Party, The Liberal Party, The Green Party, The New Democratic Party (NDP) and Le Bloc Quebecois.
23 different parties
19 are legit
(wikipedia)

4. Find out which parties, if any are considered "major" or "ruling":
Major or ruling is the:
   conservative party
   liberal party
   NDP
(wikipedia)

5. How are parties categorized?
Are there some that are "authorized" while others are not officially recognized?

   Conservative Party- " The Conservative Party of Canada generally favours a larger degree of decentralization, with more powers delegated to the provinces. The party supports smaller government, lower taxes, and traditional cultural and religious values" (canadafaq.ca). 
   The Liberal Party- "Liberals favour the introduction of a nationwide food policy in support of Canadian farmers, the production of renewable energy, including biomass, solar, and wind energy, balanced budgets, and deficit reduction. The Liberal Party also favours the introduction of a family care plan, direct financial aid and investment in higher education, and spending restraint, with less money spent on advertising and consulting" (canadafaq.ca). 
   The Green Party- "reflects the core values of grass root democracy, social justice, ecological wisdom, and non-violence. The Green Party advocates a green economy that relies on non-polluting energy resources and systems" (canadafaq.ca). 
  The NDP (The New Democratic Party)- "favours better environmental protection, poverty reduction, equal rights and gender equality, aggressive human rights protection, and higher corporate taxes. New Democrats focus on making life more affordable, rewarding companies that create jobs, strengthening pensions, and improving health services" (canadafaq.ca).
   Le Bloc Quebecois- "is a federal-level political party committed to the promotion of Quebec’s sovereignty and the protection of Quebec’s interests. The party campaigns actively and seeks to create conditions that will facilitate the secession of Quebec" (canadafaq.ca).  

6. What are the issues around which the parties are organized?
Are their ideological, economic, social issues?
        The Conservative Party focuses on a small government, lower taxes, and traditional cultural and religious values. The Liberal Party focuses on the food policy, farmers, production of renewable energy (biomass, solar, wind energy, balanced budgets, deficit reduction) also focuses on family care plan, direct financial aid, higher education, less money spent on advertising and consulting. The Green Party focuses on having a green economy (no polluting energy resources and systems). The New Democratic Party focuses on poverty reduction, equal rights, gender equality, protection of the human rights and making life more affordable, new jobs, improving health services. Le Bloc Quebecois is interested in focusing on the protection of Quebec's interests.

7. Write about what you learned on your blog, include at least one image to illustrate, and link to your sources.

    I learned that Canada has a very different way of going about their political parties. They have 5 different political parties and some of those are very very small, so I would say about three important, and main ones. They do not call them democratic and republican, rather conservative and liberal which I find interesting and then each of these parties focus on a different thing. It is very different from America where you have two different parties and each one has its opinion on everything like health care, and rights of the people, and keeping our country green, etc. It was very interesting to research a different country and see how things operate versus our country.

Canada's main four political parties. 

America's political parties. 

Links:
http://www.canadafaq.ca/what+type+of+government+does+canada+have/
http://mapleleafweb.com/features/federal-government-canada-organization-institutions-issues
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_federal_political_parties_in_Canada

Picture of american political parties http://www.catholicamericanthinker.com/no-Party-America.html
Picture of Canadian political parties https://sadli5478.commons.hwdsb.on.ca/2015/06/09/governance-in-canada-the-world-canada-vs-united-states-of-america-civics-culminating/

Political News (6)

Security Gaps and Airport Security 

This is an airport worker, checking a woman's bag.

          Everyone knows that since 9/11 there has been a HUGE increase in the security at airports across the nation. But, recently, it has come to attention that this security has gaps. Gaps that people can easily get around and are able to bring a bomb on the plane. There are concerns that the British and Russian governments need to send officials to the Egypt airport, and it was announced on Friday that there will be stricter security on the flights back to the US. There was a sampling of airport workers and found that 73 background-checked workers that got through the security vetting should have been flagged for terrorism- related categories. "Part of this problem is that TSA is not allowed to decide what criteria counts as disqualifying when vetting airport workers" (CNN). All in all the consensus was that there needs to be better security for flights back to America.  

Ben Carson and the "Political Hit List"

This is Ben Carson telling the media that they are a "Political Hit List"

          Ben Carson, Republican candidate for Presidency, claims that the media is a "'political hit list job'" (ABC). He found himself in a bit of an awkward situation when he claimed that he was offered a full scholarship at West Point Military Academy, when in fact he did not even apply to this college, he was just told by an ROTC officer to apply his senior year. His campaign later clarified this. Carson now claims that he never said this and claims that he never said he received a "full ride scholarship" because it was discovered that you cannot have a "full ride" to a taxpayer-funded academy. I think that Carson is now trying to cover up what he said because he was totally caught in a lie. My recommendation to him would be to never lie, especially when you are running for President of the United States. 

"Let's Boycott Starbucks!" -Trump 

Donald Trump making his statement about Starbucks. 

          Trump said that we should all boycott Starbucks because they are no longer giving out their Christmas-themed cups. He also claims that he, "Really doesn't care" (CNN), but he does announce that he has a Starbucks in his building and it is very successful. He said that when he is President, "We are all going to say Merry Christmas again, that I can promise you" (CNN). Trump is interesting, he is using his time to talk on the TV about Starbucks, but it is just like Clinton said, if I am not on the TV, someone else is and taking up my time to say something! Maybe Trump has the same idea, or maybe he just wants to be liked by everyone because who does not like Starbucks? And who doesn't love their Christmas-themed cups? I was actually sad when I learned that there will no longer be these cups :( But I do give credit to Trump for continuing to get on TV, no matter the subject of his matters. 

Trying to Mend Relationships

President Obama meeting with Netanyahu at the White House.

          Obama met with the Isreali Prime Minister, Ben Netanyahu to discuss the nuclear bombs in Iran, and the Iranian- Palestinian violence. There has been tension between Obama and Netanyahu, because Netanyahu's assistant is a conservative and has talked bad about Obama and the secretary of state! All of this aside, they both agree that they are highly important to each other and should not break any bonds. Obama wants to end the violence between the Palestinians and the Israelis or, as he says, "Lower the temperature and back on a path towards peace" (FOX) and Netanyahu does not want to. He replies. "We have not given up our hope for peace." The reason that all of this violence has come about is because Israel has accused "Palestinian political and religious leaders of inciting the violence, while they (Palestinians) say that the violence is due to a lack of hope for gaining independence after years of failed peace efforts" (FOX). They also disagree on the nuclear situation because if Iran agrees to not do anything with their bombs, then Tehran will take them and this would post a threat to Iran. But, this meeting is a step in the right direction because this relationship has always been dicy and I am glad they are meeting for the sake of our country and for the sake of Iran. 

Strike!

Picture taken during the strike. 

          Fast food workers have now decided they want $15 and hour for minimum wage. People from all over did this and 64 million low-waged Americans are demanding they get paid more by the next Presidential campaign. The Service Employees International Union is backing this group of people and it has been the largest movement in three years. New York has approved a law to bump up their wages to $15. This is absolutely crazy and I think their wages should not be bumped up at all. It was their fault they did not go to college to get a degree so they could have a better job. Getting paid $15 to flip burgers or take someone's order is ridiculous! That is a lot of money and normally they get my order wrong anyways! Our country is already in debt enough, I think we should cut back on their wages so we can have more money for our country, in my opinion. 

Intro to Media Questions (late!)

            1. List as many types (example:  TV) of media as you can think of. 
- social media

      - radio 

      - internet

      - newspaper/ magazine

      

      2. Investigate ownership of the media in the US.  Find an article or chart that will allow you to identify the corporations that actually own mainstream media outlets like ESPN, Disney, FoxNews, CNN, NBC, Etc.,  Write down what you find.

      

          This interesting graphic organizer is showing what TV companies have the most money and therefore own the most media and the top three are Disney, CBS, and then NBC. 

      3.  Find a list that identifies universities with what are considered the top programs for journalism.  Pick anyone you like, and then go to the website to investigate that school’s journalism program, as if you were a prospective student.  What can you learn about the professional values, standards, and practices associated with professional journalism?  (Write it down)

                I picked UNC at Chapel Hill and it said that 80% of the 2012 graduating class said that they had a job within 4 years of graduating from their school, and the school has an office specifically for finding a job after college. There are different majors and specializations like, advertising, broadcast and electronic journalism, business journalism, editing and graphic design etc. It explained that the student will receive real world experiences, nurturing faculty members, and a cultural excellence, innovation and entrepreneurship. 

4. Historically, the media in the United States has often been viewed as playing the role of “watchdog.”  Do research to understand the watchdog role of the media so that you can answer these questions:  Who is being watched?  Who is being protected?  And from what?

     The press has the "watchdog role" and they are watching the conduct of government officials. This is assumed to be vital to democracy, so the people are being protected and what we are being protected of is the awful things the government could do if it was not being watched so closely.     

5. What have you heard about “liberal bias”?  (Don’t do research for this one – just write down what you have heard about this phrase.  If you have never heard this phrase before, say so, and then explain what you think it might mean.)

                I have heard of this phrase before but I am not sure what it means. I am guessing that it means you are liberal and most of the things that you have an opinion on are going to be the more liberal side.