5. Your final reflections on the course

Personally the most interesting thing I’ve learned in this course is how politicians work in large numbers. It was interesting how deep a campaign is and how they work through each candidate. Although each candidate is intelligence in their own right, it is truely a team effort to make a successful president. Media gets more credit than I expected because they play important roles in politics and keep candidates on a straight line when addressing the people. I respect media and politics more than I did before this course.

4. How will the media play a vital role in the 2012 elections and subsequent elections?

The media is already playing a vital role in the 2012 elections. For example look at Herman Cain; he has chosen to drop out of the elections due to the allegations that have been spread nationwide about his sexual harassment. Media is already attacking candidates and keeping the viewers entertained. Each candidate needs to keep their information straight and stay on their toes. I think next generations may learn how the media works time over time and use this source as a strategy to impact competitors. Media can either make a positive impact or negative impact, and next generations may see a benefit to how the media works with politics.

3. Cable news - please give a final analysis of your thoughts on the influence of cable news - what ever happened to fair and unbiased reporting?

I do not think fair and unbiased reporting ever existed honestly. As long as there is freedom of speech, there will be an opinion shared. I feel that Cable news is another tool used to deliver information to an audience with an agenda. The difference on how we accept information from industries such as cable news is to know that there is always an agenda and that we can look for the current events without allowing the agenda influence our opinion. If people learn how to utilize more than source of media, then will have better quality with the decisions and opinions we develop about every day media. Therefore courses such as PAF 494 does arm up with the necessary knowledge to use media to our advantage.

2. Twitter: Choose 6 relevant "Tweets" you've seen on Twitter related to this class.

1) This twitter is being used as a Social Media tool to support the Obama campaign for 2012 eclections.

BarackObama Barack Obama
Help build #Obama2012 by applying to be a campaign organizing fellow: http://OFA.BO/fj3Qr8 2 hours ago
2) Dan Nowicki is a Arizona national reporter political reporter who is obviously supporting a specific presidential candidate.

dannowicki Dan Nowicki
GOP presidential hopeful @MittRomney in Ariz. Tues. for fundraiser and to pick up endorsement of former VP Dan Quayle: http://bit.ly/tDsqIp
11 hours ago Favorite Retweet Reply

3) John Stewart was recently called out by Fox News for being as liberal as they were conservative. I believe this twitter supports Fox news views about Stwart.

TPM Talking Points Memo
Jon Stewart bids farewell to Herman Cain tpm.ly/tl5ARB ^@davidtaint
3 hours ago Favorite Retweet Reply

4) Conan O’Brian shares his views about the Hermain Cain ad as we discussed in our course. http://headblitz.com/funny-conan-obrien-spoofs-hermain-cain-ads/

TheHeadBlitz Blitz Master One
Funny: Conan O’Brien Spoof’s Hermain Cain Ad’s goo.gl/fb/X7g4b
1 Dec Favorite Retweet Reply

5) John Dickerson touches based on the Republican candidate race in terms of comparing both Newt Gingrich and Romney.

johndickerson John Dickerson
Gingrich not sunk by his immigration comments in debate. He beats Romney on issue in Post poll of IA. wapo.st/stP6Vr
3 hours ago

6) Is it me? Or is Newt Gingrich getting a lot of media support.


CNNVideo CNN Video
GOP presidential hopeful @newtgingrich climbs in the polls. Video: http://on.cnn.com/sDLfpJ
7 hours ago

Final: Three political blogs

AZ central Blog

This site is really simple and easy to comprehend. I like how every topic has a picture of the reporter and how each blog is short and to the point. This site provides you with hyper link to leave comments, report violations, and related topics. Overall I like the political blog website because it covers information from both the state and national level. There are topics about medical marijuana, the state’s Medicaid program, and state sales tax. These are types of information that I am interested in. However I notice that most of the topics are covered by republican reporters such as; Mary Jo Pitzl, Mary K. Beinhart, and Ginger Rough, which tells this site is partially bias from a conservative perspective.

Article: I notice these blogs are state base information. However this site does provide details about the recent state elections going on between Kirk Adams, Russell Peirce, Matt Salman, and Jerry Lewis. Supposedly it was a close race in the Arizona State Elections. I am not much on state government but it is good to know that we can get similar statistics from a blog site such as AZ central.

Huffington Post

This website is a very user friendly website. From my observation and research, this website is appealing to many followers who leave reactions and comments in large numbers. The site is easy to navigate with its wide range of hyperlinks to move from topic to topic and ability to communicate to others with the twitter, e-mail and share links. I personally like this site because it gives the followers the visuals, audio and video to report stories. This website can lean slightly to a liberal stand, but it does cover other perspectives and current events. I can’t really say if this is considered a biased website however.

Article: http://www.npr.org/2011/12/05/143154598/history-with-cain-may-pay-off-for-gingrich?wpisrc=nl_fix

After reading “Game Change” base on the 2012 elections; it was interesting to learn how each candidate the media affected. Well the blogs about Herman Cain definitely remind me of the blogs in the Huffington Post. The relationship between Obama and Clinton seem similar to the relationship to Cain and Newt Gingrich. Newt Gingrich spoke positively about Herman Cain’s departure from the 2012 elections and how his 9-9-9 plan was creditable whether we liked it or not. It sounds like these candidates support each other and that this relationship may suede voters who support Cain to follow Gingrich, such as Clinton voters transitioned to Obama.

RIGHTWING NEWS

This website would be my type of source for information. The website is full of hyperlinks to other blog sites, political adds, and the design is really structure to appeal to viewers who are very busy and like to get the point. The website has a lot of conservative emphasis in its information sharing, so I can quickly determine there is a bias. Not to mention the website is labeled “Rightwing”. Although I am more of a liberal type of person, I like this website.

Article: http://conservativedailynews.com/2011/12/ten-reasons-to-love-rick-perry/

This article reminds me of module eleven “election coverage continued”. This article speaks on ten reason to love Rick Perry. Obviously the media in this blog site support candidate Rick Perry because they are giving the readers reason to support him, along with ads, links, statistics that are all about the positive perspective of the presidential candidate. This site also provides ads and you tube tabs to obtain additional information for the subject matter.

Module 14 10 Election Things You Need to Know/ What did you learn that you valued the most?

1. Learn to identify the different types of bias and agenda’s that our media exposes.
2. Learn how to weed out the BS from the actual facts based on events being delivered by media.
3. Understand that media can expose politicians in both a negative way and positive way.
4. Understand that media can keep politicians liable on their objectives.
5. There is an agenda when it comes to politics. Pay attention to each politician and do not let the media influence you with their agendas. At the same time use the media for the fact that they have the power to keep politicians liable for their actions and obligations. Media will expose the character of politicians.
6. Being president involves many people who provide specific roles. It takes a successful team to address all of the important needs that the United States require out of the president.
7. “There is more to the story” Use the tools such as books, new media, etc. to get the details. Tweeter, bloggers, internet, mobile internet, television, radio, participation in events, etc can all contribute to society in terms of making a difference.
8. Herman Cain’s 9-9-9 plan is weak and does not help our citizens. The plan contradicts it-self and removes taxes from one area (federal) and creates taxes in another area (state).
9. Hillary Clinton is a very intelligent person who was overshadowed by another president (Obama) because of his charismatic delivery of information, youthfulness, and creativity to appeal to the people. They both however are people leaders I admire.
10. Pay attention to 2011; much of the important events take place prior to the actual elections. 2012 elections will be interesting.




Learning about types of bias and agendas that media deliver to the audience/viewers is what I value the most. Society relies on mass media to keep up with current events in which help people develop opinions and make important decisions that impact their daily life. Knowing that information can be shared with the agenda to influence or encourage people to think a certain way definitely prepares me as a viewer when obtaining information on daily events through such media channels.

Media surprised me in terms of how much of an impact they play for and against politicians. Media has definitely made its presence felt in current events; however politics is heavily affected by media. It was really interesting to learn how both media and politics work hand and hand for the benefit and appeal of voters.

Overall I feel that politics is not as complicated as I thought. Based on media, I never really trusted the information that was being delivered. Politics can be very interesting and I feel that this course encouraged me to look more into events and politicians. Accessing multiple media channels will give me a bigger look into politics and help me to see information from different perspectives. The more views on events, the better I can create an opinion about politicians and important decisions.

Module 13 - State of the News Media

I personally like Jon Stewart for his political humor and ability to keep the media on their toes regarding their agendas when reporting news. Based on Jon Stewarts success, Fox news shows their interest in defending themselves and addressing Jon Stewart’s opinions about media agenda. However after listening to the interview; it’s interesting how Fox news does not deny their agenda as being conservative bias. The interview was very heated but professional at the same time. Overall, the interview revealed Fox news attempting to bash Jon Stewart versus defending their media agenda. Fox news tries to put both Jon Stewart and MSNBC on blast for being liberal bias and setting themselves as equals to all other media agendas.

I believe that Jon Stewart appeals to the audience’s political opinions from a comical perspective. Like most U.S. citizens, Jon Stewart does have a political stand and it may show a form of influence, but he is nowhere close to comparison to Fox News in terms to political position in media. Fox news even confirms their conservative position in the interview by pointing out how Jon attacks Republicans and how unethical Comedy Central is.

Debates are very significant due to the fact that such debates give the viewers the opportunity to develop an opinion about each candidate through their performance. Debates allow us to see candidates at work, how knowledgeable, how confident, and how charismatic they are in terms of delivery and vision. I agree with Mrs. Bachmann’s campaign about the media elites attempting to manipulate the republican debates. It makes sense that liberal media elites would try to push for a republican candidate that would serve as no threat to the democratic competitor.

Rick Perry’s mistake is a common human error as explained in the article; however viewers use these types of events to develop an opinion about the candidate. Common human errors may hurt a candidate’s image for the time being; but over time and with additional exposures and events, candidate can make up their mistakes. Also media can play a major role by manipulating the audience and pointing out each candidate’s human error to serve an agenda. Rick Perry’s mistake was very significant in this case based on the highly viewed event.

Module 12 - State of the News Media

Well when you have money and power; any threat to your success can bring out a sense of paranoia. In a sense, Nixon’s paranoia was justified because he was indeed guilty of wrong doing and the media was on to him. If Nixon was exposed by the media, then he would lose his money and power; therefore it makes sense.

Pierson and Anderson were out to get Nixon for his corruption with money. They knew Nixon was utilizing a slush fund account and being unethical with his political status. The press made multiple attempts to expose Richard Nixon, and continued their efforts even when they looked bad doing it. Journalist such as Pierson and Anderson did create a perception with Nixon that they were out for him. The pressure of exposing Nixon made sense because he was guilty for his actions; but assassination of Anderson by Nixon really caught my surprise. I knew that Political power can threaten people, but not by Mafia-style hits and assassinations.

I wouldn’t put it behind me in terms of powerful people involving themselves with tactics to silence people or with covering up scandals; however ordering assassinations and mob hits does not seem practical to me in this day and age. Technically it can be done, but there are too many other ways to get a point across then to result in organized murders.

After viewing the chart from source SNL Kagen; it made good sense that cable news total revenue dropped over the years. Personally I feel education about the bias and delivery of information has created a bad reputation with voters and audience. Growing up, I learned how media could create drama and create a perception amongst the viewers; therefore I was always skeptical about certain cable channels for getting my news. However I see improvements and I feel that cable channels will survive in the future. This type of media provides visuals to the audience and personally cable channels and television make it convenient and easier for people to keep up with political and current events on a daily basis.

Election Coverage (continued)

I think the Herman Cain ad was crazy because it’s does not address all the voters. Smoking is a touchy subject and to try to appeal to the hard worker, common Americans and those voices that have not been heard is a big cost to other voters who do not relate to the smoking portion of the ad. Smoking a cigarette and blowing smoke into the camera really made a bad perception to critics who could point in using a threatening product that affects the lives of so many to contribute to the ad. Blowing smoke into the camera was like blowing smoke at America. Herman Cain’s grin was way too comical. “Bad Ad to my opinion.”
The early polling numbers do matter because it tells candidates who is their biggest threats and where the voters stand currently. Media plays a big role for the presidential race and polls indicate whose names are favored by voters. Personally I am shocked that Herman Cain is standing so strong as of today. Cain is an outspoken person who really does not have a care or respect to the people he attacks; such as Black Americans. His 999 plan is heavily criticized and I feel that the perception in society is that Herman Cain is a joke. The polls tell a different story on the contrary. “Interesting!” I am very excited to see Obama on top of the game after dealing with so heat from both critics and voters. There are still followers that have faith in their current president.
I feel that big endorsements or endorsements from the media are extremely important. The more money a campaign has the more they can promote and reach the voters. With backing from media and political newspapers, a candidate can really pull away from the rest of the competition.

Election Coverage & Political Ads (cont'd)

My favorit political Ads:

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2011/06/27/dinner_with_obama_now_includes_joe_biden.html

This short video for Obama’s campaign 2012 was promoting his raffle for a dinner with both Barack Obama and Joe Bidden (vice president). This video was significant because it stirred up controversy about violating the Federal Election Laws and FEC campaign finance laws. A presidential spokesman said that the video does not constitute fundraising under the law, that portions of the White House can legally be used for that purpose anyway, and that previous presidents have done so. There is one problem, however. This campaign ad was most likely recorded in the White House, which may have violated FEC campaign finance laws.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26852192/vp/45027940#45027940

The Chief of staff for Herman Cain conducts an ad where he smokes a cigarette at the end of the video; blowing smoke into the camera. The video ends with Herman Cain grinning. This video is interpreted by some that the Chief of staff is blowing smoke on America. It’s really doesn’t make sense to me, but it does compliment Herman Cain’s presence into the 2012 campaign.



Headline news story of the day or week related to the 2012 Election Coverage: Herman Cain


1) MSNBC: Cain denies report of sexual harassment
Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain's campaign denied allegations Sunday that he was twice accused of sexual harassment while he was the head of the National Restaurant Association in the 1990s.
The report said the women signed agreements with the restaurant group that gave them five-figure financial payouts to leave the association and barred them from discussing their departures. Neither woman was identified.
The report was based on anonymous sources and, in one case, what the publication said was a review of documentation that described the allegations and the resolution.
This article is straight to the point and holds no position to the story.


2) : Fox news: “Cain Rejects Report of Inappropriate Behavior “

Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain's campaign denied allegations Sunday that he was twice accused of sexual harassment while he was the head of the National Restaurant Association in the 1990s.

The report said the women signed agreements with the restaurant group that gave them five-figure financial payouts to leave the association and barred them from discussing their departures. Neither woman was identified.
The report was based on anonymous sources and, in one case, what the publication said was a review of documentation that described the allegations and the resolution.

This article goes on to elaborate on how unfair attacks have been made on Herman Cain.

Cain's campaign told the AP that the allegations were not true, and amounted to unfair attacks.
"Inside-the-Beltway media have begun to launch unsubstantiated personal attacks on Cain," spokesman J.D. Gordon said in a written statement. "Dredging up thinly sourced allegations stemming from Mr. Cain's tenure as the chief executive officer at the National Restaurant Association in the 1990s, political trade press are now casting aspersions on his character and spreading rumors that never stood up to the facts."


3) : CNN Politics: Cain presidential campaign fires back after report alleges inappropriate behavior
(CNN) - The campaign of presidential candidate Herman Cain has criticized a news report alleging that Cain displayed inappropriate behavior to two female employees in the 1990s, saying the news media has started "to launch unsubstantiated personal attacks on Cain."
At least two female employees of the National Restaurant Association complained of inappropriate behavior from Cain when he led the organization, POLITICO reported Sunday night.
Cain's campaign was quick to respond.
"Since Washington establishment critics haven't had much luck in attacking Mr. Cain's ideas to fix a bad economy and create jobs, they are trying to attack him in any way they can," said J.D. Gordon, Cain's campaign vice president.
"Dredging up thinly sourced allegations stemming from Mr. Cain's tenure as the Chief Executive Officer at the National Restaurant Association in the 1990s, political trade press are now casting aspersions on his character and spreading rumors that never stood up to the facts," Gordon said in a statement.
The women, who were not named in the POLITICO story, left the organization after receiving "separation packages that were in the five-figure range," the newspaper reported.

This source also article goes on to elaborate on how unfair attacks have been made on Herman Cain
Why are these differing opinions important to create dialogue among voters?

I like how each source gives different details to the situation. Giving different angles of a story will better help to shape the audiences opinions about the topic. The voters will benefit on seeing the story from different perspectives.


Are they helping or hurting the candidates? How does this all influence public opinion? Why does it matter?

I believe this kind of reporting can both hurt and help candidates in terms of voters favoring a specific media base. If one media is heavily favored over another and shows bias, then candidates may only been seen from a one sided perspective. However if voters utilize their entire media base, then they can see candidates from different perspectives in which helps them to make better opinions about each candidate.

Politicial Ads

I think the Perry ad is a hit or miss. Those who know and understand politics and media understand how chopped and screwed this ad was in efforts to influence the audience that Romney Care will be ineffective. On the contrary, this ad is a hit to those who do not know the details of what’s really being reported by Romney in the video. Therefore the audience would most likely accept the contradictions and inconsistency labels on Mitt Romney from the Perry ad

Michele is from the home of the Iowa caucus; in which serves to be a big presidential focus during election periods such as the upcoming 2012 presidential elections. Her ad was effective in the fact that supporters may be influenced by her roots and upbringing in which they can relate to. Viewers watching this video will be more attentive to Michele Bachmann because of her background. Therefore she made a good strategic move by identifying her roots in her ad

Obama has served a four year term and therefore is lacking the “Meat and Potatoes” in his ad. Personally I feel that he should have used more achievements during his term to compliment his strengths that voters admire him for. I do like the part of the video where he is looking in the mirror at himself. This scene really showed me that he is focused day to day on his duties to the United States. However the riding of the unicorn was a bit corny to me.

“Yes we did” speaks large words to voters because it’s a reflection of the triumph that Obama accomplished during the 2008 elections. This scene reminded voters of the president they stood for and indeed catches the audience attention for the rest of the Obama ad. This was effective.

Obama did not have enough achievements to create a positive impact on the video to my opinion. Maybe elaborating on future goals would have added more value to the ad; giving the audience a sense that Obama still has more to offer.

I think this “Promotion” of media groups is very good for business, politics, and people. Although I do not necessarily favor the government stepping in and regulating new media; in terms of political elections, regulations would be an exception to refrain from giving the voters false information and utilizing unethical tactics for promoting a candidates.

Television advertising is by far the best approach to reach new voting groups. Television advertising not only sends a message to the mass majority of the United States that own television(s) in their homes but gives the audience the visuals to compliment the audio delivery of the message. Most of society utilizes new media such as online access, mobile access, and social networking in communication. Social media can easily reach people by tapping into these outlets. How can you avoid politics if it’s located in all your resources for communication? Effective.

Module 8 - Cable News MSNBC/Effect of Hyper-Competition in Cable / Steve Jobs

MSNBC coverage on protests against big corporation greed:

"We got sold out, banks got bailed out" and "All day, all week, occupy Wall Street." American protesters are angry that U.S. banks are enjoying booming profits after getting bailouts in 2008, while many people are struggling in a difficult economy with more than 9 % percent unemployment and little help from Washington.

It is safe to say this specific event was identified as a liberal event in which MSNBC provided a large amount of coverage with little attention to other important news this specific day. However I feel that MSNBC is balanced enough to challenge any critic’s about presenting a liberal bias on the news that is being covered. News being presented on MSNBC is more balanced than the conservative bias that FOX leans towards when presenting news to its viewers.

Overall based on the coverage; I feel that those running coverage on the protest did step over the line this time. Other important news such as the death of Steve Jobs really deserved part of that attention. Rest in Peace.

I feel that all media has an agenda to make beyond just the facts. However if you have diverse employment staff working towards the same goals then there will be a balanced viewpoint in the reporting of news to its followers such as MSNBC. If you have nothing but conservative republicans representing a company; then the bias is strong and viewers are subject to only one aspect of the news.

Effect of Hyper-Competition in Cable:

I think not! Competition in Cable is like competition in business for the fact that the public benefits with more options and more quality. The more views in journalism there are the better quality information is available. No one wants to listen to a one sided bias reporting important news and events. Therefore competitions give viewers options in which help them to develop their one opinions on facts delivered.

Steve Jobs:

“Death is very likely the single best invention of life”. Living each day as if it were your last does inspire me to contribute or create a positive impact on life (person(s) /community). Whatever I chose to do; I think Steve Jobs words influences me to keep doing what makes me happy and to face change with a sense of confidence that things will work out.

I am still at a stand still carrier wise at this point in time. Entering my last semester of school, my goal is to place myself in a situation where I am more available to my family, and that I can be a shoulder to lean one. Just like rapper 2Pac said, “I may not be the person to change the world, but I want to spark the mind of the person who will change the world”.

Thanks Steve Jobs.

Kurt McCain is on one!

"I am not playing the race card" What!!! This character is playing the TOKEN card. Conservatives have found their Uncle Tom. I cannot believe what I am hearing from this fake ass Republican. There's Republicans that have more sense than you. Calling your own people out for fame is called selling out on yourself. A 62 year blind person can see clearer than you. Change your game plan bro because there is not enough love out there for you.

Obama's Media Advantage

I honestly both agree and disagree to the video in terms of media and President Obama; along with the expected election perceptions. In terms of President Obama being highly favored in the next elections by different sources of media, I am a little skeptical for the fact that online statistics and public views contradict the media expectations. There are a lot of people who feel that Obama does not fallow throw on what he says are who feel that he is not supportive enough. I personally hope he is re-elected because he is a charismatic leader who showed that he can face adversity through his actions such as taking a position in office during the worst economic times. Anyone who is willing to take on a responsibility in the atmosphere of recession is a brave and honorable person. President Obama faces the criticisms and I feel that he has more to offer. But the media and overall social view are not on the same page in my eye.

I do agree with the dynamics of media having a bias and influencing its followers based on that bias. Although media has its tactics and influence when delivering important news, it’s our (society) responsibility to learn and understand how to obtain the details and facts of events; and identify the influencing tactics that the media delivers. If I can create my own opinions by using resources that both provide pro’s and con’s with opposite bias, then my opinion will most likely be a valuable one.

Leia: Internet Freedom (M.6)

Leia: Internet Freedom (M.6)

I feel that the internet should be open and unrestricted. New and Social media has made its way in the world and restricting it is not an option. I am dependent on the internet because it provides knowledge at a convenience to the people. Great points Leia.

Module 6: Internet Freedom

The internet is very important as our public space because it provides up to date information on a consistent basis. Having the internet means having knowledge about what goes on around us on a daily basis. The internet provides information, news, media, visuals, audio, etc. which allows we “the people” to be selective about what we choose to learn and know.

It sounds like the government wants to get their hands on everything. I believe threats to private information such as wikileaks (Run by Julian Assange) are the major motivation for internet freedom. To my opinion internet freedom involves limited government regulation and control. Private information being exposed is something that all people and institutions face; therefore the consequences are parallel. People or entities that use the internet for illegal tactics and crime place themselves at risk for disciplinary action anyway. Uprisings such as in Tunisia and Egypt can be initiated by other means as well. This event is just being used by the government as an example as to why more control and money should be invested in network security. What the U.S. government is promoting is not internet freedom; but internet control.

I honestly think internet freedom serves another purpose that is beyond the safety of internet users. I feel that there are other initiatives rather using $25 million dollars towards internet freedom. The government has access to the internet just as anyone else and should create cheaper ways to monitor the information being shared in new media versus setting restriction and control over the internet.

Social Media has been beneficial to activist lately; therefore is causing worldwide attention and threat to politics and government. Internet freedom is based off the success of Social Media at it’s worse. Unfortunately.

Module 5: Congressman Anthony Weiner

For the fact that Congressman Anthony Weiner bluntly lied to the public through media regarding his involvement in the scandal; it definitely would have had an impact on his place in Congress. However I do not think stepping down from political office was the answer. Congressman should of overcome the humiliation and continue to work through the scandal in order to re-gain the trust and support from his followers. People learn from their mistakes and he should have stuck it out.

Definitely there are no boundaries in terms of Social Media. Social Media can either work for you or against you; therefore politicians must understand the consequences of personal choices they make regarding utilizing the new media for their convenience.

I believe that the media pressured Congressman Weiner to address his mistakes nationally and kind of backed him in the corner because they knew he was guilty based on the scandal. Congressman contradicted himself and lied throughout the scandal due to the fact that he was unable to handle the media attention.

Reactions to New Media and the two videos

I was amazed at the figures provided in each video as to how much influence that New Media has on the social network. It is definitely not a fad that new media is here, “and here to stay”. Twitter, blog, web pages, and other new forms of communication do reach a larger audience and will serve at a strategy to politicians and other social institutions. However my question and skepticisms are how new media provides enough information with good ethical and factual approaches. People will no longer have to hear both sides of the story that other forms of media provide. Society can pick and choose what they want to hear in terms of what is necessary for their decision-making. Will New Media provide accurate information that provides the whole situation or just influencing and persuasive information to reach a goal? There has to be some damage control to this fast and growing way forms of communication. Well as far as I see it, New Media is here to stay and will continue to revolutionize.

Three ways Social Media will shape public policy:
1. Social Media will reach a larger audience
2. Social Media will allow people to become more politically aware.
3. Social Media will keep society updated about upcoming and current events on a more broad scale and will allow people to become more accessible to the political leaders they follow.

Therefore people will become more confident in the political institution and feel more confident in participating in important decision-making events such as voting.

My Article: Module 3 “Prominent national Hispanic group calls off its Arizona boycott over state’s immigration law”

Source: Washington Post: Local to National level

The way this issue made its way from local to national level was the Arizona boycotts initiated in May 2010 by Hispanic groups over the controversial immigration law. Hispanic organizations such as National Council of La Raza took part in this protest; resulting in increase Latino voters and defeat of a measure that would have changed how U.S.-born children of illegal immigrants are granted citizenship. American Citizens were both advocates and opponents. However immigrants and Latinos served as a majority of the advocate party regarding the opposed law proposals. The defeat of approving the law and increase in Latino voters served as a gain regarding this issue. In fact Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon’s office sent La Raza letters last month asking it to end the boycotts and work toward immigration reform. This issue definitely appeals to local voters because the boycotts in Arizona took place in the local communities and affected all who lived in Arizona in some shape or form.

Three branches of government Question #2

The three official branches of government—legislative, executive, and judicial

Consider how the three branches of government check and balance" each other. Consider how a media source like The Washington Post "checks" each branch of government. What methods does it use? How important is the role of the media to citizens and voters? How would you find out about what is going on in government without the media?

Answer:

The media sources use their first amendment rights by using freedom of the press as a method of checking on the three branches by branches by informing the public of the government’s actions, allowing the people to respond accordingly. However regulations such as sedition and libel are examples of government regulations on freedom of the press. Freedom of t includes newspapers and magazines, but also extends to books, pamphlets, posters, and essentially anything in print. In addition, the contents of printed material can be communicated through different media forms, such as radio, television, and the Internet. he press includes.

Like other forms of expression, freedom of the press is essential to the advancement and operation of a democracy, providing important benefits to individuals, to society, and to the government:


In terms of polls, tracking and effects of specific events; media is very important to citizens and voter. However the relationship between political leaders and media can play a role on how the media will alter the dynamics of a specific candidate through influence and creating a positive and negative image. Therefore citizens and voters must be attentive to the manipulations that media can serve in political events.

Media puts you in places that are impossible to be. With widespread coverage on political events, it would be difficult to find out what’s going on with the government. Despite some negative perspectives about influence and persuasive tactics of media, it gives you the information citizens and voters need to make intelligent dicisions on who will represent the community, state and country.

Tip O'Neil

Based on the former U.S. Speaker of the House, he created the phrase "All politics is local". This phrase to my opinion is a directed to the ability and influence that politicians have on those who have elected them into office. Politicians must be attentitive to their community concerns and keep good relations because this is what represents the politician throughout their elections. This phrase reminds me of "Don't forget where you came from". The phrase from Tip O'Neal can be used against policians in election events as a negative gesture.

My interest in PAF 494: 2nd blob post

Although it’s a little embarrassing to admit, I am a late bloomer in terms of politics.  I do pay attention to presidential elections however I am not involved enough with all politics; especially the state government.  Interesting enough media and my peers serve as a major influence in terms of making a difference by voting and getting to know who and how my political officials impact my everyday life.  Being involved in recent marches for proposition proposals and bills among the Latino community has helped me to realize that everyone’s participation is important in order to make a difference for the greater good of our country.  By taking this course, I am motivated that I will have a better understanding how both politics and media work hand and hand with society.  By understanding the way these institutions work and how society responds to media and political communication; I hope that I will be able to obtain the important messages provided versus being influenced to act on situations that I may not entirely comprehend.  I personally feel that society lacks participation because of the lack of understanding about politics and media.  I know that media provides important information about current events; however it is known that media has a tendency of taking issues to specific directions.  It’s my job to use media for information and form my own opinion with additional research.

About me

I am a single father of four children who enjoys spending time with my family and watching them grow in life.  I enjoy cutting hair and tattooing in my free time.  I also enjoy working out and being socialable.  I love people and embrace diversity; therefore I consider myself a very extroverted individual

Definition of Media Influence:

Media and Government are two factors that affect society; therefore the connection between both powers creates a media influence inwhich plays a big part in public opinion, voting behavior and political view.  Media Influence can create a direction that both Media and Government wants society to follow