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| Chapter 6: The Media |
| Questions for Discussion and Thought |
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| 1. Where do you get your news? Do you read a newspaper or news magazine regularly? Do you think you should? Are you more interested in local, state, national, or international news? Which has more impact on your daily life? |
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| 2. If you decided to run for public office, would you be willing to release your income tax records? Your medical records? If there were something in your past that you would not want revealed, would you lie to cover it up if the press found out about it? |
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| 3. The U.S. government was highly criticized for restricting media coverage of the Persian Gulf War. Can we have a free press in wartime? What are the benefits and drawbacks of embedding reporters, as the government did in the 2003 invasion of Iraq? What are the problems with “embedding” reporters with U.S. troops and limiting their access to other sources of information? What problems do you see with allowing the press to cover whatever they want in a war zone? The Bush administration “managed” press coverage of the original invasion of Iraq better than any other administration in modern history. Is that good or bad? |
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| 4. Why is a free press essential to democracy? If there were no free press, how would you get your information? If you couldn’t trust the information, what effect would that have on your political attitudes? Can we maintain a democracy when most Americans pay little attention to political events? |
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| 5. The Internet and blogs are opening new avenues for citizens to participate in politics. Blogs lower technological and financial barriers and allow ordinary people to engage in effective political action. How will the Internet and blogs change political participation? How will they change the way candidates campaign? Do you see any problems with the dissemination of ideas and opinions that may be based on unsupported research? |
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