Suggestion in Media

Topic 1: Suggestion in Media

Please read chapter 8 for discussing the first topic here. You can choose either question A or Question B to answer. Only one will be graded.

Question A:

Read the article titled “U.S. Mayor Uses Twitter to Help Snowbound” written by a British journalist (you can find the article under the Content tab). He discusses the growing use of social media by politicians. In the 2008 election, President Obama made extensive use of the Internet to get his message out, especially to young voters; since that time, both local and national politicians have sought new ways to tap into resources that communicate to their constituents.

Questions for discussion:
a. The author of this article says that politicians are now being judged by their mastery of social media rather than their stated positions on issues. To what extent do you agree with the author, and in what ways do you think that mastery of social media is important for politicians?

b. What is the best way for local politicians to inform their constituents of their viewpoints on issues? Which forms of media would you be most likely to access?

Question B:

Find an example of imbalanced reporting or editorializing, or for the use of misleading photographs. Write a short essay in which you explain the following:
a. How is the story, photograph, or editorial biased?
b. How could bias have been prevented? What would be a more fair representation of the information?

Topic 2: Fair-Mindedness
To complete the second topic discussion assignment, please read chapter 9 and choose either question A or B to answer.

Question A:
Fairmindedness and Opposing Viewpoints
a. Find an issue about which you have strong opinions, and cite several reasons for your position.
b. Then read some articles or listen to speakers who have a different opinion, and write about what you believe to be the best argument for the opposing viewpoints.
c. Explain whether this exercise caused you to be more or less convinced about your original position on this issue. What changes, if any, did you make in your perspective concerning the issue?

Question B:
Author and speaker Ravi Zacharias defines a person’s “worldview” as the cumulative answer to four questions: where did I come from? What is life’s meaning? How do I define right from wrong, and what happens to me when I die? Those are the fulcrum points of our existence. How do different individuals answer those questions? How would you define your own worldview?