Learning Objective 8.1: Identify the functions of the news media in a democracy.

Video

• Obama on Letterman 
  
  • Summary: An interview with President Barack Obama on the Late Show with David Letterman.

 

Learning Objective 8.2: Discuss three different factors that influence foreign news coverage in the United States.

Video

• Revolution in Cairo
  
  • Summary: A Frontline segment on the Arab Spring in Egypt that deposed President Hosni Mubarak.

Web Resources

• Americans’ interest in foreign news
  
  • Summary: The results of a poll showing a decline in American interest in foreign news.

• PBS audience
  
  • Summary: A breakdown of the audiences of public television and public radio in the Greater Washington area.

• Decline of newspapers
  
  • Summary: An article describing declines in newspaper employment.

• Who is Rush Limbaugh?
  
  • Summary: The web homepage of conservative radio commentator Rush Limbaugh.

• AP: Covering the world
  
  • Summary: A long article describing the Associated Press’s foreign bureaus and company structure.

• Arthur Kent: NBC’s Scud Stud
  
  • Summary: A profile of journalist Arthur Kent and his role in coverage of the Gulf War.

• Parachute journalism: What’s wrong with it?
  
  • Summary: An opinion article defending “parachute journalism” and expressing a need for accompanying research.

 

Learning Objective 8.3: Explain three ways that the government tries to control media coverage.

Web Resources

• U.S. military influence operations
  
  • Summary: A long web page with links regarding military research into behavioral influence.

• Digital diplomacy
  
  • Summary: An article on the increasing use of social media in diplomatic actions.

• Top 10 weird government secrets
  
  • Summary: A list of miscellaneous facts about government secrets.

• Radio Sawa
  
  • Summary: The English-language about page for Radio Sawa, a U.S.-backed radio network in the Middle East.

• Benghazi attacks
  
  • Summary: An article about the investigation into the attacks on the U.S. Embassy in Libya that resulted in the death of Ambassador Chris Stevens.

 

Learning Objective 8.4: Summarize the ways that the government has used or been impacted by social media.

Web Resources

• Electronic donations: Haiti
  
  • Summary: An article describing the donations to the Red Cross for Haiti collected via texts.

• Wikileaks
  
  • Summary: The web home page of Wikileaks, a website intended to catalog leaks of government information.

• Twitter and Diplomacy
  
  • Summary: A list of Twitter feeds on foreign policy aggregated by the U.S. Embassy in Brussels.

• 21st Century Statecraft
  
  • Summary: A page from the State Department website regarding their “21st Century Statecraft” initiative.

• The Drudge Report
  
  • Summary: The website “Drudge Report,” a site notable for breaking several news stories first.

• The Dish
  
  • Summary: The blog of now-retired blogger Andrew Sullivan.

 

Learning Objective 8.5: Describe the role of foreign media sources to U.S. news consumers.

Web Resources

• BBC: Offering the news in 27 languages
  
  • Summary: The web homepage of the British Broadcasting Corporation.

• Al Jazeera: Politically independent?
  
  • Summary: An article expressing concerns about the political independence of Al Jazeera, a news organization based in Qatar.