Answer to Question 1
An ideal response will:
1, Form an argument about the appropriate role of the media. Should the media inform public opinion through the objective presentation of facts? Should the media lead public opinion by telling citizens what is important and what criteria matter in the evaluation of politics? Should the media actively try to steer the public to whom they deem to be the best candidate and what they deem to be the optimal solutions to public policy problems?
2, Discuss how the corporate, profit-driven media tend to take the middle road and tend to focus on negative and unusual stories that attract the largest audience. Evaluate why this might have a negative effect on democracy by focusing on candidate mistakes and missteps that could alter the perception that the public has of candidates.
3, Explain the overall impact of this on the health of democracy in the context of citizens making independent decisions about government.
Answer to Question 2
An ideal response will:
1, Acknowledge that the American public has become increasingly distrustful of government over recent decades.
2, Itemize some of the events that have contributed to the decline of trust in government (e.g., Vietnam, Watergate, failures of the Carter administration,etc.).
3, Note that political trust and support for policies that address poverty and racial inequality are positively correlated. Therefore, the drop in political trust helps to explain the recent drop in support for these programs.
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