Answer to Question 1
An ideal response will:
1. Describe the different forms of news media including print media, television, radio, and electronic media such as the Internet and social media sites.
2. Explain how the print media have struggled to keep readership numbers, while television and radio remain persistent in their reach to the American public.
3. Discuss how the rapid growth of the Internet and social media sites has greatly increased the ability of Americans to connect to each other in addition to accessing news information quickly.
Answer to Question 2
An ideal response will:
1. Explain that investigatory journalism is an outgrowth of the media's watchdog responsibility to expose corruption, wrongdoing, and malfeasance by government and politicians.
2. Explain how investigatory reporting helps keep government accountable to citizens, drawing upon specific examples such as the Washington Post exposure of Watergate or the 60 Minutes report on the torture of Iraqi prisoners at the Abu Ghraib prison.
