Lesson Report:
**Title:** The Role of Media in Shaping Political Beliefs and Public Opinion
_Synopsis: Today’s class focused on understanding how media affects political beliefs, public opinion, and emotional reactions to political events. Students were introduced to models of media influence, including the pluralist model, the dominant ideology model, the elite values model, and the market model. The session also involved a discussion around the framing of media content and bias. Practical activities encouraged students to engage with news sources and critically analyze the information presented._
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**Attendance:**
– **Absent students:** Albina, Bakhtagul, Aynazik
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**Topics Covered:**
1. **Introduction to Election Results and Feedback on Short Answer Grading:**
– Discussion on the process of grading for short-answer sections and the importance of students reaching out if they require feedback on their grades.
– The concept of extra points for the short answer section was reiterated.
2. **Review of Concepts: Political Culture vs. Public Opinion:**
– **Political Culture:** Shared long-term beliefs, values, and expectations toward government and politics within a group.
– **Public Opinion:** Immediate, short-term reactions to political events within the populace.
– **Why the distinction matters:** Understanding these terms helps in analyzing where certain political beliefs originate and how they influence elections.
3. **Reflective Activity on Personal Political Reactions:**
– Students were asked to reflect on recent political events that elicited a strong personal reaction.
– Class discussion followed, with students sharing their reactions to events like Donald Trump’s election, ethnic tensions, and governmental reforms. This led to analyzing how and where individuals obtain political information – primarily through social media such as Instagram, showing the pivotal role of media on personal political views.
4. **Media’s Role in Shaping Beliefs and Opinions:**
– **Definition & Types of Media:** Traditional (news outlets such as BBC and CNN), Independent, Corporate, and Social Media.
– **Why Media Matters in Politics:** It’s a critical lens for understanding societal attitudes toward political issues. Media shapes both the information we know and the emotional responses we form.
– Students discussed how family, educational institutions, communities, and civil society groups also influence political beliefs, often through media channels.
5. **Investigating the Functions of Media in Political Processes:**
– **Media as a Bridge:** Connecting citizens to government actions by reporting on policy, law, and political events.
– **Framing Concepts:** How media shapes perception through word choice, what information is provided or left out, and intentional versus unintentional biases in reporting.
– **Subjectivity vs. Objectivity:** Discussion on the limitations of objective reporting. The conclusion was that all media contains some degree of bias, whether intentional or not.
6. **In-depth Analysis of Media Models:**
– **Pluralist Model:** Media reflects a wide array of diverse perspectives catering to different groups.
– **Dominant Ideology Model:** Media reinforces the views of those with power – often maintaining the socio-economic status quo.
– **Elite Values Model:** Media reflects the biases of journalists, publishers, and editors.
– **Market Model:** Media’s primary goal is profit, influencing content to attract the most attention, often by evoking strong emotional reactions (e.g., anger).
– Students began pair work focusing on how these models apply to specific news articles.
7. **Activity: Analyzing News Articles with Media Models**
– In pairs, students were assigned to find a recent news article and identify its main argument and emotional framing. They then connected the article with one of the four media influence models.
– Groups presented initial findings about the pluralist model (review of diverse viewpoints) and how certain articles might reflect underlying ideological biases or financial motivations.
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**Actionable Items:**
– **Homework:**
– Complete a full analysis of the chosen article with your assigned partner, applying one of the four media models discussed in class.
– Summarize the article’s argument, specify the emotional response it tries to evoke, and explain how it aligns with the assigned model. Use the Telegram-provided prompts for guidance.
– **Follow-up on Short Answer Grading**:
– Students needing specific feedback should reach out via e-mail to understand score rationale.
– **Hiking Club (Non-Urgent):**
– Inform students about the optional hike on Saturday to Chungarek Panorama. Invitation remains open with no cost involved. Interested students should follow the Hiking Club’s Instagram for more details.
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This report summarizes the key points and progression of the class, providing the instructor a clear framework of the lesson’s content and student engagement.
Homework Instructions:
NO HOMEWORK
Justification: There is no explicit mention of any assigned homework in the transcript. The instructor concludes the class by referencing activities related to the in-class exercise (“expanding on these ideas with your peer”) and discussing details of an extracurricular event, but no specific homework is assigned for students beyond the classroom activity.