Page One: Inside the NY Times 1) What do you think the thesis of the film is? 2) How well did the film creators support their main arguments? 3) How well did the film help you understand the the 3 main functions of media: socialization, agenda setting and watchdog? 4) What was your overall impression of the film? (Did you like it? Find it valuable?)

Political Parties

I. The Two-Party System The aim of political parties is to influence public policy; in order to do succeed parties must get enough votes to elect candidates to public office

B. Three Heads of Political Parties Party in the electorate (voters) Party as an organization (RNC & DNC) Party in government (Elected and appointed officials)

II. Tasks of political parties Pick Candidates Run Campaigns/ Raise Money Give cues to voters Articulate policies Coordinate policy making

III. Primary elections Closed Primaries- can only vote for your party and must register in advance Open Primary- voters decide on election day which primary they want to participate in. Blanket Primary- All voters get a list of candidates from all parties and can vote for whoever they want. Example: California top 2 candidates advance regardless of party D. Caucus- A public way of choosing candidates.

IV. National Convention Every four years each party holds a national convention in which the party writes the platform and nominates candidates for President and Vice-President. In the past conventions were more relevant in picking the candidate but are now little more than infomercials for the parties.

V. Party Eras Occur when one party dominates politics on the federal and state level over a sustained period of time. Party Eras are usually associated with a coalition of different groups who faithfully vote for the party in power. Examples: New Deal Coalition (FDR-Johnson)

VI. Critical and Wave Elections Critical elections are the equivalent of an electoral earthquake. Old coalitions are replaced and a new party takes power known as realignment. 1. Example: 1932 B. Wave elections occur when one party has a strong showing in a single election but the coalition remain faithful. 1. These are usually the product of one party being more motivated to vote. Examples: Every election since 2006 except 2012.

What Coalition of voters sent Trump to the White House?

C. Dealignment Currently, less people identify with one of the major parties and divided government has been very common.

VII. Third Parties Play an important role in bringing attention to issues and can sometimes be spoilers. It is difficult for third-party candidates to get elected to office because of single-member districts, a lack of national infrastructure/fundraising abilities and winner take all EC.

Interest Groups A. Similar to political parties, but do not run candidates.