TEST STATISTICS Multiple Choice Average = 50% Short Answer Average = 79% Essay Average = 86% Exam Average = 68%

MIDTERM EVALUATION REPORT Most helpful to class: Powerpoint slides and videos = 9 Blogs = 5 Discussion = 4 Course content is relevant = 4 Least helpful to class: Blogs = 3 Book = 2 Improvement More discussion = 3

POLITICS & ENTERTAINMENT MEDIA Dr. Kristen Landreville Mon. 10/4 & Wed. 10/6 Laughing Matters Ch. 1-2

TRANSITION FROM BENNETT TO LAUGHING MATTERS Bennetts Complaints Decline of hard news Rise of soft news 4 information biases Focus of Laughing Matters Soft news, political humor, satire Soft news defined as: …personality driven, focuses on sensationalism and drama rather than facts, and conveys less public affairs information to its audience than hard news. (Laughing Matters, p. 3)

DEFINING POLITICAL HUMOR What are the characteristics and criteria? Funny Makes you laugh, smile, feel good Politically-oriented What is political then? Issues that are controversial Example Jay Leno on President Bush Al Frankens Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them

DEFINING POLITICAL SATIRE How is it different than political humor? 1. Aggressive, Attacking, Offensive People, institutions, and processes 2. Judgment, Criticism Reveals weaknesses of the target Doesnt necessarily offer solutions 3. Play Construct a game Strategies include: distortion, caricatures, surprise 4. Laughter Makes persuasion possible 5. Audience Knowledge Need to be in on the joke

POLITICAL SATIRE IN AMERICA Satire is artful political critique Political satire is thriving The Simpsons South Park Family Guy The Daily Show Saturday Night Live White House Correspondents Dinner Discussion & Comments What larger commentary is he making about the President? About the News Media?

POLITICS & ENTERTAINMENT MEDIA Dr. Kristen Landreville Mon. 10/4 & Wed. 10/6 Laughing Matters Ch. 1-2

BRIEF HISTORY OF SATIRE Early Greece Plato: Its magic, need legal penalties. Early Rome 2 Types: Horatian and Juvenalian Augustus ban and punishment by death Britain bans it in Middle Ages Now Literary art form, its own genre Muhammad cartoons South Park - Larry King debate -

IN-CLASS ASSIGNMENT #9 Discussing the VALUE of soft news, humor, and satire In groups of 3-4, discuss and make a list for: 1. The arguments FOR soft news, humor, and satire 2. The arguments AGAINST soft news, humor, and satire

THE VALUE OF SOFT NEWS, HUMOR, & SATIRE Arguments FORArguments AGAINST Bypass traditional emphasis on process and strategy Allow a political dialogue Ask substantive questions Attract the politically uninterested and unengaged Increase knowledge Persuasive because stealth 5 th estate – Media watchdogs Exposure without awareness High knowledge required (sometimes) Encourage cynicism and apathy Open for interpretation Biased information processing Confirms ones beliefs

POLITICS & ENTERTAINMENT MEDIA Dr. Kristen Landreville Mon. 10/4 & Wed. 10/6 Laughing Matters Ch. 1-2

MODERNITY The Concept of Modernity Distinct Spheres Science, Politics (Morality), & Art Journalism Empirically searching for political truth; 4 th estate News Content Serious, detached, dispassionate Citizens Use journalism to decide, debate, and engage Rationally-based political thinking Economics News as a loss, entertainment as a gain

POST-MODERNITY Beyond Modernity Blended Spheres – Hybridization Journalism Declining objectivity, increasing punditry News Content Politics as sport and theater Citizens Use journalism to support prior beliefs, audience fragmentation Emotionally-based political thinking Economics Mega-media conglomerates

POST-MODERN STYLE WITH MODERNIST INTENTIONS Political humor and satire today has… Post-modern style Serious comedy Blends entertainment with news Adds emotion to rational arguments WITH Modernist intentions Faith in fact, accountability, and truth Pro citizen-engagement Advocates critical debate Demands journalistic improvement

BLOG POST #6 DUE MON. 10/11 Topic: Value of late-night comedians in a democracy Read 2 news stories Jon Stewarts upcoming rally Critique of late-night comedians in democracy Respond to 4 broad questions How frequently do you watch late-night comedy shows? What is your reaction to Jon Stewarts rally? In a larger sense, what value do you think late-night comedians are to a democratic society? Can you make any connections to what you learned from the first part of this class (i.e., Bennetts book on the news media and the four information biases)?

FOR NEXT TIME… Fri. 10/8 Laughing Matters, Ch