Because I have to put this course together rather quickly, I could use your help, gentle reader:
- What readings on blogs and blogging should I assign?
- What political blogs (of all stripes) should students be encouraged to read?
- What critiques of the media should they read and/or view?
- What online archives of campaign rhetoric (in word or image, still or moving) should they visit?
I am after sources of information that reflect a range of political positions.
And while I’m discussing rhetoric and composition, check out today’s post from Calamity Jane on using episodes from Law and Order in the classroom to help students understand argumentation.
Although obvious sites for critiquing media, I would nonetheless suggest http://www.indymedia.org and http://www.adbusters.org
and just for some ?postmodern fun: http://www.thesmokinggun.com
I recommend these liberal blogs:
AlterNet
Common Dreams
Daily Kos
Fafblog
Political Animal
Salon.com
The Gadflyer
This Modern World
I’ll throw out a few suggestions at a time, but many of my students found Andrew Sullivan interesting, and he’s an interesting case for a “conservative” blogger. If I’m not mistaken, he’s made the case that John Kerry is truer to what he believes conservatism to be (balanced budgets, etc), and of course his HIV+, pro-gay marriage identity politics diverge considerably from Republican values.
I also directed students to Rachel Lucas (who would probably identify as libertarian) and Joanne Jacobs, with some success. Salon has a great article on political blogs at the Democratic convention. I’ll try to dig around for the URL.
While I’m thinking about it, Media Matters might be useful as well.
In terms of archives, the Memory Hole has some useful material. One of the better campaign blogs is “Blogging of the Presidency.” I know the author openly supports Kerry, but he also attempts to track polls, etc, on a more general, objective level.
I’m starting to use this blog entry for my own brainstorming purposes–perhaps I ought to start my own blog entry….
You might also look at Richard Ohmann’s Politics of Letters, which has a chapter on election coverage.
Columbia Journalism Review‘s Campaign Desk is a must, as is Jay Rosen’s PressThink.
Don’t know if either of these would work for what you’re envisioning for your class, but last semester in Unger’s Press, Politics & Public Policy class, we read Unsilent Revolution: Television News and American Public Life by Robert J. Donovan and Ray Scherer & Breaking the News: How the American Media Undermine Democracy by James Fallows. We also had a RooPack (or whatever they’re calling them now) that I can’t seem to find right now, but Unger might also be a good sounding board for you, if you can get in touch with him before the semester starts.
I also really love The Elements of Journalism: What Newspeople Should Know and the Public Should Expect by Bill Kovach & Tom Rosenstiel. I think all of those are in Miller Nichols.
And I haven’t read it yet, but Dan Gillmor’s We the Media: Grassroots Journalism by the People, for the People looks interesting. The whole book is online.
tompaine.com is another good one.
Thanks, Renae, Jonathan, Chuck, Heidi, and Chris.
And here’s a link dump:
Still need to add, combine, and prune.
Maybe the documentaries The War Room (1993) and Journeys with George (2002).