media and politics exam 3

Richard Nixon’s “last” press conference in 1962

“work the refs”

statesman

Lazy-Shave

“Equal Time Rule”

Iran-Contra scandal

“turning the tables”

“Wimp Factor”

Dan Rather

Brent Bozell

Media Research Center

Why was President Ronald Reagan perceived to be in trouble going into his second presidential debate in 1984?

What advice did Roger Ailes give the incumbent president? What does this reveal about Ailes’s philosophy about political campaigning through television?

How did Shapiro respond to the Beto O’Rourke clip? Is there a connection between the type of rhetoric heard from Shapiro and the level of discourse in today’s Republican Party?

What did CBS’s Dan Rather ask George H.W. Bush about during his interview in 1988? How did Roger Ailes coach Bush to respond? Explain the political strategy employed here

Explain Newt Gingrich’s response to the opening question by a CNN moderator at the 2012 Republican presidential primary debate in South Carolina.

Be familiar with the folklore that surrounds the 1960 Presidential Debates. What is the consensus of who benefitted from those debates and why

Have a strong understanding of the Media Research Center (MRC) and how it operates

Who paid for the “Don’t Believe the Liberal Media” signs that were on display in Cleveland for the 2016 Republican National Convention? How did these signs complement the Trump campaign’s narratives?

How does Brent Bozell, the CEO, perceive journalists? Does he believe that the media have changed since he launched the MRC in 1987? If so, explain how.

Who did Brent Bozell initially support in the 2016 presidential primaries?

Why did the MRC target advertisers of The View in the spring of 2018?

Why has the MRC received criticism from fellow conservatives and ex-employees?

Explain how Newt Gingrich was able to galvanize support from conservatives in 2012 during a CNN-moderated presidential primary debate in South Carolina.

How do Trump’s comments on the media resemble previous attacks made by prominent Republicans? How are Trump’s attacks unique to him?

How was CBS preparing for the interview from January 25, 1988 with George H. W. Bush?

Why was there so much concern by producers and researchers at the network about how their head anchor could come off to the public?

What demand(s) did the Bush campaign make in advance of the interview?

How did Bush respond to inquiries about his role in the Iran-Contra scandal?

What role did Roger Ailes have with respect to the interview?

What were the recollections by the CBS camera operator who was in the room, recording Bush?

Explain how this appearance was politically strategic for Bush at this moment in time.

What did the Bush campaign claim they believed the interview would focus on?

According to CBS employees, after the cameras were off, what did Bush allegedly refer to Dan Rather as?

Explain the nature of the press coverage that followed this interview.

Why were CBS stations flooded with phonecalls after the interview?

According to Craig Crawford (the author), how would politicians previously have handled this situation?

How did conservatives feel about Dan Rather? How did this perception of him within Republican circles begin?

Contrast the approach between dictators and democratically elected leaders when it comes to opposing criticism.

Why did some conservatives have reservations about Bush as a potential nominee?

What did the Newsweek cover story in January of 1988 suggest about Bush? (What did the reporter confess about this story in 2004?)