PSCI 258
The Media and American Democracy
Last Offered n/a
Division II
This course is not offered in the current catalog or this is a previous listing for a current course.

The course examines the relationship between the press and government, its watchdog function, how social media and the Internet are changing its role, the emergence of independent investigative bodies such as Pro Publica, and the myriad ways in which the press has helped shape American history, for better or worse. The course goes behind the headlines to examine the delicate interplay between government and press, peels back the familiar classics of American journalism, but also incorporates the current conflicts and tensions between the press and government. In the new age, how does the press define or redefine balance, neutrality, the quest for objectivity, and restraint. Who is a journalist, a once relatively easy question, but one now fraught with complexity? There has been a tectonic shift in the fundamental standards and practices of the press in recent years. What are those changes and how does it augur for the future of the press and democratic institutions?