Watch the first presidential debate between Barack Obama and Mitt Romney (Oct. 3, 9-10:30 EST, on all major network and cable news channels) and post your thoughts about it in relation to your readings from Mass Media and American Politics, Understanding Media, and Critical Terms for Media Studies. The following are some questions to either directly answer or else keep in mind as you watch the debate:
-- How has the structure, tone, and substance of the debate -- as steered by moderator Jim Lehrer -- surveilled (i.e., highlighted and made conspicuous) certain political issues and concepts while ignoring and marginalizing others? What do you think is the reason some political issues and concepts are acceptable for coverage in such an important media event and others are not?
-- Beyond the substance of their ideas and policies, what are Obama and Romney's rhetorical and oratorical strategies and how do they fit the "cool" format of a televised debate? Think of Marshall McLuhan's example of the 1960 Kennedy-Nixon debate on radio on one hand and television on the other.
-- How useful are debates in swaying voters' opinions about candidates? Considering his enormous disadvantage in all current voter polls, do you think the mass media forced Romney into a defensive position in the debate or set him up as a potential underdog? Consider the point in "Elections in the Internet Age" about the feedback loop in which negative media coverage begets lower voter opinion which in turn begets negative media coverage. Also think about the point made in the same essay about news media creating stereotypes for candidates in order to more efficiently and easily cover their positions and actions. In the debate did Romney do anything to try to break out of the established stereotypes assigned to him by the mainstream news media, or did he further reinforce them?
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