Extra Credit Blog #11: Civic Engagement

*** This is an optional blog post for extra credit *** 

Due by Thursday, April 27 at 1 p.m.

I hope this will be a fun one. Write a blog post that encourages citizens to DO something for your candidate (vote, work a phone bank, volunteer, give money, etc.) Essentially you are writing an ad for your candidate and campaign. Tell people why they should do the thing you want them to do for this particular candidate/campaign. I would include persuasive messages from your candidate him/herself and enthusiasm. Humor is welcome, if that's the route you want to take. Basically, what is it about your particular candidate that people will care about and want to rally behind? Then use those things to get volunteers/voters/donors/etc.

Your blog posts should be approx. 500 words. They should include links, images, multimedia, etc. More information is provided in an assignment sheet on Blackboard.

Blog #10: Press Coverage

Congratulations on making it to your very. last. blog!

Conduct a Google News search about your candidate. You should find three (3) stories about your candidate: One from a “conservative” news outlet, one from a “liberal” news outlet, and one from a news outlet that seems to have little bias, in your opinion. (You need to find news stories, not editorial/opinion pieces. If you don’t know the difference – ask!) What types of stories are written about your candidate? What types of media outlets are covering your candidate the most? How do news stories from different outlets cover stories about your candidate differently? How do you see bias manifested in the stories themselves? (Give concrete examples.)

From what you can tell, who is generating the news -- your candidate and his/her people or the media? Why do you think that? If you were advising your candidate, what types of news stories would you be pitching to reporters?

Your blog posts should be approx. 500 words. They should include links, images, multimedia, etc. More information is provided in an assignment sheet on Blackboard.

Blog #9: Agenda-Setting

Spend some time doing an analysis of your candidate's webpage's "Issues" page/section/etc. Based on the layout of the page, amount of information, etc., argue about which issues are on your candidate's main agenda and why?

Next, look at one of the candidate's opponents in his/her own party. How is the agenda similar? How is it the different? What do you think the reasons are for these differences/similarities? (Hint: You may want to look at the "Issues" or "Platform" information for your candidate's political party as well.) 

Finally, do a quick Google News search for the top one or two issues. How is the media covering these issues? Who do you think is setting the agenda: the media, the electorate, or the campaigns? Why would you say that?

Your blog posts should be approx. 500 words. They should include links, images, multimedia, etc. More information is provided in an assignment sheet on Blackboard.

Blog #8: Pop Culture & Politics

For this week, try to find a representation of your candidate from outside the campaign, preferably one that is in pop culture and/or opinion-based. This could include your candidate as a character in a Saturday Night Live sketch, a representation of your candidate in a "Bad Lip Reading" sketch, an opinion piece (be it on television or written by a newspaper columnist) about your candidate or a satirical webpage or video.

How does this artifact describe your candidate? What does it say about your candidate? If you think of pop culture and satire as a caricature of your candidate, what features (be they physical or otherwise) are exaggerated? How does this artifact push back against the image the candidate seems to be wanting to create for him/herself (see your own blog #1 post .) Do you think this artifact effectively shapes/changes the image the candidate is trying to project?

If you have trouble writing enough about one artifact, you may choose two, just make sure you link to or embed these artifacts in your blog!

Your blog posts should be approx. 500 words. They should include links, images, multimedia, etc. More information is provided in an assignment sheet on Blackboard.

Blog #7: Advertising Strategy

Find some advertising done by your candidate during the 2016 campaign. Try to find at least 3-5 (you can use more) television or online ads. If you can find examples of other types of advertising (direct mail, outdoor, etc.) feel free to include those as well. (Note: The Living Room Candidate website will be very helpful for your television ads.)

What strategies do you see present in these ads? (You can pick them apart ad by ad, or look at the group of ads as one advertising campaign, your choice.) Are they attack ads or candidate-positive? Image ads or issue ads? Any incumbent or challenger strategies present? Gender strategies or differences? Give some analysis for why you think the strategies that you have identified were chosen.

Your blog posts should be approx. 500 words. They should include links, images, multimedia, etc. More information is provided in an assignment sheet on Blackboard.

Blog #6: Online Presence

Spend some time evaluating your candidate's campaign's online presence. Does s/he have a website? What social media platforms is s/he participating on right now (e.g. Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, Snapchat, etc.)? How active is your candidate on each of these platforms? Are there any viral videos or important online sites about your candidate (that the candidate and/or campaign/staff didn't create?)

Write about what you find. Then based on what your findings are, answer these questions: What did your candidate do well when creating his/her online presence? What could s/he have done better? What types of posts were the most interesting? What posts created the most engagement with followers/likers/etc.?

Your blog posts should be approx. 500 words. They should include links, images, multimedia, etc. More information is provided in an assignment sheet on Blackboard.

Blog #5: Polling

Read this article about the polling for the 2016 election: http://fivethirtyeight.com/features/why-fivethirtyeight-gave-trump-a-better-chance-than-almost-anyone-else/

Then, find and discuss some 2016 election polls of your choosing from around the election. What did pollsters get right about your candidate? What did they miss? How could the polling have been better, in your informed opinion? If you were conducting a poll to better understand your candidate's chances and impressions, what kinds of questions would you want to ask? What is important about polling -- why does it matter? What are its limitations? (Here's an optional retrospective that might be a useful resource, also from fivethirtyeight.com: https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/the-polls-missed-trump-we-asked-pollsters-why/)

Your blog posts should be approx. 500 words. They should include links, images, multimedia, etc. More information is provided in an assignment sheet on Blackboard.