HU Credits: 2

Degree/Cycle: 1st degree (Bachelor)

Responsible Department: communication & journalism

Semester: 2nd Semester

Teaching Languages: Hebrew

Campus: Mt. Scopus

Course/Module Coordinator: Prof. Tamir Sheafer

Coordinator Email: tamir.sheafer@mail.huji.ac.il

Coordinator Office Hours: Tuesday 13:00-14:00, room: 4311

Teaching Staff:
Prof Tamir Sheafer

Course/Module description:
The course will give students a basic understanding of the role that the media plays in politics and society. The main topics that will be discussed in class are: The media as a political actor; The basic mechanisms of political communication; Construction and distribution of political messages; Media and public opinion; and Political communication's effects on democratic processes in general and on elections in particular.

Course/Module aims:
Based on the main theories and current research in the field of political communication, the course will give students a basic understanding of the relationship between media and politics.

Learning outcomes - On successful completion of this module, students should be able to:
1. Define political communication and its theoretical interests.
2. Describe the connections and the conflicts between media and politics.
3. Identify important researches and prominent scholars in the field of political communication.

Attendance requirements(%):
80%

Teaching arrangement and method of instruction: 1. The course is designed as a frontal lecture.
2. Students must read the article required for each lesson. This is important and will help to understand the discussion in class.
3. The grade is based on four quizzes* that will be conducted in the classrooms during the classes throughout the semester. Each quiz is 25% of the final grade and will cover the material since the last exam. The quizzes will include questions regarding the articles and lectures.

*Notice: There will be no second exam period for the quizzes and no requests will be approved. However, a student who misses one of the quizzes is entitled for a special exam instead (only one!) during the special exams period.

Course/Module Content:
Introduction: The mediatization of the political arena

Part A: The struggle for the political agenda

Part B: Public Opinion

Part C: Political Communication in elections

Required Reading:
Introduction:

Strombach, J., & Esser, F. (2014). Mediatization of politics: Towards a theoretical framework. In Frank Esser and Jesper Stromback (Eds.), Mediatization of politics: Understanding the transformation of Western democracies (pp. 3-28). New York: Palgrave Macmillan.


Part A: The struggle for the political agenda

Political power and media coverage:
וולפספלד, ג. (2012). תקשורת פוליטית: חמישה דברים שחייבים לדעת. לקרוא את פרק 2: שליטה פוליטית ועצמאות התקשורת (עמ' 31-56). את הספר ניתן למצוא כאן: http://portal.idc.ac.il/sites/communications_new/he/communications/documents/political-communication_gadi-wolfsfeld.pdf

*Vos, D. and Van Aelst, P. (2015). How Media Logic and Political Logic Determine Media Visibility of Politicians. A Comparative Study of Politicians in the News in Sixteen Countries. ECREA Political Communication Conference.


Media frames: Building, meaning and effects
*וולפספלד, ג. (2012). תקשורת פוליטית: חמישה דברים שחייבים לדעת. לקרוא את פרק 3: אין דבר כזה חדשות אובייקטיביות (עמ' 59-90). את הספר ניתן למצוא כאן: http://portal.idc.ac.il/sites/Communications_new/he/Communications/Pages/newsDetails.aspx?idclang&eq;Hebrew&idcid&eq;311
*Aalberg, T. (2014). Issues, events and frames in political media coverage. In Carsten Reinemann (Ed.), Political Communication (pp. 375-388). De Gruyter Mouton.



The centrality of the political actor: Personalization, charisma and appearance:

Sheafer, T., Shenhav, S. R., & Balmas, M. (2014). Political actors as communicators. In Carsten Reinemann (Ed.), Political Communication (pp. 211-230). De Gruyter Mouton.

*Van Aelst, P., Sheafer, T., & Stanyer, J. (2012). The personalization of mediated political communication: A review of concepts, operationalizations and key findings. Journalism, 13(2) 203–220.

Part B: Public Opinion

Information processing, opinion and public opinion:
Price, V. (2008). The public and public opinion in political theories. In Donsback, W. & Traugott, M. W. (Eds.), the Sage Handbook of Public Opinion Research (pp. 11-24). Sage.

Shamir, J., & Shamir, M. (2000). The anatomy of Public Opinion. Ann Arbor: The University of Michigan Press. Read Chapter 1, pp. 1-8.


Part C: Political Communication in elections

Media and political participation: Do the media weaken the democratic system:
Bakker, T. P., & de Vreese, C. H. (2011). Good news for the future? Young people, internet use, and political participation. Communication Research, 38(4) 451–470.

Norris, P. (1996). Does television erode social capital? A reply to Putnam. PS: Political Science and Politics, 29(3), 474-480.


Media effects during a campaign:
*Arendt, F., & Matthes, J. (2014). Cognitive effects of political mass media. In Carsten Reinemann (Ed.), Political Communication (pp. 547-568). De Gruyter Mouton.
*Schemer, C. (2014). Emotional effects in political communication. In Carsten Reinemann (Ed.), Political Communication (pp. 569-589). De Gruyter Mouton.

Additional Reading Material:
Introduction:
Bennett, W. L. (2007), News: The Politics of Illusion, N.Y.: Longman (Chapter 2).

Blumler, J. G. & Kavanagh, D. (1999). The third age of political communication: Influences and features. Political Communication, 16(3), pp. 209-230.


Part A: The struggle for the political agenda

Political power and media coverage:

ירחי, מ. וצפתי, י. (2009). הסיקור התקשורתי של אירועי טרור בעיתונות הישראלית הכתובה: מרכז מול פריפריה. מגמות, מו(1-2), 38-61.

Bennett, W Lance. 1990. “Toward a theory of press-state relations in the United States.” Journal of Communication, 40, 103-125.

Media frames: Building, meaning and effects
גמסון, ו. א. ומודיליאני, א. (1989/2001). שיח תקשורתי ודעת קהל בנושא כוח גרעיני: גישה קונסטרוקציוניסטית. בתוך כספי, ד., תמונות בראש: דעת קהל ודמוקרטיה (עמ' 175-217). הוצאת האוניברסיטה הפתוחה.

de Vreese, C. H. (2005). News framing: Theory and typology. Information Design Journal + Document Design, 13(1), 51-62.

The centrality of the political actor: personalization, charisma and appearance
Balmas, M., & Sheafer, T. (2013). Leaders first, countries after: Mediated political personalization in the international arena. Journal of Communication, 63(3), 454–475.
Rahat, G., & Sheafer, T. (2007). The personalization(s) of politics: Israel 1949-2003. Political Communication, 24(1), 65-80.
Tsfati, Y. Markowitz-Elfassi, D. & Waismel-Manor, I. (2010). Exploring the association between Israeli legislators’ physical attractiveness and their television news coverage. The International Journal of Press/Politics. 15(2), 175-192.


Part B: Public Opinion

Information processing, opinion and public opinion:
כספי, ד. (2001). תמונות בראש: דעת קהל ודמוקרטיה (פרק א', עמ' 9-49). האוניברסיטה הפתוחה.

Nir, L. (2011). Motivated reasoning and public opinion perception. Public Opinion Quarterly, 75, 504-532.

Zaller, J. (1992). The nature and origins of mass opinion. New York: Cambridge University Press.

Part C: Political Communication in elections

Media and political participation: Do the media weaken the democratic system:
Cappella, J. N., & Jamieson, K. H. (1997). Spiral of cynicism: The press and the public good. New York: Oxford Univrsity Press.

Patterson, T. E. (2002). The vanishing voter: Public involvement in an age of uncertainty.New York: Alfred A. Knopf.

Putnam, R. D. (2000). Bowling alone: The collapse and revivial of American community. Simon &Schuster.

Schuck, Boomgaarden, and de Vreese (2013). Cynics all around? The impact of election news on political cynicism in comparative perspective. Journal of Communication,63, 287-311.



Media effects during a campaign:
וולפספלד, ג. (2012). תקשורת פוליטית: חמישה דברים שחייבים לדעת. לקרוא את פרק 5: התקשורת תופסת אתכם כשאתם לא שמים לב (עמ' 122-150). את הספר ניתן למצוא כאן: http://portal.idc.ac.il/sites/communications_new/he/communications/documents/political-communication_gadi-wolfsfeld.pdf


מקווייל, ד. (2014). מבוא לתקשורת המונים. האוניברסיטה הפתוחה. לקרוא פרק 19, חדשות, דעת קהל ותקשורת פוליטית (עמ' 579-617).

מקומבס, מ. א. ושו, ד. ל. (1972/1995). התפקוד של אמצעי תקשורת ההמונים כקובעי סדר-היום. בתוך כספי, ד. (עורך), תקשורת המונים: מקראה (עמ' 109-121). האוניברסיטה הפתוחה.

Course/Module evaluation:
End of year written/oral examination 0 %
Presentation 0 %
Participation in Tutorials 0 %
Project work 0 %
Assignments 0 %
Reports 0 %
Research project 0 %
Quizzes 100 %
Other 0 %

Additional information:
The syllabus may change before the beginning of the semester