Have a super winter break everyone!

Hope all of you have a super winter break. This was an awesome class. I think we should keep the blog alive and post news/public opinion stuff we like. Yay, nay??

Mr. Burns gets the most write-in votes NYC http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34278623/ns/local_news-new_york_ny?GT1=43001

A top story on the networks today...public writes-in Mr. Burns.

Guttman scale

A few class periods ago, someone asked about the difference between a Likert and a Guttman scale and I punted. Assuming you learned Likert scales in your research methods class, a Gutman scale is different because each higher answer assumes agreement with all the lower answers. In other words, the choices are not mutually exclusive- each higher answer includes ALL the lower answers as a subset. One example: How far did your math training go? A: algebra. B: Trigonometry. C: Calculus. D: Higher than Calculus. (We assume that if you answer C you also mean that you took algebra and trig.)
Or, asked of a four year old: Can you count up to the following number? A: 5. B: 20. C: 100. D: 1000. (We assume that a child who can count to 100 can also count to 20.)

Will Obama's War Become His Vietnam?

This article discusses presidential concerns about latent opinion on Afghanistan in comparison to what Johnson faced in Vietnam, as we discussed yesterday:

"Analysts say that Obama will be faced with a similar quandary to the one that Johnson faced if conditions don't improve in Afghanistan, and public opinion of the war could drop to the lows that forced Johnson not to seek a second term."

http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/12/01/afghanistan.vietnam/index.html

Political Narratives/Covering the President http://news.yahoo.com/s/politico/20091130/pl_politico/29993

The headline and lead on this story captured my attention. I found it interesting how the reporter focused his article on narratives and weaved in public opinion.

The End of Mass Communication?

Here's a link to an interesting article referenced by Bennett and Iyengar about the changing foundations of mass communication in general. Should the term "mass communication" be changed to "media communication"? For discussion Monday!

http://www.udel.edu/communication/COMM418/cai/extra/chaffee.pdf

Limited Effects reading

Here is the Bennett & Iyengar article about "A New Era of Limited Effects?" in political communication. You may, but are not required to, substitute this article for one of the required readings for our next and last class meeting.

Have a happy Thanksgiving!