McChesney and Nichols, Our Media, Not Theirs, 9-14; 24-45

Respond to each question with a paragraph or so of your thoughts. Your answers should indicate that you understand the arguments made by the authors, and that you have spent some time thinking about these issues. Responses are due at the beginning of class on June 26.

1. Do you agree with Ehrenreich and Nader's assessments of advertising-driven corporate media? Or do you think it's not that big a problem?

2. Explain why McChesney and Nichols believe that "the media system as it operates in the United States today fails to provide basic support for citizenship." What does the media have to do with citizenship? In what sense is this issue really an exercise in "Democracy 101"?

3. McChesney and Nichols reject the notion that the U.S. news media have a liberal bias. They also state that the "report card on media is a dismal one." Do you agree with their assessment? Your answer should address your own experience with the U.S. news media.