Sept 16 – Gov – Media
Agenda:
• Think and Ink
• Policy-Making cycle
• Mind-Map
• The Media
Homework:
• P. 234 - (end of)245
• Continue ch 7 SG
Take out:
• Notebook
• Pen/Pencil
Outcomes:
• Define policymaking
system and democracy
• Clarify how the media act
as key linkage institutions
Think and Ink
• On a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being the
best: How SUPER is our electoral
process?
• Be prepared to explain your reasoning.
Policymaking in a
Democracy
Government
• Definition:
– The institutions and processes through which
public policies are made for society.
• This definition leads to two basic
questions:
– How should we govern?
– What should government do?
Politics
• Definition:
– The process by which we select our
governmental leaders and what policies these
leaders produce. Politics produces
authoritative decisions about public issues.
• Also consider Lasswell’s definition:
– Who gets what, when and how.
Linkage
Institutions
Interests,
Problems or
Concerns
People
Policy
Agenda
The process by
which policy
comes into being
and evolves over
time.
Impact of
Policies
Policy
Policymaking
Institutions
Policy Agenda
• Political Issues
– These arise when people disagree about a
problem and how to fix it.
• Items at the top of the policy agenda are
taken care of first.
• It may take years to get an item on the
policy agenda, and then several more
years to get it acted on.
Policymaking
Institutions
•
•
•
•
Legislature (Congress)
Executive (President)
Courts (Federal and State)
Bureaucracies (Federal and State)
Policy Impacts People
Democracy
• Definition:
– A system of selecting policymakers and of organizing
government so that policy represents and responds to
the public’s preferences.
•
•
•
•
•
Equality in voting
Effective participation
Enlightened understanding
Citizen control of the agenda
Inclusion
Linkage Institutions
• How do people get policymakers to pay
attention to their issues?
• Parties
• Elections
• Interest Groups
• MEDIA
Mind Map
• How do our beliefs and behaviors affect what
becomes policy?
– Ie: How does what we’ve studied in Unit 1 relate to this
policymaking process? Draw it out.
Some things to include:
• Public opinion
• Polling
• Political Ideology
• Political participation
• Elections
• Political socialization
• Voters
Policymaking process:
• interests, problems
• Linkage institutions
• Policy agenda
• Policymaking Institutions
• Policy