Public Policies and Agenda Setting
Code
711011065
Academic unit
Faculdade de Ciências Sociais e Humanas
Department
Ciências da Comunicação
Credits
6
Weekly hours
4
Teaching language
Portuguese
Objectives
a) To study the interaction between public opinion, media, politics, and public policy.
b) To explore how the media cover public policy issues e how they contribute to the agenda-setting and discussion of these issues.
c) To understand the public policy making process and the the influence of public opinion and of the media.
d) To study the communication strategies used in the public policy making process.
e) To stimulate students critical reflective thinking on the news coverage of public policy through practical examples.
Prerequisites
None.
Subject matter
1- The media and reality construction: agenda-setting, public opinion, public policy, political communication, public sphere,
opinion studies, framing, image in politics.
2- Public policy: studying the concept and the process
3- Communication, information and the exercise of power
4- Government communication
5- Different agendas: public, media, politicians.
6- News coverages of issues and events: the portuguese case
7- Public policies in the media: information on public policy in the different process stages
8- Other actors: EU, pressure groups, NGOs, think tanks, political parties. Their influence on the agenda-setting process
and political decision making process
9- Critical reflection of concepts: Testemonies from journalists and politicians.
10- News coverage of public policies: Case studies and discussion of students paper works.
Bibliography
Dearing, J., Rogers E., and Chaffee, S., (1996) Agenda-Setting, Sage Publications.
Gandy, O. H., (1982) Beyond Agenda Setting: Information Subsidies and Public Policy, Ablex Publishing.
McCoombs, M. (2004), Setting the Agenda: The News Media and Public Opinion, Polity Press.
Protess, D. L., McCombs, M. (Ed.) (1991), Agenda Setting: Readings on Media, Public Opinion and Policy Making, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Rubim, A. (org.) (2004) Comunicação e Política. Conceitos e Abordagens, Ed. UNESP e UFBA.
Teaching method
With the students participation and with both theoretical papers and case studies, the main concepts are analysed, as well as the most frequent practices regarding communication strategies and the agenda-setting process.
Evaluation method
1-Individual paper work with theoretical and practical approaches. Presentation and dicussion in the classroom (50%).
2-Final writen test (50%).