(Answered) SS238 Unit 3 Discussion

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SS238 Unit 3 Discussion 

Topic: Policy Cycle, Agenda Setting, and News Media

“The only security of all is in a free press.”
–Thomas Jefferson

The policy cycle is a process that explains how public policy is created, implemented, and evaluated. Although there are many different variations of the policy cycle, we shall use a simplified, four-step public policy cycle:

Step 1: Agenda Setting

  • How public policy concerns are understood and how various stakeholders highlight the public policy concern.

Step 2: Policy Formation

  • The crafting of public policy solutions. Public policy solutions are mostly addressed through legislation or regulation.

Step 3: Policy Implementation

  • How public policy is applied via federal, state, and/or local endeavors?

Step 4: Policy Evaluation

  • How public policy is assessed: success or failure.

Source: (Kraft, 2018)

Agenda setting is the first step of the policy cycle.

The news media can affect public policy via agenda setting. Agenda setting is how individual news media decides what news they will showcase and how important the news story is by providing greater or lesser attention to the news story (O’Connor, Sabato, 2017).

In addition, the news media can affect public policy via framing. Framing is how individual news media covers the news story and how such coverage can steer public policy one way or another (O’Connor, Sabato, 2017).

News Media’s coverage of the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill is a prime example of how agenda setting and framing affected environmental public policy. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), “On April 20, 2010, the oil drilling rig Deepwater Horizon, operating in the Macondo Prospect in the Gulf of Mexico, exploded and sank, resulting in the death of 11 workers on the Deepwater Horizon and the largest spill of oil in the history of marine oil drilling operations. 4 million barrels of oil flowed from the damaged Macondo well over an 87-day period, before it was finally capped on July 15, 2010” (EPA, 2017)

The following links showcase media coverage and analysis of the BP Deepwater Horizon coverage.

Directions: Using the required, academic readings, and supplemental academic research, please address the following while adhering to the Discussion Board Rubric:

  • Select a specific example of public policy from one of the following fields:
    • Economic policy
      • An example of economic policy is U.S. budget deficit spending.
    • Education policy
      • An example of education policy is the implementation of national education standards.
    • Environmental policy
      • An example of environmental policy is the Clean Air Act.
    • Foreign policy
      • An example of foreign policy is how we conduct trade with other countries.
    • Healthcare policy
      • An example of healthcare policy is the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare)
    • Welfare policy
      • An example of welfare policy is Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF).
  • Write a letter to the editor of a major news media company about a specific article, video, or political cartoon. The Union of Concerned Scientists has a great resource that explains how one writes a letter to the editor. In this letter please include the following:
    • Analyze how the news media sets the agenda and frames the news story.
    • Articulate, in detail, how this news story helps or hinders your chosen public policy.
    • Speculate how voter engagement could affect this public policy.

Although you may pick your news story from any of the major news media, here are some reputable news sources that may prove useful:

ABC News: https://abcnews.go.com/

Boston Globe: https://www.bostonglobe.com/

CBS News: https://www.cbsnews.com

Chicago Tribune: https://www.chicagotribune.com

Denver Post: https://www.denverpost.com/

LA Times: https://www.latimes.com

Houston Chronicle: https://www.chron.com/

NBC News: https://www.nbcnews.com/

The New York Times: https://www.nytimes.com

Seattle Times: https://www.seattletimes.com/

Tampa Bay Times: https://www.tampabay.com/

USA Today: https://www.usatoday.com/

The Wall Street Journal: https://www.wsj.com/

Washington Post: https://www.washingtonpost.com

 

References:

Deepwater Horizon – BP Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill. (2017, April 19). Retrieved from https://www.epa.gov/enforcement/deepwater-horizon-bp-gulf-mexico-oil-spill

Kraft, M. E., & Furlong, S. R. (2018). Public policy: Politics, analysis, and alternatives. London: SAGE.

O’Connor, K., & Sabato, L. (2018). American government: roots and reform. Columbus: Pearson.

SS238 Unit 3 Discussion Answer

According to Public Policy (2018), the policy cycle is a clear continuous process instead of a 1x step of each stage. The Policy Process Model includes four steps leading up to the policy change that includes agenda setting, policy formation, implementation, and evaluation…..

SS238 Engagement Civil and Citizen Driven Public Policy

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