Unit 13-14: The Media, Politics and The US 2024 Presidential Election: "(Fake?) Information is Power"
Intro:
Here, you will reflect on the changes the media has/have been faced with. You will also scrutinize the violence of contemporary media or the intermingling of the media and politics, not to mention the notions of fake news and free speech. This unit will also give you the opportunity to find out more about the current presidential campaign in the US and key issues and people in US politics right now. We will also study some of the key images of the campaign, which could be useful for your "Culture générale" exams.
Step1: The Media: Main facts + a current crisis?
- Newspapers: Main facts: + oral presentation
Vocabulary: English online
The British Media: Slideshare, main facts
The Media in the US: Main facts
- Are newspapers currently in crisis/decline?
Une majeure crise au Washington Post (La Tribune)
"The end of journalism as we know it", The Press Gazette
"The Death of traditional journalism", Medium
"Newspapers in Crisis", Serious Science.org
"Washington Post in crisis", Le Monde Doc1
- A few solutions to overcome the crisis:
"The New York Times paywall", Quora
"Buzzfeed: the 'Queen of advertising", Influence.co
Step2: "Sex sells" and "If it bleeds, it leads":
-
"Sex sells" (Doc2a): (cf Elvi methodology)
"What does 'Sex sells' mean?" (Slack Exchange)
"What are the latest allegations against Sean 'Diddy' Combs as he's arrested in New York?" (The Independent) Doc2a1
"Which A-listers will be dragged into P Diddy's drugs and orgies scandal next? A nervous Hollywood is full of friends who were once thrilled to be invited to his notorious parties" (The Daily Mail) Doc2a2
- If it bleeds it, it leads (Doc2b) = the marketing of trauma (definition)
-The Bataclan attack and the migrant crisis (Doc2b):
"Publier ou non la photo de l'intérieur du Bataclan?" (Polka)
Doc2b1
"To publish or not to publish? Why publishing the photo of little Aylan matters", The Huffington Post Doc2b2
"A sea of images", The Huffington Post
"What the image of Aylan Kurdi says about the power of photography", Time
-Charlie Hebdo and its controversial cartoons (Doc2c):
"New York Times only US newspaper not to publish Charlie hebdo cover", The Huffington Post
"Hommage à Samuel Patty et Dominique Bernard" (France Info)
- "Ten photos that have changed the course of history", Phlearn (Doc2d)
Step3: Media bias and Politics: "The Enemy of the State/People" or "The Fourth Estate"?
-
"Information/Knowledge is power" (Dictionary.com)
- Free speech, journalists and newspapers under attack:
Doc3a: "Salman Rushdie publie son nouveau roman et prend la parole pour défendre la liberté d'expression", Le Monde
Doc3b: "Attacks on press freedom and journalists have been intensifying", The Guardian
Doc3c: "Trump calls journalists 'enemies of the state' in Pennsylvania rally", Vanity Fair
Doc3d: The Guardian's plea for support of investigative journalism
The Fourth Estate (Merriam
Webster) cf EC1 Unit9
- How AI and the media can influence elections:
Doc3e: "How AI could sway voters in 2024's big election" (Chatham House)
"The rise of political Tik Tok" (Politico)
Revisions (cf EC1/ Unit3, US institutions)
- The US political system:
Our government (TheWhiteHouse.gov)
How is the US government structured? (BBC)
- How the US electoral process works + the two major parties:
"How the US president is elected"
(USA.gov) Key video->
"The Two-party system and the two major parties in the US" (US embassy.gov)
"Republicans and Democrats: Comparing and contrasting US political parties" (Elli, ESL Library)
"270towin" (270toWin.com)
"US election 2024: which are the battleground states that could decide the election?" (FirstPost)
Step4: Two camps "at war": Key facts about the current presidential campaign:
Canva groupwork:
- Two presidential tickets:
-> cf Martha and Ibrahim's oral presentation
- Donald Trump and J.D. Vance:
Former President Donald Trump: official website
Senator J.D. Vance: official website
How Donald Trump stands on key issues in US politics (Ballotpedia)
Presidential candidates (CNN)
Promises Donald Trump has made so far in the campaign (CNN) = -------- >
Doc4a: look at the issues mentioned after the promises made
Where Trump stands on key issues (BBC News)
Project 2025 (BBC News)
2. Kamala Harris and Tim Walz:
Vice-President Kamala Harris: official website / white house website /
Governor Tim Walz: official website /
How Kamala Harris stands on key issues in US politics (Ballotpedia)
Presidential candidates (CNN)
Promises Kamala Harris has made so far in the campaign (CNN) = ----> Doc4b: look at the issues mentioned after the promises made
Doc4c :"The Making of Kamala Harris" (Today in Focus podcast)
-> cf Sohanna's oral presentation
"Where Trump and Harris stand on 6 education issues" (NPR) Nicole + Axel
"How Trump and Harris compare on the Israel-Hamas war" (Politifact) + The first five paragraphs of this article (ABC News) Assia
-
Cartoons on the highs and lows/ twists and turns of the campaign: Guillaume + Sohanna
Doc4d: "The Rollercoaster" by Barry Blitt on August 19, 2024
Doc4e: "Hurricane Trump" by Christo Komarnistic on October 11, 2024
Hurricane Helen (Britannica)
Step5: Branding and Marketing in the US Campaign: A Battle of IMAGES (cf Culture Gé + Marketing)
- Shanel and Sohanna's oral presentation on the iconic picture of the first assassination attempt on Trump (Doc5a):
------> A few useful articles on this picture:
"Trump monetizes assassination attempt by using photo as book cover" (The Guardian)
"Trump swag sales skyrocket on Amazon", Axios
"How will photos of Trump shooting shape US presidential campaign?" (VOA)
"Elevation, color - and the American flag: here's what makes Evan Vucci's Trump photograph so powerful", The Conversation
"How AP photographer Evan Vucci took the defining image of Donald Trump's assassination attempt"(Euronews)
"Why one photo of Trump assassination stands out" (NJ Spotlight News)
"Trump's attempted assassination becomes a potent political force in a single striking image", The Week
"Evan Vucci's Trump photo will define (and perhaps shape) history", The Spectator
"The pure media savvy of Trump's fist pump photo, explained by an expert: 'it's his brand now'", Vox
"L'image de Trump ensanglanté et brandissant le point avec un air de défi : un tournant décisif dans la campagne ?" (The Conversation)
"How photographers view the photos of Trump's assassination attempt" (Axios)
RDV DE CARRIERE :
Doc5b: Donald Trump's first campaign ad (after picking his VP):
(Assia, Kilyan, Quentin, Antoine)
Doc5c: Donald Trump's trading card ad:
(Axel, Cyprien, Noah, Mattéo, Romain)
Doc5d: "How AI-generated memes are changing the US election", NPR (Nicole, Thibault, Guillaume)
Doc5e: Kamala Harris'(s) first campaign ad: "Freedom":
(Salimata, Tom, Afi, Ibrahim)
Doc5f: "How Kamala Harris' meme-fied campaign is leveraging social media and Gen-Z culture" (The Conversation) + "Kamala HQ is a social marketing masterclass" (MarketingBrew.com)
(Sohanna, Martha, Juliette, Shanel)
Step6: Election results and takeaways:
- A few thought-provoking articles on the takeaways from the election results:
"Will a Woman ever be president of the US?", The New York Times
"Why Trump won: 9 takeaways from the election", NPR
"What does it mean that Donald Trump is a fascist", The New York"Where did Harris and her campaign go wrong?", Aljazeera
"A researcher explains why polls failed to predict a Trump victory", NPR
