1. Choose a substantive policy area that you will work
in for the remainder of the term. Examples include: environmental
policy, transportation policy, defense policy, health policy, housing
policy, etc.
2. Select a policy decision (choice) in your policy area that decision-makers
are confronting, or will confront in the near future. That choice
must involve at least three opposing policy prescriptions. For
example, in social security policy the choice might be: (1) adding more
funds to the Social Security trust, (2) allowing contributions to private
pension plans to offset contributions, (3) raising the age limit for
payments.
The choices need not be mutually exclusive, however they should have
advocates who see a clear choice in priority and emphasis. In other
words, there should be competition among the alternatives.
3. Survey the news media to derive the problem formulations.
That is, what are the causal stories, underlying theories, and empirical
"facts" that support the different policy prescriptions.
4. Write a five page essay that examines each of the policy
formulations as presented by the news media. What are the key causal
stories -- theories? What "facts" are placed in
evidence? Do different news sources present one or more
formulations in the same light or do you find a "bias?"
Would readers of some new sources come to understand the policy issue
differently compared to readers of other news sources?
5.
Try to construct a criteria-alternatives matrix (CAM) to summarize what
you found. Some cells of the matrix may well be blank.