Political Journalism
Read one essay in the Flippin book from either the “Economy in Crisis” section or “The New New Presidency”
I am not making individual study guides for each section, so here is a generic one:
1. Please discuss the significance of the title of the essay. The title of the essay is “Obama’s Bailout,” by Paul Krugman. The significance is his interpretation of how Obama handled the stimulus package and bank bailout. Then he looked ahead at the future and how these decisions would pan out.
2. What is the writer’s point in 50 words or less. The writers point is that Obama has just begun his work as president. He has made an early attempt at the stimulus, and hasn’t made a move toward the bank situation yet because of the difficulty.
3. Who is the writer’s audience? (You may consider the venue in which the essay was published.) This article was written in the Rolling Stone. The audience is uninformed readers. The article is written in a way that anyone reading can learn about the state of the economy.
4. Do you think the writer does a good job making his/her point? Explain. Yes, the writer does an excellent job of getting his point across. The facts are laid out in an organized manner and then he lists his solutions with little confusion of where he stands.
5. These essays were all written in 2009. Do you know anything now in 2010 that sheds new light on the writer’s observations? How might that change the essay? As far as 2010, we are still in an economic recession and Obama is losing approval ratings. He has not made a move to bailout the banks yet, and the stimulus is still keeping the housing market in trouble.
6. Please discuss at two new things you learned from the essay. I learned how fast Obama acted once he became president to help our economy. His actions were quick, but not enough to make a huge difference. He just did enough to keep the economy from getting worse.
7. What do you think was most interesting about the essay? Why? The most interesting piece of the essay was his referral to the Swedish bank dilemma in the 1990’s. Many feel like this might solve the solution in the U.S. but on the other hand many see it as a socialism act.
8. Google the writer. Tell me more about him/her. Cite your sources. Paul Krugman is a political writer who has a blog on the NY Times Web site. He is also a Professor of Economics at Princeton University. He has also won a Nobel Prize.
No comments:
Post a Comment