Current Events Report

For this assignment, students are to locate a current issue/event reported on by the news media that
pertains to money in American politics. Students must locate two news stories about the current event,
and these stories must be spaced out over the time period of at least two days. Additionally, the two news
stories cannot come from the same media outlet; instead, the stories have to come from different media
outlets. Students are to write a 3 page paper on the issue/event and discuss how it relates to issues
discussed in the course.

Requirements:
–Identify and discuss one current issue, event or debate related to Money in American politics
–Identify two news stories about the issue, event or debate
*what counts as a news outlet?
–A newspaper (print or online), a prominent blog (e.g., Huffington Post or The Monkey Cage)
*stories must be spaced out over at least 2 days
*the stories must come from different news outlets
–3 pages, single spaced.
–must include a references list of the two cited articles
–do not include copies of actual articles
II. Guide
*This includes a template for the types of things you can write about in your paper. The following, however, is not intended to be a rubric for you to follow exactly. You do not need to answer each question. Rather, the content below simply represents options for the types of things you can choose to discuss.
a. Introduce the issue, event or debate
–discuss what, when, where, etc.
–discuss why the issue matters: who is affected, what are the stakes? How does it relate to socioeconomic class, income inequality, etc.?
b. Discuss the history of the issue or debate
–Is it a new issue? Has the issue or problem been around for a while? Has the problem been building up over time?
–What efforts were made in the past to address the issue / problem? Did these somehow make the problem worse?
c. What solutions, if any, have been proposed for the issue / debate?
d. What are your thoughts about the issue / problem / debate?
–What are your thoughts about the solutions, if any, that have been offered
–What would be your recommendations for how to solve the problem?