PUAF 706 Public Policymaking for Journalists

Fall 2006

Van Munching Hall Room 1101                                                     Office Hours – By appointment

Instructor – Professor Catherine I. Riley – senriley@msn.com (410-371-0011)

 

I.   Course Introduction – Welcome to PUAF 706 – Public Policymaking for Journalists.  This course is designed for School of Journalism students who either are or will be staffing the Capital News Service.  Our goal is to provide you with practical knowledge about the public policy process, local, state and national governments, with particular emphasis on the State of Maryland.  We underline process to highlight the important difference between this course and conventional courses on public policy, public administration, or state and local government.  Unlike them, this course focuses on the political, procedural, and administrative realities of policy formation and implementation.  Thus, we will focus on analyzing the hows and whys policies are developed, which we think provides an instructive format to assist you in becoming more skilled observers of the policy making process.

 

II.     Course Administration – This is a Graduate level course.  You are expected to read all assigned readings prior to class and be prepared to discuss them with your instructor, guests and members of the class.  Please note the readings are focused on the early to middle parts of the course in order to allow you time to work on your paper.  Should you have any questions regarding class time, location or weather related issues, please contact Professor Riley.

 

III.  Course Requirements -  Final grades will be computed as follows:  

 

Mid-term exam - 20%

                                                            Course Paper     - 30%

                                                     Class Participation   - 20%

                                                                  Final Exam  - 30%

                                                                                      100%

 

The course paper entails doing the research for and writing a 20-24 page (double spaced, 12 point type) analytical paper about a specific policy.  It can be local, state or federal, and can be a policy that either failed or was enacted.  It cannot be a matter that has not attained a finished status, and it must be of a timely nature, i.e. of some recent vintage.  However, the focus of this paper is not on the outcome, but rather the whys and hows that led to that being the final outcome.  Who did what and how and why they did it are the important issues to be examined.  A brief written description of your paper proposal is due at the start of class on October 9 and the paper itself is due at the beginning of our last class on December 11.  Your instructor will be pleased to work with you on selecting a topic and accessing sources.  A working draft may be submitted for comment prior to the date of your presentation.  Approval of your chosen topic will be based on its appropriateness for this course.  

 

IV.              Weekly Topics, Assignments, and Guests

 

September 11   Introduction to Policymaking  – What is public policy, who are the policymakers, and why do they do what they do - Overview

 

September 18   Politics, Parties and Processes – Overview

 

                        The Power Game – Chap. 1, 3-6 and 18 pp. 3-19, 41-118 and 668-690

                        State of the States   - Chap. 1-2, pages 1-28

                        Congress and its Members – Chap. 3-6 pp. 39 - 191

 

September 25   Case Study: The Vicissitudes of Building a Sports Stadium

                        Uncovering the Dome – pages 1-164

 

October 2        The Legislative Process Part 1

 

                        State of the States – Chap. 3, pages 29-51

                        The Power Game - Chap. 2, 7 and 9 pp. 20 – 41, 119 – 160, 216-271  

                        Congress and its Members - Chap. 7-8 pp. 193-259

 

October 9        The Legislative Process Part II and Budgets

 

                        State of the States – Chap. 7, pages 120-140, Chap. 10, pages 192-217

                        The Power Game Chap 11, 13-14 &17 pp. 333-391, 451-565, 651-667

                        Congress and its Members Chap. 9 and 14 pp. 261-288, 391-417

                        Various handouts re: budget issues

 

October 16      Mid-term exam – on topics through October 9

                        Guest Speaker – Tom Stuckey – Dean of Annapolis Press Corps (?)

 

October 23      Executive Branch - Presidents and Governors

 

                        State of the States – Chap. 4, pages 53-80

                        The Power Game - Chap. 8, and 12 pp. 160-215,  392- 450

                        Congress and its Members - Chap. 10 pp. 291-316

 

October 30      Interest Groups, Lobbying

 

                        The Third House - Chap. 3-9 pp. 41-203

                        Congress and its Members - Chap. 13 pp. 367-388

Guest Speaker: Alan Rifken – Lobbyist and former Chief Legislative Officer  

for Governor William Donald Schaefer (?)

                       

November 6     The Courts

 

                        State of the States – Chap. 5, pages 81-100

                        Congress and its Members – Chapter 12 pp. 345-364

                        Case handout

 

 

November 13  The Making of National Security and Foreign Policy

 

                        The Power Game Chap. 15 and 16, pp. 566-646

                        Congress and its Members Chap. 15 pp. 419-442

                        Guest Speaker: I.M. (Mac) Destler, School of Public Policy, (?)

 

November 20  The Bureaucracy and Staff

 

                        The State of the States – Chap. 6, pages 101-119

The Power Game – Chap. 10 pp. 272- 328

                        Congress and it s Members – Chap. 11 pp. 319-345

 

November 27  Class Presentations - No readings, work on paper

 

December 4     Class Presentations – No readings, work on paper

 

December 11   Class Presentations

 

December 18   Final Exam

 

V.                 Required Readings

 

Congress and its Members, 9th Edition, Roger Davidson and Walter Oleszek, Congressional Quarterly Press, 2004

 

The State of the States - Van Horn, Congressional Quarterly Press, 4th Edition, 2006

 

The Power Game, How Washington Works, Hedrick Smith, First Ballentine Books, Trade Edition, 1996

 

The Third House, Lobbyists and Lobbying in the States, 2nd Edition, Alan Rosenthal,  Congressional Quarterly Press, 2001

 

            Uncovering the Dome, Amy Klobuchar, Waveland Press, 1986

 

VI        Readings for Extra Credit