Before completing this assignment, please make sure to read the class notes for political parties and interest groups. Also, complete all of the assigned readings for those topics (as listed in the Assignment Outline and Reading Schedule), and watch my weekly video, as well as the relevant Crash Course videos linked in the Political Parties and Interest Groups module.

For this assignment:

1. Please respond in approximately 2 to 4 paragraphs to the following prompts (worth a maximum of 30 points):

As discussed in the class notes for this topic, the power relationship between U.S. political parties and interest groups has been in significant flux since the 1960s.

• Does the rise in political influence of interest groups relate to the decline of political parties? Explain.
• In your opinion, would America be better off abandoning the two-party system and opting for a multi-party system, potentially including some parties built around interest groups? 

2. In approximately 3 sentences each, briefly reply to two of your classmates posts 

Please be sure to keep all comments constructive and professional. 

second discussion.  

Before completing this assignment, please make sure that you have reviewed all of the assigned readings and class notes for mass media (as listed in the Assignment Outline and Reading Schedule), watch  my weekly video, the two Crash Course videos and two TED videos on media linked in the Mass Media module, and also read the very brief article on Russian Trolls and social media linked in the Mass Media module.

(Note: All of our discussion forum posts this session are set up so that you will be able to see what others post once you submit your own response. If there aren’t any responses from your classmates immediately after you post your own response, please be sure to come back into the assignment prior to the due date for the assignment to make your 2 comments. Also, please do not post a blank response in order to see your classmates’ responses before posting your own response to the prompt. An initial, blank response will result in an automatic 30 point deduction from your assignment score.)

1. Please respond in approximately 3 to 4 paragraphs to the following prompts (worth a maximum of 30 points):

• Briefly define the concept of mass media, giving examples of the primary forms of mass media currently consumed in the United States
• As discussed in the class notes, over 60 percent of adult Americans get most of their news from their various social media news feeds. Briefly discuss how and why we’ve gotten to this point in the U.S.
• Briefly discuss one possible benefit and one potential danger of getting most of our news through our social media news feeds.

2. In approximately 3 sentences each, briefly reply to 2 of your classmates posts 

. Please be sure to keep all comments constructive and professional.