University of Utah

Department of Communication
Communication 5200 – Politics and Persuasion - FALL 2010
Office Hours: By appointment only
Instructor: Peter Watkins Phone: 801-618-7111
E-mail: peterwatkins@gmail.com

Overview:

The purpose of this course is to give you an understanding of the impact and importance
communication has in the political process as well as in government and policy. During
this semester, we will examine media coverage as it relates to national political issues, as
well as in matters relating to our local elected officials. We will also study the various
roles communication staffers play for their respective boss, and study specific tactics and
processes they use.

We intend to study political policies as they relate to campaign and government

messaging. This will NOT be a course to decide or debate policy, rather, to understand
why certain candidates and government leaders say certain things.

Finally we will examine the process journalists take in reporting the news.

Text:

We will draw much of the course content from the real time news media. You will be
required to sign up for two daily political news emails. The first, Mike Allen’s Daily
Playbook from Politico.com, and the second, The Salt Lake Tribune’s “Political
Cornflakes.”

Playbook: Go to this link, and subscribe from the site:

http://www.politico.com/playbook/

Cornflakes: To sign up, send an email to cornflakes@sltrib.com.

You will be responsible for following major stories as they relate to the political
issues. Much of our discussions and lectures as well as content for the weekly quizzes
will come from these stories.

You will also be required to follow the class on Twitter. The account to follow is
“Comm5200.” There I will post stories, notes, and other information relevant to the
class.
Speakers:

Over the course of the semester, we anticipate to have guest speakers. These speakers
will come from the field of political communication. Content from their remarks will be
included in the weekly quizzes and in the mid-term and final exams. Your attendance and
respect to the speaker will be mandatory.

Grades:

Your grade will be the result of an accumulation of points from the following:

130 pts. – Class Participation – This will be defined by the instructor on the first day of
class. If you’re not familiar with this concept, simply put, participation is the opposite of
surfing the web and updating your facebook status during class. Thoughtful comments
are encouraged throughout the semester, as it makes for a better learning environment.

130 pts. – Quizzes – You should expect a quiz every week worth10 points each.
120 pts – Mid-term
50 pts – Final Exam
120 – Group Project – see below.

Your individual grade break-down will come from this scale:

A 550-525 B 474-450 C 399-375 D 324-300

A- 524-500 B- 449-425 C- 374-350 D- 299-275
B+ 499-475 C+ 424-400 D+ 349-325 E below 274

There will be opportunities for extra credit on a case by case basis as deemed appropriate
by the instructor.

Course Outline:

Aug 25– Oct 29

Introduction to Political Communication

The Message
The Political Media – “Meet the Press”
New Media and the Challenges
Bias ?

October 6 - Midterm

October 20 - July 27
Group Projects
Political Communication as a career
The New Media and new way of doing business
Guest speakers
Political Theater
Spokesperson 101

December 8th – FINAL EXAM. Group Presentations

Group Project:

The specific details of the group project will be presented at a later date in the semester.
The grade break-down of the project will be:
60 points – overall performance/relevance/content of subject
60 points – grade by peers

Attendance/Participation:

Because the course is taught only once a week, attendance and participation are
mandatory. A fairly substantial portion of your grade will come from participation in
class discussion and debate, as well as in group projects.

You are expected to attend every class just like you are expected to be at work every day.
If you do not come to class, you may assume you have received a 0 for the class period.

Course Policies:

Do not read outside material or use your cell phone during class time. It will be
perceived as rude to the instructor or speaker and will affect your participation
grade. It should be obvious, but the same goes for surfing the web. Computers are
fine to use if it is for note-taking purposes. It is distracting to other students, and
hinders opportunities for group discussion.

If there are problems of any nature that concern the class of which I am unaware of and
which need to be addressed, please feel free to discuss this with me at any time. A main
objective is to foster an environment where people who are interested in the subject
matter have the opportunity to discuss their questions in a positive learning environment.

Exams and quizzes must be taken, or turned in, on the due dates.

The University of Utah and the Department of Communication seek to provide equal
access to its programs, services and activities for people with disabilities. If you will need
accommodation in the class, reasonable prior notice needs to be given to the instructor
and the center for disability services, http://disability.utah.edu 162 Olpin Union building,
581-5020 to make arrangements for accommodation.

Academic dishonesty (cheating, plagiarism, etc) or disruptive behavior in the classroom

will not be tolerated and might lead to expulsion, failure of the course and other possible
penalties. Any behavior judged by the instructor as disrespectful or not adequate for the
class environment could force him to ask the responsible student to leave the classroom
immediately.

The instructor reserves the right to make adjustments to this syllabus. Any change will be
notified at least one week in advance. But it is your responsibility to stay informed from
your classmates if you do not attend all the classes.

About the Instructor:

For over 15 years, Peter Watkins has gained experience in politics and communication on
state, federal, and international levels. Most notably, in 1999, Mr. Watkins worked for the
Press Secretary to the Committee on the Judiciary for the United States Senate. The bulk
of his political communication experience came from 2001 to 2006, where Mr. Watkins
worked at the White House performing various roles in the field of communication. Mr.
Watkins worked in the West Wing as a press aide to two White House Press Secretaries,
as well as served as a spokesman to First Lady Laura Bush. In his final position, Mr.
Watkins carried the title, “White House Spokesman” and was responsible for 17 states
including the top two media markets in the country.

During his time at the White House, Mr. Watkins witnessed and was involved on a
communication level with hundreds of presidential events and speeches including: the
2002 mid-term elections, the 2004 Presidential Re-election, the 2004 Republican
National Convention, and several international summits. While at the White House, Mr.
Watkins traveled to dozens of countries and 47 states either with the President or First
Lady. These experiences gave Mr. Watkins a unique view and understanding of the role
of communication in politics, which experiences he will draw from for this course. Mr.
Watkins graduated from the University of Utah in 2001 with a degree in Mass
Communication.