Shazad's E-Portfolio for POLS 4490 with Dr. DeWitt and Dr. Azriel

Political communication is a dynamic subject and contains many elements in regards to journalism, politics, and media. Both domestic and foreign policy is all interconnected and political figures, campaigns, and elections are all related to one another. Voters and their views should be reflected when conducting political research and when participating in political communication. It's important that the media, the voters, and the politicians all have an awareness of each other in regards to journalistic integrity and political elections. The media has it's responsibility of objectivity, the politicians have the responsibility of leading the public and addressing their concerns, and the public has a responsibility of engaging in the political process and sharing information.

There are many aspects of political communication I have learned throughout the semester. My top three are qualitative field research, qualitative interview design, and the role of media. The role of media includes gate keeping, agenda setting, citizen media, and social media. Citizen media and social media are things I was already aware of and things that I actively took apart in. However, even though I knew about media gate keeping and agenda setting, researching it has brought more important things to my attention. The corporate media and mainstream press has a lot of power to control perceptions, exacerbate tensions, or deescalate situations. As Dr. April Johnson discussed in class, the psychological nature of human beings is often exploited either without intention or on purpose to provoke a response from the American public. The media played a role in forming the opinion of people, which made it easier to convince the public that going to war in Iraq was a good idea. After 9/11, emotional responses and fear often guided journalists to cover the Iraq War in a more biased way. This type of political journalism still exists today and should be made aware of. According to a Gallup poll, the Americans' trust in the media is at historic lows. To remedy this problem, the media should pay attention to the grassroots part of the American population.

There are confirmed biases that people are susceptible to and often times without thinking we form an opinion without extensive research. Instead of researching, we form opinions based on previous attitudes. One of the phenomenons that Dr. Johnson brought to my attention was the idea of attitude polarization. This is something that was surprising to me because even as we assess new information or information that is counter to our view points we may not be actually paying attention. Instead, we are just confirming our biases. It's something that even I find difficult, but it's something that should be made aware to all people who wish to hear different points of view. Personally, I find myself reading articles from conservatives and liberals and actually trying to understand their points of view. I still may agree or disagree, but there is that sincere attempt at really trying to listen to another person's thoughts. Now that I'm aware of the attitude polarization it still compels me to conduct more research and facts to counter my opponents thoughts or view points. I don't necessarily view this as a bad thing as long as reputable sources are used and you allow yourself to really listen to the other side. Something which is increasingly non-existent in American politics. 

U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders speaks to supporters at Morehouse College

This semester I attended the presidential campaign rallies of Republican Governor John Kasich and Independent U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders. I would have liked to attend more rallies, but because of time constraints I was not able to. My first few news stories were about Sanders and Kasich. I contributed interviews, photos, and quotes. News Story 3 was about Donald Trump and I also contributed graphs, quotes, and information. The field research project was also about Sanders and how he mobilized African American support in Atlanta. In this project, I constructed the code sheet, provided quotes from interviews with voters, and provided the research methodology and photos. My group's content analysis 1 was about Hillary Clinton and Carly Fiorina's mobilization. I contributed the code sheet and research methodology. In the content analysis 2, I contributed by constructing a code sheet and I chose 25 stories from the news organization, Politico.

Signature lively crowd for Bernie Sanders at Morehouse College

In regards to producing high quality research projects related to political communication, I think me and my group were successful in accomplishing this objective. We were successful in respectfully observing the political process at rallies and also making sure to thoroughly research statements made at these rallies and presenting the research in an accurate manner while at the same time respecting the views of voters, which may or may not align with our own views. As far as journalism is concerned with the presidential election, it's important to seek out information and ask forthright questions when obtaining information. This way, you can gather a substantial amount of information for your research.

Political journalism has been a great experience. As someone who aspires to get involved in politics and also journalism, it was great to interact with voters and attend political campaign rallies. Different rallies have different atmospheres. The environment of the Kasich rally was much more subdued and contained questions from voters in a more intimate setting. However, the Sanders rally was much more energetic and lively. The Sanders voters were more enthusiastic often times chanting:"Feel the Bern!" throughout the day prior to Bernie Sanders' stump speech. The Sanders' supporters also were doing the wave across the stadium at Morehouse college. These intricate details are important when researching each candidate as their constituencies are vastly different people who have a diverse set of views. Sanders' backers are usually young and mobilized online with a lot of grassroots level support. Kasich mobilizes supporters through more conventional ways like the newspapers, telephone calls, or fliers distributed out to conservatives in Kennesaw.

As a political science major, who would like to pursue a career in politics and journalism, I found the reporting aspect to be exhilarating. To be out on the field and interviewing people as a journalist gives you new perspectives and helps you listen to a variety of different people you may have normally never have spoken with. It also gives you an appreciation for the press. I still think it's important to hold the media accountable for coverage, especially the media's obsession with horse race journalism.  Also, the corporate media should be more willingly to be more transparent just as our politicians are required to. There are lobbyists and PR consultants who are allowed to post op-eds in certain newspapers, which are biased and meant to influence the views of the American public. Their financial ties and corporate influence are never disclosed and the media never mentions any conflict of interest. As long as the people demand news that is more substantive and objective, the media will have to accommodate. 

As someone who is politically engaged and has attended campaign rallies in the past, you understand what it's like to be in the audience. This opportunity to be on the other side and hear other people's viewpoints is a great way to learn new things. Some of the difficulties that arose during interviews was forgetting to ask a particular question. This is because I'm not used to interviewing people, but the more interviews I conducted the easier it became to remember to ask the important questions to proceed with my research. Requesting assistance from my group members was also helpful just in case I forgot something, I could always ask for help. 

Through my reporting, I have learned that people are not so ideologically extreme and they have a spectrum of views. Particularly, young people are not so devoted to a political party as their parents are. The politicians all have different views, but they also have different personalities and ways to convey a message that is responded to in different ways. 


It is nerve racking at first when approaching someone to interview, but I never had an experience yet that was overtly negative. The best quality interviews come from people who are willing to talk to you and I think it's your job as a reporter to make sure that person knows exactly where you're coming from. Sometimes, it’s difficult to get someone to speak extensively on their candidate and there is a particular reluctance because they may believe the media may portray them negatively. I once asked a young student at a Sanders rally what her political affiliation was and she said she would rather not say. I think it’s important to make sure you’re honest with your intentions and make the interviewee as comfortable as possible and they will be more than happy to reveal anything at that point and it will be a much more informative interview for your article.  

I have learned through my research that politicians through social media can mobilize their constituency in a way that can provide them with sources to phone bank, canvass, or volunteer in other ways. Presidential candidates have taken advantage of online donating and the Internet to spread their political messages in a substantive manner. In the modern media age, this could be important to raise money through a grassroots effort. At political rallies, campaign staff usually have signs, stickers, and pins to hand out to their supporters. This is an effective way to raise enthusiasm among crowds. It's also easy to see who is more enthusiastic and who is just a spectator. I would have loved to attend more political rallies and interview more voters or surrogates, but there was just no time. 

.@JohnKasich speaks to @kennesawstate students. #KSUPoliCom pic.twitter.com/W38lenyzLa

— Shazad Hamid (@ShazadHamid) February 23, 2016

Kasich bus sits outside the KSU Student Center

LISTEN: Audio of Interview I conducted with KSU student and John Kasich supporter