What was the biggest news story of 2023?
Critical Analysis
What news event from 2023 was the most salient (most known) to Republicans?
Which of the news events from 2023 listed above was the most salient to you?
Which of the most salient news events from 2022 were political?
What most surprised you about the list above and which of the items on the list above will most quickly be forgotten by the American public?
Based on the data from the visual below*, what were some news items that had a large difference in salience (how known it was) between Democrats and Republicans?
Selective exposure is the phenomenon whereby people choose to focus on information in their environment that is congruent with and confirms their current attitudes in order to avoid or reduce cognitive dissonance. How much does selective exposure explain this partisan difference in salience?
In what way are you guilty of selective exposure?
Our polarized media means that while many Republicans watch Fox News and many Democrats watch MSNBC, there is less and less partisan crossover viewership of these outlets. How do you think this selective exposure impacts governmental policy making?
In Federalist No. 10, James Madison wrote about the mischief (danger) of factions: “By a faction, I understand a number of citizens, whether amounting to a majority or a minority of the whole, who are united and actuated by some common impulse of passion, or of interest, adversed to the rights of other citizens, or to the permanent and aggregate interests of the community.” Explain how selective exposure and the data from the visual below* connects to Madison’s statement above?
According to Morning Consult, Overall, the Titan submersible was one of the two biggest stories to Americans. Do you think that history will judge this as the most important story from the entire year?
Learning Extension
Read the Most Significant World Events from the Council on Foreign Relations and compare it to the Morning Consult list above.
Action Extension
Share your list of the top ten most salient news events of 2023 along with your party preference (Democrat, Republican, Independent) and then make a class chart listing the most salient news stories by party.
