Answer No. 8

Here's the first best answer I've received for Question #8.

Question 8 was:
How and why is the political role of media in Russia different from the political role of media in the UK?

Anonymous 2's answer is:
8. The UK, had an incredibly diverse and extensive media, with the main source being the BBC. British media is widely reputed for presenting a very respectable and varied body of information on both domestic and international events and developments. The media in the UK creates a form of political check on governmental power in its efforts to reveal the truth about political happenings and issues.

The Russian media, however, has a significant bias in favor of the current regime and has historically been an instrument of both propaganda that has a higher loyalty to the ruling party than to the truth.

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An important thing to keep in mind for this question is that the "how" and "why" questions are separate. Some of the "how the roles differ" may answer part of the "why the roles differ," but they are different question. You must clearly answer both questions.

This is a 4-point question. Up to two points for identifying the ways the political roles differ and up to two points for offering accurate and logical explanations for why the roles differ.

My rubric says that the political roles media play in the UK and Russia differ (this is "how" question) in that

• British media critically assess government and party policies and actions
• UK media choose which policies, candidates, and leaders to endorse or criticize
• British media freely and enthusiastically question rationales and reasoning of political actors
• British media raise issues they perceive the government neglects or ignores

The reasons for these differences (this is the "why" question) include:

• clearly private ownership of most British media vs. ownership by parastatals in Russia
• economic competition for readers, listeners, and viewers among British media vs. subsidies to media from Russian owners with little attention paid to "audiences"
• near absence of government restrictions on the content of British media vs. relatively rigid controls of Russian media because of the ownership structure
• tradition of free press in the UK vs. absence of free press tradition in Russia

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The answer does not offer two labeled lists, but it does say that British media present a "varied body of information on both domestic and international events..." and that the "media in the UK creates a form of political check on governmental power..." The answer also says that Russian media "a significant bias in favor of the current regime..." Those statements about how the political roles differ earn two points.

The statement that the Russian media have "historically been an instrument of... propaganda..." offers a reason why the political roles of the media differ. That earns a point.

So this answer earns 3 points.

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You could keep your thinking and your response clear by writing two paragraphs for this question. The first one should be labeled, "Differing political roles of media in the UK and Russia." The second paragraph should be labeled, "Reasons for differences in the political roles of media in the UK and Russia."

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