Media, Public Opinion, and Politics

About this course

This course takes you inside the machinery of public opinion and the media. You will explore where opinions come from, how pollsters measure them, and why polls sometimes get things wrong. Then you will turn to the news industry, from the newsroom to the smartphone in your pocket, to understand framing, agenda setting, echo chambers, and fake news. The final lesson hands you a personal media toolkit you can use every day to consume news more wisely and to form opinions based on evidence rather than emotion.

Course outline