Blog 10: Agenda Setting

 After looking at Martin O'Malley's website and examining his "vision" link, I think I have a pretty good idea of which issues are on O'Malley's main agenda. As you can see, O'Malley has a "15 Goals" link and then 14 other links under that. I thought it was most important/helpful to look at the "15 Goals" link to figure out which issues were the most important. O'Malley's first goal is to "Increase American families' median net worth by $25,000 in 10 years". His second goal is to "Generate 100% of American Electricity with renewable energy by 2050" (Remember this? Skip to 0:45)

Goal number 3 is to "Cut the unemployment rate among young people in half within 3 years." Goal 4 is "Reach full employment for American veterans by 2020. And goal number 5 is "put 11 million new Americans on the pathway to citizenship through comprehensive immigration reform." I think these 5 goals reflect the top 5 "issues" O'Malley and his campaign's agenda. The 14 issues under O'Malley's vision tab are posted alphabetically, but his 15 goals section seem to be ranked in priority. Not only this, but these 5 issues seem to be the issues he talks about the most. 



When looking at O'Malley's opposer Hillary Clinton, the first 5 issues listed on her site were 1. Campaign finance reform, Campus Sexual assault, Climate change and energy, College, and Criminal justice reform. Hillary's issues differ from O'Malley's in that her top issues seem to be on social issues, rather than economic (although that is not the case for all of them).

O'Malley and Clinton's agendas are similar in that they both agree to focus on climate change. I think if you look further down on both of their lists, you will find more similarities. However, if I am assuming that the order of these issues represents their priority to the candidate, it seems they do not have a very similar top 5. I think one of the reasons O'Malley has different issues he's focused on would be because he is having to try and differentiate himself from Hillary. He can't have all the same goals and beliefs as his opponents and expect to win because of it. He has to make himself stand out in some way, and I think that's why there is some what of a difference. I think he's doing a good job of that and is succeeded in setting his agenda effectively.

Blog #9: Press Coverage

 

After conducting a Google news search on Martin O'Malley, I noticed a few reoccurring themes between the types of stories that were being written about him. First, several of the stories are discussing O'Malley and Hillary Clinton. The first story that pops up is a TIME article titled "Martin O’Malley Hits Hillary Clinton for Saying ‘Illegal Immigrants’". Secondly, the majority of the articles are discussing immigration. At least they are not talking about him being tough on crime right now, WOO HOO! Way to go Martin, thanks for giving them something else to talk about, I was starting to get really bored.

Most of the media outlets covering O'Malley are big, well known news sites like TIME, and The New York Times. Local news sites are also writing stories about him. I think that it is probably good for O'Malley that he is not just being talked about on sites that strictly cover politics. Not everyone visits Politifact on a daily basis, but they might read an article on TIME pretty frequently.

From what I can tell, O'Malley is not the one generating the news. Most of the articles I have read discuss Martin O'Malley from an outside perspective, mostly opinion based. They are writing on things that happened in debates or speeches, not actually interviewing Martin O'Malley. In several of the articles, O'Malley is not even the center of attention. The articles are almost always disusing one of the leading democrats (like Hillary) and then discussing O'Malley in relation to that candidate. However, I think the media is starting to do a better job at writing about O'Malley in a way that will set him up well for the 2016 presidential campaign. Martin O'Malley is starting to distinguish himself from other candidates, and the media has noticed. This will be especially important for O'Malley to do since he is often in Hillary's shadow. I think O'Malley should continue seeking coverage from big media outlets that do not just cover politics, however coverage from those sites are important too. Having a variety seems to be the most beneficial for candidates. I also think that if O'Malley were to get talked about on more entertainment media outlets, that could also do him good. Not many people know or really care about who O'Malley is. If he can get his name out there and get himself talked about, he has a better shot at votes. What I'm really suggesting here is that O'Malley should go on Ellen. Who doesn't love Ellen? I know I would for sure tune into that episode!

Blog #8: Pop Culture and Politics

For my pop culture representation, I decided to use the Democratic Debate Cold Open SNL skit. In this video, Martin O'Malley is clearly presented as a less important democratic candidate. The opening line of the skit O'Malley's character says, "Hello, I'm Martin O'Malley. This is what my voice sounds like, this is what my face looks like. When I was Mayor of Baltimore, I did such a good job they made two TV shows about my city, 'Homocide' and "The Wire,'". Per usual, the skit exaggerates several things that are commonly talked about when Martin O'Malley's name comes up; the face that he is not well known, he was such a "great" Mayor of Baltimore, that he inspired a character in the TV show "The Wire", and that he has a bad rep for his tough on crime principles. Furthermore in the skit, O'Malley hardly talks at all. His ending line is, "America, I know I may not have been much to listen to tonight,". 

 

Update on O'Malley's SnapChat Story 11/5/15: Giving a Speech

This artifact (SNL skit) pushes back against the image the candidate seems to be wanting to create for himself because it is just illustrating the same facts over and over again. It is proving to be impossible for O'Malley to escape the image of being too tough on crime, of inspiring a TV character, and of not being very important. Everything I read that is not directly put out by O'Malley's campaign just points out those same things over and over (sorry this is probably so repetitive because I discuss it in every blog, that's how prominent it is). The image O'Malley is wanting to create is that he is experienced and he can get things done. The media or pop culture on the other hand, does not want to focus on this. This artifact definitely does not shape or change the image O'Malley is trying to project, but it should! It is time for O'Malley to do something different to get talked about.

Update on O'Malley's SnapChat Story 11/5/15: A quote from said speech

 As always, I have been keeping up with O'Malley's SnapChat and have posted the pictures on his story from yesterday through out my blog post. I do not know who runs O'Malley's SnapChat, but they probably think I am super weird because I am constantly screenshoting every image and video they post. It worked out well that he posted an update that coincides with this blog post, because I think this is a cool way to compare how pop culture wants to represent O'Malley, and how O'Malley's campaign wants to represent him. His presence on snap chat is always very causal and always present him interacting with the public in a fun and causal way. In one image, O'Malley is singing and playing guitar for the crowd (evidently after giving a speech) and then arm wrestling in another. Kind of strange if you ask me, but this seems to be the reoccurring theme throughout his presence on SnapChat.
 

Update on O'Malley's SnapChat Story 11/5/15: O'Malley singing and playing guitar

 If you are interested in following Martin O'Malley on SnapChat his username is "governoromalley". I would highly recommend it because you get to see images like these which in a way, allow you to get to know his personality.

Update on O'Malley's SnapChat Story 11/5/15: O'Malley arm wrestling