TO: CNN U.S.

FROM: ALEXANDRA COLONNA, JILL LAVOIE, OLIVIA WOLFERTZ DATE: OCTOBER 4, 2013 SUBJECT: ANALYSIS & RECOMMENDATIONS FOR RECENT CROSSFIRE EPISODE INTRODUCTION The following memo discusses the analysis of the Crossfire transcript for Solving the Shutdown: What Can Taxpayers Do? held on October 4 of this year. Co-Hosts Stephanie Cutter and S.E. Cupp led Former Governors Jesse Ventura of Minnesota and Howard Dean of Vermont in a conversation concerning the government shutdown. The following findings are a result of content and text analysis of the transcript. We coded the results in an effort to define and evaluate the messages communicated in this debate and have recommended ways in which the speakers could have strengthened their argument.

MESSAGING To better analyze the messaging, we have compiled four groups. Group A includes Cutter and Dean who are both affiliated with the Democratic party and Group B is comprised of one individual, Republican host S.E. Cupp. Group C involves Governor Ventura, who labels himself an Independent and group D covers the Clip of Republican Senator Rand Paul shown during this particular program segment and Cutters response to his statement. Group A: Group As messaging communicates their individual democratic point of views regarding the recent government shutdown and how the Republican Party is to blame. According to Cutter and Dean, the shutdown represents the lack of cooperation, irresponsible fiscal policies and evasion of responsibility demonstrated by the Republican Party. Furthermore, they feel that the Republicans hatred of President Obama adds fuel to the fire as well. Group B: Group Bs messaging demonstrates that the democratic rhetoric is harmful in that it generalized Republicans and their party as extremists.

Group C: Group Cs messaging views our current two-party system as inherently broken because it forces people to confine themselves into one party, encouraging party politics and making it possible for people to blindly follow a particular party without educating themselves on the issues that party supports. Group D: Group Ds messaging involving Republican Senator Rand Paul describes his party's unwillingness to compromise. It is this message that later incites a debate between Republican affiliated Cupp and Dean who is associated with the Democratic party. It is the basis of Deans argument that the Republican party is to blame for the government shutdown. In response to the Senators statement, Dean explains that the Republicans are bullying the Obama administration over pointless issues. He feels that the Republican party is fighting a losing battle, wanting to defund an already established federal statute that is law and thus should not be asked to change.

ANALYSIS Based on our analysis, we deemed Dean and S.E. Cupp, the two most involved participants on the show. Not only did they dominate the conversation but also their opinions were the strongest of the four. Of the 338 total lines, Dean accounts for 101, Cupp - 80, Ventura - 68, and Cutter responsible for a mere 56. The remaining 33 lines belong to video clips and the announcer. From this, we can see that the partisan messages came across much stronger than the others given that Dean and S.E. Cupp.

Table: Most Frequently Appearing Terms and Who Said Them Group A (Democrat) Democrats Republicans Political Parties 8 12 0 Group B (Republican) 2 9 0 Group C (Independent) 3 3 4

Problem Debt I agree Dont agree

6 6 4 1

1 4 1 0

1 1 0 0

The above table shows both the terms that appear most frequently throughout the transcript and who said them. The findings are significant, because they show relationship between the words being said and the political affiliations of those who said them. For instance, the Democratic members on the show mention the word Republican significantly more times than the Republican or Independent participants do. This automatically shows heightened interest in the word for Democratic participants compared to the other members. Based on the content of the transcript, the Democrats frequent usage of the word Republican reveals their different attitude towards the word in comparison with the Independent and Republican member. Not only is the Democrats tone often heated but the context of the sentence in which the word appears suggests frustration and anger as well. It is interesting that the Democrats also use the word problem and debt significantly more than the Republican and Independent speaker. This alone reveals that their attitudes concerning the government shutdown are different than those of other members because of the negative connotation of these words.

RECOMMENDATIONS Here are our recommendations regarding the messaging: 1) First, we would recommend that the names of the episodes are changed. This episode, Solving The Shutdown; What Can Taxpayers Do? mentioned taxpayers briefly (as can be seen in the above table), but left the question of What Can Taxpayers Do? unanswered. This discrepancy between what the show advertised the messaging to be and what it was is a serious point of consideration. Why not simply call the show, Solving the Shutdown?

2) While the arguments posed were strong and add to the entertainment value of the show, it also seemed to be a platform for pundits and place to argue partisan views instead of discussing in depth the topic of concern. Instead, the show was used to express particular party agendas and personal opinions, based on talking points led by pundits. This point is proven in the transcript. The fact that more partyaffiliated participants received the most airtime as recorded in the transcript proves this point. Therefore we recommend having the hosts act more as discussion leaders who guide the conversation and provide insight and views on issues, encourage guests stay on topic verses having this be a platform for the hosts to express their individual partisan views. The conversation will benefit from greater direction and viewers can then hear solutions rather than back and forth blaming banter and constant interruption.