1. John Kingdon's "garbage can" model of agenda-setting and policy formulation describes three streams that influence policymaking: the problem stream, policy stream, and political stream. When these streams converge, a policy window opens where issues can be addressed. 2. To advance their climate change agenda, WWF could use Kingdon's model by keeping the issue prominent in the problem stream, developing policy solutions in the policy stream, and looking for opportunities in the political stream like elections or disasters. 3. The media could both help and hinder WWF's cause. Media coverage can magnify issues but also follows rather than leads, so WWF would need to actively promote their framing of climate

1. Media as a tool
Look for indicators of biased. Example media donates more
money to democrats. They are more associated with it.
Fox calls it fair and biased but they say they are not.
Media is a magnifier –
Media follows than leads –
“pack mentality”
Read john kingdoms and garbage can theory
Agenda Setting: Media
General characteristics of American media:
· Provides focus and magnification
· Often serves as a tool
· Follows events rather then precedes
· Pack behavior
Walter Karp: media is tool, not deriver of agenda (Harpers
Magazine, 1989)
“source journalism” versus “investigative journalism,” sources
often in congress.
Source journalism - reports on what people say. Example trump
said this… then said opposing views of what other people said
and call it a balanced report. This is because if you want access
to the source you do not want to piss them off. So and so said
this, then hear is the counter point.
Investigative journalism – reporting the truth that you
investigate but we create w word for it because that is not the
usual way that people do journalism. Example, documentaries.
“objectivity” is goal, not truth: presenting “both sides” does not
mean the whole situation is well explained
Objectivity – fair and balanced. Let people say their things and
journalist do say if its true or not.
· Must be interesting: trump kept things interesting Hillary’s
things were complicated and people do not like that they want
to simplify and forget about it.

2. · Must please advertisers
· Ownership matters
Paul Farhi: In the Tank
Media is not monolithic: and there is a difference between the
news, opinion/commentary, and entertainment
Media is not necessarily biased, but the media industry keep
saying they are
· Interest in de-legitimizing alternative views (both sides work
de-legitimize the other)
Public confuses reporting with opinion and what reporters seek
to do (kill the messenger)
people can seek our information more easily, and find
oversights and errors in reporting
Paul Farhi: in the Tank
People create their own news bubble
Factual review of coverage shows mainstream is not biased as
asserted
Not all candidates or news are equal: the image that because one
candidate has encountered a problem, then they should find
something wrong with others is not sound
Public and press: Alternative Points
Doris Graber: Public simplifies: first paragraph key (visual
image)
· Attention focused on existing interests and beliefs
· Public not “liberal” or “conservative” but issue focused
· “priming”: press may prepare or sensitize public to certain
issues.
Take a way from media: it’s a tool, state of flux
Formulation
(taking everything we learned and outlining it differently)
Formulation – send step out of first lecture.
John kingdoms “garbage can” model of agenda-setting and
formulation
Three streams of activities: his model connects things. There

3. are three main streams.
1.Problem stream: “the news”: patterns in what tends to get
attention
· Indicators, there is a randomness to the news but there is a
pattern to, so if you can get numbers in your news you can get
more attention.
· Focusing
· Feedback – tone – depends on the, positive feedback can be
positive even if tone is negative, example, trump he got more
and more attention.
· Black lives matter, even if getting negative attention they are
spreading the issue and there is some sort of educational
alertness going on there.
· Problem definition: very media sensitive. It is kind of linked
to tone.
2.Policy stream: Patterns in the ideas and alternatives that arise,
and persist. Where you have a stream of ideas, solutions,
formulations.
· Technical feasibility (tractability):His example of soup
leftover, some things are always their and others disappear. So
if things are feasible things stay in the soup.
· Fads:, examples, term members talk about changing terms but
they have to change the constitution to do it. Example, trump
trying to change social security. Like the soft noodles that
disappear
· Changes in public acceptance: Obama care keeping the
elimination of pre-existing conditions. There is still going to be
an attempt to support more universal healthcare and more of it
than before even trump himself, stating to keep the health
extension of 26 years old.
· Technology: government tis able to talk about going to the
moon.
· Affordability
3.Political stream: electoral patterns and factors that affect
opportunities to promote issues and alternatives
· National mood: deep patters regarding optimism, views of

4. government effectiveness
· Public opinion: immediate perspectives on specific topics
· People really like the changes of taking away pre-existing
health conditions
· Electoral patterns
· Interest groups and sub-governments: he will definitely go
with the NRA
Example dean in the garbage can, what would you look for in a
dean? Someone who would hire diverse people, someone who
would reduce regulation. People care about their issues not the
dean. The dean is the opportunity. This can be called a “policy
window”
Policy window: when streams can converge or events create
opportunity to promote problem, issue or policy, alternative
· Can be random, such as disasters
· Can be predictable: honeymoon periods
Garbage can effect: when many parties attempt to use the same
window for their own pre-existing purposes.
Example, trump making many promises
911 was also a garbage can model because George bush kept
saying we need to do this , like cut taxes or the terrorists have
won.
Two last points that Kingdom makes:
Entrepreneurs are critical:
Talked about problem brokers
· Keep candle burning
· Build coalitions
· Position themselves to strike
“softening up” process: people get used to ideas over time, not
overnight
· Example: privatization, universal health care? People are
accepting Obamas idea of universal health care in whatever
ways they want to implement but taking away the idea
Formulation: making and promoting policy options
Basic guidelines (Charles Jones) (question two list)

5. · Many places and groups participate
· An idea can come out of nowhere example, marijuana this
ideas developed in many differences places.
· Many proceed without clear definition of problem (ambiguity)
· Many change points
· Idea originated here but someone writes a letter then an
interest group takes over and the idea is not clear
· Never neutral
· Their will always be tension and competition for people trying
to reverse or stop any idea that is being pushed forward
Who is involved in formulation:
Kingdom notes:
1. “visible participants”: elected and high appointed officials.
Prominent experts with media access, “pundits”
More agenda-setting role
2. “hidden participants”: academics, policy experts, interests
group lobbyist, agency personnel, personal and committee
legislative staff. Develop and promote …
Formulation: Think tanks:
James McGann: “Academics to Ideologues”: evolution from
academic institution to deliberate political actor.
I. Early: Brookings institution and American Enterprise
Institute: academic-style research
II. (1945 – 1976) Incorporation in policy process: RAND, Urban
institute
III. (1976) “War of Ideas”: think tank as a purposeful tool to
ideological and policy struggles: Heritage Foundation
Think tanks
Group to watch for:
Gato institute: libertarian
Family resreach council: cultural conservatives
Hoover Institute: conservative, especially noted for security
concerns
Institute for progressive Policy: welfare liberal
Oregon Center for Public Policy: welfare Liberal
Think thanks information is valid but it is usually filled with

6. information that they want some sort of outcome with. He uses
them all the time for instance Keiser health for aging
information. Their information is trustworthy but they each
have their own social vision.
Private experts: think tanks
Contemporary aspects:
· Pervasive/ universal
· “shadow government”: insiders today, displaced politicians
and potential appointees and administrators work in them
· Conservatives think tanks are better organized more
motivated, and better funded
· Specialization: example, you could find ones specific for
energy, Keiser foundation is very specialized in health care.
· Work at state level as well: Oregon Center for Public Policy,
cascade Institute: ALEC (there is a reading on ALEC)
Tevi Troy: think tanks are losing their influence as they lose
their integrity/honesty.
Models of formulation: (reading on this)
Rational comprehensive: Lindbloms “root model”
Emphasized in public administration and politics
Example, health care when Trump announces his changes he is
going to say that they looked at all options.
When you go with the root model you clear the entire thing out
and do it “right” with all the knowledge you have. Example,
take out health care completely from the root.
Incrementalism: Lindblohms “branch model”
This model is pruning the health care system like what trump is
stating now with his changed mind on health care. Not taking it
out completely but keeping some aspects of it.
The more you decide you keep the more incrementalism it is,
which is the way it usually works
Rational -comprehensive – typical example, cost-benefit
analysis
Required conditions/assumptions: things you assume if you are
going to be rational about the issue
1. Problem has boundaries: can be understood

7. Example, the Iraq war it was hard to understand things there
were no boundaries. Some are too complex.
Example, cost and benefit analysis of building a dam. Measure
the boundaries
2. Consequences of policy alternatives are known
Example, trump keep the preexisting conditions rule and older
kids till 26. You will see a few options that seem clear and that
one is best b
3. Goals and relevant values are shared, clear and ranked … if
we as a society agree. Which is almost impossible.
A weakness with this is that it doesn’t work with all issues,
example abortion, gay rights. Its hard to be rational about these
issues.
Those are the conditions you need for it work optimally
Rational comprehensive problems
1. Issues are complex
2. Resource limitations: time. Money, attention – mistake are
going to be made when you have to act fast. Example, wall
street bailouts. Had to act fast we do not know what could have
happened but they took action right away.
If trump wants to make changes like he wants to he better act
fact, because the honey moon phase will be short. Not enough
time to think things through.
Buying something takes time to make rational decisions.
3. Value conflicts
4. Alternatives have political impacts: every alternative has a
political impact.
5. Consequences in other area cannot be ignored.
Incremental formulation
Charles Lindblom: “ the science of muddling though” he
advocates for us to be honest with our selves about our limits
and about how many options we will look at
Characteristics/assumptions of incrementalim:
· Goals and process blue, goals evolve: Iraq, 55 mph. you create
a policy and people hate to change them because we do not like

8. change
· Only small changes considered
· Only most apparent/ clear/ plain impacts are considered:
usually when politicians make decisions they think what is
going to hit me in the face and that’s just the way decisions are
made
· “satisfaction” is goal, not optimality
· Improves or ameliorates problems, does not solve them
Incremental formulation
Charles Lindblom: “the science of Muddling Through” – he says
we need to recognize that there are limitations
Consider Cognitive as well as information limitations
“science”: realistic to use “successive limited comparisons”
· Can be done as active strategy rather than default behavior
Benefits of incrementalism
· Low probability of great mistakes
· Promotes stability
· Preserves power structure
Problems of incremntalism
· Discourages innovation
· May risk important changes over time
· Protects power structure
Your essay should demonstrate you understand the relevant
concepts from class and the Section Two and Section Three
Readings we connected to in class. Provide specific names,
terms, and examples when appropriate.
First Possible Question
Imagine that you direct World Warming Freakily (WWF), a
group dedicated to promoting attention to, and the control of,
climate change caused by greenhouse gases. You believe that
the solution is to create a “wholistic carbon policy”(WCP). The
WCP idea has two parts: 1) create a tax on carbon-based fuels
that would decrease their use by making them more expensive,
and 2) re-distribute the tax earnings back to lower income
people through reduced income taxes, so it would be revenue

9. neutral.
Describe in detail John Kingdon’s “garbage can” model.
Discuss how WWF could use the concepts of the “garbage can”
model to advance their cause.
Do you think the WWF can easily use “the media” to advance
its cause? Why, or why not?
Second Possible Question
You are a special consultant to Anne Tistate, director of the
Private Enterprise Restoration Project(PERP). PERP was
created by private insurers to reduce governmental health care
programs and promote private insurance.
Tistate thinks Donald Trump’s election makes this a good time
to reduce government involvement in health care. She thinks
that the country might now accept a health care system entirely
built on personal responsibility and private enterprise.
Since you are a public policy expert, she seeks your advice on
the following questions:
1) Explain the context in which formulation takes, using the
insights of Jones’s "Guidelines to Formulation."
2) Describe the types of players in formulation and,
particularly, what role think tanks play and whether she might
find some alliances among them.
3) Do you think that media bias will be a major stumbling
block or advantage for PERP? Why, or why not?
Third Possible Question
You are an advisor to Rep. Ima Policywonk(R-OR), who prides
herself on her hands-on, no-nonsense approach to policy. She
wants to develop a solution to the “terrorist problem”. She asks
you to develop a policy proposal for her by 11am, December 8,
2016 using the “rational-comprehensive” approach that she has
read about.
Using the terrorism issue (or any other issue you like) for
examples, send Ima a memo that:
1. Describes and analyzes the assumptions/conditions required
to optimally apply the rational comprehensive model and that

10. model’s strengths and weaknesses;
2. Identifies and discusses the alternate method of policy
formulation explained and supported by Charles Lindblom;
3. Explains which of these approaches to formulation you would
recommend to Representative Policywonk and why.