The Media

1
The Media

• Julie Alfaro
• Lecture Series

2
The Medias Functions

• Entertainment.
• Many current political issues are reflected in
  entertainment shows.
• While the purpose is to entertain the public,
  these programs can stimulate public discussion of
  important issues.
• For example, the television show The West Wing
  often focuses on public policy debates.
• Reporting the News.
• In a democracy the public must be informed about
  issues that will affect them.
• The media must serve as the eyes and the ears of
  the public if it is to be informed about
  important issues related to the governing
  process.

3
The Medias Functions

• Identifying Public Problems in Two Ways
• Setting the Agenda
• The media identifies public problems and serves
  as a forum for various policy alternatives.
• The primacy of certain issues follows from the
  importance that the media places on these issues.
  
• The Investigative Function
• The media also uses investigation to uncover
  wrongdoing by government officials or candidates.

4
The Medias Functions

• Socializing New Generations.
• This occurs by the transmission of historical
  information that is important for the
  continuation of the political culture.
• This function is particularly important in the
  socialization of immigrants and of children who
  learn to be American through the transmission
  of values from television.
• Providing a Political Forum.
• Officeholders attempt to gain support for
  policies.
• Politicians use the media to generate interest in
  their campaigns, and voters also express their
  opinions through the media.
• An important example of this is the letters to
  the editor section of newspapers.

5
The Medias Functions

• Making Profits.
• Most of the news media are private for-profit
  enterprises.
• Making a profit is a major (if not the major)
  goal of the business.
• Most revenue comes from selling advertising.
• The price charged for advertising is based on the
  circulation (print media) or the size of the
  audience (electronic media).
• The dependence on advertising revenue can give
  advertisers undue influence.
• An alternative form is public broadcasting, but
  this medium is also dependent on subsidies from
  corporations and governments.

6
A History of the Media in the United States

• The role of the media has increased drastically
  from what it was during our nations founding.
• Part of the early medias weakness was its
  inability to rapidly move information around the
  vast area of the country.
• Of course, the media was crucial at certain
  points in our early history.
• Publications such as The Federalist Papers and
  Common Sense were very important to the
  development of the nation.

7
A History of the Media in the United States

• The Rise of the Political Press.
• The rise of the political press began with the
  founding of the nation.
• President Washington set an example by managing
  the information that the government issued to the
  press.
• Most papers at this time were affiliated with
  partisan factions. Some periodicals were even
  subsidized by the government.

8
A History of the Media in the United States

• The Development of Mass-Readership Newspapers.
• Technological changes had a major impact on the
  development of mass readership of the printed
  media.
• The development of the high-speed rotary press
  allowed newspapers to publish in volume at lower
  costs.
• With the increase in circulation came a growth in
  advertising.
• The telegraph added impact by promoting the rapid
  flow of information between widely separated
  locations.

9
A History of the Media in the United States

• The Popular Press and Yellow Journalism.
• The rapid rise in readership led to fierce
  competition in the popular press.
• To attract more readers, the press sought stories
  that were exciting. Sensational articles
  attracted a large audience.
• This sensationalism became known as yellow
  journalism.
• In addition, newspaper owners in this period
  frequently used their power to bias the reportage
  toward their own beliefs.

10
A History of the Media in the United States

• The Age of the Electromagnetic Signal.
• The electromagnetic signal greatly transformed
  the media in the twentieth century.
• Information could now be transmitted from almost
  anywhere on the globe if individuals had the
  right equipment.
• This allowed the print media to obtain
  information about global events and report this
  to their readers within hours.

11
A History of the Media in the United States

• The Revolution in the Electronic Media.
• The revolution of the electronic media has not
  ended.
• Cable television increased the choices viewers
  have.
• Channels are devoted to nonstop news (Cable News
  NetworkCNN) and to the operation of the
  government (C-Span).
• These types of options allow the public access to
  detailed information about world events and the
  operation of the government.
• Conversely, the public may choose to tune out
  events that used to be carried by all stations,
  like the national conventions, the State of the
  Union address, and presidential press
  conferences.
• Broadcasting is increasingly tailored to
  specialized audiences, a development called
  narrowcasting.

12
A History of the Media in the United States

• Talk-Show Politics and Internet Broadcasting.
• Radio and television talk shows also have
  proven to be a rapidly grow format for political
  information.
• Dominated by conservatives, talk show listeners
  are self-selected and typically share the hosts
  viewpoint or ideology.
• Another growing electronic means of communication
  is the Internet, which allows individuals to
  communicate ideas and opinions instantaneously.
• Many traditional media outlets have begun using
  the Internet as a way of reaching viewers/users.

13
The Primacy of Television

• Currently the most influential type of media is
  television.
• The Increase in News-Type Programming.
• In 1963, the major networks devoted only eleven
  minutes a day to national news (a 15-minute show
  minus ad time).
• Today that is up to about three hours.
• Many all-news channels are also available.

14
The Primacy of Television

• Televisions Influence on the Political Process.
• Viewers can actually see news and history as it
  is happening.
• The collapse of the Twin Towers of the World
  Trade Center transpired live to viewers in the
  United States and throughout the rest of the
  world.
• It is very difficult for the print media or the
  radio media to compete effectively with this type
  of television.
• Most people indicate that their primary source
  for news is television.
• By its nature, TV news concentrated on stories
  that are highly visual.
• A subject like Congress is not very photogenic.
• Also, TV news may seek to impose a story line on
  events even when that is not appropriate.

15
The Media and Political Campaigns

• The media have a major impact on political
  campaigns.
• Voters now receive most information from the
  electronic media, especially television.
• There are three types of television coverage
  employed by a campaign
• paid-for political announcements,
• management of news coverage,
• and campaign debates.

16
Advertising

• Paid-for political announcements (advertising)
  are the most obvious of the methods to reach
  potential voters.
• Increasingly these brief messages are negative
  attacks on the opposition.
• While many voters have complained about negative
  campaigns, research indicates that such messages
  are effective.
• Even when advertisements are not attacks on the
  opposition, time constraints dictate that
  messages will be superficial and will not delve
  deeply into substantive policy positions.

17
Management of News Coverage.

• Unlike ads, news coverage is free.
• Instead of letting the media determine what is
  important in the campaign,
• the campaign staff attempts to manipulate the
  media into presenting news related to the
  candidate
• and the campaign in a fashion that is favorable
  to the candidate.
• This can be accomplished by
• Planning political events to accommodate the
  press
• Developing a good working relationship with
  reporters.
• Convincing the media to put the right spin or
  interpretation on a story.

18
Presidential Debates

• Debates between the candidates offer voters the
  opportunity to see and hear the candidates in a
  controlled setting.
• In the past, not all presidential candidates were
  willing to debate.
• If an incumbent was significantly ahead of the
  challenger, the incumbent had nothing to gain by
  debating.
• Today, presidential debates have become such a
  fixture it would be hard for an incumbent to duck
  them.
• Typically, the way the candidates behave and hold
  themselves matters much more than the policy
  details that are debated.
• Debates do not always affect the outcome of an
  election, but sometimes they are crucial.
• In the first-ever such debates, John Kennedy
  appeared poised on TV, while Richard Nixon
  appeared sweaty and bothered.

19
The Presidential Debates

• Al Gore may have damaged himself in the debates
  of 2000 by appearing arrogant.
• In 2004, George W. Bush had developed a
  commanding lead over John Kerry in the days
  before the debates.
• Bush did poorly in the debates
• In the first debate especially, his body language
  seemed to indicate that he was shaken by Kerrys
  criticisms.
• Kerry, on the other hand, was calm and collected.
  
• After the debates were over, Bushs lead was gone
  and the election was again too close to call.

20
The Media and Political Campaigns

• Political Campaigns and the Internet.
• In recent campaigns, the Internet has played an
  increasing prominent role, as candidates use Web
  sites to convey their messages as well as solicit
  contributions.
• The Internet also has been a useful tool for
  voters, with one study reporting that one-fifth
  of voters had used the Internet to obtain
  information about elections.
• The Medias Impact on the Voters.
• A limitation on the medias impact is that many
  viewers pay selective attention and mostly notice
  coverage that confirms their own beliefs.
• Also, the medias focus on the horse-race
  aspects of the contest gives short shift to the
  issues.

21
The Media and the Government

• The Media and the Presidency.
• The relationship between the media and the
  presidency is symbiotic.
• The media needs news and the president needs to
  report his ideas to the public to gain public
  support.
• The White House Press Corps maintains a full-time
  presence at the White House, and is frequently
  briefed by the presidents press secretary.
• Before radio, the only way for a governmental
  official to reach the public was in person or
  through the print media.
• Franklin Roosevelt became the first president to
  make good use of radio to sell his programs to
  the public.
• Every president since FDR has used the
  electronic media to gain public support for
  specific proposals.

22
The Media and the Government

• Setting the Public Agenda.
• The media helps to determine the public agenda by
  focusing attention on certain issues.
• In this capacity, the media communicates the
  governments point of view to the public and the
  publics views to the government.

23
Controlling Ownership of the Media.

• The Telecommunications Act of 1996
• enabled telephone companies to enter cable
  businesses and other communications markets,
  resulting in the growth of media.
• Corporate conglomerates now own all of the major
  networks.
• Reevaluating the Rules.
• In 2002, the FCC sought to relax the rules
  restricting concentrated ownership of the media.
• In particular, the FCC would have let one company
  own both the newspaper and a TV station in a
  given market.
• Opposition to the new rules was great and
  Congress swiftly forced the FCC to cancel them.

24
Government Control of Content

• The Supreme Court did not extend First Amendment
  protection to the cinema until 1952.
• The Internet received such protection almost
  immediately.
• Cable TV received broad protection in 2000.
• Control of Broadcasting.
• The Court has never extended full protection to
  broadcast radio and TV.
• The FCC can ban indecency or profanity.
• In 2004, the FCC levied much higher fines for
  such offenses than in past years.

25
Government Control of Content

• Government Control of the Media During the Second
  Gulf War.
• The Bush administration was able to win a degree
  of favorable coverage by letting journalists
  travel with the troops as embedded reporters.
• The Publics Right to Media Access
• As a result of agreements with local governments,
  most cable systems provide public access channels
  that are available for free use by ordinary
  citizens.
• The courts have ruled that these broadcasts have
  full First Amendment protection.

26
Bias in the Media

• Do the Media Have a Partisan Bias?
• People on both sides of the political spectrum
  claim that the media has an ideological or
  partisan bias.
• Some claim that the media is dominated by
  left-leaning reporters
• and editors who favor liberal elected officials,
  candidates and policies.
• Others find the press to have an economically
  conservative bias.

27
Bias in the Media

• A Commercial Bias?
• Others assert that professional biases are an
  important component of the news.
• They claim that reporters are most interested in
  news that will further their careers,
• while editors are producers are most interested
  in stories that increase circulation or ratings.
• Other Theories of Media Bias.
• Others claim that the media is biased toward the
  status quo and that the media supports corporate
  America.
• Still others claim that the media is biased
  against losers, and that once a candidate falls
  behind in a campaign, that stigma sticks with him
  or her, thus further hurting the candidates
  chances.