The Mass Media and the Political Agenda

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The Mass Media and thePolitical Agenda

• Chapter 7

Edwards, Wattenberg, and Lineberry Government in
America People, Politics, and Policy Fourteenth
Edition
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Introduction

• Mass Media
• Television, radio, newspapers, magazines, the
  Internet and other means of popular communication
• High-Tech Politics
• Politics in which the behavior of citizens and
  policymakers and the political agenda itself are
  increasingly shaped by technology

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The Mass Media Today

• Effective communication through media is key to
  political success.
• Media Events
• Events purposely staged for the media that
  nonetheless look spontaneous.
• Image Making
• News Management

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The Impact of the Internet

• Wider range of information
• More biased? Less accurate?
• Potential to inform?
• Since Americans are generally disinterested in
  politics, they will not necessarily use the
  Internet for political information. (2 News)
• Blogs
• additional information / opinion

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• Private Control of the Media
• Only a small number of TV stations are publicly
  owned in America.
• Media are totally dependent on advertising
  revenues.
• Chains
• Account for over four-fifths of the nations
  daily newspaper circulation
• Also control broadcast media

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Reporting the News

• Beats
• specific locations from which news frequently
  emanates.
• Trial Balloons
• an intentional news leak for the purpose of
  assessing the political reaction
• Reporters and their sources
• depend on each other.

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• Presenting the News
• Superficial describes most news coverage today.
• Sound Bites short video clips of approximately
  10 seconds
• Major TV networks devote less time to covering
  political candidates

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• Bias in the News
• Many people believe the news is biased in favor
  of one point of view.
• Generally is not very biased toward a particular
  ideology
• News reporting is biased towards what will draw
  the largest audiencegood pictures and negative
  reporting

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Partisan Bias
Back
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The News and Public Opinion

• Television news
• Agenda-setting effect
• Provides criteria
• Which the public evaluates political leaders.
• Provides coverage
• Some stories or events can be made more
  important or less important.

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The Medias Agenda-Setting Function

• Policy Agenda
• The issues that attract the serious attention of
  public officials and other people actively
  involved in politics at the time
• Policy Entrepreneurs
• People who get an issue placed high on
  governmental agenda
• Use media to raise awareness of issue

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The Media and the Scope of Government

• Media as watchdog restricts politicians
• Government met with skepticism which restricts
  scope of government
• If media identifies a problem, it forces
  government to address it, which expands the scope
  of government

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Start Thursday
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• Individualism and the Media
• Candidates appeal to people on television
• Easier to focus on one person like the president,
  than groups, e.g., Congress or the courts
• Democracy and the Media
• Information is the fuel of democracy.
• But news provides more entertainment than
  information superficial.
• News is a business, giving people what they want.

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Summary

• Media shape public opinion on political issues
  and influence policy agenda.
• Broadcast media have replaced print media over
  time.
• Narrowcasting and the Internet are further
  shifting media.
• Seeking profits, media are biased in favor of
  stories with high drama.

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Additional Info - THE MASS MEDIA
Remy Summary-A

• The Fourth Branch of Government - The Mass
  Media?
• Newspapers
• 98 1 paper cities - 78 of circulation by
  chains
• National weekly magazines (Time,USN, Newsweek)
• Can set national agenda
• Wire services (AP, UPI) employ reporters
  worldwide
• Used by more newspapers today (cut costs)
• Electronic Media (Radio, TV, Cable, Internet)
• The Federal Communications Commission (FCC)
• Regulates broadcast ownership content
• Almost all media are privately owned
• Ownership has become less diversified

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CH 19- THE MASS MEDIA
Remy Summary-B

• What makes news ?
• Information that is useful (gov/econ/bus)
• Information that is popular (entertainment)
• The President -80 of nat. gov. media coverage
• TV has great impact presidential campaigns
• Focus on key leaders in Congress
• The First Amendment (Freedom of the Press)
• No prior restraint
• National security exceptions
• National security v citizens right to
  know
• Pentagon Papers (1971)
• No laws against criticizing government officials
• Shield laws in some states (36 states, Ohio
  Yes)

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NON-Edwardian Info

• ERAS OF THE AMERICAN PRESS
• PARTY PRESS
• PARTIES STARTED SUPPORTED NEWSPAPERS
• POPULAR PRESS
• MASS CIRCULATION
• YELLOW JOURNALISM, MUCKRAKERS
• MAGAZINES OF OPINION
• MIDDLE CLASS PROGRESSIVE MOVEMENT
• ELECTRONIC JOURNALISM
• RAPID NEWS REPORTING
• CHANGED THE WAY WE VIEWED POLITICIANS

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POPULARPRESSYELLOWJOURNALISMTABLOID
NEWSSENSATIONALISM
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Number of Newspapers
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Circulation monthly decline
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WHO READ THE NEWSPAPER YESTERDAY ?
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WHICH NEWSPAPERS ARE READ EACH DAY
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WHO READ THE NEWSPAPER YESTERDAY?
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Where Americans Get News
?
Back
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News Generation Gap
Back
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Sources of Campaign News
Back
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• A FREE PRESS IS RARE IN THE WORLD
• (17 OF THE NATIONS)
• GOVERNMENT RESTRAINTS ON THE AMERICAN MEDIA
• LIBEL, OBSCENITY, INCITEMENT
• (BUT NO PRIOR RESTRAINT ?)

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THE MEDIA HISTORY STRUCTURE OF THE AMERICAN
NEWS MEDIA

• GOVT CONTROL OVER RADIO AND TV BY THE F.C.C.
• LICENSING
• DECENCY STANDARDS
• GOVT INFLUENCE ON THE NEWS
• LEAKS
• (TRIAL BALLOONS, PERSONAL ATTACKS)
• BACKGROUND STORIES
• (INSIDER INFORMATION)
• PUNITIVE MEASURES

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THE MEDIA SELECTION OF NEWS (BIAS)

• THE NATIONAL PRESS IS STAFF BY PEOPLE WHO ARE
  MORE LIBERAL THAN THE PUBLIC IN GENERAL.
• (AND MORE KNOWLEDGEABLE)

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• MASS MEDIA MAY NOT REFLECT REALITY
• OPPORTUNITIES FOR SLANTING THE NEWS
• 1-SELECTION OF NEWS TO COVER
• 70 IS PREPLANNED (THOM. DYE)
• 2-WRITING AND EDITING PROCESS
• 3-INTERPRETATION OF THE NEWS
• 4-EMPHASIS OF THE NEWS

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Media Bias

• Questions about effects of media bias.
• Media bias unavoidable--journalists are human.
• Media generally thought to be liberal.
• Recent growth of conservative news sources.
• Looking at good stories over issues.
• Can be charmed by interesting personalities.

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Confidence in the Media

• General confidence is on a downturn.
• Republicans are more critical than Democrats.
• Democrats and Republicans use different sources.
• Ideological fragmentation may be cause for
  concern.
• People tend to choose news that supports their
  opinion.

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• THE INFLUENCE OF THE MEDIA
• IS QUESTIONABLE
• SHALLOW INFORMATION
• SOUND BITES
• SELECTIVE VIEWING
• WATCH WHAT WE AGREE WITH

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• THE MEDIA DOES INFLUENCE THE POLICY AGENDA
• ROLES OF THE PRESS
• GATEKEEPER
• DECIDING WHAT IS NEWS
• SCOREKEEPER
• DECIDING WHO IS WINNING
• WATCHDOG
• EXPOSING SCANDLES

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LOADED WORDSREPETITION
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Presidential Press Conferences
Back
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THE MEDIAIMPORTANT TERMS

• ASSOCIATED PRESS
• ATTACK JOURNALISM
• CANNED NEWS
• COMMUNITY NEEDS
• EQUAL-TIME RULE
• FAIRNESS DOCTRINE
• FEATURE STORIES
• FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION (FCC)
• INSIDER STORIES
• LOADED LANGUAGE
• MARKET (TELEVISION)
• MUCKRAKER

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THE MEDIA IMPORTANT TERMS

• LOADED LANGUAGE
• MARKET (TELEVISION)
• MUCKRAKER
• OFF THE RECORD
• ON BACKGROUND
• RECKLESS DISREGARD
• RIGHT-OF-REPLY RULE
• SELECTIVE ATTENTION
• SOUND BITE
• TRAIL BALLOON
• YELLOW JOURNALISM

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THE MEDIAQUESTIONS

• 1-DOES THE DESIRE OF AMERICAN NEWSPAPERS TO BE
  OBJECTIVE MAKE AMERICANS LESS INFORMED? SHOULD
  THE UNITED STATES HAVE THE PARTY PRESS LIKE MANY
  EUROPEAN NATIONS?
• 2-DOES A POPULAR PRESS PANDER TO THE LOWEST
  COMMON DENOMINATOR OF INTEREST AND TASTE?
• 3-EXPLAIN HOW LOCALISM DECENTRALIZED QUALITIES
  OF THE AMERICAN NEWS MEDIA CONTRIBUTE TO THE
  PROMOTION OF DEMOCRACY?
• 4-IF MOST REPORTERS HOLD LIBERAL VIEWS WHY HASNT
  AMERICAN SOCIETY BECOME MORE LIBERAL OVER THE
  YEARS?

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AP - THE MEDIAQUESTIONS

• 5-DEFINE THE WATCHDOG ROLE OF THE PRESS. IS IT
  GOOD OR BAD FOR DEMOCRACY?
• 6-WHAT SORT OF ISSUES WOULD YOU EXPECT THE MEDIA
  TO HAVE THE MOST IMPACT?
• 7- WHAT LIMITS SHOULD THERE BE ON FREEDOM OF THE
  PRESS?