The Mass Media and the Political Agenda Chapt. 7

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The Mass Media and the Political Agenda Chapt. 7

• Key Questions!
• 1. How has television brought an immediacy to
  how we govern?
• 2. How does TV and other media remove the filter
  of time from events?
• 3. Is the media changing the deliberate
  governing process designed by our founders?

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Introduction

• Mass Media
• Television, radio, newspapers, magazines, the
  Internet and other means of popular
  communication.
• High-tech politics
• A 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

• Media Events
• Events purposely staged for the media that
  nonetheless look spontaneous. Media events can be
  staged by almost anybody.
• Other items to consider
• 60 presidential campaign spending is TV ads and
  most are negative.
• Image making / news management is important,
  especially for presidents

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The Development of Media Politics

• Introduction
• The news media wasnt always so important.
• Press Conferences meetings of public officials
  with reporters Roosevelt (1,000) and JFK used
  many of these.
• Investigative Journalism the use of in-depth
  reporting to unearth scandals, scams schemes
  putting reporters politicians opposite each
  other. Watergate!

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Press and the President

• Prior to Watergate and Vietnam, reporters and
  President had a more cooperative relationship.
• Press rarely published photographs of FDR in a
  wheelchair.
• Press did not report on
• JFKs female friends.
• Changed with Nixon!

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• The Print Media
• Newspapers and magazines
• Yellow journalism characterized newspapers at
  the turn of the century.
• Among the press there is a pecking order. (N.Y.
  Times)
• Newspaper circulation has been declining.
• Magazines are also struggling. (Time, Newsweek)
• Significant impact of the sound bite.

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How do you explain the decline of newspapers in
the U.S.?
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Broadcast Media

• Television and radio are the main sources of
  political information. Regulated by FCC
• Brought government and politics into peoples
  homes, especially Vietnam in 1960s.
• Made the politicians more aware of their
  appearance and mannerisms. (Nixon/JFK)
• Television is the principal source of news for
  most Americans, and most credible/believable.

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The Development of Media Politics

• Govt Regulation of the Broadcast Media
• The Federal Communications Commission (FCC)
  regulates the use of airwaves (1934).
• No monopolies, operate in public interest, treat
  candidates fairly.
• Narrowcasting Cable TV and the Internet
• Media programming on cable TV or the Internet
  that is focused on one topic and aimed at a
  particular audience.
• 2/3 of U.S. has cable TV.

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The Development of Media Politics

• Private Control of the Media
• Only a small number of TV stations are publicly
  owned in AmericaSuperbowl!
• The media are totally dependent on advertising
  revenues.
• Chains consist of massive media conglomerates
  that control almost three-quarters of the
  nations daily newspaper circulation as well as
  broadcast media.
• Lower quality of cable news coverage.

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Reporting the News

• Finding the News
• Beats Specific locations from which news
  frequently emanates, such as Congress or the
  White House. Criticism reduces access!
• Trial Balloons An intentional news leak for the
  purpose of assessing the political reaction.
• Reporters and their sources depend on each other
  - one for stories, the other to get them out.
  Courts protect sources 1st Amend.

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• Presenting the News
• Superficial describes most news coverage today
• Sound Bites Short video clips of approximately
  15 seconds.
• Dan Rather You simply cannot be a well
  informed citizen by just watching the news on
  television.
• As technology has enabled the media to pass along
  information with greater speed, news coverage has
  become less thorough and more superficial.

• News is what is timely and different.
• News is a man biting a dog, not a dog biting a
  man. Does the media invent news?
• Routine events are not newsworthy.

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Reporting the News

• Bias in the News
• Many people believe the news favors one point of
  view over another.
• Generally are not very biased along liberal /
  conservative lines. TV based in New York!
• Generally are biased towards what will draw the
  largest audience.
• FOX is conservative? AJC is liberal?
• Can humans be objective?

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The News and Public Opinion

• Television news can affect what people think is
  important.
• The media influence the criteria by which the
  public evaluates political leaders.
• Some policies can be made more important, others
  will be less important, depending on their
  coverage.
• A mistake on TV can ruin a leader. (Gore)

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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 invest their political capital in an
  issue.
• All depend on good images and good will.
• Media is ubiquitous and define the news.

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• The Media and the Scope of Government
• The media as watchdog restricts politicians.
• New proposals are met with skepticism - so that
  restricts what the government can do.
• But, if the media identify a problem, they ask
  what the government is going to do to fix it.
• Media can enhance an individual candidate or
  create an issue. They still can sensationalize
  an issue or a problem. (potholes)
• Media acts as the fourth branch of government and
  can reduce the influence of political parties or
  other factions.

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Mass Media Questions

1. Identify three events (not mentioned in text) in
   the last fifty years where the media has
   compelled the government to respond.
2. Explain how political figures manage the press
   and media coverage.
3. How did FDR manage the media during his 12 years
   in White House?
4. Explain the idea that todays newspeople work in
   an environment of cynicism? (215)
5. Discuss the significance of the fact that
   campaign reporting has changed from what to
   why? (216)
6. Explain how Nixons Checkers speech and Walter
   Cronkites report from Vietnam impacted public
   opinion? (218)
7. Do sound bites oversimplify the news? Support
   your opinion. (229)
8. Why do the courts protect the identify of news
   sources? (226)
9. Explain the impact of the statement there is
   no greater sin than to bore the audience. (232)
10. Discuss how the media acts as a linkage
    institution between the people and the policy
    makers and impact the policy agenda. (235)

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Do the people really do rule through the media?

• The incredible amount of information available to
  Americans today has not visibly increased their
  political awareness of participation.

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Understanding the Mass Media

• Individualism and the Media
• Candidates can now run on their own.
• Easier to focus on one person like the President,
  than Congress or the courts.
• Supreme Court justices are not accessible.
• Democracy and the Media
• Information is the fuel of democracy.
• But, is the news more entertainment than
  information? Is this what the people want?