Media As Linkage Institution

1
Media As Linkage Institution

• Session 13

2
The Mass Media

• A free press is not a privilege but an organic
  necessity in a great society. Without criticism
  and reliable and intelligent reporting, the
  government cannot govern.
• Walter Lippmann, Journalist/Scholar

3
The Role of the Mass Media in Democracy A
Linkage Institution

• Linkage Institution Link people with government
  and its policies
• How? . . .
• Informational Role
• Watchdog Over Government
• Clarifying Electoral Choices
• Providing Policy Information
• From People in Government to the Public
• From the Public to People in Government

4
It provides information but HOW WELL DOES IT DO
THIS?

• Informational Role
• Watchdog Over Government
• Clarifying Electoral Choices
• Providing Policy Information
• From People in Government to the Public
• From the Public to People in Government

5
Garbled Information Why?

• Intentional Bias
• Usually ideological in nature
• The distortion of information caused by
  intentional (liberal or conservative) bias is
  limited by different types of participants
• Ex Liberal Reporters and Conservative Owners
  they balance either other out

6
Garbled Information Why?

• Structural Bias
• The distortion of information caused by
  structural bias is much more severe than that
  caused by intentional bias
• Numerous aspects of structural bias
• 1. Profit Motives
• Widest Possible Audience
• Limited Geography of Political News
• Episodic Foreign Coverage
• Beats and Routines

7

• Structural Bias (continued)
• 2. Professional Norms of Journalists
• Reliance on Official Sources
• Nationalism
• Preference for Conflict

8

• Structural Bias (continued)
• Professional Norms of Journalists
• Negativity Bias
• Emphasis on Scandal
• Hooks and Newspegs
• Pack Journalism
• Objectivity and Refraining from Interpretation
• Limited and Fragmented Information
• 3. Corporate Structure

9
Corporate Structure Consolidation and Monopolies

• Corporate Ownership

Newspapers Gannett (USA Today, New York Times,
Washington Post), Knight-Ridder, Newhouse
Television General Electric, Westinghouse,
Disney, Time Warner
Book Publishing Six Corporations make more than
50 of all book publishing revenues
Magazines Time Warner (40 of all magazine
revenue), Gannett, News Corporation
10
Mergers
Disney
AOL
Westinghouse
ABC/Capitol Cities
Viacom
Timer Warner
CBS
General Electric
MTV, Nickelodeon, Showtime, Paramount Pictures,
Simon and Schuster, Blockbuster Video, CBS TV an
Radio
CNN Turner Broadcasting
NBC
Microsoft
MSNBC
11
Structural bias unintentionally shapes news
content in ways that damages the ability of the
media to fulfill its linkage function its
informational role.

• 4. Uniformity News Services
• AP, UPI
• 5. Constraints of the Format
• Sound bites, video, column inches they are
  require a certain type of content