Mass Media and Politics

1
Mass Media and Politics

• More on the media as a Political Institution
• Political Science 317
• Mark Stephan

2
Last Class and Todays Class

• The medias political side
• Bias different types..
• Media Power, Governmental Power
• Finish last class
• Coverage of 9/11 anniversary
• Talk about the news medias role in policymaking

3
Political?

• Authoritative allocation of values
• Are people sure they get this idea?

4
Production Values

• Telling stories
• Good stories need what?
• Other production values
• Example Israeli-Palestinian conflict

5
Newsworthiness

• Who decides?
• Whats decided?
• Maintaining definitional control
• Contextualization, Decontextualization,
  Recontextualization
• Non-official sources any power?

6
What kind of political institution?

• Three branches?
• Parties and Interest groups
• Similar in what ways?
• Dissimilar in what ways?
• Structural biases
• Helping/Hurting public officials
• Counterweight to government power?
• Overall theme

7
News Flash!!

• Coverage of the 9/11 anniversary
• Connections to class material?

8
Government by Publicity

• What does Cook mean?
• Every political institution uses publicity?
  Every single one? I wonder
• Communication connection between whom?

9
Newsmaking Policymaking

• Words as actions
• Setting agendas
• Persuasion

10
Preview of Next Class

• Group projects time in class
• Keep up with the reading.