Mass Media

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Mass Media

• and the political agenda

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The Mass Media Today

• Modern political success depends upon control of
  the mass media
• Image making does not stop with the campaign
• It is a critical element in day-to-day governing
  since politicians images in the press are good
  indicators of their power

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Meet the master of mass media

1. plan ahead
2. stay on the offensive
3. control the flow of information
4. limit reporters access to the president
5. talk about the issues you want to talk about
6. speak in one voice
7. repeat the same message many times

7 principals of Reagan
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Development of Media Politics
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Development of Media Politics

• First it was newspapers
• FDR used media effectively (1000 press
  conferences - fireside chats)
• Vietnam and Watergate soured the press on the
  govt
• now the perspective is investigative journalism
  (pitting reporters against political leaders)

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Television As Mass Media
Broadcast journalism has replaced print media as
Americas principal sources of news and
information 1960s debates b/w Nixon and
Kennedy Nation was taken to war with
Vietnam exposed the government naïveté/lying
about the progress of war today - embedded
reporters Birth of cable TV IRAN CONTRA
Internet - instant news
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Mass Media - Regulation

• Ownership large corporations some foreign
  investors (Fox Rupert Murdock -Australian)
• Regulation FCC licensing controls- created 1934
  by Congress
• FCC is independent regulatory body - but in
  practice it is subject to many political
  pressures

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Mass Media - Regulation

• FCC
• Regulates market in 3 important ways
• prevent near-monopolies of control over a
  broadcast market- rules limit number of stations
  owned/controlled by one company
• FCC conducts periodic examinations of the goals
  and performance of stations as part of its
  licensing authority
• FCC has issued a number of fair treatment rules
  concerning access to the airwaves for political
  candidates and office holders

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Fairness Doctrine
FCC requires those who hold broadcast licenses to
present controversial issues of public concern in
a fair, equitable manner dont confuse this w/
Equal Time Rule which only deals w/ political
candidates SC upheld FCC right to enforce
fairness doctrine but not the obligation to do so
(Red Lion Broadcasting v FCC 1969) 1987 FCC
abolished the fairness doctrine
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Mass Media - Regulation

• INTERNET has added a whole new element....
• narrowcasting - increase of broadcast channels
  that are oriented toward particularly narrow
  audiences
• Traditional broadcast news is being partially
  replaced by political Web sites, bloggers, The
  Daily Show
• Current pending legislation adds more limits (not
  more than 25 of local market)

Telecommunications Act of 1996
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Current Issues
A bipartisan Congressional group had asked the
Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to
investigate Google's alleged policy of blocking
high-cost calls to rural areas. According to
Reuters, the legislators described Google's
position as "ill conceived and unfair to our
rural constituents."
With the release of the Federal Communications
Commission's new Internet nondiscrimination
proposals (that is, network neutrality), one
vexing question continues to vex. Does the FCC
have the legal authority to regulate access to
the 'Net? Comcast, which is suing the FCC for its
sanctions against the ISP for last year's P2P
throttling, told a federal court hearing the case
that the answer is no.  .AND NOW SOPA/PIPA
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The Net at Risk
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REporting the news
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REporting the news

• American media is free and independent when it
  comes to journalistic content - still totally
  dependent on advertising revenues to keep the
  business going.
• News reporting is a business in America in which
  profits shape how journalist define what is
  newsworthy, where they get their information, and
  how they present it.
• TV networks, it could be said, define news as
  what is entertaining to the average viewer

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Mass Media - SignificAnce of Ownership

• National level impact on elections and everyday
  politics daily news, campaign ads, in-depth
  news shows, campaign sites
• Star quality of some news journalists( Brian
  Williams, Katie Couric, Wolf Blitzer) experts
• Stories presented driven by hidden agendas (ie
  corporate ownership)
• Most stories accepted by the public as FACT
• Emerging role of the internet as a legitimate
  news source (CNN, CMBC, MSNBC) and as a more
  questionable source (Drudge Report)

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Consider the Following
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Various Roles of Mass Media
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Mass Media - Role as Gatekeeper

• Controls what is news and for how long
• Auto safety, water pollution, crime rates, etc.
• Can help to set or swing the political agenda
• Can be biased
• By ownership of the media
• By ability to sell a story (or advertising)
• Journalists personal bias

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Mass Media - Agenda Setter

• People try to influence the govts policy agenda
  when they confront govt officials with problems
  they expect them to solve.
• Interest groups, political parties, politicians,
  public relations firms, and bureaucratic agencies
  are all pushing for their priorities to take
  precedence over others.
• Political activists (often called policy
  entrepreneurs - people who invest their
  political capital in an issue) depend heavily
  on the media to get their ideas placed high on
  the governmental agenda

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Mass Media - Effect on Politics

• Campaigning
• Largest factor in driving up the cost of
  campaigns
• Equal time rule doesnt affect all (3rd parties
  ie Perot)
• Necessity of exposure key to nomination
• Can show a bias

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Mass Media - Bias in Media

• Not all bias is deliberate but can be detected by
  watching the following techniques
• Selection ommission choice of news items
  content details used/not words used
• Placement first page stories/above fold lead
  off stories reflect significance
• Headlines most read part of the paper wording
  size can reflect bias
• Photos camera angle visual portrayal can show
  bias as can captions

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Mass Media - Bias in Media
Names titles choice of words such as
terrorist or freedom fighter clearly indicate
bias Statistics opinion can be reflected in
method of counting a hundred injured in crash
vs. minor injuries in crash Source supplier
of the information and their credibility PR
directors puffpiece staged-events (sit-ins,
ribbon cutting, demonstration) Word choice
tone use of positive or negative words value
judgments Media ownership trying not to offend
sponsors, ownership, etc
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Mass Media - Effect on Politics

• Conducting Politics
• Events like conventions, Presidential addresses
  are staged to accommodate media, esp. electronic
• Issues are established by media attention
• Affects the popularity of President and Congress
• Media can be manipulated
• By government press conferences and leaks
• Investigative report shows (Dateline, 20/20) that
  attempt to influence agenda and cause distrust
  (Dan Rathers debacle in Campaign 2004- Bush
  Natl Guard story)

What does Wag The Dog mean?
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Mass Media - Role as Scorekeeper

• Decides who is winning and losing
• Disproportionate attention given to 1st primaries
  (can shape the campaign or kill and candidate)
• Can be found in regular news as well as the
  election news (i.e., presenting an issue as if it
  has lost such as a piece of legislation before
  the vote)

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Mass Media - Role as Watchdog

• Exposing scandals and intrigues
• Began with Woodward and Bernstein breaking
  Watergate in The Washington Post
• Especially seen in election analysis of
  candidates
• Can drive policy by creating an issue
• Time magazine cover on Bob Doles Age 1996
• Monica Lewinsky/Bill Clinton publicity
• Swiftboat Controversy in 2004

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Mass Media
The media act as a linkage institution between
people and the policymakers It has a profound
impact on the political policy agenda
Robert Gibbs Pres. Obamas press secretary
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Mass Media
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Mass Media
Watchdog function of media helps to keep govt
small many people feel the media is biased
against whoever holds office and that reporters
want to expose them in the media With every new
proposal being met with skepticism, regular
constraints are placed on govt growth
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Mass Media
Of course, when the media focuses on injustice in
society, the media inevitably encourage the
growth of govt. The media portray govt as
responsible for handling almost every major
problem
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Mass Media
TV has furthered individualism in the American
political process candidates can appeal directly
to the people through TV has it made political
parties decline in the face of candidates
personalities?
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Mass Media
The rise of the information society has not
brought about a corresponding rise of an
informed society With medias superficial
treatment of important policy issues, it is clear
the increase in the amount and availability of
information has not increased voters political
participation/awareness