Roles of the News Media in Democracy  Watchdog Over Government  Providing Policy Information 6.1 © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Watchdog Over Government  Main role of a free press Can’t hold officials accountable without knowledge  First Amendment prohibits censorship Contrast with authoritarian regimes Even other democratic regimes exercise more control  Biggest threat to public information 6.1 © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Clarifying Electoral Choices and Providing Policy Information  Providing electoral information What parties stand for Candidates’ character, knowledge, experience, issue positions  Facts and ideas about policy Emerging problems How well policies are working Pros and cons of policies 6.1 © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Darned reporters 6.1 © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Alternatives to the Mainstream  The Internet Instant access to information Political uses Political party and government websites Fact-checking Reading political blogs & expressing political views Visiting political and traditional news websites  Decline in newspapers 6.2 © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

FIGURE 6.1: Timeline: The Internet 6.2 © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

FIGURE 6.2: Where people get their news 6.2 © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Continuing Importance of the Mainstream  Still play central role Wire services Syndication services Setting political agenda  Why mainstream news is still important Audience is broader Stories originate with traditional reporting Quality and quantity have not increased 6.2 © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

WikiLeaks founder in trouble 6.2 © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

How the Mainstream News Media Work  Organization of the News Media  Political Newsmaking  Is the News Biased?  Prevailing Themes in Political News 6.3 © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Organization of the News Media  Corporate ownership Dominated by a few conglomerates Is media monopoly a problem? 6.3 © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Political Newsmaking  Limited geography of political news DC and NYC  Dependence on official sources Beats and news-gathering routines Press conferences and press releases Leaks  Government news management Spin 6.3 © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Political Newsmaking  Newsworthiness What makes a story newsworthy?  Templates  Episodic foreign coverage  Interpreting Objective journalism Interpretation by pundits, not journalists 6.3 © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Is the News Biased?  Liberal reporters More liberal than population Personal values do not affect reporting Commitment to objectivity  Not-so-liberal owners and corporations Owners conservative and Republican Cannot offend advertisers  Biases that matter Profit motive biggest bias Official sources 6.3 © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Stunned by Katrina 6.3 © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Prevailing Themes in Political News  Nationalism Pro-American point of view American interests and concerns Harmonizes with official foreign policy  Approval of the American economic system  Negativity and scandal Sex & financial scandal coverage nonpartisan 6.3 © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Prevailing Themes in Political News  Infotainment Biggest sin is to be boring Sensation over substance  Limited, fragmented, and incoherent political information Prevailing technology Organization of news gathering Corporate ownership Profit-making 6.3 © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Effects of the News Media on Politics  Agenda Setting  Framing and Effects on Policy Preferences  Fueling Cynicism 6.4 © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Agenda Setting  News coverage affects what issues Americans think are important Policy preferences affected  The CNN effect Politicians compelled to act Works both ways Media report issues of concern to those in power 6.4 © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Framing and Effects on Policy Preferences  Issue framing Affects how public thinks about problems Affects how public assigns blame 6.4 © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

The televised war 6.4 © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Fueling Cynicism  Adversarial journalism Failures, not triumphs, are newsworthy  How does new coverage shape Americans’ views of government? 6.4 © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.