THE MEDIA Chapter 15

IN THIS CHAPTER WE WILL LEARN ABOUT  The sources of our news  The historical development of the ownership of the American media and its implications for the political news we get  The role of journalists  The link between the media and politics  The relationship of citizens to the media

WHERE DO WE GET OUR NEWS?  Newspapers and magazines -Readership is on the decline -Fewer newspapers than in many industrialized countries -Only 7% of people read a national paper, but 44% read local papers  Radio -Made news more up-to-the minute and personal

WHERE DO WE GET OUR NEWS?, CONT.  Television -Dramatically changed the way people received their news -Led to narrowcasting -Has increased the importance of image -51% of Americans watch local news; 39% watch cable news; 36% watch network news

WHERE DO WE GET OUR NEWS?, CONT.  The Internet -Revolutionizing the way we get our news -20% report getting their political news from the Internet; this percentage is rising -Blogs -More interactive than other media

THE EARLY AMERICAN PRESS  Extremely partisan  Lacked independence because they were dependent on parties for funding  Jacksonian revolution led to appeals to mass audiences rather than elites

GROWING MEDIA INDEPENDENCE  Larger audiences leads to more advertising which leads to content that will not offend anyone so as to increase audience  The penny press (1833): cheap papers led to more superficial content designed to appeal to mass audiences  Yellow journalism: after Civil War; appeal to mass audience led to sensational reporting

THE MEDIA TODAY: CONCENTRATED CORPORATE POWER  Consequences of corporate ownership -Commercial bias: the tendency to make coverage and programming decisions based on what will attract a large audience and maximize profits -Reduced emphasis on political news -Infotainment: the effort to make the delivery of information more attractive by dressing it up as entertainment -Conflicts of interest

ALTERNATIVES TO CORPORATE MEDIA  Public radio and television (e.g., NPR)  Alternative press (e.g., Village Voice)  Ideological magazines (e.g., Nation)  Internet

REGULATION OF BROADCAST MEDIA  The equal time rule: if a station allows a candidate for office to buy or use airtime, it must allow all candidates to do so  The fairness doctrine: requires that stations give free airtime to issues that concern public and to opposing sides when controversial issues are covered  The right of rebuttal: individuals whose reputations are damaged on air have a right to respond  The Telecommunications Act of 1996: abolished most limitations on station ownership, thus increasing possibilities for media monopoly

ROLES OF JOURNALISTS  Gatekeepers: those journalists who decide what news gets covered and how  Disseminators: those journalists who confine their role to getting the facts of the story straight and moving the story out to the public quickly  Investigators: investigate government’s claims, analyze and interpret complex problems, discuss public policies  Public mobilizers: develop cultural and intellectual interests of the public, set the political agenda, let people express their views

A LIBERAL MEDIA BIAS?  Characteristics of journalists - Ideology -Party identification -Age -Gender -Ethnic origin -Religion

THE GROWTH OF THE WASHINGTON PRESS CORPS  The revolving door: the tendency of public officials, journalists, and lobbyists to move between public and private sector (media, lobbying) jobs  The rise of the pundit: a professional observer and commentator on politics

THE SHAPING OF PUBLIC OPINION BY THE MEDIA  Agenda setting: influencing what issues are on the public agenda through the decision of what stories to cover  Priming: influencing the public’s perception of certain people, events, and issues by the emphasis given to particular characteristics of them  Framing: the process through which the media emphasize particular aspects of a news story, thereby influencing the public’s perception of the story  Persuasion by professional communicators: the tendency for viewers to agree with trusted newscasters and expert sources

THE PORTRAYAL OF POLITICS AS CONFLICT AND IMAGE  Horse-race journalism: the media’s focus on the competitive aspects of politics rather than on actual policy proposals and political decisions  Emphasis on image: the tendency of the media to focus on what people look like, what they sound like, and how an event is staged  Scandal watching: the tendency of reporters to concentrate on developing scandals to the exclusion of other, possibly more relevant, news events  Growing negativism, increased cynicism: the tendency of reporters to be cynical about politics and to focus on the negative aspects of politics

CONSEQUENCES OF THE EMPHASIS ON CONFLICT AND IMAGE  An increase in citizen disaffection with politics  An increase in cynicism about politics and the media  New forms of media replacing older ones

NEWS MANAGEMENT TECHNIQUES  Tight control of information  Tight control of access to the politician  Elaborate communications bureaucracy

NEWS MANAGEMENT TECHNIQUES, CONT’D.  Concerted effort to bypass the White House press corps  Prepackaging the news in sound bites  Leaks

THE CITIZENS AND THE MEDIA  The new media  Civic journalism