Lecture 9-2 Media

The Media As Talent Scouts The media have largely replaced parties in providing info to the public Media tend to view campaigns as “horse races,” News coverage can become valuable free advertising Name recognition

Believability The public in inclined to believe that they read and hear and watch in the media Some television journalists are more “believable” than many other public figures and officials

Access Media and Politicians need each other Journalists rely on candidates and officials for access to news and news sources

A right to know? While the press enjoys wide freedom to print news, there is generally no constitutional obligation on the part of public officials to provide information. Sunshine laws/Freedom of Information

Bias Media bias personal and structural Biggest bias in media is toward profit Journalists tend to be liberal and vote Democratic News organization owners tend to be conservative and vote Republican

Various studies have found BOTH liberal and conservative bias there is also a widespread suspicion of politicians generally, regardless of party Various studies have found BOTH liberal and conservative bias Different types of media have differing bias Newspapers Cable: Fox vs MSNBC Talk Radio

Deciding What Becomes News Selection of news stories is inevitable Economics (profit) plays a major role, especially for television

Deciding What Becomes News cont Networks tend for favor Washington-based stories because the equipment is already there In Washington, there is more coverage of the White House and major departments

Deciding How The News Appears The same events may be described in different ways Television prefers to emphasize the dramatic and visual parts of a story Media executives are very much aware of Nielsen ratings and circulation figures

The Impact Of The Visual Television’s unique quality is its capacity to transmit action and images into virtually every home in the land simultaneously The visual becomes a factor in the selection of new stories and in deciding how they will appear

The Impact Of The Visual cont Television’s preference for the visual influences how candidates conduct their campaigns The first Kennedy-Nixon debate of 1960 is a good example of the impact of the visual

_____ attracted readers with sensationalized accounts of crimes and scandals. Pack journalism Yellow journalism Objective journalism Partisan journalism Biased journalism

When an institution tells Americans what to think about, it is considered elitistism. populism. pluralism. agenda setting. opinion leading.

The equal-time rule requires broadcasters to provide equal access for all candidates for a political office. provide equal time for opinions opposing the station’s editorials. give equal access to local and national news personalities. give equal time to sports and politics.

Which of the following comments best expresses the reality about the mass media’s influence on American political opinion? The mass media have complete power to shape American public opinion. Americans are not selective or critical about what the media tell them about politics. The media influence what Americans think about as news more than their opinions on issues. The media do not influence what Americans think is important in politics.

_____ has the biggest news audience for all the mass media. The Internet Radio Television Newspapers Time magazine

Private ownership of mass media ensures that news is selected for its educational value. shock value. political importance. international importance. audience appeal.

Horse race journalism refers to the war for ratings between the media outlets. election coverage that focuses on the candidates’ issue positions. election coverage that focuses on which candidate is ahead. coverage of the Triple Crown. press scrutiny of public institutions and investigating perceived misconduct.

Watchdog journalism refers to the war for ratings between the media outlets. election coverage that focuses on the candidates’ issue positions. election coverage that focuses on which candidate is ahead. coverage of the Westminster Kennel Club show. press scrutiny of public institutions and investigating perceived misconduct.

Of all forms of media in the United States, the most highly regulated is news magazines. broadcast radio. the Internet. broadcast television. newspapers.