Main problems with bureaucracies Accountability – not elected Expansionary tendencies Bureaucratic discretion One issue: Americans want bureaucracy to achieve sometimes conflicting goals: Accountability, equity, responsiveness, efficiency, fiscal integrity

Defense of bureaucrats “Red tape” – meaning words, procedures, obstacles to getting things done. But this serves a purpose… Bur. Procedures so cumbersome because Americans value fairness and due process of law – Administrative Procedures Act 1946 requires bureaucracies to make all regulations public, must hold hearings before setting new rules, must allow interested/affected parties to participate in the rule making process, must permit appeal of agency actions.

Reforms of bureaucracy Deregulation Privatization

Types of mass media 1. Print (Newspapers, magazines, opinion journals) 2. Broadcast (network TV, radio) 3. Internet – blogs, Twitter, etc. “New media” – cable and satellite TV, fax, email, Internet –technological advances of past few decades

Trends Newspapers and TV are declining as news sources, Internet rising 2009 (page 251). But when Americans go on Internet, the majority of the sites they go on are owned by “old” media: major TV network news sites, local and national newspaper sites. Blogs are less than 10% of the news consumed online.

Trends Newspapers and TV are declining as news sources, Internet rising 2009 (page 251). But when Americans go on Internet, the majority of the sites they go on are owned by “old” media: major TV network news sites, local and national newspaper sites. Blogs are less than 10% of the news consumed online.

How does federal government regulate the media? Federal Communication Commission (created 1934) Regulation of content: Equal time rule Reasonable access rule Fairness doctrine (no longer in effect)

Functions of media Reporting the news Interpreting the news Influencing citizens’ opinions Setting the political agenda Gatekeeper function (channels the news flow that reaches the public)