The News Media: Communicating Political Images Chapter 10

© 2017, McGraw-Hill Education. All Rights Reserved. figure 10-1 NEWS COVERAGE OF 2016 REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES IN THE PREPRIMARY PERIOD In the period leading up to the first 2016 presidential primaries, Donald Trump received far more news coverage than any of his leading Republican rivals. (Source: Media Tenor. Based on news coverage from June 16, 2015 (day when Trump announced his candidacy) to January 31, 2016 (day before Iowa caucus). Excludes candidates who received less news coverage than the six who are listed.) © 2017, McGraw-Hill Education. All Rights Reserved.

Historical Development: From the Nation’s Founding to Today The objective-journalism era Yellow journalism Radio, the new mass communication system The FCC and regulation The Communications Act © 2017, McGraw-Hill Education. All Rights Reserved.

Historical Development: From the Nation’s Founding to Today The rise of the “new” news The end of the Fairness Doctrine Cable news CNN Founded by Ted Turner in 1980 Chose to pursue a path of partisan neutrality Fox News Founded by Rupert Murdoch in 1996 Chose a partisan (conservative) format © 2017, McGraw-Hill Education. All Rights Reserved.

Historical Development: From the Nation’s Founding to Today The rise of the “new” news Partisan radio talk shows Without the Fairness Doctrine, radio programmers were free to move to a politically partisan format Emergence of the Internet Low-cost entry compared with other mass media Some “new” news outlets a stunning success The Drudge Report, Daily Kos, Instapundit © 2017, McGraw-Hill Education. All Rights Reserved.

© 2017, McGraw-Hill Education. All Rights Reserved. figure 10-2 THE RISE OF PARTISAN TALK RADIO After the Fairness Doctrine was eliminated in 1987, partisan talk radio quickly became a major source of information for millions of Americans. (Source: Figures compiled by author from multiple sources.) © 2017, McGraw-Hill Education. All Rights Reserved.

© 2017, McGraw-Hill Education. All Rights Reserved. The Media and Politics The signaling function Alert the public to important developments U.S. media well-equipped to play this role Performed by the traditional media Wire services (AP, UPI, Reuters) Daily newspapers Television networks © 2017, McGraw-Hill Education. All Rights Reserved.

© 2017, McGraw-Hill Education. All Rights Reserved. The Media and Politics The signaling function Agenda-setting of U.S. media results in similarity in national news everywhere News media are meant to inform the public, but also need to attract an audience Media focus on politics instead of policy © 2017, McGraw-Hill Education. All Rights Reserved.

© 2017, McGraw-Hill Education. All Rights Reserved. The Media and Politics The common-carrier function Conduit for political communication TV news has become more journalist-centered Topics sometimes distilled to the “sound bite” Framing: the way events are cast Priming: the process by which a communicated message, because of its content, activates certain opinions but not others © 2017, McGraw-Hill Education. All Rights Reserved.

© 2017, McGraw-Hill Education. All Rights Reserved. Public Broadcasting   When broadcasting emerged in the first half of the 1900s, European countries established public broadcasting networks, such as Britain’s BBC. The United States made a different choice. The government handed control of broadcasting to commercial networks such as CBS and NBC. When Congress then decided in the 1960s to create a public television network (PBS), the commercial networks were powerful enough to persuade lawmakers to fund it at a low level. PBS’s late start and weak funding have handicapped it ever since. Compared with its European counterparts, PBS has a tiny audience share, as the figures indicate. © 2017, McGraw-Hill Education. All Rights Reserved.

© 2017, McGraw-Hill Education. All Rights Reserved. Source: Compiled by author from various sources. Q: What effect on public information might have resulted from the U.S. government’s decision in the 1930s to base the nation’s broadcasting system on commercial stations rather than public stations?   A: In countries like Britain, where public broadcasting has been well funded from the start, it set a standard for high-quality news that conditioned the public to expect it from other news outlets as well. In the United States, commercial broadcasting led the way and, with an interest in profits, developed a form of news aimed at holding the audience’s attention. Accordingly, many Americans developed a preference for news that has an entertainment component. © 2017, McGraw-Hill Education. All Rights Reserved.

© 2017, McGraw-Hill Education. All Rights Reserved. The Media and Politics The watchdog function Objective journalism fosters watchdog reporting Watergate Watchdog function failures Post-9/11 terrorist attacks Internet has expanded watchdog capacity of media © 2017, McGraw-Hill Education. All Rights Reserved.

© 2017, McGraw-Hill Education. All Rights Reserved. Q: As a result of the special protections provided to the news media by the First Amendment, do they have an obligation to report the news in a responsible way, even if that results in smaller audiences? p.292   ASK YOURSELF: Is the First Amendment intended to force individuals or organizations to act in a responsible way? Or is it intended to give them the freedom to act as they choose, free of government interference? Is hyped-up news a price that society must pay in order to receive the many positive benefits that come from having a free press? © 2017, McGraw-Hill Education. All Rights Reserved.

© 2017, McGraw-Hill Education. All Rights Reserved. The Media and Politics The partisan function Traditional media: mostly neutral Talk shows: mostly conservative The Internet: mostly liberal © 2017, McGraw-Hill Education. All Rights Reserved.

© 2017, McGraw-Hill Education. All Rights Reserved. There was a time when journalists operated by the unwritten rule that politicians’ private lives were to be protected rather than exposed. Most Americans were not aware, for example, that Franklin D. Roosevelt was largely confined to a wheelchair, having lost full use of his legs after contracting polio. They also did not know that a number of their presidents, including John F. Kennedy, had extramarital affairs during their time in office. Today’s journalists operate by a different rule—virtually nothing about politicians’ lives is outside the bounds of their reporting. There are benefits to the current practice. Voters have a fuller understanding of what their leaders are like as people as well as what they are like as politicians. At the same time, news coverage of politicians’ private lives can dominate the headlines, given journalists’ appetite for sensational stories. During the 2016 presidential general election, news coverage of Hillary Clinton’s e-mails and Donald Trump’s lewd comments dwarfed the news coverage of their positions on major policy issues, including trade, income inequality, health care, and terrorism. Are America’s voters better off now that there is no aspect of politicians’ lives that is out of bounds to reporters? Even if journalists wanted to provide politicians a zone of personal privacy, would it make a difference? Would not the revelations come out anyway through blogs, social media, talk shows, and the other outlets now available to the public? © 2017, McGraw-Hill Education. All Rights Reserved.

© 2017, McGraw-Hill Education. All Rights Reserved. Internet Access The Internet has greatly expanded Americans’ access to news and information, and most Americans have regular access to the Internet in their home or through their work. However, the percentage varies considerably by state. Eight in every 10 residents of Colorado, Minnesota, New Hampshire, and Washington—the states with the highest levels of Internet penetration—have regular access. In contrast, only 6 in every 10 residents of Arkansas, Mississippi, New Mexico, and Tennessee—the states with the lowest levels of Internet penetration—have access. © 2017, McGraw-Hill Education. All Rights Reserved.

© 2017, McGraw-Hill Education. All Rights Reserved. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2014. Q: What might account for state-to-state differences in Internet penetration? A: States that are poorer and more rural have lower rates of Internet penetration. Less-affluent citizens are less able to afford the Internet, and Internet companies are less likely to offer it in rural areas because of the higher installation costs. © 2017, McGraw-Hill Education. All Rights Reserved.

© 2017, McGraw-Hill Education. All Rights Reserved. The News Audience The partisan divide Until the 1980s Americans had three TV networks Huge daily audiences—newscasts varied only slightly Viewers exposed to the views of both political parties Patterns disrupted Fairness Doctrine rescinded The emergence of cable TV and the Internet © 2017, McGraw-Hill Education. All Rights Reserved.

© 2017, McGraw-Hill Education. All Rights Reserved. Q: Do you find it troubling that partisan media outlets contribute to party polarization, or do you think they play a key role in clarifying the differences between the Republican and Democratic parties? Do you personally rely more heavily on traditional news outlets or on partisan outlets? © 2017, McGraw-Hill Education. All Rights Reserved.

© 2017, McGraw-Hill Education. All Rights Reserved. The News Audience The information divide More news outlets, yet viewers less informed Fragmented news sources have led to partisan polarization among audience More news available, but alternate programming aids avoidance of news © 2017, McGraw-Hill Education. All Rights Reserved.

© 2017, McGraw-Hill Education. All Rights Reserved. figure 10-3 FACEBOOK USERS’ POLITICAL EXPOSURE Facebook users are more likely to see political posts aligned with their opinions than they are to see posts that oppose their beliefs. Nevertheless, most Facebook users are exposed to a range of political views. (Source: Derived by author from Pew Research Center poll, 2014.) © 2017, McGraw-Hill Education. All Rights Reserved.