3-9: The News Industry

Big Idea: Civic Participation in a Representative Democracy Enduring Understanding: The various forms of media provide citizens with political information and influence the ways in which they participate politically. Learning Objective: Explain how increasingly diverse choices of media and communication outlets influence political institutions and behavior.

Private Control Free Press News Corporations First Amendment Difficulty in proving libel No prior restraint Ability to criticize public officials News Corporations Newscasting to achieve high ratings Consequences on political agenda Consequences on political knowledge

Government Regulation Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Monitors airwaves Independent but subject to political pressure Congress—funding President—appointments Equality Rise and fall of Fairness Doctrine Commission on Presidential Debates

Bias Prevalence Not explicit Determining what news is reported and what news is not Best indicator—what stories will draw the highest ratings?

Agenda Setting Policy Agenda Media’s Role Issues attracting attention of government officials Media’s Role Selectively assigns importance to certain issues Tells Americans what to think about

Candidate-Centered Campaigns Trends More focus on individuals Less focus on issues and parties Reasons Sound bites—rallies and gaffes Focus on day-to-day activities “Horse-race journalism” Consequences More attention on president Presidential power enhanced

Effect on Citizens No proven effect on how people vote Effect on which issues are prioritized Doesn’t shape views but reinforces them Broadcast media discourages critical thinking People tend to repeat what they hear Internet news leads to uncertainty over the credibility of news sources