Political Participation Unit 5

Print media Newspapers Magazines New York Times, Washington Post, and Wall Street Journal are historically America’s most influential newspapers Most rely on the Associated press news agency for national and international news Circulation rates have steadily declined as a result of competition from t and internet. in 1950 50% of adults regularly purchased a newspaper, today that has fallen to less than 20% Magazines Time, Newsweek, and Us News and World Press are the most widely read and influential news magazines Circulation rates have fallen as a result of the internet

Broadcast Media Radio FED was the first president to take advantage of radio, with is fireside chats to reassure the American people and discuss the New Deal Most stations now give little time to news Talk show hosts have begin to play a prominent and controversial role in discussing political issues Leading conservative commentators include Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck Leading liberal commentators include Thorn Hartmann and Rachel Maddow

Broadcast Cont. Television 1960 Presidential debates between Kenny and Nixon first debates to be shown on tv Over 98% of American households now own at least one TV The 3 major networks have historically dominated political coverge, CBS, NBC, and ABC Cable news networks such as CNN, Fox News, and MSNBC now provide continuous coverage of national and international news.

Internet TV continues to be the most widely used source for political news the internet is rapidly becoming a key source of information for the American People Especially popular for those under 30 Many websites such as Politico.com and Huffington Post provide extensive coverage of political issues and policymakers Web blogs now facilitate rapid communication between the public and government policy makers.

Roles of the media Informing the public and shaping public opinion Providing a link between citizens and government Serving as a watchdog Agenda setting

Information and Education to inform and educate the public. The media has also taken over some of the roles political parties once had in educating the public on candidates. These media campaigns have provided a boon for the already- present negative electioneering.

Where Americans Get Election News

What is the news? Any important event that happened within the last 24 hours The media decides what is news by deciding what to report (selective exposure) Generally directed through gatekeepers Media executives, news editors, and prominent reporters who decide which events to present and how to present them Time limitations and the potential impact of the story are major elements in selecting what is or is not news.

The Decline of the Gatekeepers Decline of editorial control rise of the internet “fake news”

Linkage Institutions Linkage institutions connect citizens to the government in some way

Mass Media as a Linkage Institution Connects people to their government officials by interviewing citizen, presenting poll results, and covering protests Connects government officials to the public by interviewing political leaders, and reporting on government committees and programs. The mass media, political parties, and interest groups are key linkage institutions,

Watchdog and Public Advocate To investigate, examine and report on personalities of candidates and their personalities, as well as public policy the press is relied upon to serve this democratic function.

Agenda Setting The media plays a powerful role in shaping the public agenda by deciding what how and when to report on topics Policy agenda consists of the issues that attract serious attention of public officials Media plays a role by drawing public attention to particular issues

Functions of the Mass Media Entertainment Popular programs get continued while those with low ratings get cancelled News Reports American news papers have reported news since the late 18th century. For example the Federalist papers were printed in newspapers. Radio and television stations provide their audiences with varying degrees of news programming Creation of political forums Politicians use the mass media to promote their careers and draw public attention to their issues The president has direct access to the media and is thus able to use it to help set the policy agenda

Candidate Centered Campaigns Political campaigns have become more centered on candidates and less focused on issues Media has contributed to this by Replacing speeches and dialogues with sound bites that average just 7.8 seconds in length Focusing on day to day campaign activates such as rallies, gaffes, scandals and negative commercials Engaging in Horse Race Journalism, or the tendency of the media to cover campaigns by emphasizing how candidates stand in the polls instead of where they stand on the issues.

Media politics 4.3

Media in American Politics

Agenda Setting The media plays a powerful role in shaping the public agenda by deciding what how and when to report on topics Policy agenda consists of the issues that attract serious attention of public officials Media plays a role by drawing public attention to particular issues

Candidate Centered Campaigns Political campaigns have become more centered on candidates and less focused on issues Media has contributed to this by Replacing speeches and dialogues with sound bites that average just 7.8 seconds in length Focusing on day to day campaign activates such as rallies, gaffes, scandals and negative commercials Engaging in Horse Race Journalism, or the tendency of the media to cover campaigns by emphasizing how candidates stand in the polls instead of where they stand on the issues.

Threats to a Free Press Government Control Private Control The First Amendment is the primary limit on the government’s authority to control the press. Prior restraint Print versus electronic media Technical regulations Structural regulations FCC Content regulations Private Control Market forces can limit freedom of the press in two ways: concentration of ownership money

American News Sources and Levels of Trust

Number of Corporations that Control a Majority of U. S Number of Corporations that Control a Majority of U.S. Media, 1983-2004

Types of Media Bias Political Bias Racial and Gender Bias Negativity Bias

Media and the President 1/3 of press in dc assigned to white house Press room down the hall from oval office Special access to president News briefings News releases News conferences Leaks “rules” On the record Off the record

Media and Congress Tends to cover organization as a whole, not individuals Confirmation hearings, oversight investigations, scandals C-SPAN AND C-SPANII Created to increase coverage of Congress

Pack journalism

How does the media impact democratic debate Increased media choices Ideologically oriented programming Consumer-driven media outlets, and emerging technologies that reinforce existing beliefs Uncertainty over credibility of news sources and information