Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc., Publishing as Longman Longman PoliticalScienceInteractive Magleby & Light Government by the People Chapter 10 The Media and American Politics

Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc., Publishing as Longman Hall Role of the Internet in the 2008 Presidential Election The Internet was extremely beneficial to Barack Obama’s campaign –By March 2008, Obama had about 1 million “friends” on MySpace and Facebook “Friends” received invitations to campaign events, links to speeches, and requests for campaign contributions –Music videos supportive of Obama on YouTube –Obama also advertised on Web sites

Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc., Publishing as Longman Hall The Influence of the Media on Politics: Television Most people in the U.S. watch some kind of TV news every day Recent growth of around-the- clock cable news and information shows Voters now rely more on TV commercials for information about candidates and issues, and less on news coverage

Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc., Publishing as Longman Hall Radio and Newspapers Continues to reach more U.S. households than TV Candidates use radio ads to “microtarget” particular audiences Daily newspaper circulation has been declining, especially among younger persons USA Today is the nation’s top-circulation newspaper Radio Newspapers

Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc., Publishing as Longman Hall The Internet More than 153 million unique domains have been registered worldwide For 37 percent of Americans, the Internet is their primary source of news The Internet provides an inexpensive way to communicate with volunteers, contributors, and voters

Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc., Publishing as Longman Hall The Changing Role of the American News Media First newspaper: Boston News-Letter, April 1704 –Avoided controversial issues During Revolutionary War, newspapers abandoned impartiality and worked to build resistance to British policies 1833, advent of the penny press 1848, creation of the Associated Press Yellow journalism Centralization of ownership of newspapers in early twentieth century has continued to this day

Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc., Publishing as Longman Hall “Objective Journalism” “Independent journalism! That is the watchword of the future in the profession. An end to concealments because it would hurt the party; an end of one-sided expositions… an end of assaults that are not believed fully just but must be made because the exigency of party warfare demands them.” - New York Tribune editor Whitelaw Reid

Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc., Publishing as Longman Hall The Impact of Broadcasting Franklin D. Roosevelt was the first president to recognize the effectiveness of radio to reach the public

Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc., Publishing as Longman Hall The Impact of Broadcasting TV added a dramatic visual dimension In 2004, an investigative team at CBS News uncovered and aired this and other photos of prisoner abuse in Abu Ghraib. Although the military had been privately investigating the situation for several months, the actions of the CBS reporters brought the tragedy into the national spotlight.

Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc., Publishing as Longman Hall Investigatory Journalism Seymour Hersh and the Pentagon Papers Robert Woodward and Carl Bernstein and Watergate Nina Totenberg and Clarence Thomas Dana Priest on the existence of secret CIA prisons

Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc., Publishing as Longman Hall Media Consolidation Emergence of large conglomerates owning multiple media outlets Rupert Murdoch, founder of the FOX network, owns 35 TV stations in the U.S., DirecTV, 20th Century Fox, HarperCollins Publishers, MySpace.com, and TV Guide, which has the largest magazine circulation in the U.S.

Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc., Publishing as Longman Hall Regulation of the Media The national government oversees TV and radio licensing, financing, and even content

Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc., Publishing as Longman Hall Mediated Politics The pervasiveness of the media confers enormous influence on the individuals who determine what we read, hear, and see because they can reach so many people so quickly The news media have also assumed the role of speaking for the people

Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc., Publishing as Longman Hall The Media and Public Opinion The ability of TV to present images and communicate events has influenced U.S. public opinion –Civil Rights movement –Vietnam War –Watergate hearings –September 11 –Hurricane Katrina

Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc., Publishing as Longman Hall Political Socialization Recall and Comprehension Audience Fragmentation Selectivity Needs Factors That Limit Media Influence on Public Opinion

Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc., Publishing as Longman Hall Are the Media Biased?

Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc., Publishing as Longman Hall Are the Media Biased?

Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc., Publishing as Longman Hall Are the Media Biased?

Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc., Publishing as Longman Hall Public Opinion Issue Framing The power to set the context, to frame the issue, to interpret the facts, and potentially to provide legitimacy for people, issues, or groups are powerful and controversial functions of the media Agenda Setting Deciding what will be decided, defining the problems and issues to be addressed by decision makers

Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc., Publishing as Longman Hall The Media and Elections: Choice of Candidates Presidential candidates welcome invitations to appear with Oprah, Leno, or Letterman, and try to reformulate their messages in a light, comedic style that fits the program Consistent with the media’s focus on personality is its highlighting of mistakes and gaffes by candidates

Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc., Publishing as Longman Hall Campaign Events Officials want to control information about themselves and their policies, including the way such information is framed and presented by the media

Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc., Publishing as Longman Hall Technology With the Web, citizens now have the opportunity to interact with each other on a wide range of political topics

Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc., Publishing as Longman Hall Image Making and Media Consultants A portrait of Abraham Lincoln as “Abe the Rail Splitter” Role of media consultants: Campaign professionals who provide candidates with advice and services on media relations, advertising strategy, and opinion polling - Give advice on what colors to wear, how to behave and act on TV - Use focus groups and public opinion polls to determine what the candidate says and does - Media consultants have taken over the role party politicians formerly played

Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc., Publishing as Longman Hall The Media and Voter Choice Personality over substance The horse race Negative advertising Information about issues Making a decision Election night reporting

Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc., Publishing as Longman Hall Political Institutions and the News Media