Where do young Americans get news?

WHAT MAKES THE US MEDIA DIFFERENT? Is it a good thing that we have a mostly privately owned media? Is s the media biased? The goal of “objective journalism” reporting bias, owner bias How does government regulate the content of TV and Radio? – Why can the FCC regulate radio and TV? – What is the equal time rule (1934)? – Why was the Fairness Doctrine repealed (1987)? – Why is there no right of rebuttal (repealed 1990s)? – McCain-Feingold (Supreme Court hearing a case on this now): Can’t have one-side political material 30 days before the primary & must disclose sources Other media have almost absolute freedom – Libel (published) and slander (spoken) – The Pentagon Papers case: No prior restraint – New York Times v. Sullivan (1964). Absence of malice in covering public officials

HOW IS THE MEDIA CHANGING AND WHY DOES THIS MATTER? How is decline of the big three on TV and the rise of cable/niche audiences impacting objective reporting? Media difficulties (W. Post, NY Times!) = fewer reporters and the nationalization of the news Internet news, blogs, and soft news as important as the “real” news in shaping perceptions The media and politicians attacking the media

HOW DOES THE MEDIA EXERCISE POWER? What is its “watchdog” role? Why is it sometimes a governmental lap dog? How does the media shape political views? – Agenda setting (what you think about) – Issue priming (preparing you to see something in a certain way) – Issue framing (impacting how you interpret what has happened)

ARE THERE LIMITS ON THE MEDIA’S PERSUASIVE POWER? Information overload Political socialization & interpretation Selective exposure Cognitive dissonance: You reject what doesn’t fit into what you already know (how does this impact what kind of issues you will move on?) Low average political sophistication Why TV is more persuasive than other sources: Seducing the Public (Rod Hart’s research)