 “A People who mean to be their own governors must arm themselves with the power knowledge gives. A popular government without popular information or the means of acquiring it, is but a prologue to a farce or a tragedy or perhaps both” James Madison  “Were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the later.” Thomas Jefferson

 Newspapers, television, radio, internet, blogs  Most people’s knowledge of politics come from the media

 Entertainment  Reporting the news  Indentifying public problems  Socializing new generations  Providing a political forum  Making profits

 The Party Press  Papers very partisan, never gave both sides of an issue  Days of Party Press = few people read newspapers  The Popular Press  Changes in society and technology made possible self- supporting, mass readership daily newspapers  Rise of mass circulation = rise of mass politics  Magazines of Opinion  Progressive periodicals that discussed issues of public policy; focused on investigative reporting  Development of magazines of opinion = development of interest groups

 Electronic Journalism  Radio and TV changed journalism forever  TV dominance = politicians talking to voters  The Internet  Allows citizens to have a larger role in politics  Internet = politicians and voters talking to each other

 Consists of: ◦ Wire services ◦ National magazines ◦ Television network evening news broadcasts: ABC, CBS, NBC ◦ Cable News: CNN, Fox News, MSNBC, etc. ◦ Newspapers with national readerships  Why significant?? Large readership, political elites follow closely!  Roles played ◦ Gatekeeper—influences what subjects become national political issues, and for how long. ◦ Scorekeeper—tracks political reputations & candidacies ◦ Watchdog—investigate personalities & expose scandals

 Little competition in newspapers, but radio and TV are intensely competitive and just keep getting more so Hmm….who to watch???

 Newspapers almost entirely free from government regulation, but radio and television are highly licensed and regulated ◦ FCC license required to operate a radio or TV station ◦ Some movement lately to deregulate  Confidentiality of Sources ◦ Reporters want it, government doesn’t ◦ Supreme Court allows the government to compel reporters to divulge information in court if it bears on a crime Remember the NYT case from Unit 2. Only libel if printed maliciously!