Pearson Longman PoliticalScienceInteractive Shea, Green, and Smith Living Democracy, Second Edition Chapter 11: The Politics of the Media

Shea, Green, and Smith, Living Democracy, Second EditionCopyright 2009 Pearson Longman Chapter 11: The Politics of the Media Media and Cultural Change Over the past 50 years, television has gone from giving very narrow portrayals of women as wives and mothers to Sex and the City ’s sexually assertive and independent women.

Shea, Green, and Smith, Living Democracy, Second EditionCopyright 2009 Pearson Longman Chapter 11: The Politics of the Media Mass Media “For it seems more certain now than ever that the bloody experience of Vietnam is to end in a stalemate.” –Walter Cronkite, February 1968 “That’s it. If I’ve lost Cronkite, I’ve lost middle America.” –President Johnson

Shea, Green, and Smith, Living Democracy, Second EditionCopyright 2009 Pearson Longman Chapter 11: The Politics of the Media Growth of Mass Media: Print Media First newspaper: Boston News-Letter, April 1704 –Avoided controversial issues During Revolutionary War, newspapers abandoned impartiality and work 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 20th century has continued to this day.

Shea, Green, and Smith, Living Democracy, Second EditionCopyright 2009 Pearson Longman Chapter 11: The Politics of the Media History of the Mass Media: Electronic Media Radio Act of 1927 –Established the airwaves as a public good, subject to governmental oversight The Federal Communications Commission –created in 1934

Shea, Green, and Smith, Living Democracy, Second EditionCopyright 2009 Pearson Longman Chapter 11: The Politics of the Media Unlike newspapers and radio stations, high costs dictated that almost from the beginning, TV stations were affiliated with networks, thus centralizing ownership. Today, ownership is both more competitive and more diverse. History of the Mass Media: Electronic Media Television

Shea, Green, and Smith, Living Democracy, Second EditionCopyright 2009 Pearson Longman Chapter 11: The Politics of the Media Internet Access by Selected Characteristics: 2003 (in percentages) History of the Mass Media: Electronic Media The Internet

Shea, Green, and Smith, Living Democracy, Second EditionCopyright 2009 Pearson Longman Chapter 11: The Politics of the Media Concerned over high phone bills incurred by soldiers in Iraq Raised $1 million and donated 400,000 minutes to soldiers overseas Student Profile: Brittany and Robbie Bergquist

Shea, Green, and Smith, Living Democracy, Second EditionCopyright 2009 Pearson Longman Chapter 11: The Politics of the Media Pathways of Change From Around the World: Blogging in Myanmar Blogs used by young Myanmarese to communicate protests of Buddhist monks to the world Government unable to control media in this instance

Shea, Green, and Smith, Living Democracy, Second EditionCopyright 2009 Pearson Longman Chapter 11: The Politics of the Media Functions of the Media: Entertainment The distinction between entertainment and the news has become increasingly blurred. Television character Murphy Brown and Vice President Dan Quayle engaged in a dialogue on “family values” in 1992.

Shea, Green, and Smith, Living Democracy, Second EditionCopyright 2009 Pearson Longman Chapter 11: The Politics of the Media Social Effects of the Media Three important societal functions of the media Surveillance Interpretation Socialization

Shea, Green, and Smith, Living Democracy, Second EditionCopyright 2009 Pearson Longman Chapter 11: The Politics of the Media Functions of the Media: Surveillance The media has a watchdog role as the “eyes and ears of the world.” Investigative reporting –“Muckraking” –Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle –Watergate –Illinois death penalty Investigative Reporting A type of journalism in which reporters thoroughly investigate a subject matter to inform the public, correct an injustice, or expose an abuse.

Pathways Profile: Dorothea Lange Documented migratory workers during the Great Depression Also documented the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II

Shea, Green, and Smith, Living Democracy, Second EditionCopyright 2009 Pearson Longman Chapter 11: The Politics of the Media Functions of the Media: Interpretation 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.

Shea, Green, and Smith, Living Democracy, Second EditionCopyright 2009 Pearson Longman Chapter 11: The Politics of the Media Functions of the Media: Socialization The media is an agent of socialization, teaching us political facts and opinions that help form our political belief structures and our political culture.

Shea, Green, and Smith, Living Democracy, Second EditionCopyright 2009 Pearson Longman Chapter 11: The Politics of the Media Intentional Manipulation Officials want to control information about themselves and their policies, including the way such information is framed and presented by the media.

Shea, Green, and Smith, Living Democracy, Second EditionCopyright 2009 Pearson Longman Chapter 11: The Politics of the Media How Politicians Make the News One very popular tactic of politicians trying to get free press is to stage “pseudo-events.”

Shea, Green, and Smith, Living Democracy, Second EditionCopyright 2009 Pearson Longman Chapter 11: The Politics of the Media How Journalists Report the News Agenda Setting The media’s ability to determine which issues will be covered, in what detail, and in what context—and conversely, to decide which stories are “not news” and thus will not be covered. The media are sometimes said to be acting as “gatekeepers.”

Shea, Green, and Smith, Living Democracy, Second EditionCopyright 2009 Pearson Longman Chapter 11: The Politics of the Media Covering the President Three general forms of communication from the White House: 1. Press Releases 2. News Briefings 3. News Conferences

Shea, Green, and Smith, Living Democracy, Second EditionCopyright 2009 Pearson Longman Chapter 11: The Politics of the Media Covering the President Presidential Press Conferences

Shea, Green, and Smith, Living Democracy, Second EditionCopyright 2009 Pearson Longman Chapter 11: The Politics of the Media Pathways of Action: The Strategic Use of Leaks Why do public officials leak information to the press? A “trial balloon” Sway public opinion Personalize stories To get information from those who are publicity shy

Shea, Green, and Smith, Living Democracy, Second EditionCopyright 2009 Pearson Longman Chapter 11: The Politics of the Media Covering the Courts The media give far less attention to Congress than the president. Of all three branches of government, the courts tend to get the least amount of coverage. –Confirmation hearings are an exception.

Shea, Green, and Smith, Living Democracy, Second EditionCopyright 2009 Pearson Longman Chapter 11: The Politics of the Media How Groups Use the Media: Consumers Since poor people don’t subscribe in significant numbers, newspapers continue to ignore the needs of the lower class, perpetuating biases in coverage and access to information.

Shea, Green, and Smith, Living Democracy, Second EditionCopyright 2009 Pearson Longman Chapter 11: The Politics of the Media The Media and the Public in the Political Arena Negative coverage Charging for advertising Televising debates How does the media affect campaigns?

Shea, Green, and Smith, Living Democracy, Second EditionCopyright 2009 Pearson Longman Chapter 11: The Politics of the Media The Media and the Public in the Political Arena Concerns around the world about the prevalence of American media Cultural influence as much a concern as news media Some countries have closely controlled the availability of American media Global Issues

Shea, Green, and Smith, Living Democracy, Second EditionCopyright 2009 Pearson Longman Chapter 11: The Politics of the Media The Media and the Public in the Political Arena Targeting of specific audiences Concern that the result is fragmentation Issues of concern to one group may not be covered in media targeting another group Narrowcasting

Shea, Green, and Smith, Living Democracy, Second EditionCopyright 2009 Pearson Longman Chapter 11: The Politics of the Media The Media and the Public in the Political Arena Narrowcasting

Shea, Green, and Smith, Living Democracy, Second EditionCopyright 2009 Pearson Longman Chapter 11: The Politics of the Media The Media and the Public in the Political Arena “Nationalization” has occurred as a result of more concentrated media ownership Less competition among newspapers Concentration and Centralization of Ownership

Shea, Green, and Smith, Living Democracy, Second EditionCopyright 2009 Pearson Longman Chapter 11: The Politics of the Media Governmental Regulations Conflicting goals Gulf War of 1991 an example of tight governmental control of information Media and Government: A Tense Relationship

Shea, Green, and Smith, Living Democracy, Second EditionCopyright 2009 Pearson Longman Chapter 11: The Politics of the Media The Right to Privacy Two standards exist: one for public figures and another for private individuals. Papers often have policies not to publish the names of rape victims, but these rules are a matter of decency, not of law. Governmental Regulations

Shea, Green, and Smith, Living Democracy, Second EditionCopyright 2009 Pearson Longman Chapter 11: The Politics of the Media Rules Regarding Content and Ownership Libel laws protect individuals’ reputations Prior censorship used by government to keep material from becoming public Equal time rule gives candidates from different parties equal media time Fairness doctrine (1949–1985) to ensure both sides of a controversial issue are covered Governmental Regulations

Shea, Green, and Smith, Living Democracy, Second EditionCopyright 2009 Pearson Longman Chapter 11: The Politics of the Media The Role of Profits Governmental Regulations Libertarian View The media should show what they think the public wants, without concern for consequences. Social Responsibility Theory The media need to balance what the public wants with what’s good for it.