 President and Mass Media=Mutually beneficial relationship.  White House staff media advisers to control info. about the president.  News release-ready made story created by officials  News briefing-advances politicians

 Press conferences-carefully planned and limited.  Backgrounders and leaks can influence information  Media events-to reinforce a politician issue.  Television has influenced politics; has also made political exposure easy to grasp.  It has also encouraged celebrities to enter politics.

 Horse-race coverage  Primaries-media declares front-runner.  Front-runner=campaign contributions.  Spot advertising for political campaigns.  It is difficult to finance TV advertising.

 Candidates have become less dependent on political party organization due to television  TV bypasses party leadership  Candidates cannot solely rely on campaign funds

 Nearly every member of Congress has a press secretary  Congress and Confirmation hearings  Congress and Legislative Oversight  Media and Personal Business  C-SPAN Television  Congressional Recording Studios

 Media and Supreme Court decisions  Remoteness of Judges  The court handles complex issues  Mass media and playing the public agenda  Decisions about which issues should be covered by media are influenced by network competition.  Media influences people’s attitudes and values  1 st amendment protects freedom of the press  Media=impact on public opinion toward government issues

 Free press guaranteed  However, not absolute—libel.  The right of access  Protection of sources: shield laws.  FCC (The Federal Communication Commission)  Content regulation: fairness doctrine.  Telecommunications Act of 1996 updated regulations on cost, competition, and program content.  Debates over regulation of Internet and e- commerce taxation continue.

 Benefits: widespread, interactivity, global scope.  Partisan political web site  Thomas.loc.gov  Electronic mailing lists subscription  E-Government  Impact on citizen participation: communicating w/ officials, political blogs, electronic voting, action-alerts and petitions, volunteering, and grassroots web sites.