1. 2012 VP Debate - SNL 2012 VP Debate Tina Fey/Sarah Palin - SNL Tina Fey/Sarah Palin Sarah and Hillary - SNL Sarah and Hillary Clinton pioneered the use of town meetings and television entertainment programs as a means of communicating directly with voters in the 1992 election In 2000, Bush and Gore both hit the entertainment circuit In 2008, the McCain campaign quickly dropped Sarah Palin from the prime-time media exposure (after the Russian fiasco)- instead they limited her from interviews

2. It’s very commonplace to hear charges about media bias Some critics argue that’s just a go-to method when their candidate or political party is not doing as well as they wish – basically people like to blame the media for everything Gun control: many who oppose gun control argue that the media are pro- gun control Obama: many who opposed Obama in the 2008 and 2012 elections argued that the media was “in love with Obama”

3. Some analysts have argued that the biggest bias in reporting is not liberal or conservative at all, but rather is either for or against the institution of government The charge of bias in favor of the government argues that reporters rely for most of their information on government sources, which would naturally be pro-government and self-serving During the Persian Gulf War, most of the stories about the war came from the government…so why would it put the war in a bad light? No pictures of dead or wounded The American military told the press that all Iraqi airfields had been destroyed; ten days later it was revealed that 65% of them were still working The American military bragged that they had shot down many Iraqi Scud missiles; ultimately they had shot down one This same pattern is true in every modern American war 2003 Iraq war critics charged that Americans were not informed of the deteriorating conditions there until stories began to pop up leading to increased scrutiny In times of war, the government generally succeeds in controlling the flow, management, and content of news

4. It is believed that whoever is running the government controls the bias Presidential administrations rely on the media to provide a positive public relations “spin” on what they do The broadcast media are regulated by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC)

5. Another theory is the idea is that the press is biased against the government From the Vietnam War, the Watergate Scandal, to the more aggressive adversarial journalism, reporters seem to take pleasure in finding scandal and wrongdoing in government The power derived from the press from adversarial journalism is one of the reasons that the media seem to enjoy attacking political institutions and publishing damaging information about important public officials Snowden and Wikileaks Congressman Weiner and his sexting Increasingly, media coverage has come to influence politicians’ careers and the fate of issues and causes

6. Adversarial, or attack, journalism has become commonplace in America Some critics blame this type of journalism for America’s low level of faith in politics Others claim that it’s needed in order to see the “truth” behind our politicians and worldly actions Nixon and Watergate Clinton and Monicagate Weapons of Mass Destruction (2003 Iraq War) Vigorous and critical media are needed as the “watchdogs” of American politics

7. The media – right or wrong – is protected under the First Amendment’s freedom of speech Having the media report as they do is the luxury of living in a free country Without an active media, citizens would be hard pressed to make informed choices Sometimes, however, the adversarial media can lead to cynicism and negative feelings towards the government With so many media outlets now in the 21 st Century, there is no shortage of information and journalists, bloggers, political analysts It is important to rely on more than one source of news