1. THE NEWS AND SOCIAL MEDIA Chapter 7

2. The Political News  What Are the Mass Media?  mass media: News sources, including newspapers, television, radio, and the Internet, whose purpose is to provide a large audience with information about the nation and the world.  news media: Subset of the mass media that provides the news of the day, gathered and reported by journalists.  watchdog: Role of the press in monitoring government actions.  The Functions of the News  Informing  Investigating  Interpreting Copyright © 2016 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. 2

3. The Political News Copyright © 2016 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. 3 Washington Post reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein became legends for their work in following up on a news story about what seemed to be a routine break-in. But it was the Democratic campaign headquarters that was broken into on June 17, 1972, and the trail they picked up led to the White House. Certain to be impeached, President Richard M. Nixon resigned on August 9, 1974.

4. The Law and the Free Press  New York Times v. Sullivan-- case that established the actual malice standard, which has to be met before press reports about public officials can be considered to be defamation and libel; and hence allowed free reporting of the civil rights campaigns in the southern United States. It is one of the key decisions supporting the freedom of the press.  libel: Publishing false and damaging statements about another person.  actual malice: Supreme Court test for libel of a public figure, in which the plaintiff must prove that the publisher knew the material was false or acted with reckless disregard of whether it was true or false.  Pentagon Papers case  Protected journalists  FCC monitors media ownership  Recent concentration of media ownership 4

5. The History of the Press in America  The Colonial Era, 1620-1750  Seditious libel--Conduct or language that incites rebellion against the authority of a state.  The Founding Era, 1750-1790  Thomas Paine’s Common Sense  Federalist Papers--Series of essays written by James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and John Jay arguing for the ratification of the Constitution; today a leading source for understanding the Constitution.  The Partisan Era, 1790-1900  Press felt free to criticize government  penny press: Newspapers sold for a penny, initiating an era in which the press began to rely on circulation and advertising for income and not on political parties.  yellow journalism: Style of journalism in the late nineteenth century characterized by sensationalism intended to capture readers’ attention and increase circulation.  muckraking: Journalistic practice of investigative reporting that seeks to uncover corruption and wrongdoing. 5

6. The History of the Press in America  The Professional Era, 1900-1950  Push for a public-spirited press  Objective reporting pursued  Muckraking criticized  The Television Era, 1950-2000  Public relied on television for political news  Visuals redefined political events Copyright © 2016 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. 6

7. The Mass Media in the Twenty-First Century  The Changing Media Environment  More options than ever before  The Decline of Newspapers  The loss of hard news  hard news: Political news coverage, traditionally found in the printed press, that is more fact-based, opposed to more interpretive narratives and commentary.  The Durability of Radio  Listenership remains high and stable  The Transformation of TV News  Shrinking audience Copyright © 2016 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. 7

8. The Mass Media in the Twenty-First Century  Infotainment  Provides soft news  soft news: News stories focused less on facts and policies than on sensationalizing secondary issues or on less serious subjects of the entertainment world.  Blogs  Citizen journalists and “bottom up” commentary  Not accuracy checked  Increasing in importance Copyright © 2016 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. 8

9. The Mass Media in the Twenty-First Century  Social Networking  Increasingly important source  Twitter as political tool  Candidates reach out to younger voters Copyright © 2016 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. 9 Vice President Joe Biden and President Barack Obama look at an app on an iPhone in the Outer Oval Office, July 16, 2011. President Obama relied on his BlackBerry when campaigning for president and has continued to use it in office despite concerns about security breaches.

10. The Mass Media in the Twenty-First Century  The News Media and Latino Voters  Growth in Spanish-language television  Media markets reflect demographic shifts  The News Media and the Millennials  Prefer bottom-up approach to politics  Politically aware through viral videos Copyright © 2016 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. 10

11. Bilingual News Viewership Among Latinos 11

12. The Impact of the News Media on the Public  propaganda model: Extreme view of the media’s role in society, arguing that the press serves the interest of the government only, driving what the public thinks about important issues.  minimal effects model: View of the media’s impact as marginal because most people seek news reports to reinforce beliefs already held rather than to develop new ones.  selective exposure: Process whereby people secure information from sources that agree with them, thus reinforcing their beliefs.   Selective perception: Process whereby partisans interpret the same information differently.  not-so-minimal effects model: View of the media’s impact as substantial, occurring by agenda setting, framing, and priming.  agenda setting: Ability of the media to affect the way people view issues, people, or events by controlling which stories are shown and which are not.  priming: Process whereby the media influence the criteria the public uses to make decisions.  framing: Ability of the media to influence public perception of issues by constructing the issue or discussion of a subject in a certain way. 12

13. Evaluating the News Media  Are the Media Biased?  Effect of 24-7 news cycle  Half of public claim a liberal bias  Quality of Information  Image opposed to substance  More soft news than hard news  Be cautious in making judgments Copyright © 2016 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. 13

14. Evaluating the News Media  Implications of the Internet  The digital divide  The Era of Media Choice  More sources for political news  Information more polarized Copyright © 2016 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. 14

15. The News, Social Media, and Democracy  Openness of New Media  Provides accountability, responsibility  Information may not be accurate  Decline of Investigative Reporting  Could undermine accountability Copyright © 2016 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. 15