1. The Influence of the Media on Politics
Years 2000, 2004, 2007
Whenever there is a crisis, most people turn first to television for information

2. The Influence of the Media on Politics
The Pervasiveness of Television
- Television becomes major news source in 1960s.
- It remains a major news source today.
- Movement away from network news to cable.
- Growth of comedy news programs.
The Persistence of Radio
- Radio news evolved in early 1900s.
- Today, talk radio is a source of political commentary.
The Declining Importance of Newspapers
The World Wide Web
Newspapers and television use Web sites.
People who read Internet news also use other sources.
Also provides access to other countries’ news.
Debate over whether the Internet is good for politics: Blogs, citizen journalists

4. The Pervasiveness of Television
Greater reliance on experts and pundits.
Use of cable channels for narrowcasting.
The growth of around-the-clock cable news and information shows is one of the most important developments in recent years. Half of the public are regular viewers of CNN, CNBC, MSNBC, or Fox News.

5. The Changing Role of the American News Media
The Impact on Broadcasting - Franklin D.
Roosevelt was the first president to recognize the effectiveness of radio to reach the public
The televised Presidential Debate
between Kennedy and Nixon

6. The Changing Role of the American News Media
Newspapers first appeared as early as 1690.
First newspaper: Boston News-Letter, April 1704
Avoided controversial issues
During Revolutionary War, newspapers abandon 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
In the early days of the U.S., the press was partisan.
Movement from financial support of the press by political parties to expanded circulation and more emphasis on advertising led to the development of the penny press. Penny press newspapers were cheap, tabloid-style papers produced in the middle of the 19th century by Benjamin Day & the NY Sun, then in 1835 James Gordon Bennett’s NY Herald, and then in 1841 the NY Tribune were peddled in the streets.
AP was formed in May 1846 by a group of 5 newspapers in NY including the Sun and Herald who wanted to pool resources to collect news, i.e. Mexican American War.
Beginnings of Yellow Journalism: In 1898, newspapers provided the major source of news in America. At this time, it was common practice for a newspaper to report the editor's interpretation of the news rather than objective journalism. If the information reported was inaccurate or biased, the American public had little means for verification. With this sort of influence, the newspapers wielded much political power. In order to increase circulation, the publishers of these papers often exploited their position by sponsoring a flamboyant and irresponsible approach to news reporting that became known as "yellow journalism." Though the term was originally coined to describe the journalistic practices of Joseph Pulitzer, William Randolph Hearst proved himself worthy of the title. Today, it is his name that is synonymous with "yellow journalism.“
The 1920s gave rise to muckraking ( to search for and expose real or alleged corruption, scandal, etc. in politics.
Today the press tries to be more objective.
“You provide the pictures,
I’ll provide the war.”

7. Radio and Newspapers Radio Newspapers
One household in 100 does not have a radio, compared with 4 in 100 without television
9 out of 10 people listen to the radio every week; 8 out of 10 do so every day
Daily newspaper circulation is one copy for every six people
Core newspaper audience is aging
USA Today is the nation’s top-circulation newspaper

8. The Internet
U.S. Census Bureau,

11. The Changing Role of the American News Media
Media Conglomerates
A media conglomerate, media group or media institution is a company that owns large numbers of companies in various mass media such as television, radio, publishing, movies, and the Internet. Media conglomerates strive for policies that facilitate their control of the markets across the globe.

13. Political Uses of Media
Intentional
Unintentional
Content is explicitly political, but with no intent to influence political behavior or beliefs
Content is explicitly political and intends to change political beliefs or behavior
Explicit
Political content is implied and intent is change political beliefs or behavior
Whatever political content and consequences that may exist are unintentional
Implicit

14. Political Uses of Media
Intentional
Unintentional
Political ads, PSAs, Documentaries
News
Explicit
Vast majority of entertainment programming
Political values in entertainment programming
Implicit

15. Sources of Media Power Socializing Interpreting
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
Socializing
The media is an agent of socialization, teaching us political facts and opinions that help form our political belief-structures and our political culture

16. Mediated Politics Public Opinion
Agenda Setting - The media’s ability to determine which issues will be covered, in what detail, and in what context - and conversely, of deciding which stories are “not news” and thus are not going to be covered
Issue Framing - Issue framing in a political context, means presenting an issue in a way that will likely get the most agreement from others. From a political sense, language is often used as a way to gain compliance on contentious points
sound bytes
In modern times, issue framing tends to involve a great deal of work. Before political speeches are written, focus groups or surveys may be performed to analyze the most effective strategies for addressing an audience. This is particularly the case with speeches in high profile campaigns or State of the Union Addresses in the US.

17. Public Opinion
Issue Framing
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
Agenda Setting
Deciding what will be presented, defining the problems and issues to be addressed by decision makers

18. The Media and Elections
Choice of Candidates
Presidential candidates welcome invitations to appear with Oprah, Leno, or Letterman, and try to reformulate their messages in a light, comedic style that fits the program

19. The Media and Elections
Campaign Events
How does the media affect campaigns?
Determining “front-running candidates”
Charging for advertising
Televising debates
Portraying charismatic politicians as more “electable”

20. The Media and Elections
Technology - With the Web, citizens now have the opportunity to interact with each other on a wide range of political topics
Image Making and Media Consultants
A portrait of Abraham Lincoln as “Abe the Rail Splitter” and Barack Obama as a family man.
The Media Impact on Voter Choice
Personality over Substance
The Horse Race
Negative Advertising
Information About Issues
The horse race aspect of campaign coverage refers to the candidate’s standing in the polls.

21. The Media and Elections
The Media Impact on Voter Choice
Making A Decision
Election Night Reporting
The Media and Governance
When policies are being formulated and implemented, decision makers are at their most impressionable.
Some critics contend that the media’s pressuring policy makers to provide immediate answers forces them to make hasty decisions.
When policies are being formulated and implemented, decision makers are at their most Impressionable. Yet by that time, the press has moved on to another issue.
Lack of press attention to the way policies are implemented explains in part why we know less about how government officials go about their business than we do about heated legislative debates or presidential scandals.
Some critics contend that the media’s pressuring policy makers to provide immediate answers forces them to make hasty decisions, a particular danger in foreign policy: If an ominous foreign event is featured on television news, the president and his advisers feel bound to make a response in time for the next evening news broadcast.