1. Unit III: Elections, Campaigns, and THE MEDIA
Information for Media found in hardcopy of AMSCO book. Printouts available.

2. What are the roles of the media in the political system and the impact of the media on public affairs?

3. Free Press: an uninhibited institution that places an additional check on the govt to maintain honesty, ethics, and transparency

4. History: Defining the Media-Government Relationship
JFK
First to use the power of tv to his advantage
JFK v. Nixon debate is turning point for campaigns – tv dominates
1st live press conferences
Assassination became largest tv event
Jack Ruby actually shot Lee Harvey Oswald on live tv.

5. History: Defining the Media-Government Relationship
Adversarial Press: A press that skeptically questions govt action
Vietnam
1960: 10 American journalists were assigned to Vietnam
1968: 500 full time correspondents representing print, TV, and radio
Adversarial press became reporters’ obligation ---- investigate journalism!
 Vietnam brought govt and politics into peoples’ homes

6. History: Defining the Media-Government Relationship
Adversarial Press cont…
Cronkite and Vietnam:
“We have been too often disappointed by the optimism of American leaders, both in Vietnam and Washington, to have faith any longer in the silver linings they find in the darkest clouds.”
LBJ: if I’ve lost Cronkite, I’ve lost America
LBJ refused to seek reelection
Watergate:
Trust that had existed btw
the Nixon White House and the
Washington Press Corps vanished
Cronkite: “most trusted man in America”
Impact after Watergate:
Increased negativity
Increased focus on President
Increased focus on private matters
“All the President’s Men”

7. The Roles of the Media:
Gatekeeper: decides what is newsworthy when they present events or focus on certain issues
In a 30 minute broadcast, the media has 23 minutes to entertain/inform you.
Example: If an outbreak of Ebola becomes national news, the govt will likely be more compelled to act because the American people are aware of the problem and will demand more action.
Ebola photo:

9. The Roles of the Media:
Scorekeeper: judges or allows the public to judge successes and failures of govt officials, businesses, and celebrities
Campaign season: horserace journalism
Reporters emphasize public opinion polls bc it is the only data that changes from day to day
Presidential polling:
George W. Bush’s approval rating dropped after reporting of his handling of Hurricane Katrina
Candidates ideas, policies or bios remain fairly static—once reported, no longer newsworthy

10. The Roles of the Media:
Watchdog: exposes action, or inaction, that public officials or leaders might prefer to keep hidden
Reporters look for corruption, scandal or inefficiency
Historical examples:
Muckrakers with McClure’s magazine help to inspire passage of railroad regulation act
Washington Post acts as watchdogs to Watergate Scandal
3. Soldiers mistreating Iraqi prisoners at Abu Ghraib (NY Magazine article and then 60 Minutes)
would not have reached US if not for media

11. When a local TV station broadcasts a report of the mayor embezzling public money, the media has served the function of
Scorekeeper
Watchdog
Gatekeeper
Disseminator
Regulator
(B) Watchdog

12. Assured EQUAL TIME to political candidates
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regulates the use of the airwaves. Since its creation, the FCC has:
Licensed stations
Assured EQUAL TIME to political candidates
Helped facilitate noncommercial broadcasts
Prevented rigged game shows
Assured decency on radio and TV
Prevent near monopoly control of market
The original law established a commission that now has authority over radio, TV, wire, satellite, and cable broadcasts.
The FCC also has jurisdiction over communications btw the Internet and trains, airplanes, and ships
Licensing and Ownership: radio and tv stations still must apply and be granted licenses to operate. Until the mid 1990s, no one could own and operate more than one station in a given media market. Radio stations must renew every 7; TV stations every 5
Equal Time rule states that any station that permits a candidate for a given office to use its broadcast facilities must provide equal opportunities for the use of all other legally qualified candidates for that same office (if they request the equal time)
News and public affairs shows are exempt (allows stations to freely cover candidates they choose)
Content and Monopoly: early on it focused on program content, network monopoly, false advertising, and profanity. In 1941 it made NBC sell one of its networks (which eventually became ABC

13. Narrowcasting: media programming on cable TV or Internet that is focused on one topic and aimed at a particular audience, e.g., C-SPAN, ESPN
Fox News
Roger Ailes
Bill O’Reilly
Sean Hannity
CNN and MSNBC
Chris Matthews
Lawrence O’Donnell
From Broadcasting to Narrowcasting: The Rise of Cable News Channels (ex: Clinton affair bc rise in the 80s-90s)
Narrowcasting
Matthews and O’Donnell worked on Democratic campaigns
Roger Ailes, Nixon’s 1968 ad man and GOP consultant
Potential of cable to report on news as it happens and offer myriad choices
Yet resources are limited and stories are not substantive
The narrowcasting trend has blurred the line between news and commentary. Many American viewers are merely confirming their already biased notions.

16. 1848
Telegraph lines to send and receive information
Writing for a national audience and so many different client newspapers, the AP departed from partisan preferences and standardized its unbiased reporting to gain and keep customers.

17. The Media (Mostly) Are Private Corporations Who Want to Make Profits

18. Presenting the News Superficial describes most news coverage today.
Sound Bites: short video clips of approximately 10 seconds
Major TV networks devote less time to covering political candidates 19