1. Mass Media Trust
Mass Media

2. How do people feel about
Linkage Institutions
Mass Media
How do people feel about
the mass media?

3. Public Trust in Media
Mass Media

4. Americans were most likely to trust media outlets in the mid 1900s.
Mass Media
Public Trust
Trust in Media
Some argue that political reporting is biased in favor of one point of view
Americans were most likely to trust media outlets in the mid 1900s.
100
Americans are likely to distrust “the news media” but generally trust the news outlets that they rely on.
When asked what outlets they rely on, most Americans name a traditional
media outlet

5. Accusations of the mass media being liberally biased are most common
Public Trust
Liberal Media
Accusations of the mass media being liberally biased are most common
Journalists are more likely to self identify as liberal than conservative
100
Studies do not find that this impacts reporting in the mass media - that most reporting is not systematically biased toward a particular ideology or party

6. Media outlets are concentrated in cities, especially large cities
Mass Media
Public Trust
Liberal Media
Media outlets are concentrated in cities, especially large cities
Media may be more to the left than the country as a whole on social issues like feminism, gay rights, and civil rights
100
More than anything, this is an impact of chasing the biggest audiences. Media outlets cannot afford to take stances that turn off entire groups of people

7. Mass Media Public Trust End of “Fairness Doctrine”
Ronald Reagan eliminated the FCC’s Fairness Doctrine in 1987
This meant broadcast outlets no longer had to present both sides of any controversial issue they discuss
100
This mostly impacted radio outlets, especially “talk radio” which began to be able to discuss politics from a one sided point of view.

8. Mass Media Public Trust Conservative Media
With the end of the Fairness Doctrine, broadcast outlets no longer had to present “both sides” of issues
The years following saw an explosion of AM talk radio stations with conservative viewpoints discussing the news
100
The most famous of these pundits was Rush Limbaugh, who has a daily political talk show and often criticizes Republicans for not being
conservative enough

9. Gallup began tracking public trust in the media in 1972.
Mass Media
Public Trust
Public Trust Polling
Gallup began tracking public trust in the media in 1972.
Highest trust was in 1976 when 76% of people said they trusted the media
100
In late 1990s and through the 2000s trust has fallen steadily – since 2007 it’s been below majority level
Republican trust of the media has fallen sharply since the 2016 election

10. Mass Media
Public Trust
100

11. Mass Media
Public Trust
100

12. Bias in Reporting
Mass Media

13. Bias occurs when one point of view is emphasized
Mass Media
Bias in Media
Bias in the Media
Bias occurs when one point of view is emphasized
People in the US claim the media has a liberal bias, a conservative bias, or a corporate bias.
Several consumer based “watchdog groups” (interest groups) monitor these claims

14. Real bias is towards stories that draw the largest audience
Mass Media
Bias in Media
Bias in the Media
Real bias is towards stories that draw the largest audience
People are more likely to follow stories that involve conflict, violence, and scandals.
This is likely to lead the public to lose trust in the government as the news emphasis is on scandal and chaos

15. Mass Media Liberal Bias Liberal Bias
Some critics say there is a strong liberal bias in the mainstream media
The large majority of journalists are Democratic voters and donate to Democratic campaigns
Journalists are more likely to have personal beliefs that are to the left of the country as a whole, such as abortion, affirmative action, and social services
About 45% of people feel that the media is “too liberal” – 70% of conservatives, 35% of moderates, & 15% of liberals

16. Mass Media Liberal Bias Conservative Bias
Rupert Murdoch is the owner of 21st Century Fox & owns FoxNews & The Wall Street Journal and is known for presenting conservative viewpoints
About 20% of people feel that the media is “too liberal” – 16% of conservatives, 20% of moderates, & 44% of liberals
Conservative groups are more likely to own and operate local media outlets than national media outlets,

17. Mass Media
Liberal Bias

18. Mass Media
Liberal Bias

19. Mass Media
Liberal Bias

20. Media is often accused of being biased in favor of the government
Mass Media
Liberal Bias
Pro-Government Bias
Media is often accused of being biased in favor of the government
Likely due to the cozy relationship between journalists and policy makers
The journalists are likely to portray politicians in a positive light in order to maintain good relationships with them and get access to them and their info in the future

21. Corporate Bias
Mass Media

22. Six major corporations own the vast majority of media outlets
Mass Media
Bias in Media
Corporate Bias
Six major corporations own the vast majority of media outlets
Stories that are critical of these corporations can be underplayed by the media outlets they own
Telecommunications Act of 1996 allowed them to control oven more outlets.
Stories that portray advertisers negatively may be underplayed or good stories about them may get more coverage than they should

23. These outlets are driven by the need to make profits
Mass Media
Bias in Media
Profit Motives
These outlets are driven by the need to make profits
Profits are dependent on how many people watch, regardless of whether they find it adequate or informative
News outlets go after high numbers of viewers instead of high quality for viewers
This drives our news outlets more towards “infotainment“ than good information or analysis

24. Cost – cutting : more tactics like talking heads & news services
Mass Media
Bias in Media
Results
Cost – cutting : more tactics like talking heads & news services
Focus on sensational news stories over those that may have more impact on people
Oversimplification of information – appealing to the “lowest common denominator”
The media provides an oversimplified set of information that is more easily commercialized

25. Mass Media Bias in Media “Media Imperialism”
The corporations that own media outlets are huge and often multinational
As these get larger and more powerful, it will be come more difficult for local media to survive
Smaller scale local coverage will not be able to compete, and may decrease
The further globalization of media sees much of the rest of the world dominated by American media

26. Bigly Ideas
Beliefs & Behaviors

27. Mass Media Wrap Up Impacts of Private Ownership Concentration of Media
FCC Regulations
Focus on these things: