1. Development of Mass Media

2. How did the media develop?
Linkage Institutions
Mass Media
How did the media develop?

3. Early Media
Mass Media

4. Mass Media History The Party Press
There was no daily media when the Constitution was written
The parties created their own newspapers to further their interests
100
These were essentially communication tools for the political and commercial elite, like The Federalist Papers
Federalists started The Gazette of the United States and Democratic Republicans started The National Gazette to spread news and ideas about politics.

5. Daily newspapers began spreading in cities in the mid 1800s.
Mass Media
History
Early Newspapers
Those early papers were too expensive & hard to make to reach wide audiences
Daily newspapers began spreading in cities in the mid 1800s.
100
From that point, the masses had access to political information from sources other than the political parties.
Daily newspapers made political officials much more aware of their relationships with the public.

6. Mass Media History Roosevelt
FDR really transformed the role of the president into that of a regular communicator with the public
He first implemented “press conferences” weekly at the White House in order to keep reporters, and the public, informed
100
He began to try to influence reporters to keep certain information away from the public, and also attacked reports that he said were inaccurate.
Overall relations were good, because he was giving them more access than reporters had before

7. Mass Media History Good relations
The press did not challenge the president or other government officials
Reporters tended to see themselves as the mouthpiece of the government
100
They conveyed information to the public and accepted what the government told them without questioning it.
This relationship lasted until the 1960s when Vietnam changed
the role of the press

8. The press reported what the government told them about the Vietnam War
Mass Media
History
Pentagon Papers
The press reported what the government told them about the Vietnam War
Someone at the Pentagon leaked a classified report to the New York Times
100
They published it – despite the govt. trying to prevent them, and the public was informed the govt had been lying about the success in Vietnam
The media gained more public trust than the govt and the public began to distrust the government

9. Modern Media
Mass Media

10. Changing Relationship
Mass Media
Modern
Changing Relationship
After Vietnam and Watergate, the press became more likely to challenge lawmakers
This led to a more adversarial relationship between press and policy makers
Media learned that government skepticism earned public trust and that it was successful in attracting an audience
Modern reporters assume that politicians rarely tell the whole truth and they have to find the truth in the politicians’ spin

11. Mass Media Modern Investigative Journalism
Reporting to discover scandals related to policy makers
Leads to adversarial relationship with political officials
This generates more attention from the public, which helps the media
This leads the public to distrust the policy makers

12. Mass Media Modern Coverage of Candidates
Coverage of presidential candidates has become increasingly negative
Less focus on issues has led to more candidate driven coverage
This makes candidates less favorable to the public
This makes public officials complain about the media coverage

13. Mass Media Modern TV & Radio
TV & radio in the 1900s have displaced the role of the print media
Radio ownership became common in the 1930s
Television ownership became common in the 1960s
For the first time, people have been able to see and hear political officials

14. Mass Media Modern TV Impact
Nixon/Kennedy debates in 1960s changed the job of candidates
Reporting during the Vietnam War changed the way people view decision makers & the government
15% of the population watch the nightly news daily
Anchors have come to be seen as a regular part of interacting with the government

15. Mass Media Modern Cable News
Three major networks NBC, CBS, and ABC were all broadcasting
Their was little competition & no other options so they chased the widest audiences possible.
Cable TV began to spread in the late 1980s to most homes
CNN became the first network devoted exclusively to 24 hour coverage of the news

16. Mass Media Modern Cable News
Cable channels tend to narrowcast – chase a smaller, more specific audience
Narrowcasted channels allow people to ignore news if they choose
Those that want news about the government have many choices to find it
Since there are more options, there are fewer people overall who remain informed about politics.

17. Mass Media Modern Cable News
CSPAN – a channel focused on covering the House of Representatives
CSPAN2 - a channel focused on covering the Senate
FoxNews – tries to appeal to a more conservative audience
MSNBC – tries to appeal to a more liberal audience.

18. The Internet
Mass Media

19. Mass Media Internet The Internet
Access to the internet began to spread to the public in the mid 1990s.
The main impact has been facilitating more communication between all policy makers and linkages
This has transformed every aspect of politics, from campaigning and fund raising to the presidency
Now, most Americans get their political news from internet sources

20. Blogs were an important step in the fusing of opinion and information
Mass Media
Internet
Blogs
“a series, or log, of discussion items on a page of the World Wide Web”
Blogs were an important step in the fusing of opinion and information
Blogs allowed anyone to report information & share political opinions without the barriers to entry of traditional journalism
They’ve played an important role in investigative journalism, uncovering scandals such as the Bill Clinton / Monica Lewinsky affair

21. Mass Media Internet Criticism
Blogs don’t use the traditional ethics or standards of traditional media
Since the internet requires a person to act to find information, it exacerbates selective exposure problems
Just now, people are examining the role of “fake news” and the internet’s role in spreading political information

22. Bigly Ideas
Beliefs & Behaviors

23. Investigative journalism
Mass Media
Wrap Up
Positive coverage
Investigative journalism
Cable News
Impact of the Internet
Focus on these things: