1. The Mass Media and the Political Agenda
Chapter 7
The Mass Media and the Political Agenda

2. Introduction Mass Media
Television, radio, newspapers, magazines, the Internet and other means of popular communication
High-Tech Politics
A political environment in which the behavior of citizens and policymakers and the political agenda itself are increasingly shaped by technology.

3. The Mass Media Today
Effective communication through media is key to political success.
Media Events: events purposely staged for the media that are intended to look as if they are spontaneous. Acting, essentially.
Photo Ops: Seemingly spontaneous yet planned out photographic moments intended to display a candidate in a particular way (sweet, tough, happy, confident, etc.)
Media events and photo ops can be staged by almost anybody and for any purpose.
Image making and news management is important, especially for presidents and Presidential candidates.

4. The Development of Media driven Politics
The news media wasn’t always so important.
Press Conferences: meetings of public officials with reporters. This didn’t really begin in earnest until the era of FDR. Roosevelt held over 1,000 during his 12 years in office.
Investigative Journalism: the use of in-depth reporting to unearth scandals, scams & schemes putting reporters & politicians opposite each other. Teddy Roosevelt referred to the early investigative reporters as muckrakers.
Coverage of presidential candidates has become more critical and less favorable over time.

5. The Development of Media driven Politics
The Print Media in the late 19th and early 20th centuries were dominated by publications owned and operated by William Randolph Hearst and joseph Pulitzer. Primarily Newspapers and magazines.
“Yellow journalism”: a sensational style of reporting characterized newspapers at the turn of the century designed to incite and inflame readers – and to sell.
There is a Pecking order among newspapers, and the New York Times and wall street journal currently have largest impacts, especially the NYT.
Newspaper and newsweekly circulation has declined precipitously with the advent of the internet and cable television.

6. The Development of Media Driven Politics
The Broadcast Media
Radio and Television Brought government and politics into peoples’ homes. Began with FDR’s famous “Fireside Chats” during the Great depression and later on, ww II.
During the Vietnam War, however, the media was able to sway public sentiment against the war by showing the horrific nature of war through videos and pictures of battles and their aftermaths taken by embedded reporters as well as showing planes returning home filled with caskets of our young men who died for nothing in that war.
Politicians’ appearances, mannerisms, and personal characteristics have more important than their substance, unfortunately.
Kennedy-Nixon presidential debate or, more recently, Obama and McCain.

7. The Development of Media Driven Politics
Regulation of the Broadcast Media
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is supposed to regulate the use of airwaves in three ways:
Prevent monopolistic or oligopolistic control of market
Reviews performance of stations
Issues fair treatment rules for politicians

8. The Development of Media Driven Politics
From Broadcasting to Narrowcasting: The Rise of Cable News Channels
Narrowcasting: media programming on cable TV or Internet that is focused on one topic and aimed at a particular audience, e.g., C-SPAN.
Potential of cable to report on news as it happens (real time) and offer myriad choices to viewers.
Yet resources are limited and stories are many times not substantive; leads to sensationalism and “story creation”.

9. The Development of Media Driven Politics
The Impact of the Internet
Potential to inform Americans about politics.
Internet is purposive — people choose what to learn about.
Since Americans are generally disinterested in politics, they will not necessarily use the Internet for political information.
Blogs and online newsletters provide additional information about news stories.

10. The Development of Media Driven Politics
Private Control of the Media
Only a small number of TV stations are publicly owned in America.
Independent in what they can report, with few rules and regulations since the elimination of the Fairness doctrine in 1987, media have become totally dependent on advertising revenues, and the advertisers can exert some control over content.
Over the past 40 years, the USA has seen major media conglomerates account for over four-fifths of the nation’s mass media (the big six).

11. Reporting the News Finding the News
Beats (as in “beat reporters” and “Beat reporting”): specific locations from which news frequently emanates, such as Congress or the White House e.g. “And now let’s hear from Joe Jones, CNN’s white house beat reporter.”
Trial Balloons: an intentional news leak for the purpose of assessing the political reaction to the news.
Reporters and their sources depend on each other—one for stories, the other to get the stories out to the public.

12. As you can see, politics and politicians aren’t exactly what most people are interested in!

13. Reporting the News 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 and campaigns.

14. Reporting the News Bias in the News
Many people believe the news is biased in favor of one point of view.
Generally is not very biased toward a particular ideology; however, there are notable exceptions (MSNBC = hard liberal and FOX News = Hard Conservative)
News reporting is usually biased towards what will draw the largest audience which in turn brings in the most revenue —good pictures/videos and negative reporting seem to be most effective.

15. Reporting the News

16. The News and Public Opinion
Television news can affect what people think, which has changed over time. Until the last 20 years or so, the idea was that TV was reflective of what society felt and thought, i.e. society influenced the news and how it was reported. In today's information intensive world, this has changed to the polar opposite, i.e. the news and television shape public opinion.
The media influences the criteria by which the public evaluates political leaders.
Some stories or events can be made more important, others less important, depending on their coverage. What is and is not intensely covered is controlled by a very few huge media conglomerates (Oligopoly).

17. The Media’s Agenda-Setting Function
Policy Agenda
The issues that attract the serious attention of public officials and other people actively involved in politics at a particular time. By reporting and hyping a story, the media can force politicians to set the agenda differently than they may have wanted to.
Policy Entrepreneurs
Those who invest their political capital to get an issue placed high on the government agenda. these people will often Use media to raise awareness of issues.

18. Understanding the Mass Media
The Media and the Scope of Government
Media as watchdog, restricts politicians.
New proposals are met with media skepticism, which restricts scope of government, i.e. what it can do.
If media identifies a problem, it forces government to address it, which expands the scope of government

19. Understanding the Mass Media
Individualism and the Media
Candidates run on their own by appealing to people on television.
Easier to focus on one person like the president, than groups, e.g., Congress, parties, or the courts.
Democracy and the Media
“Information is the fuel of democracy.”
But news provides more entertainment than information; it is superficial.
News is a business, giving people what they want.

20. Summary
Media shapes public opinion on political issues and influences the policy agenda.
Broadcast media have mostly replaced the print media over the past two decades.
Narrowcasting and the Internet are further shifting media away from the tradition of unbiased journalism.
Seeking profits, media are biased in favor of stories with high drama.