1. The Mass Media and the Political Agenda

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

3. The Mass Media Today Media Events: Image Making News Management
Effective communication through media is key to political success.
Media Events:
Events purposely staged for the media that nonetheless look spontaneous.
Image Making
News Management

4. Where Americans Get News
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5. Sources of Campaign News
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7. The Impact of the Internet
Wider range of information
More biased? Less accurate?
Potential to inform?
Since Americans are generally disinterested in politics, they will not necessarily use the Internet for political information. (2% News)
Blogs
additional information / opinion

9. Only a small number of TV stations are publicly owned in America.
Private Control of the Media
Only a small number of TV stations are publicly owned in America.
Media are totally dependent on advertising revenues.
Chains:
Account for over four-fifths of the nation’s daily newspaper circulation
Also control broadcast media

10. Reporting the News
Beats: specific locations from which news frequently emanates. Trial Balloons: an intentional news leak for the purpose of assessing the political reaction Reporters and their sources… depend on each other.

11. 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

12. Do members of the media have a distinctive political attitude?
Bias in the News
3 Questions…
Do members of the media have a distinctive political attitude?
Does that attitude affect what they write and say?
Does what they write or say affect what citizens believe?

13. Partisan Bias
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15. Conservative News Outlets
Fox news
Conservative blogs and internet sites
Talk Radio

16. THE MEDIA DOES INFLUENCE THE POLICY AGENDA
ROLES OF THE PRESS
*GATEKEEPER
DECIDING WHAT IS NEWS
*SCOREKEEPER
DECIDING WHO IS “WINNING”
*WATCHDOG
EXPOSING “SCANDLES”

17. Number of Newspapers

18. Circulation monthly decline

19. WHO READ THE NEWSPAPER YESTERDAY ?

20. WHO READ THE NEWSPAPER YESTERDAY?

22. News Generation Gap
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23. Presidential Press Conferences
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