1. THE MEDIA
Juarez AP Government

2. Guiding Questions
Is there a direct relationship between the degree of press freedom and democracy in every country? If so, why?
Who would challenge elected officials if the media were silent?
Is not the media an unplanned part of the American system that helps to preserve democracy? Is it unplanned?
What role do fact-checking sites on the Internet play in keeping candidates and officeholders accountable for claims?

3. Objectives Students will…
Describe how American politicians choreograph their messages through the mass media.
Outline the key developments in the history of mass media and American politics.
List the major criteria that determine which news stories receive the most media attention.
Analyze various media to determine their impact on what policy issues Americans think about.
Explain how policy entrepreneurs employ media strategies to influence the public agenda.
Assess the impact of the mass media on the scope of government and democracy in America.

4. Where do people get their news? Mass media includes
Print sources
Movies
Radio
Television
New Media
Internet and Social Networks
Any other means of popular communication
Policy making often depends on a politicians power to persuade
Changes in Mass Media has affected how the public sees events such as Presidential Addresses
In the 1980’s, the President addressed the nation and it was seen live by about 2/3 of the nation. The next day, news reports would continue to spread the message. Not true today
Now, there are more television stations to choose from, but in the 80’s, if all 3 major networks covered something, that is all you saw.
Because of the idea of narrowcasting, large television audiences are rare

5. Introduction High-Tech Politics:
A politics in which the behavior of citizens and policymakers and the political agenda itself are increasingly shaped by technology
Media events can be staged by almost anybody.
Effective communication through media is key to political success.
Media Events: events purposely staged for the media that nonetheless look spontaneous.
Image making and news management is important, especially for presidents.
EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION is critical to political success
Key is to gain control over the political agenda – getting your word out and making it the most important issue talked about Image-Making – important to campaigning and day-to-day governing
Very few, if any, administrations devoted so much energy and effort the the president’s media appearances as did Ronald Reagans. After all, Reagan came from Hollywood and he could play the cameras! Here was the Reagan White House’s Plan:
Plan ahead
Stay on the offensive
Control the flow of information
Limit reporters’ access to the president
Talk about the issues you want to talk about
Speak in one voice
Repeat the same message many times

7. CLINTON USED THIS
PHOTO OF HIM MEETING JFK

8. HOW MANY TIMES DID WE SEE
THIS IN 2000?

9. USE OF CELEBRITIES

10. CHARLTON HESTON

11. CONSTANT USE OF PHOTO-OPS TO…
CONTROL THE
MESSAGE

12. The Development of Media Politics
Introduction
The news media wasn’t always so important.
Press Conferences: meetings of public officials with reporters.
Franklin Roosevelt held over 1,000
Investigative Journalism: the use of in-depth reporting to unearth scandals, scams & schemes putting reporters & politicians opposite each other.
Coverage of presidential candidates has become less favorable.
There was virtually no daily news when the U.S. Constitution was written
FRD pretty much invented media politics; he saw media as a potential ally. During his time, FDR could chastise inaccurate news reports and reporters feared being shut off from information.
No media ever reported that FDR was wheelchair bound, the idea that the president’s health should be public knowledge was an alien concept furing his day
The events of Vietnam and Watergate made it not only acceptable, but necessary to question the actions of the president and his administration
Investigation Journalism may sound good, but its really just reporters pitting themselves against politicians, further contributing to the cynasicm and negativity about politics.

13. The Development of Media Politics
The Print Media
Newspapers and magazines
“Yellow journalism”: a sensational style of reporting characterized newspapers at the turn of the century.
Newspaper circulation has declined.
Electronic Media
Radio, television, and the internet
1960’s, 1 newspaper was sold for every 2 adults
2008, 1 newspaper for every 5 adults

14. Print Media Yellow Journalism 1898 Political Cartoon against
The cartoon was published in the wake of the Spanish- American War, the cartoonist suggests that, having won the war, the government ought to attack yellow journalists at home.

15. The Development of Media Politics
The Broadcast Media
Radio and Television
Brought government and politics into peoples’ homes.
World War II
Politicians’ appearances and mannerisms more important.
Vietnam War
Kennedy-Nixon presidential debate
1930’s- most people owned a radio

16. Radio News FDR’s fireside chats Today
1930’s weekly address to the nation
Today
AM Talk—conservative dominance
Sean Hannity
Rush Limbaugh
Liberals: National Public Radio

17. Television News Network News Cable News:
CBS
NBC
ABC
FOX
Cable News:
C-SPAN
CNBC and MSNBC
Comedy News: SNL, the Daily Show, the Colbert Report
Photo caption: What is C-SPAN?
C-SPAN, shown here, is a public access channel that (through the main channel and its affiliates) provides gavel to gavel coverage of the House and Senate. It also airs a variety of other public affairs programming.

18. The Development of Media Politics
Government Regulation of the Broadcast Media
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regulates the use of airwaves in three ways:
Prevent near monopoly control of market
Reviews performance of stations
Issues fair treatment rules for politicians
Limits the number of stations that can be owned or controlled by one company, no single owner can control more than 35% of the broadcast market
In order to receive a broadcasting license, a station must serve a public interest
If a station sells ad time for one candidate, they must be willing to sell equal time to other candidates for the same office

19. The Development of Media 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, ESPN, MTV, History Channel, MSNBC, Fox News
2/3 of Americans subscribe to Cable TV
TV has followed suit with radio and become largely based on certain ideology
ABC, NBC, CBS included the term broadcasting because they were originally intended to entice a broad audience
Potential of cable to report on news as it happens and offer myriad choices
Yet resources are limited and stories are not substantive

20. 7.2
FIGURE 7.1: How the audiences of cable news channels have polarized into rival partisan camps
In 2000, the Pew Research Center found that the regular audiences of each of the three major cable news channels were roughly equally divided between Democrats and Republicans. By 2012, Fox News viewers were much more likely to be Republicans, whereas CNN and MSNBC viewers were much more likely to be Democrats.

21. The Development of Media 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 provide additional information about news stories.
The internet does not guarantee that people will take advantage of unlimited access to information, not wil they take the time to decipher between fact and fiction

22. Are politics only a peripheral part of most peoples’ lives?
7.2
Are politics only a peripheral part of most peoples’ lives?
Every week, the search engine Lycos lists the search terms that its users have most frequently keyed in to look for information on the Internet. Here you can find the top 25 searches for the week ending September 30, 2008—the week of the first Obama–McCain presidential debate.
How many of the searches relate to political events? Why are politics so peripheral to people’s lives?

23. The Development of Media Politics
Private Control of the Media
Only a small number of TV stations are publicly owned in America.
Independent in what they can report, media are totally dependent on advertising revenues.
Chains: massive media conglomerates that account for over four-fifths of the nation’s daily newspaper circulation
Also control broadcast media
Publically owned: means media can serve public interest w/o worrying about the size of the audience
Private Ownership: means getting the largest audience possible is the primary, sometimes the only, objective

24. Today most Americans get their news from _____.
Cable TV
the Internet
Radio
Local TV
Newspapers

25. Today most Americans get their news from _____.
Cable TV
the Internet
Radio
Local TV
Newspapers 25

26. Where do Americans get their news?

27. Current News Media Trends
Consolidation of privately-owned media
Top 10 media chains account for more than 50% of daily circulation
Concerns
Market pressures
Control of the flow of information
Ex: Lebron using ESPN and ABC exclusively to announce decision
Photo caption: How does media consolidation affect news coverage?
When basketball star LeBron James announced he was, “Taking his talents to South Beach,” he created a boon for Disney, the parent company of television networks ABC and ESPN. He made his official announcement on ESPN, after much hype and promotion, and then he did the rounds on ABC’s news shows the next day. Critics charged that this insulated coverage prevented James from having to answer the hard questions about his departure from Cleveland.
Differentiate between private ownership and government ownership of the media. Explain consolidation by explaining that the top ten media chains account for more than 50 percent of daily circulation, while fewer than 300 of the approximately 1,400 daily newspapers are independently owned.
Use the photo or other examples to illustrate the concerns.

28. Press Release: The document
Press Briefing: Restricted access between
Press Secy and Press
Press Conference: Unrestricted access between the official and the press

29. The Press and the Law Defamation (2 kinds) 1. Libel 2. Slander
New York Times v. Sullivan (1964)
“must prove actual malice if you are a public
official, it is not enough to be merely untrue”
Freedom of Information Act (“foil”)
Shield Laws (state and federal—or lack thereof)
Prior Restraint

30. Impact of the Media 1. persuade uncommitted voters
2. determine what is important by what they report
3. Majority of Americans believe there is a bias
4.Journalists cannot be punished for divulging classified information, only gov’t officials can

31. Party affiliation and citizens’ news sources

32. Presenting the News 7.3 Skimming off the cream Presidents rebuffed
10-second sound bites
Short video clips of approximately 10 seconds. Typically, they are all that is shown from a politician’s speech on the nightly television news.
Complex policy issues ignored
Politicians can’t present issues
Politicians can avoid issues
Presidents rebuffed
Shunted to cable
Television news must fit into short segments or sound bites, ensuring that coverage is superficial, often little more than headlines. Complex policy issues such as Medicare reform cannot be given meaningful treatment in such brief time frames.
Politicians cannot present issues to the public when their 20-minute speeches are edited down to 8-second sound bites. While this is frustrating for them, it also helps them avoid addressing issues and lets them focus on photo opportunities and other image-making but substance-free endeavors.
Presidents used to be able to count on major network coverage of their speeches, but now such coverage is shunted to cable news, and a smaller audience.

33. Reporting the News Bias in the News Think About It….
What do you think is the biggest bias in the news today?
“If it bleeds, it leads”
Many people believe the news is biased in favor of one point of view.
Generally is not very biased toward a particular ideology
News reporting is biased towards what will draw the largest audience—good pictures and negative reporting

34. 7.3
Jerry Sandusky
The clearest and most consistent bias in the news is the focus on sensational stories. When Jerry Sandusky was arrested on sex abuse charges, the media gave far more coverage to this story involving sports at Penn State than to stories going on at the time that involved complex issues, such as the European debt crisis, the debate over health care, or unrest in the Middle East.

35. 7.3 TABLE 7.2: Stories citizens have tuned in and tuned out
Since 1986, a monthly survey has asked Americans how closely they’ve followed major news stories. As one would expect, stories involving disaster or human drama have drawn more attention than have complicated issues of public policy.

36. News and Public Opinion
7.4
News and Public Opinion
It’s difficult to measure the impact of news stories on public opinion. The effect of any one story is hard to separate from the cumulative effects of dozens of news stories, and from other sources of information.
Scholars haven’t traced much of a direct impact between media and how people vote, but they’ve found that the media affect what issues the public thinks about. That is, the media play an important role in setting the political agenda.
By shaping what people think is important, the media set the criteria by which the public evaluates political leaders. If the president commits one gaffe in an otherwise successful diplomatic mission, his approval rating will be affected by whether the media choose to highlight the gaffe or the accomplishments. The media tend to focus on misstatements that presidents make, which contributes to public mistrust of government competence and reliability.
How influential are the media?
Agenda-setting effects
Sets criteria by which public evaluates leaders
Emphasizes one event over another
Focuses on misstatements

37. Policy Entrepreneurs and Agenda Setting
7.5
Policy Entrepreneurs and Agenda Setting
Policy agenda
The issues that attract the serious attention of public officials and other people actively involved in politics at the time
Many issues compete for attention from government
Interest groups, parties, politicians, agencies, all push their priorities
The political agenda is the set of issues to which the public and the government are paying attention at a given time. Many groups are pushing for their priorities to get onto the political agenda.
People who invest capital to open a business are known as entrepreneurs, and political activists who invest political capital to get their ideas on the political agenda are known as policy entrepreneurs. Political activists try to use the media to bring public attention to their issues.
It isn’t only political elites who have access to the media. Protests by the poor and downtrodden attract media coverage as well. One thing that activists can’t control is the slant to the coverage, that is, whether it will show their cause in a good light for public consumption.

38. Policy Entrepreneurs and Agenda Setting
7.5
Policy Entrepreneurs and Agenda Setting
Policy entrepreneurs
People who invest their political “capital” in an issue. According to John Kingdon, a policy entrepreneur “could be in or our of government, in elected or appointed positions, in interest groups or research organizations.”
Political activists depend upon the media
Protests attract coverage
The political agenda is the set of issues to which the public and the government are paying attention at a given time. Many groups are pushing for their priorities to get onto the political agenda.
People who invest capital to open a business are known as entrepreneurs, and political activists who invest political capital to get their ideas on the political agenda are known as policy entrepreneurs. Political activists try to use the media to bring public attention to their issues.
It isn’t only political elites who have access to the media. Protests by the poor and downtrodden attract media coverage as well. One thing that activists can’t control is the slant to the coverage, that is, whether it will show their cause in a good light for public consumption.

39. Media and the Scope of Government
7.6
Media and the Scope of Government
Media as watchdog
Press criticism does more good than harm
Reporters hold negative views of public officials
Media as skeptic
Constrains government
Focus on injustices enlarges government
The media’s role as watchdog keeps the behavior of politicians in check, and a majority of Americans think this is a good thing. Reporters themselves tend to have a negative view of public officials as self-serving, hypocritical, lacking integrity, and focused exclusively on reelection. They see debunking politicians as a critical part of their job.
Since the media treat every new policy proposal and government program with skepticism, they constrain the scope of government. Yet at the same time the media highlight problems and injustices and ask what the government’s going to do about them. Portraying the government as responsible for solving every problem has the effect of enlarging the scope of government.

40. Individualism and the Media
7.6
Individualism and the Media
TV furthers individualism
No need for intermediaries
Candidates can reach individual voters
TV focuses on individuals
Personality important
Focus on executive branch
Television gives the public the opportunity to evaluate political candidates directly. Individual voters can get an “up close and personal” view of each candidate to help guide their voting decisions. This direct line of communication removes the need for political parties or social groups as aids in decision-making.
However, TV’s focus on individuals means that personality is more important than substance for political candidates. It also means that the media cover the president more than they cover Congress or the Supreme Court.

41. Democracy and the Media
7.6
Democracy and the Media
“Information is the fuel of democracy”
But more info does not equal more competence
Superficial by demand
Profit motive again
Public appetite shapes choices
With the amount of information available to citizens today, you’d think that political competence would be greatly increased. That is, citizens in the American democracy should be better equipped to make rational policy decisions. Yet this clearly isn’t the case.
The media respond to criticism of the superficiality of their coverage by pointing out that they provide what the public wants. Their motive is profit, which means appealing to the largest possible audience. They say that if the public demanded serious, in-depth news programs, they would certainly provide such programs. It’s the public’s appetite for entertainment over substance, they say, that keeps the coverage limited and superficial.

42. Summary
Media shape public opinion on political issues and influence policy agenda.
Broadcast media have replaced print media over time.
Narrowcasting and the Internet are further shifting media.
Seeking profits, media are biased in favor of stories with high drama.