1. 9 February, 2010

2. Media Coverage  Media Effects  Objectivity  Quality of coverage  Unmediated news

3. Role of the Media  Most people gain their information about politics from the mass media  The media report and interpret events  Media help to set the agenda by highlighting certain issues and neglecting others  The media also help to shape popular perceptions and images

4. Do the News Media Matter?  Most people believe the media exert considerable influence on public opinion  Early studies of media effects following WWII emphasized the importance of propaganda  Later studies found “minimal effects”  Debate continues What are the effects of merely covering an issue? What are the effects of the content of that coverage?

5. Objectivity Should the press be neutral?  The British Tabloids  The BBC  Fox News  New York Times, Wall Street Journal

6. Public Perceptions in the United States

7. Definition of News  What newsmakers (politicians and other political actors) promote as timely, important, or interesting  Familiar (stories often drawing on familiar people or life experiences that give even distant events a close to home feeling)  Sensational (scandals, violence, human drama). The ‘Burglar Alarm’ Analogy; soft news on any number of issues just because they are shocking False alarms

8. What is news?  Conflict Wars, fires, heated debates, scandals  Proximity  ‘Pack journalism’, ie. Press converging on the same issues  Television, splashy video  Late night news; Comedy central’s The Daily Show

9. Coverage and Interest

10. Source: Pew Research http://people-press.org/report/575/

11. Election Coverage  Politics is a game of winners and losers, not a serious debate over ideas and issues  Campaign strategies, tactics, victories, and blunders are the focus of coverage  Early primary victories build “momentum” Coverage of Iowa and New Hampshire races is far out of proportion to their relative delegate share States compete to position their primaries & caucuses earlier in the season  Focus on candidate character and image  Personality flaws are fair game  Parties become less important

12. Tone of Coverage View the SNL skit on the media’s love affair with Obamathe SNL skit Source: Pew Research (2007)

13. Views of Obama Coverage Source: Pew Research Center October 2009

14. Media Coverage of the 2008 U.S. Campaign  Just five candidates were the focus of more than half the coverage with Clinton receiving the most coverage (17%)  Democrats generally received more positive coverage than Republicans  Friendly coverage of Obama (47% positive) compared to critical coverage of McCain (12% positive)  Newspapers more positive; talk radio negative; television more focused on personal backgrounds.  Strategy and horse race dominated coverage Source: PEJ-Shorenstein study; see http://www.journalism.org/node/8187

15. Public Reaction to News Coverage

16. Public vs. Private broadcasting  The most respected news sources in many countries are the public radio and television news services (ie. BBC)  News is a profit making enterprise  Public broadcasting allows a broader range of news to be covered more in depth  But should the government regulate media coverage?  Criticisms of the BBC; ie. should it have invited Nick Griffin of the BNP on Question Time?

17. Unmediated Coverage  One of the most visible examples of parliament at work is the 30 minutes devoted each week to Prime Minister’s QuestionsPrime Minister’s Questions  It is one of the few points where - between elections - the legislature can act as a check upon the executive in a visible forum.  Does PMQs enhance or weaken democracy?  Stealth Democracy Would it be better if people did not see politics in action?