1. THE NEWS MEDIA Chapter 15 Mr. Manzo American Government: Continuity and Change

2. In this chapter we will cover … Changes over the years Nature of media coverage today Effects of the media Regulation of the media Politicians and media Symbiotic relationship THE NEWS MEDIA

3. Who are the Mass Media? “Traditional” media. A. Newspapers: NY Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal. Declining circulation. B. Television: CBS, NBC, ABC -- decline of 3 major networks w/advent of greater competition from cable. C. Magazines: Time, Newsweek, US News and World Report. Declining circulation. D. Trend towards mergers and consolidation less competition

4. Declining Readership of Newspapers Newspapers lost nearly 5.5 million readers between 1986 and 1996. The phenomenal growth of the Internet has given the newspaper industry a new source of competition

6. Who are the Mass Media? The "new media." A. Examples: the Internet, web logs (“blogs”), YouTube, CNN, Fox News, The O’Reilly Factor, Daily Show, Colbert Report, Rush Limbaugh and talk radio. B. Characteristics: 1. More interactive. 2. More emphasis on entertainment -- "infotainment." 3. Personalized. 4. Emotional. 5. Informal 6. Opinionated 7. Topical

7. Which social networks are people using to get breaking news?

8. Technological Advances Papers became cheaper and easier to produce and distribute, the telegraph and telephone made reporting simpler and faster. Radio became widely available in the 1920s and television was introduced in the late 1940s. Cable was invented in the 1970s, CNN was founded in 1980, and the Internet didn't become well-known until the late 1990s.

9. Expansion of Internet

10. The Media and Public Opinion I. Do the media influence public opinion? Mixed evidence: A. Yes. 1. Television "personalizes" candidates and elections. 2. Media stress short-term elements of elections at expense of long-term elements (e.g., party affiliation). 3. Those who "consume" media in turn influence others. 4. Media help set national agenda. 5. Rise of advocacy journalism/adversarial journalism rather than objective journalism. Journalists “comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable

11. The Media and Public Opinion Studies show that journalists are more liberal than public as a whole. 7. Media are a primary linking mechanism between public and government 8. Profit motive emphasis on boosting ratings “trivialization” of news with people less informed on important issues.

12. The Media and Public Opinion Liberal bias in the media occurs when liberal ideas have undue influence on the coverage or selection of news stories. The Media Elite, 1986 a survey found most of journalists were Democratic voters whose attitudes were well to the left of the general public on a variety of topics, including such hot-button social issues as abortion, affirmative action, and gay rights. Then they compared journalists' attitudes to their coverage of controversial issues such as the safety of nuclear power, school busing to promote racial integration, and the energy crisis of the 1970s. The authors concluded that journalists' coverage of controversial issues reflected their own attitudes, and the predominance of political liberals in newsrooms therefore pushed news coverage in a liberal direction. They presented this tilt as a mostly unconscious process of like-minded individuals projecting their shared assumptions onto their interpretations of reality.

13. The Media and Public Opinion B. No. 1. Mass public pays little attention to the news (e.g., surveys showing how little people know about current affairs) and often forgets what it sees or reads. 2. Selective attention: many focus in on media sources they already agree with. 3. Selective perception: many perceive news in the way they want to view it -- they see what they want and filter out the rest. 4. Media are only one source of influence -- political socialization suggests importance of family, schools, peers, and other influences. 5. People consume media for variety of reasons other than information: boredom, entertainment ---> these people are less likely to pay close attention to "hard" news and analysis.

14. The Media and Public Opinion II. Impact of newspapers. A. Typical perception of liberal bias, but they generally endorse Republican candidates. (Publishers tend to be Republicans.) B. Complaints from both liberals and conservatives: 1. Conservatives claim that reporters are too liberal: college graduates (often from elite schools) with hostility towards middle class values. 2. Liberals claim that publishers are conservative and therefore are more concerned with sales and profits than exposing social/political/economic evils --- > status quo bias.

15. Seventy-five percent of Republicans and conservatives say the media are too liberal. Democrats and liberals lean more toward saying the media are "just about right," at 57 percent and 42 percent, respectively. Moderates and independents diverge, however, with 50 percent of independents saying the media are too liberal and 50 percent of moderates saying they are just about right.

16. Media and Public Opinion C. Lack of competition: most cities now have only one major newspaper. D. Largest amount of pres. campaign coverage devoted to day-to-day campaign activities. E. “Horse race” coverage

17. The Media and Public Opinion III. Impact of television. Most people now get their news from television. Most get their political info from t.v and a decline of substance in coverage and rise of images and slogans. B. Concern that television is allied with "big government:" use of television as electronic throne of President. 1. President can now bypass journalists' annoying questions and go right to the people with a speech. 2. Decline in number of presidential press conferences. 3. White House manipulation of television with photo opportunities and sound bites.

18. The Media and Public Opinion C. Concern that television has fostered cynicism, distrust and negativism towards government and politics -- adversarial journalism. D. Lack of competition (although advent of cable has made this less of a problem)/media conglomerates. E. Concern that people look at politics through the "camera lens" rather than the "party lens" ---> further decline of parties. F. Decline of network TV news and rise of cable TV news.

21. Changing: Role of the Media Yellow Journalism (Publishers of yellow journals, such as Joseph Pulitzer (New York World) and William Randolph Hearst (New York Journal), were more intent on increasing circulation through scandal, crime, entertainment and sensationalism) Muckraking (Investigative journalism, Upton Sinclair, The Jungle) Chain Ownership (Viacom, Walt Disney, Time Warner, News Corporation) The “Big” Three (NBC, ABC, CBS) Editorializing “Off the Record” Bias Adversarial Press

23. Effects of the Media on Politics Symbiotic relationship between government and the press: journalists need politicians to inform and entertain their audiences, and politicians need journalists for media exposure. II. Roles of media. A. Gatekeeper: influence which subjects are of national importance, i.e. help to set national agenda. B. Scorekeeper: keep track of, and help make, political reputations, e.g., importance attached to Iowa caucuses and New Hampshire primary. Emphasis on horse race element of elections at expense of issues. C. Watchdog: scrutinize people, places and events (e.g., Watergate, Iran-Contra). "Comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable. Watergate Vietnam War in Afghanistan Scandals (corruption)

24. Effects of the Media on Politics III. Nature of media influences. A. Most influential at the agenda-setting phase of the policy making process. B.Issue framing: once an issue is on the national agenda, media provide context for understanding that issue C. “Sameness” – homogeneity of coverage. D. Media companies are businesses, where the main objective is to make money. E. Provide forum for building candidate images.

25. The Effects of the Media on Politics F. Act as linking mechanism between govt. and people: 1. In the past: People ---> Parties ---> Government. 2. Now: People ---> Media ---> Government. G. Contribute to higher cost of campaigning. H. Contribute to candidate-centered campaigns.

26. The Effects of the Media on Politics Increase the role of campaign consultants. Instead of parties telling candidates what to say, media consultants report on findings of polls and focus groups and then tell candidates what to say. J. White House manipulation of media (use of television as “electronic throne”) 1. Photo opportunities. 2. Sound bites. 3. Spin control. 4. Staged events. 5. Trial balloons. 6. “Going public:” when the president takes his case directly to the people

27. The Effect of the Media on Politics Negative coverage of Congress. Congress seen as obstructionist foil to President. Emphasis on sensationalism and scandal “feeding frenzy” when a story is hot. Far less coverage of Supreme Court than of Congress and presidency. Media most influential: In primary elections rather than general elections. On undecided voters. Most voters make up their minds before the fall campaign, and many make up their minds even before the conventions. Increasing importance of Internet (“net roots”) Fundraising Communicating w/public: web sites, YouTube, MySpace, Facebook

28. Media Regulation Federal Communication Commission (FCC) regulates interstate and international communications by radio, television, wire, satellite and cable in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and U.S. territories. It was established by the Communications Act of 1934 and operates as an independent U.S. government agency overseen by Congress. (fair treatment rules (fairness doctrine for broadcast news disbanded 1986), licensing, prevents monopolies)

29. No Prior Restraint The first notable case in which the United States Supreme Court ruled on a prior restraint issue was Near v. Minnesota, 283 U.S. 697 (1931). In that case the Court held prior restraints to be unconstitutional, except in extremely limited circumstances such as national security issues. The ruling came about after Jay Near's newspaper, The Saturday Press, a small local paper that ran countless exposés of Minneapolis's elected officials' alleged illicit activities, including gambling, racketeering, and graft, was silenced by the Minnesota Gag Law of 1925, also known as The Public Nuisance Law. Near’s critics called his paper a scandal sheet, and alleged that he tried to extort money threatening to publish attacks on officials and others. In the Near case the Court held that the state had no power to enjoin the publication of the paper in this way – that any such action would be unconstitutional under the First Amendment.

30. Telecommunications Act 1996 The Telecommunications Act of 1996, a comprehensive law overhauling regulation of the telecommunications industry, recognizes the importance of access to telecommunications for people with disabilities in the Information Age. Section 255 of the Act requires telecommunications products and services to be accessible to people with disabilities. Telecommunications products covered include: wired and wireless telecommunication devices, such as telephones (including pay phones and cellular phones), pagers, and fax machines other products that have a telecommunication service capability, such as computers with modems

31. The Pace of the News In 1961, when the Berlin Wall went up, President Kennedy had 8 days to respond to the provocative action. In 1989, when the wall came down, President Bush was forced to respond overnight.

32. How Politicians Use the Media Politicians and government officials often stage media events in order to gain free media coverage. Love Hate Relationship (symbiotic) Candidates and politicians try to control or 'spin' media focus regarding campaign and policy issues. Candidates and politicians may 'leak' a story to the press in order to get their story out without being the focus of that story. Sound bite – comments compressed into several seconds. Press Release, Press Conference

33. How Politicians Use the Media Equal Time Rule – if a stations sells time to one candidate it must be willing to sell time to the opposing candidate. Right of Reply Rule - if a person is verbally attacked on a broadcast program he/she has the right to respond on that same Program. On the Record - all that is said can be quoted and attributed Un-attributable - what is said can be reported but not attributed Off the Record - the information is provided to inform a decision or provide a confidential explanation, not for publication On deep background - information may not be included in the article but is used by the journalist to enhance his or her view of the subject matter, or to act as a guide to other leads or sources. On background -briefing may be reported (and the source characterized in general terms as above) but direct quotes may not be used. New York Times v. Sullivan (1964) sets libel boundaries.

34. Covering Government The President garners attention from the bully pulpit. The President speaks through the press secretary or press conference. Coverage of the President is generally unfavorable. Congress’s 535 members pose a challenge Coverage of Congress is generally negative Supreme Court is more private, coverage is limited. PolitiFact