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The Media

Daily Dilemma: Where should people get their news?

+“Are newspapers dead?”

“The loss of newspapers is a threat to democracy” Newspapers invest in investigative reporting and practice

norms of objectivity and accountability

“The web-based journalism future is democratizing” People can get involved more easily

1. The challenges facing newspapers are here to stay

2. We cannot “put the Internet genie back in the bottle”

3. In the current context of media, we must study the rapidly changing media environment

+People, Government and Communications

Communication is the process of transmitting information from one individual or group to another. Mass media refers to the means for communication to these audiences. Print Media

Broadcast Media

+Communication between people and the government

In democratic governments, information must flow freely in both directions; a democratic government can respond to public opinion only if its citizens can make their opinions known

1. Newspapers

2. Magazines

3. Radio

4. Television

5. The Internet

+The Development of the Mass Media in the United States.

When the Revolutionary War started, 37 weekly newspapers were published in the colonies.

By 2009 only 26 U.S. tows or cities had two or more competing dailies under separate ownership

Newspapers

+Magazines

News-oriented magazines cover the news in a more specialized manner than do daily newspapers.

Magazines may influence attentive policy elites and influence mass opinion indirectly through a two-step flow of communication (the process in which a few policy elites gather information and then inform their more numerous followers, mobilizing them to apply pressure to the government).

Policy elites often frame issues for popular consumption

+Radio

Regularly scheduled, continuous radio broadcasts started in the 1920s

Over 235 million Americans listen to a traditional AM/FM radio every week

+Television

By 1960, 87 percent of U.S. households had televisions. By 2009, the United States had more than 1300 commercial and 300 public television stations, and virtually every household (99 %) had a television (and the majority had 3 or more sets)

More More and more, people who are more

interested in politics are more interested in partisan shows while people less interested

in politics avoid the news altogether

+The Internet In its early years, the Internet was used mainly to

transmit emails among researchers.

In January 1993 there were about 50 websites. Today there are over 100 million sites and over 1 billion Web users.

Over 70% of Americans use the Internet

Those who rely on the Internet for their news tend to be critical of the traditional news media

Political blogs have greatly influenced stories picked up by mainstream news media

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+Private Ownership of the Media

In the U.S., we take private ownership of the media for granted.

In other Western democracies, the print media are privately owned but the broadcast media often are not

+The Consequences of Private Ownership

Private ownership of the media ensures that stories are selected for audience appeal

The news industry in America has more political freedom than any other country in the world but it also makes the media more dependent on advertising revenues to cover their costs and make a profit

The average American watches TV for 4 hours a day but only ½ of the population watches the news for ½ hour or more

+Newsworthiness: the degree to which a news story is important enough to be covered in the mass media “If it bleeds, it leads.”

Judged by: Political impact on readers Sensationalism (violence, conflict, disaster, scandal) Treatment of familiar people or life situations Close-to-home character Timeliness

Market-driven journalism: Both reporting news and running commercials geared to a target audience defined by demographic characteristics

+Breakdown of News

+“Hook and Hold”

Local stations use this tactic to keep viewers

They HOOK viewers at the start by airing eye-catching, alarming stories. The middle of the broadcast has informative news stories about business, science, technology and politics and the final segment is usually a funny or unusual video about human interest.

+The Concentration of Private Ownership

There is a trend toward concentrated ownership of the media, increasing the risk that a few owners could control the news flow to promote their own political interests– much as political parties influenced the content of the earliest American newspapers

Newspaper chains have increased and the number of independent newspapers have declined

Although broadcast media ownership has become concentrated, networks usually don’t own their affiliates

+Six corporations own 90 percent of all media in the U.S. You’ve probably heard of them: CBS, Disney, General Electric, News-Corp and Time Warner.

+Government Regulation and the Media

The broadcast media operate under more strict guidelines than the print media

Government regulations address1. Technical considerations

2. Ownership

3. Content

+Technical and Ownership Regulations

Capitalist owners sought to create order on radio airwaves by influencing the Federal Radio Act of 1927

Congress passed the Federal Communications Act of 1934, creating the Federal Communications Commission (FCC)– a five member independent federal agency that regulates interstate and international communication by radio, television, telephone, etc. Individuals are appointed by the president for 5 year terms and no more than 3 people can be from the same political party.

Mergers among companies prompted concerns that the media would be controlled by a few conglomerates

+Regulation of Content

The First Amendment prohibits Congress from abridging the freedom of the press

The only instance where the Supreme Court has really limited the press has been in the context of classified information during wartime

+Repealed FCC rules

Fairness Doctrine– made broadcasters provide fair coverage of all views on public issues

Equal Opportunities Rule– required broadcast stations give time to all candidates if they sold time to one candidate

Reasonable Access Rule– required that stations make their facilities available for the expression of conflicting views on issues by all responsible elements in the community

Dilemma: True or false, one aspect of the free press is its ability to champion causes it favors without having to argue the case for the other side

+Functions of the mass media for the political system

1. Reporting the news

2. Interpreting the news

3. Influencing citizens’ opinions

4. Setting the agenda for government action

5. Socializing citizens about politics

+Reporting the News

Washington, D.C. has the biggest press corps of any city in the world– nearly 7,000 congressionally accredited reporters, 2,000 from newspapers, 1,800 from periodicals, 2,500 from radio and television and over 350 photographers

The White House Press Secretary works hard to carefully craft statements to control the way in which news is released

Some reporters occasionally benefit from leaks of information released by officials who are guaranteed anonimity

+Interpreting and Presenting the News

Media executives, prominent reporters and news editors function as gate keepers in directing the news flow. They decide which events to report and how to handle the elements in those stories.

+News Broadcasts

To make the news understandable and hold viewers’ attention, television editors and producers concentrate on individuals because individuals have television personalities (political institutions, except for the presidency, don’t).

+Elections

During elections, personification encourages horse race journalism where media coverage becomes mainly about who is leading in the polls and who has the most money People complain about horse race journalism

because it takes the focus away from issues

During elections, political campaigns also create media events a situation that is too newsworthy to pass up

+Where the Public Gets its news

TV

Newspaper

Internet

On average, Americans spend a little more than an hour a day getting news from one or multiple sources. Older Americans spend more time getting news and people under 30 spend less

+What people remember and know

Television hypothesis:Television is blamedfor people not knowing more about current events because of1. Issue squeezing2. Focus on personal rather than big picture terms3. Focus on fairly coveringcandidates

The way the media covers news can exacerbate socioeconomic differences in levels of political knowledge. When the news is presented with expert speaking and jargon the more affluent will learn from the coverage and the less educated will not. Contextualizing news makes socioeconomic differences diminish.

+Influencing Public Opinion

9 out of 10 people believe the media strongly influences public opinion

Because few of us learn about events except through the media, its hard to measure how much people are influenced. In a way, the media simply influence public opinion by reporting events.

+Setting the Political Agenda

The media’s greatest influence is setting the political agenda– a list of issues that people identify as needing government action

Though crime coverage has increased, crime has actually fallen every year since 1980

+Politicians and the Media (again)

The media’s ability to influence public opinion by defining “the news” makes politicians eager to influence media coverage

Going public– a strategy whereby a president seeks to influence policy elites and media coverage by appealing directly to the American people

+Socializing the Media

The mass media acts as important agents of political socialization. Young people who rarely follow the news by choice nevertheless acquire political values through the entertainment function of the broadcast media.

Some scholars argue that the most important effect of the mass media, particularly television, is to reinforce hegemony, or dominance, of the existing culture and order

The media both promote popular support for government by joining in the celebration of civic accomplishments and holidays and also erodes public confidence by showing the failures of politicians and the violence of the police

+Evaluating the Media in Government

Dilemma: Are the media fair or biased?

+Bias

The news media is criticized for being too liberal, promoting social equality and undercutting social order

They are also accused of being too conservative, preserving inequalities and reinforcing the existing order by focusing on conversations that serve as entertainment that numbs people’s capacity for critical analysis

Reporters are more liberal than conservative (personally) but talk radio is dominated by conservative views

+Elections & Political Issues

Incumbents get more news coverage simply by being in office

People misunderstood the Iraq War based on the media interpretation 27% thought world opinion supported the U.S.-led invasion 21% thought Iraq had directly been involved in the 9/11 attacks 24% thought that the U.S. had already found Iraqi weapons of

mass destruction

45% of Fox News viewers made all three mistakes compared with 15% of CBS, ABC, NBC or CNN viewers. Only 9% who depended on print media made all three mistakes and only 4% of PBS or NPR viewers/ listeners made all three mistakes.

+Contributions to Democracy

Communication moves from government to citizens and citizens to government

Watchdog Journalism: Journalism that scrutinizes public and business institutions and publicizes perceived misconduct

The media serves both the majoritarian and pluralist models of democracy by improving the quality of information transmitted to the people about their government

+Effects on Freedom, Order and Equality

The media has often played an important role in advancing racial equality & women’s rights