Transcript The Mass Media and the Political Agenda

The Mass Media and the
Political Agenda Chapt. 7
Key Questions!
1. How has television brought an immediacy to
how we govern?
2. How does TV and other media remove the
filter of time from events?
3. Is the media changing the deliberate
governing process designed by our founders?
Introduction
• Mass Media:
– Television, radio, newspapers, magazines,
the Internet and other means of popular
communication.
• High-tech politics:
– A politics in which the behavior of citizens and
policymakers and the political agenda itself
are increasingly shaped by technology.
The Mass Media
Today
• Media Events:
– Events purposely staged for the media that
nonetheless look spontaneous. Media events
can be staged by almost anybody.
• Other items to consider:
– 60% presidential campaign spending is TV
ads and most are negative.
– Image making / news management is
important, especially for presidents
The Development
of Media Politics
• Introduction
– The news media wasn’t always so important.
– Press Conferences: meetings of public
officials with reporters – Roosevelt (1,000)
and JFK used many of these.
– Investigative Journalism: the use of in-depth
reporting to unearth scandals, scams &
schemes putting reporters & politicians
opposite each other. Watergate!
Press and the President
• Prior to Watergate and Vietnam, reporters
and President had a more cooperative
relationship.
• Press rarely published photographs of
FDR in a wheelchair.
• Press did not report on
JFK’s female friends.
• Changed with Nixon!
• The Print Media
– Newspapers and magazines
– “Yellow journalism”
characterized newspapers at
the turn of the century.
– Among the press there is a
pecking order. (N.Y. Times)
– Newspaper circulation has
been declining.
– Magazines are also
struggling. (Time, Newsweek)
– Significant impact of the
“sound bite”.
How do you explain the decline
of newspapers in the U.S.?
Figure 7.1
Broadcast
Media
– Television and radio are the main sources of
political information. Regulated by FCC
– Brought government and politics into people’s
homes, especially Vietnam in 1960’s.
– Made the politicians more aware of their
appearance and mannerisms. (Nixon/JFK)
– Television is the principal source of news for
most Americans, and most
credible/believable.
The Development of Media Politics
• Gov’t Regulation of the Broadcast Media
– The Federal Communications Commission
(FCC) regulates the use of airwaves (1934).
– No monopolies, operate in public interest,
treat candidates fairly.
• Narrowcasting: Cable TV and the Internet
– Media programming on cable TV or the
Internet that is focused on one topic and
aimed at a particular audience.
– 2/3 of U.S. has cable TV.
The Development of Media Politics
• Private Control of the Media
– Only a small number of TV stations are
publicly owned in America…Superbowl!
– The media are totally dependent on
advertising revenues.
– Chains consist of massive media
conglomerates that control almost threequarters of the nation’s daily newspaper
circulation as well as broadcast media.
– Lower quality of cable news coverage.
Reporting the News
• Finding the News
– Beats: Specific locations from which news
frequently emanates, such as Congress or the
White House. Criticism reduces access!
– Trial Balloons: An intentional news leak for
the purpose of assessing the political
reaction.
– Reporters and their sources depend on each
other - one for stories, the other to get them
out. Courts protect sources – 1st Amend.
• Presenting the News
– Superficial describes most news coverage today
– Sound Bites: Short video clips of approximately 15 seconds.
– Dan Rather – “You simply cannot be a well informed citizen
by just watching the news on television.”
– As technology has enabled the media to pass along
information with greater speed, news coverage has become
less thorough and more superficial.
• News is what is timely and different.
• “News is a man biting a dog, not a dog biting a
man.” Does the media invent news?
• Routine events are not newsworthy.
Figure 7.2
Reporting the News
• Bias in the News
– Many people believe the news favors one
point of view over another.
– Generally are not very biased along liberal /
conservative lines. TV based in New York!
– Generally are biased towards what will draw
the largest audience.
– FOX is conservative? AJC is liberal?
– Can humans be objective?
The News and Public Opinion
• Television news can affect what people
think is important.
• The media influence the criteria by which
the public evaluates political leaders.
• Some policies can be made more
important, others will be less important,
depending on their coverage.
• A mistake on TV can ruin a leader. (Gore)
Agenda-Setting
Function
• Policy Agenda:
– The issues that attract the serious attention of
public officials and other people actively
involved in politics at the time.
• Policy Entrepreneurs:
– People who invest their political “capital” in an
issue.
– All depend on good images and good will.
• Media is ubiquitous and define the news.
• The Media and the Scope of Government
– The media as watchdog restricts politicians.
– New proposals are met with skepticism - so
that restricts what the government can do.
– But, if the media identify a problem, they ask
what the government is going to do to fix it.
– Media can enhance an individual candidate or
create an issue. They still can sensationalize
an issue or a problem. (potholes)
– Media acts as the fourth branch of
government and can reduce the influence of
political parties or other factions.
Mass Media Questions
1.
Identify three events (not mentioned in text) in the last fifty years
where the media has compelled the government to respond.
2. Explain how political figures manage the press and media coverage.
3. How did FDR manage the media during his 12 years in White House?
4. Explain the idea that today’s newspeople work in an “environment of
cynicism”? (215)
5. Discuss the significance of the fact that campaign reporting has
changed from “what” to “why”? (216)
6. Explain how Nixon’s “Checkers” speech and Walter Cronkite’s report
from Vietnam impacted public opinion? (218)
7. Do sound bites oversimplify the news? Support your opinion. (229)
8. Why do the courts protect the identify of news sources? (226)
9. Explain the impact of the statement: “there is no greater sin than to
bore the audience.” (232)
10. Discuss how the media acts as a linkage institution between the
people and the policy makers and impact the policy agenda. (235)
Do the people really do
rule through the media?
The incredible amount of information
available to Americans today has not
visibly increased their political
awareness of participation.
Understanding the Mass Media
• Individualism and the Media
– Candidates can now run on their own.
– Easier to focus on one person like the
President, than Congress or the courts.
– Supreme Court justices are not accessible.
• Democracy and the Media
– “Information is the fuel of democracy.”
– But, is the news more entertainment than
information? Is this what the people want?