© 2010 Pearson Education Chapter 6 The Media

Case Study: YouTube YouTube (youtube.com) Began in 2005 Has helped change the political landscape for candidates and politicians –George Allen’s “Macaca Incident” –People can watch when they want and form their own opinion.

The Media Landscape Most media outlets owned by large corporations Traditional media outlets in decline Newspapers Newsmagazines Networks New media have grown Internet Cable television Satellite radio

Government Regulation of the News Media The 1 st Amendment –Declares, “Congress shall make no law abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press” –Tradition of free press is very strong in the United States –However, freedom of the press not absolute

Government Regulation of the News Media Obscenity and Defamation –Media outlets can be prosecuted for violating obscenity laws, but the Supreme Court’s definition of obscenity is so narrow that prosecutions are rare and do not directly impact the media.

Government Regulation of the News Media –Defamatory (false) expressions, are not given 1 st Amendment protections. Written (libel) Spoken (slander) –Ordinary citizens can win defamation suits by proving a statement is false. –Public Figures. »The standards are different. »They must demonstrate that the false statements were made with malice or in a reckless fashion.

Government Regulation of the News Media Prior Restraint and National Security –Prior restraint Government action to prevent the publication or broadcast of objectionable material Supreme Court –Prior restraint is such an extreme limitation on freedom of the press that it can be used only in exceptional circumstances, such as war

Government Regulation of the News Media The FCC and the Broadcast Media –Congress created the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in 1939 to regulate media using public airwaves. Includes VHF and UHF television and AM/FM radio –In the past few decades, the FCC loosened its regulations on political broadcasting, but recently it has become more aggressive in monitoring indecency in the realm of entertainment.

Government Regulation of the News Media Reporters, Confidential Sources, and Criminal Prosecutions –Journalists believe 1st Amendment shields reporters from being compelled to reveal their sources –Courts have not agreed Many states have shield laws Federal government has no such law

Covering the News News media outlets try to attract as large an audience as possible. The larger the audience, the higher the rates they can charge to advertisers. This desire to have as large an audience as possible can lead to –more coverage of entertainment and –less of policy issues.

Covering the News Chain ownership –Stories written for a few major newspapers can end up in dozens of papers across the country. –Local television stations rely heavily on the network for their news, especially national and international news. –Campaign organizations have become adept at manipulating candidate news coverage.

Media Biases Media sources tend –to cover Democratic candidates for president more favorably than their Republican opponents in recent elections. –to treat challengers better than incumbents.

Conclusion: The Media and Public Policy The media plays an important role in the policymaking process, especially during the agenda-building and policy-evaluation stages. –Agenda Building The press plays a signaling role. The media may be unable to tell people what to think, but they generally succeed in telling people what to think about.

Conclusion: The Media and Public Policy The media plays an important role in the policymaking process. –Policy Formulation and Adoption The media influence policy adoption through framing. –The way the media present an issue helps define the approaches policymakers will take in addressing an issue. The media does not adopt policies, but they publicize policy adoption by reporting on governmental activities in all branches of government.

Conclusion: The Media and Public Policy The media plays an important role in the policymaking process. –Policy Implementation and Evaluation Other than carrying out FCC rules, the media do not implement public policies. They are, however, important participants in policy evaluation.