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Linkage Institution The media links citizens with government, along with political parties, interest groups, and elections.
The Media and Politics Freedom of the Press The United States vs Europe-stricter libel laws Freedom of Information Act-easy for U.S. press to obtain gov’t documents Privately Held Media common in U.S: Newspapers, Radio and Television Federal Communication Commission (FCC): licensing required for TV/Radio Copyright © 2013 Cengage
powerlineblog.com. Reprinted by permission of Powerline. As appeared on www.dailykos.com. Reprinted with permission. Blogs, both conservative and liberal, have become an important form of political advertising. Copyright © 2013 Cengage
Journalism in American Political History The Party Press-early partisan owned papers (Hamilton, Jefferson) The Popular Press-no longer needed political patronage to prosper Magazines of Opinion-appealed to progressives sick of “yellow journalism” Electronic Journalism – TV& Radio Copyright © 2013 Cengage
Bettmann/Corbis Pixellover RM 3/Alamy News used to come by radio, but today many people read newspapers on iPads and other electronic devices. Copyright © 2013 Cengage
Source: Nielsen Media Research, used under license Source: Nielsen Media Research, used under license. Pew Research Center’s Project for Excellence in Journalism, 2011 State of the News Media, http://stateofthemedia.org/2011/network-essay/. Copyright © 2013 Cengage
The Internet and Politics It is now easier to: raise money in small donations organize people to attend meetings take instant (unreliable?) opinion polls instantly criticize your opponent mobilize local followers target campaigners with the names of people they should contact Copyright © 2013 Cengage
The Structure of the Media Degree of Competition – Decentralized broadcast industry: most media is geared toward local news The National Media still vital (wire services, networks TV/Radio) Gatekeeper – define important issues Scorekeeper- make or break political reputations Watchdog-close scrutiny of gov’t Copyright © 2013 Cengage
Rules Governing the Media Newspapers – least governmental regulation Radio and TV – most governmental regulation Confidentiality of Sources often up to the courts Regulating Broadcasting- recently DEregulation Campaigning-equal time rules apply in TV/Radio Bebeto Matthews/AP Photo Activists urge Congress to pass a law shielding reporters from being required to testify about their sources. Copyright © 2013 Cengage
Superficial Coverage of Political News Sound Bites: Short video clips of approximately 15 seconds or less. Figure 7.2
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Pew Research Center for the People Source: Pew Research Center for the People & the Press, “Press Accuracy Rating Hits Two-Decade Low: Public Evaluations of the News Media: 1985–2009,” September 2009, http://pewresearch.org/pubs/1341/press-accuracy-rating-hits-two-decade-low. Copyright © 2013 Cengage
Are the National Media Biased? Do members of the media have a distinctive political attitude? (Yes. But ratings matter.) And – media’s influence is affected by “selective” attention. Copyright © 2013 Cengage
Government and the News Prominence of the President Coverage of Congress – C-SPAN Why do we have so many news leaks? – Trial balloons and an adversarial (suspicious) press Sensationalism in the media-result of competition Copyright © 2013 Cengage
Government constraints on journalists On the record – can quote official by name Off the record – what official says can’t be used On background – info may be used but not attributed to source Deep background – info may be used but not attributed to ANYBODY Copyright © 2013 Cengage
Copyright © 2013 Cengage