14 The Media

The Media As a Political Institution Although not a formal branch of the US government, the media nonetheless play a critical institutional role in the political system It is impossible to maintain a democratic political system over time without a properly functioning media Discussion: Ask students to explain why a properly functioning media is essential in a democratic political system. Alternatively, explain that democratic political systems are heavily reliant upon informed public participation. Without a properly functioning media, citizens would lack sufficient information to inform their participation in politics.

The Media as a Political Institution: Diversity A diversity of sources, firms, and technologies makes up the media. 1,400 daily newspapers 1,500 television stations Hundreds of weekly magazines Countless websites Available in most every language Discussion: Ask students to explain why a properly functioning media is essential in a democratic political system. Alternatively, explain that democratic political systems are heavily reliant upon informed public participation. Without a properly functioning media, citizens would lack sufficient information to inform their participation in politics.

Types of Media: Print Newspapers and magazines are the oldest forms of printed political communication Print journalism allows for greater context, depth, and analysis than other formats Competition from other news formats – especially the Internet – threatens the viability of print media

Broadcast Media Television Radio CBS, NBC, ABC (1950s) Cable News CNN (1980s), Fox News (1990s), and MSNBC (2000s) Radio Talk radio is a powerful medium for mobilizing American conservatives Left-wing radio has been less successful

The Internet The Internet has emerged as a powerful new technology for the dissemination of news and information, with a wide variety of political perspectives Many Internet news sites aggregate news collected by other media Politicians increasingly communicate with voters through social network sites such as Facebook and Twitter

The Trends in Regular News Consumption, 1991–2010

Regulation of the Electronic and Broadcast News Media In the United States, government rarely regulates news content This tendency can be traced to First Amendment protections for the press Government regulation of the media is highly controversial

Regulation of News Media Broadcast media face more scrutiny from federal regulators Content and ownership are key issues Media regulation Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Licenses broadcasters and regulates profanity, obscenity, and indecency .

Regulation of Broadcast Media: FCC Regulations Equal Time Rule: Broadcasters must provide candidates for the same office an equal opportunity to communicate their messages. Right of Rebuttal: Individuals have the right to respond to personal attacks. Fairness Doctrine: The FCC requires broadcasters to provide time for opposing views on issues. Discussion: The important point is that each of these regulations has been relaxed in recent years.

The Internet and Government Regulation Federal regulation of the Internet is also highly contested Supporters argue that content originators should be protected from websites that facilitate the distribution of protected content Foreign-based Internet companies can easily escape federal regulation

Clicker Question Which of the following is NOT an example of government attempts to ensure a diversity of opinion in news coverage? A. Equal Time Rule B. Right of Rebuttal C. 1996 Telecommunications Act D. Fairness Doctrine Answer: C

Freedom of the Press Included in the First Amendment Prior restraint refers to efforts by government to prevent publication of material deemed to be harmful or libelous Near v. Minnesota (1931) set a high legal threshold for government prior restraint

Organization and Ownership of the Media 1996 Telecommunications Act led to media consolidation Internet can provide a counterweight to media consolidation http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/thu-june-5-2003/communication-breakdown

Few Corporations Control the Majority of U.S. Media Discussion: Ask students to consider the implications of media consolidation, including possible advantages and disadvantages. Does the fact that fewer than 10 large corporations control more than 85 percent of the media constitute a threat to democracy itself? Can the Internet provide a legitimate counterweight to corporate media?

What Affects News Coverage? Journalists play a critical role in shaping news coverage. Although most journalists strive for objectivity, personal biases inevitably shape their perspectives. What do journalists want? Ratings Career success Professional prestige Discussion: Because the quality of news is so critical in a democracy, it is important to know the factors that can have an impact on the way news is produced. During the 1920s, objective journalism emerged to minimize personal biases in news coverage. New schools of journalism began to teach generations of journalists objective reporting, emphasizing facts (who, what, where) over sensationalism and opinion. The objective style of journalism emerged as a backlash to the previous era known for “yellow journalism,” a highly sensationalistic style of reporting that emphasized, above all, selling news as a product. Stephen Colbert skewers the New York Post’s coverage of the investigation of the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing by pointing to the four W’s of journalism: http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/425604/april-18-2013/boston-marathon--bag-men- In examining the current state of American journalism, have we returned to a yellow, partisan press characteristic of the nineteenth-century American media?

Journalists In recent years, there has been greater acceptance of partisanship among journalists Media moguls William Randolph Hearst, Rupert Murdoch, and others shape news coverage through their biases and business interests

Do Journalists Bias the News? More journalists identify themselves as Democrats and liberals than as Republicans and conservatives. Most studies have failed to identify major biases in coverage of national politics, though some subtle biases do exist. Discussion: Groseclose and Milyo (2005) found that most reporters do tend to use more loaded terminology when referring to conservatives as opposed to liberals. But the effect is reversed when more conservative outlets like the Wall St. Journal or Fox News are examined.

Newspaper Endorsements

Citizen Journalism The emergence of citizen journalism, enabled by the Internet, promotes a wider variety of perspectives Citizen journalists played a major role in protests in Egypt, Libya, and Syria in 2011 Critics of citizen journalism express concern about upholding traditional journalistic standards and training

News Leaks Individuals shape news through the dissemination of confidential information The Pentagon Papers — Ellsberg’s 1971 release of government documents cast doubt upon the Vietnam War Administration officials leak information to shape media and public impressions of news events (for example, the Valerie Plame scandal)

News Sources: Politicians Press conferences, speeches, and other powers of the bully pulpit allow presidents to set and shape news agendas. Government agencies sometimes release statistics strategically. Administration officials leak information to shape media and public impressions of news events (for example, the Valerie Plame scandal).

Manufactured “News” Recent cases of journalists paid by officials to slant news stories Government videos designed to resemble actual news stories attempt to sway public opinion Politicization of news undermines public faith in the media as an institution

Consumers The news business is ultimately geared toward making a profit News is tailored for segments of the population “If it bleeds, it leads” – News is tailored to consumer preferences for entertainment

Education and Attention to the News

The Media and Conflict The media are sometimes accused of encouraging conflict and even violence because viewers tune in for dramatic stories. But protest as a strategy for attracting media coverage does not always work, as the media frequently focus on the conflict rather than the issues at stake.

Media Power and Responsibility The media play a powerful role in shaping public perception of news events. Civil Rights Movement War in Iraq 2008 Presidential Election There is inherent tension between a free press and a responsible press.

Newspapers and the press enjoy a special place in American democracy Newspapers and the press enjoy a special place in American democracy. In the landmark case New York Times v. Sullivan (1963), Justice William Brennan defended the First Amendment’s guarantee of freedom of the press as essential to an informed public, healthy deliberation, and democratic elections. A precipitous decline in newspaper readership in recent years, then, has caused concern among many observers and questions about the cause of the decline. Has the rise of the Internet caused the drop in newspaper readership? And what might this mean for American democracy? 28

The economic difficulties of newspapers are best reflected in their balance sheets. Their main source of revenue is advertising, which accounts for about 90 percent of the revenue generated by a print newspaper. From 2000 to 2008, real revenues of newspapers declined by over $14 billion—a 50 percent decline. Over the same period, Internet advertising revenue rose by $7 billion. Advertisers, of course, are seeking the audience. The decline in ad revenues is widely seen as an indicator of eroding newspaper readership, and the pattern since 2000 suggests that the Internet is largely to blame. 29

However, a longer term perspective shows that the decline in newspaper reading started long before the late 1990s, when the Internet emerged. At their peak in the 1950s, approximately 35 newspapers were sold for every 100 people in the United States. Today that figure is roughly 15 newspapers for every 100 persons, and falling. 30

Although the decline of newspapers predates the increase in online advertising, the Internet does fit into a more general account of the problems facing newspapers— competition. Web sites have competed with newspapers for audience and revenues in recent years. Since the 1950s, television has competed with newspapers for the attention of the American public. Television, and, more recently, the Internet have gradually won over the newspaper audience. SOURCES: Newspaper circulation and revenue: Editor and Publisher, Editor and Publisher International Yearbook (various years). Internet Revenue: Internet Advertising Bureau, Internet Advertising Report, 2008 Full-Year Results, www.iab.net/media/file/IAB_PwC_2008_full_year.pdf (accessed 10/24/11). Television Audience: Nielsen Media Research, NTI Annual Averages, reported by Television Bureau of Advertising, Trends in Television (various years). 31