Media & Politics

Overview The Media as a Political Institution Types & Forms of Media Political Uses of Media Role of Media

Media as Political Institution Political Figures The People

Media as Political Institution Political Figures The People Democracy presupposes a tight connection between political leaders and the people

Media as Political Institution Political Figures The People How to reach each other? Direct contact options

Media as Political Institution Political Figures The People Direct contact options have limited capacity to reach mass audience though

Media as Political Institution Political Figures The People MEDIAMEDIA

Media as Political Institution Political Figures The People MEDIAMEDIA Use media to reach the people, but message is “mediated” by the media

Media as Political Institution Political Figures The People MEDIAMEDIA Use media to reach political leaders, but message is “mediated” by the media

Media as Political Institution Media has a pivotal role to play in democracy An informed electorate is essential to democratic politics For politicians to represent the “will of the people,” they need to know what the people want

Types and Forms of Media Basic media types: –television –radio –print –internet –cinema –music –advertising

Types and Forms of Media In U.S., most of these are for profit enterprises Need for profit shapes content delivered Profits derive from ratings, so ratings drives content delivered Presents possibility of conflicting aims of political figures and media owners

Types and Forms of Media

Most of the information and programming in the media is not necessarily overtly political That is, much is “entertainment” rather than informationentertainment

Political Uses of Media IntentionalUnintentional Explicit Implicit

Political Uses of Media IntentionalUnintentional Explicit Implicit Content is explicitly political and intends to change political beliefs or behavior

Political Uses of Media IntentionalUnintentional Explicit Implicit Political ads, PSAs, Documentaries

Political Uses of Media IntentionalUnintentional Explicit Implicit Content is explicitly political and intends to change political beliefs or behavior Political content is implied and intent is to change political beliefs or behavior

Political Uses of Media IntentionalUnintentional Explicit Implicit Political ads, PSAs, Documentaries Political values in entertainment programming

Political Uses of Media IntentionalUnintentional Explicit Implicit Content is explicitly political and intends to change political beliefs or behavior Political content is implied and intent is change political beliefs or behavior Content is explicitly political, but with no intent to influence political behavior or beliefs

Political Uses of Media IntentionalUnintentional Explicit Implicit Political ads, PSAs, Editorials Documentaries News Political values in entertainment programming

Political Uses of Media IntentionalUnintentional Explicit Implicit Content is explicitly political and intends to change political beliefs or behavior Political content is implied and intent is change political beliefs or behavior Content is explicitly political, but with no intent to influence political behavior or beliefs Whatever political content and consequences that may exist are unintentional

Political Uses of Media IntentionalUnintentional Explicit Implicit Political ads, PSAs, Documentaries News Political values in entertainment programming Vast majority of entertainment programming

Political Uses of Media Political leaders in U.S. need media, but they have little direct opportunity to truly shape and control message that is being delivered

Political Uses of Media Political Leaders prefer to use unfiltered content -- they get their message right to the people

Political Uses of Media Political Figures The People Most political leaders prefer this sort of direct interaction, but they also recognize the limitations of this approach and the necessity of media assistance in mass democracy

Political Uses of Media But in the US, where media is not under direct government control, executives, producers/editors, and reporters may have different agenda. So...

Political Uses of Media Types of media content in terms of relative levels of control between politician and media outlet: –unmediated –partly mediated –mediated

Political Uses of Media Unmediated Content: –Political figure has direct and immediate access to the public

Political Uses of Media Partly Mediated –Political figure uses media and media has partial element of control in dissemination and/or content of the message

Political Uses of Media Because news outlets need content, politicians can use that need to place information in the media –press releases –news briefings/press conferences –leaks

Political Uses of Media Interest groups also recognize that and likewise provide information and content to the media: –press releases –news briefings/press conferences

Political Uses of Media Fully Mediated –Media controls dissemination and/or content of the message

Political Uses of Media Political figures loathe this sort of content because it is beyond their control Forces politicians to react rather than to control events/story

Media Practices Agenda setting –determining which stories are important and the relative importance of each story Framing –determining what element of a story* is “newsworthy” and how that element is going to be presented to the public Interpreting –determining the “meaning” and significance of a story *Keep in mind the structural requirements of a story: characters, drama, finality

Media Practices All of these activities take the control of information further away from political figures and, simultaneously, give greater control to media figures

Roles of the Media Surveillance For the most part, the media bring issues, institutions, events, individuals, and organizations to public attention

Roles of the Media Surveillance determines the extent to which political issues will receive attention and the kind of attention they will receive; which political demands make it to the surface and which remain hidden or obscured e.g., Abu Ghraib, no WMDs, teen pregnancies, etc. e.g, social security, illegal drugs, the environment, healthcare

Roles of the Media The media, through its surveillance function and via its coverage and content, effectively define what is important or not, what is relevant or not, and why

This of course does not mean that all coverage is beneficial Sensationalized or erroneous stories can undermine public confidence For instance, local news tends to focus on crime stories, which have the effect of undermining security and sense of safety, thereby creating conditions for greater crime crime stories Roles of the Media

At the same time, stories which do not readily lend themselves to media practices or structures may be doomed for inattention “Big” stories involving institutions/processes rather than individual actors tend not to receive close media attention For instance: global warming, poverty, racism, sexism are not well served in most media forms, particularly the one with the greatest audience (network news)

Roles of the Media Another major function of the media is interpretation That is, when the media cover a story, they not only report, they also contextualize (frame) and interpret the story: what it means, why it’s important, what are the causes and effects What are the political implications of this media role?

Roles of the Media For example, in the debate on interrogation techniques on terrorist suspects, President Bush and the Republicans (on one hand) and anti-war groups (on the other) have each been trying to have the media frame the debate on their terms

Roles of the Media Another major function of the media is socialization, or the process by which the values, norms, beliefs, and mores, of the culture are transmitted from one generation to the next. Most of the information that young people get about the political world is derived from the media (rather than say parents, schools, churches, or the government itself). Socialization

Roles of the Media For most people, the media provide the basic information that allows for the transformation of political and social beliefs over time.

Through the stories covered, and the framing of those stories, the media (reporters, producers, editors, publishers) are in a position to shape public opinion Manipulation Roles of the Media

Media & Democracy Which raises question of how “we the people” can control the media?

Media & Democracy Growth of blogs and internet driven news content Benefit of decentralized control of content Cost of oversite/editorial control. How to ascertain the reliability of the information delivered and received online?