Interest Groups/Media 4/26/2012

Clearly Communicated Learning Objectives in Written Form Upon completion of this course, students will be able to: – discuss and critically analyze political events in the United States government – students will be able to identify and explain the role of informal institutions and their effect on policy.

Office Hours and Readings Pages Office Hours – None Today – Monday 10-2

The Media and Politics

The Role of the Media It is profit driven Reporting the news Setting the Agenda

Gatekeepers Key people who control what we watch Help to shape political priorities Driven by profit

What gatekeepers use The authority of the source The Amount of Controversy The importance

PROVIDING US WITH POLITICAL INFORMATION

Where we get Political Information

The Type of Media Matters Television is the most important The internet is the fastest, but has the most bias

We Would Rather Watch Mistakes Bad SushiSushi People Falling People A great collectioncollection Rick Perry

Newspapers and Magazines Newspapers – Provide more information and Detail – Very few cities have multiple papers anymore Magazines- vary in content and quality

The Decline of Old media

THE MINIMAL EFFECTS MODEL Does the media really matter

The Minimal Effects Model The Fall Campaign is not that important Most people have made up their mind

Spurious/Minimal effects model We do not seek out political information We have selective/exposure perception We rarely make major changes

Who is influenced the most Those with the least political attention Those without stable party identification Elections can swing if it is close

HORSE RACE COVERAGE How the Media Makes things exciting

Horse Race Coverage What is it? What does it contain Why?

The Latest Polls

The Electoral College Map

The keys to horse race coverage Polling Perception No issues

Component I: Categorizer Sorts the candidates into winners and losers Creates an Image for the candidate

Component II: Expectation Setter Puts odds on the candidates You want to be at the top… duh But it isn't as good as you might thinkthink

Component III: Mentioner You want the media to notice you Not all press is good press Mentions mean money and votes

Component IV:Winnowing The Press Winnows (narrows) down the candidates Attention is on Iowa and NH Frontloading is the results

Type of Coverage in 2008 Primary

Horse Race Dominates 2008 General