Media Effects The role of the mass media in American politics

What is “mass media”? Print media (newspapers, magazines) Broadcast media (television and radio) Internet

Importance of mass media Primary conduit of information about politics But is the media passive? Is the media biased or objective? If biased, does it matter?

Traditional view of media effects Expected effects: - information - persuasion Experimental design Findings: - little retention of information - little persuasion “Minimal Effects Hypothesis”

More subtle effects Agenda-setting Priming Framing

Agenda-setting Importance of issue Scope of issues/answers Iyengar, Kinder and Peters study Effect increased by - lead story status - vivid story, emotional engagement - lack of political sophistication of viewer

Priming “Cognitive misers” Which aspect of an issue weighs most heavily in our attitude Iyengar, Kinder and Peters Study

Not just the news... Entertainment shows may also have effects - agenda-setting - priming Even “better” than the news - full hour on single issue - consistency from week to week Examples

Framing! What is the “frame” of a story? What is the cultural or ideological context in which we place an issue?

Manipulating the frames Klan rally - free speech - social order Bosnian conflict - genocide - centuries of ethnic conflict

Bottom line: Media doesn’t change what we think, only how we think

Characteristics of the Media and Media Coverage (and their implications)

A look ahead Ideological bias Corporate control of media Personalization/Personality Politics Dramatization Fragmentation

Ideological bias? Allegations of liberal bias – journalists Allegations of conservative bias – media owners / advertisers Does it matter?

Corporate control of media Limits the number of “real” news outlets Profit motive - demand-driven news - cost-cutting measures - journalists “sell souls” for access - rush to print

Demand-driven news Saturation coverage of ultimately non-historical events May crowd out other stories May “burn out” the public, make us jaded Examples: O.J., Paris Hilton

Cost-cutting measures “Canned” news stories (same stories in every paper) Lack of in-depth research Usual suspects interviewed, no diversity of viewpoints

Objectivity vs. Access Willing to do “puff pieces” in order to get choice interviews Embedded journalists

The rush to the presses Use sources and tips without confirmation Trying to predict the news Implications - may get things wrong, and people don’t pay attention to retractions - elections: people behave strategically

Personalization / Personality Politics Tendency to focus on issues through lens of individual “victims” Tendency to focus on personality of candidates Implications – May actually engage some viewers – Personality characteristics may be good cues to how politicians will actually behave – But... May gloss over important policy issues

Example of personalization: CNN (October 17, 2000) “there might have been a defeat for Gore on the likeability factor.” (Bob Novak) “Gore’s clear decision to be aggressive, to try to define very sharp differences [might make him seem] assertive and tough minded [or] rude and smug.” (Jeff Greenfield) “In this forum, where he was answering questions and being that aggressive, it will be interesting to see whether or not it plays as [if] he was a little terrier running out and trying to answer this person’s question versus standing back and saying: You know, let me talk down to you.” (Tamala Edwards)

Dramatization News told through narrative structure and visuals “If it bleeds, it leads” May result in important pieces of information being cut because they don’t fit with the narrative structure Oversimplifies issues Polarizes issues by playing up dramatic conflict

Fragmentation News told in small bits (esp. w/ broadcast media) Oversimplification Don’t see stories in context, developing dynamic, connection between various issues and events

In sum Many aspects of news coverage result in poor quality information and skewed decisions about which stories to cover May not persuade us to vote Republican rather than Democratic, but these biases do affect how we think about political issues

So... If media is such an important component of political life and Media is so terrible What can we do about it?