The Mass Media and The Political Agenda

 The rise of television has had a PROFOUND effect on the two central questions of government  How should we govern?  What should government do?  High Tech Politics – a period in which personal behavior as well as political agenda are shaped by technology  Mass Media – Television, radio, newspapers, magazines, the internet and other means of communication. They reach and influence vast numbers of people (not just the elite but the masses)  Mass Media is being used by today’s politician to inform, shape, influence like never before

 Effectively communicating a message is CRITICAL to political success  A key to getting a message out is getting it at the top of the daily news cycle ◦ MEDIA EVENT – stage for the purpose of being covered. Getting the right image/message out to the masses is what works ◦ SLICK POLITICAL ADS – 30 second TV commercials are key. About 60% of money in a presidential campaign are spend on TV ads ($54 million in CO along this year)  A positive public image also plays in successful governing ◦ 7 principals created by Reagan, still used by most today  Plan Ahead  Stay on the Offensive  Control the Flow of Information  Limit Reporter’s Access to the President  Talk About the Issues YOU want to talk about  Speak in One Voice  Repeat the same message many times

 Mass Media a relatively recent addition to politics (mid 20 th century  FDRoosevelt was the first to really USE the media to sell his message ◦ 2 press conferences a week ◦ Fireside Chats ◦ FDR/Dewey radio speeches  Media and Presidents had a close relationship for a long time. Vietnam & Watergate changed all that  Media became “watchdogs” of the presidency ◦ Investigative Journalism – looking for misdeed, scandals, etc ◦ Tends to give the public a less than positive view of the presidency

 Print Media (newspapers, magazines, etc) More in-depth coverage ◦ 1 st Amendment guaranteed FREEDOM OF SPEECH & PRESS ◦ Newspapers were initially used (and are still used today) to keep an eye on the government (make sure no abuse of power, air “dirty laundry ” ◦ “YELLOW JOURNALISM” – used in late 1800’s early 1900’s to sensationalize stories to sell copies. Focused on wars, corruption, gossip and violence ◦ Today, some newspapers/magazines are seen at more reputable ◦ With the invention of TV, sales for newspapers have continually declined ◦ The internet further lessened the sales of newspapers. Many have added or gone to internet versions of the news ◦ Magazines have had an even harder time. News magazines are often read by few, highly educated people  Broadcast Media (radio, TV, and the internet) ◦ Today’s principle source of news. Started with radio, then TV, now internet ◦ Televised debates (Kennedy/Nixon up to Obama/Romney) ◦ TV brought visual impact of stories to homes ◦ Cable TV changed how news was reported. More “investigative” to win viewers ◦ Imbedded journalists (Whitehouse, with troops in Iraq/Afghanistan)

 Federal Communications Commission (FCC) created by Congress to regulate public airwaves. Today, they regulate radio, TV, telephone, cable and satellite communications  FCC “independent” but are pressured thru budget and politics  FCC important impact on communications ◦ Prevents near-monopolies ◦ To receive license to broadcast, must serve public interest ◦ Ensure fair treatment (ie-equal time requirements)  Fairness Doctrine – Requires broadcasters to give time to opposing views if they broadcast a program slanted to one side of a controversial issue. Fairness Doctrine was abolished in the 1980’s when cable made so many channels available that a view could fine alternate views easily. There has be some discussion about renewing some form of the Fairness Doctrine, especially for radio

 The term “BROADCASTING” was coined to describe the diverse audience they were reaching out to  With the massive number of channels available, the future of broadcasting for news/political information is unsure  Currently, stations are narrowcasting or targeting a specific political viewpoint and creating programming to appeal to that point of view  Websites are even more “narrowcast”. Much cheaper method to reach target audience  Rumors, once verified by journalists BEFORE airing are now broadcast without cared fact checking  Many people can/have chosen to stay away from news/politics altogether. Political apathy is feared in a democracy, but seems to be direction our nation is heading

 Media outlets have been/are currently owned privately. 1 st Amendment ensures a totally independent media that is free to criticize the government leaders and policies ◦ US media reliant on advertising dollars for survival so can be swayed by external forces to limit or temper their shows ◦ Giant corporations own most US media outlets (TV and newspapers)  Few stations are publically owned (PBS)  In many countries, major outlets are publically owned (Canada, GB) ◦ In democratic countries, this is done to encourage journalists’ independence from government interference (Canada, most of Europe). Free to criticize government ◦ In less-democratic nations, this control leads to one sided coverage favoring the government (China) Punished for criticizing government ◦ Countries that do this see it pursuing the “public interest”