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2. Linkage Institution
The media links citizens with government, along with political parties, interest groups, and elections.

3. The Media and Politics Freedom of the Press
The United States vs Europe-stricter libel laws
Freedom of Information Act-easy for U.S. press to obtain gov’t documents
Privately Held Media common in U.S:
Newspapers, Radio and Television
Federal Communication Commission (FCC): licensing required for TV/Radio
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4. powerlineblog.com. Reprinted by permission of Powerline.
As appeared on Reprinted with permission.
Blogs, both conservative and liberal, have become an important form of political advertising.
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5. Journalism in American Political History
The Party Press-early partisan owned papers (Hamilton, Jefferson)
The Popular Press-no longer needed political patronage to prosper
Magazines of Opinion-appealed to progressives sick of “yellow journalism”
Electronic Journalism – TV& Radio
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6. Bettmann/Corbis
Pixellover RM 3/Alamy
News used to come by radio, but today many people read newspapers on iPads and other electronic devices.
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7. Source: Nielsen Media Research, used under license
Source: Nielsen Media Research, used under license. Pew Research Center’s Project for Excellence in Journalism, 2011 State of the News Media,
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8. The Internet and Politics
It is now easier to:
raise money in small donations
organize people to attend meetings
take instant (unreliable?) opinion polls
instantly criticize your opponent
mobilize local followers
target campaigners with the names of people they should contact
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9. The Structure of the Media
Degree of Competition – Decentralized broadcast industry: most media is geared toward local news
The National Media still vital (wire services, networks TV/Radio)
Gatekeeper – define important issues
Scorekeeper- make or break political reputations
Watchdog-close scrutiny of gov’t
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10. Rules Governing the Media
Newspapers – least governmental regulation
Radio and TV – most governmental regulation
Confidentiality of Sources
often up to the courts
Regulating Broadcasting-
recently DEregulation
Campaigning-equal time
rules apply in TV/Radio
Bebeto Matthews/AP Photo
Activists urge Congress to pass a law shielding reporters from being required to testify about their sources.
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11. Superficial Coverage of Political News
Sound Bites: Short video clips of approximately 15 seconds or less.
Figure 7.2

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13. Pew Research Center for the People Source: Pew Research Center for the People & the Press, “Press Accuracy Rating Hits Two-Decade Low: Public Evaluations of the News Media: 1985–2009,” September 2009,
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14. Are the National Media Biased?
Do members of the media have a distinctive political attitude?
(Yes. But ratings matter.)
And – media’s influence is affected by “selective” attention.
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15. Government and the News
Prominence of the President
Coverage of Congress – C-SPAN
Why do we have so many news leaks? – Trial balloons and an adversarial (suspicious) press
Sensationalism in the media-result of competition
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16. Government constraints on journalists
On the record – can quote official by name
Off the record – what official says can’t be used
On background – info may be used but not attributed to source
Deep background – info may be used but not attributed to ANYBODY
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