1. The News Media: Communicating Political Images
Chapter 10
The News Media: Communicating Political Images

2. Theodore H. White
The press in America… determines what people will think and talk about–an authority that in other nations is reserved for tyrants, priests, parties, and mandarins.
Presentation by Eric Miller, Blinn College, Bryan, Texas. Copyright © 2005 McGraw-Hill. All rights reserved. No part of this presentation may be reproduced in any form without permission from the publisher.

3. Introduction News: News Media (the Press) Timely Dramatic Compelling
Events
News Media (the Press)
provides a selective depiction of reality because it emphasizes dramatic events and excludes slow, steady processes
Presentation by Eric Miller, Blinn College, Bryan, Texas. Copyright © 2005 McGraw-Hill. All rights reserved. No part of this presentation may be reproduced in any form without permission from the publisher.

4. The Development of the News Media: From Partisanship to Objective Journalism
From a Partisan Press to an “Objective” One
early American newspapers were supported by the political parties
Gazette of the U.S.- founded to promote the policies of G. Washington
National Gazette- formed as an opposition to the Republican party
Presentation by Eric Miller, Blinn College, Bryan, Texas. Copyright © 2005 McGraw-Hill. All rights reserved. No part of this presentation may be reproduced in any form without permission from the publisher.

5. The Development of the News Media: From Partisanship to Objective Journalism
“Yellow Journalism”
emphasis on sensationalism
led to the Spanish-American war
Objective Journalism
the reporter's job is to report the facts and cover alternative sides of a partisan debate
Descriptive Reporting
in the 1960’s the vast majority of news was descriptive
reporters stick to the “facts”
Interpretive Reporting
today most news is interpretive
analysis & explanation of developments
Most newspapers have a partisan bias on their editorial pages
Presentation by Eric Miller, Blinn College, Bryan, Texas. Copyright © 2005 McGraw-Hill. All rights reserved. No part of this presentation may be reproduced in any form without permission from the publisher.

6. The Development of the News Media: From Partisanship to Objective Journalism
The Development of the Broadcast Media
Radio and Television: The Truly National Media
reached millions of people simultaneously
opened a direct, instantaneous channel between a leader and the people
Government Licensing and Regulation of Broadcasters
based on the scarcity of broadcasting frequencies
The Communications Act (1934)-FCC
regulates signal strength, ad rates, fees, and election coverage policies
equal time requirement
broadcasters cannot sell or give time to one political candidate and then provide it to another
Presentation by Eric Miller, Blinn College, Bryan, Texas. Copyright © 2005 McGraw-Hill. All rights reserved. No part of this presentation may be reproduced in any form without permission from the publisher.

7. Historical Development: From the Nation’s Founding to Today
The rise of the “new” news
The end of the Fairness Doctrine
Required broadcasters to “afford reasonable opportunity for the discussion of conflicting views of public importance”
Broadcasters could not promote one party or issue position at the expense of another
Cable news
CNN
Founded by Ted Turner in 1980
Chose to pursue a path of partisan neutrality
Fox News
Founded by Rupert Murdoch in 1996
Chose a partisan (conservative ) format

8. Historical Development: From the Nation’s Founding to Today
The rise of the “new” news
Partisan radio talk shows
Without the Fairness Doctrine, radio programmers were free to move to a politically partisan format
Emergence of the Internet
Low-cost entry compared with other mass media
Provides ordinary citizens an opportunity to exercise their free press rights
Some “new” news outlets a stunning success
The Drudge Report, Daily Kos, Instapundit

9. Freedom and Conformity in the U.S. News Media
The government provides lots of freedom
1st Amendment & tradition of free expression
libel laws favor the press over a public figure
prior restraint of the press is rarely permissible
fair and open debate allows the public to weigh and choose among competing arguments
The government provides economic support
Special postal rates
Low broadcasting fees
Substantial audience reach
Millions of viewers and readers
Presentation by Eric Miller, Blinn College, Bryan, Texas. Copyright © 2005 McGraw-Hill. All rights reserved. No part of this presentation may be reproduced in any form without permission from the publisher.

10. Freedom and Conformity in the U.S. News Media
Pack Journalism
Major news organizations only differ in the way in which they present stories about the same topic
AP, Reuters, NY Times wire services
Presentation by Eric Miller, Blinn College, Bryan, Texas. Copyright © 2005 McGraw-Hill. All rights reserved. No part of this presentation may be reproduced in any form without permission from the publisher.

11. Freedom and Conformity in the U.S. News Media
Domination of the News Production
News Values and Imperatives
NY Times
stets a general standard of news reporting
sets the agenda for other news organizations
a pioneer in objective journalism
the “bulletin board” for other major newspapers
“Megamedia”: Mergers, Profits, and the News
Presentation by Eric Miller, Blinn College, Bryan, Texas. Copyright © 2005 McGraw-Hill. All rights reserved. No part of this presentation may be reproduced in any form without permission from the publisher.

12. The News Media as Link: Roles the Press Can and Cannot Perform
The Signaler Role
Alert the public to important developments
Informing the public of important news as quickly as possible
U.S. media well-equipped to play this role
Performed by the traditional media
Wire services (AP, UPI, Reuters)
Daily newspapers
Television networks
Agenda-setting of U.S. media results in similarity in national news everywhere
News media are meant to inform the public, but also need to attract an audience
Media focus on politics instead of policy
Presentation by Eric Miller, Blinn College, Bryan, Texas. Copyright © 2005 McGraw-Hill. All rights reserved. No part of this presentation may be reproduced in any form without permission from the publisher.

14. The News Media as Link: Roles the Press Can and Cannot Perform
The Common-Carrier Role
Conduit for political communication
the press should provide a channel through which political leaders can communicate their views to the public
the press serves as a link between the public and its leaders
the presidency receives more coverage than any other institution
TV news has become more journalist-centered
Topics sometimes distilled to the “sound bite”
time showing the presidential candidates speaking has declined
1960’s- 40+ seconds
today- -10 seconds
Framing: the way events are cast
Priming: the process by which a communicated message, because of its content, activates certain opinions but not others
Presentation by Eric Miller, Blinn College, Bryan, Texas. Copyright © 2005 McGraw-Hill. All rights reserved. No part of this presentation may be reproduced in any form without permission from the publisher.

15. The Shrinking Sound Bite of Television Campaign Coverage

16. The News Media as Link: Roles the Press Can and Cannot Perform
The Watchdog Role
Objective journalism fosters watchdog reporting
Iraqi prisoners
Watergate scandal
great example of the press as a government watchdog
“Bad news”
most news today tends to be negative
WikiLeaks
Bradley Manning: hero or villain?
“Collateral Murder”
Watchdog function failures
Post-9/11 terrorist attacks- Iraq War
Internet has expanded watchdog capacity of media
Presentation by Eric Miller, Blinn College, Bryan, Texas. Copyright © 2005 McGraw-Hill. All rights reserved. No part of this presentation may be reproduced in any form without permission from the publisher.

18. The Politics of News Partisan function
Traditional media: mostly neutral
Talk shows: mostly conservative
The Internet: mostly liberal

19. Favorability Rating of Cable Television News Outlets, by Party Identification

20. The News Media as Link: Roles the Press Can and Cannot Perform
The Public-Representative Role
The idea that the press represents “the people”
the press is least equipped to serve in this role
they are not accountable to the people, they are accountable to their shareholders
Presentation by Eric Miller, Blinn College, Bryan, Texas. Copyright © 2005 McGraw-Hill. All rights reserved. No part of this presentation may be reproduced in any form without permission from the publisher.

21. Organizing the Public in the Media Age
News creates a pseudo-community.
Media serves as a channel for the expression of public opinion.
A “mass” versus a “public.”
Mass- people without connection
Public- people connected through organizations or networks that enable them to act in concert
Presentation by Eric Miller, Blinn College, Bryan, Texas. Copyright © 2005 McGraw-Hill. All rights reserved. No part of this presentation may be reproduced in any form without permission from the publisher.

22. Attention to News The shrinking audience for news
Television contributed to news consumption until 1980s
Expansion of cable reduced news consumption
More news available, but alternate programming aids avoidance of news

23. Attention to News Age and attention to news
News audience typically older adults
Reading habits versus on-demand access
Young adults more inclined toward partisan news sources
Internet has provided more news outlets but has not increased overall news consumption
Widening “information gap” between older and younger adults

24. Media and the Public in the Internet Age
Old traditional media dominated by a few outlets
Traditional media still major players but with smaller audience
Fragmented news sources have led to partisan polarization among audience

25. States in the Nation
Presentation by Eric Miller, Blinn College, Bryan, Texas. Copyright © 2005 McGraw-Hill. All rights reserved. No part of this presentation may be reproduced in any form without permission from the publisher.