1. Media, Technology and Government
Chapter 7
CHAPTER 7: MEDIA, TECHNOLOGY, AND GOVERNMENT

2. In this chapter, you will:
How media coverage of politics is changing
The democratic promises and pitfalls of mainstream and social media
How the media is (and is not) biased
The rules that channel the media into its current forms
How the U.S. media is distinctive
How media coverage influences politics, campaigns, and elections
CHAPTER 7: MEDIA, TECHNOLOGY, AND GOVERNMENT

3. Changes in Issue Campaigns
Information is cascading faster and faster
Today’s media includes many more voices and formats
New media permits the public to be much more active
CHAPTER 7: MEDIA, TECHNOLOGY, AND GOVERNMENT

4. Media and American Democracy
A vast change is underway in media formats, driven by rapid technological advancement.
Media outlets continue to perform essential democratic functions: providing information, acting as public “watchdogs,” shaping what news is reported (agenda setting), setting the context for a topic (priming), and describing it in specific ways (framing).
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5. U.S. Media Today Traditional Formats are Declining
Thirty years ago, TV networks, magazines, and newspapers delivered roughly the same news. Today, media outlets cater to every perspective—left, right, and center. Americans no longer share a single news source.
Previous waves of rising “new” media—newspapers, radio, and television—changed the nature of news reporting, affecting political institutions.
CHAPTER 7: MEDIA, TECHNOLOGY, AND GOVERNMENT

6. U.S. Media Today Traditional Formats are Declining
Today these now-traditional institutions are in serious decline. All are losing ground as the place Americans go for news. Digital sources like Facebook and Instagram are taking over—especially among young people.
CHAPTER 7: MEDIA, TECHNOLOGY, AND GOVERNMENT

7. U.S. Media Today Traditional Formats are Declining
New media raises major concerns, including: Do the benefits—everyone’s ability to contribute to “news” and increased transparency—outweigh losing traditional reporting sources and rising incidence of “fake news”? Will these more democratic formats find large audiences, or are we fragmented into individual niches? And can new media invent revenue sources that enable them to cover vital but sometimes obscured stories, especially about local issues?
CHAPTER 7: MEDIA, TECHNOLOGY, AND GOVERNMENT

8. Is the Media Biased?
Both conservatives and liberals complain of media bias. However, the media generally reflects the politics of its audience—to the left of conservatives and to the right of liberals.
The media’s deepest bias comes from its need to appeal to advertisers. That puts an emphasis on drama, scandal, and conflict—exacerbating partisan political divisions.
Media efforts to be objective and balanced can introduce new biases, such as “fairness.”
CHAPTER 7: MEDIA, TECHNOLOGY, AND GOVERNMENT

9. How Governments Shape the Media
Democratic nations organize their media in three ways: government ownership, regulation, and markets. The United States relies on the latter two models, regulation and markets.
The First Amendment protects print media from most government regulation.
Broadcast media in the United States was originally regulated by agencies such as the FCC, which imposed the fairness doctrine—a reflection of a less partisan era. Today’s FCC further reduced its own power by ending “net neutrality.”
CHAPTER 7: MEDIA, TECHNOLOGY, AND GOVERNMENT

10. How Governments Shape the Media
Deregulation, new technologies, and the rise of multiple media have created the spectrum of perspectives that mark American media today. At the same time, a handful of giant media companies now control much of the content we see and hear. This contributes to our partisan and conflicted politics.
CHAPTER 7: MEDIA, TECHNOLOGY, AND GOVERNMENT

11. Media Around the World
Rapidly changing media outlets link citizens to their politics around the world. An open media is a vital key to making democracy work.
The American model of media as private enterprise is spreading. However, most other democracies retain more government regulation than the United States.
Authoritarian nations censor their news reporters. New media forms challenge government control of the news, but the censors are keeping pace.
CHAPTER 7: MEDIA, TECHNOLOGY, AND GOVERNMENT

12. Media in Context War, Terrorism, and U.S. Elections
Reporting on war and terrorism has long attracted more viewers than almost any other political story. Ethical questions about media coverage continue to reshape editors’ approach to these dramatic stories.
Media coverage of campaigns reflects patterns of the contemporary media. It emphasizes drama, conflict, and the horse race narrative.
Campaigns attempt either to influence the media or to bypass it and speak directly to supporters. These efforts in turn become subjects of media coverage.
CHAPTER 7: MEDIA, TECHNOLOGY, AND GOVERNMENT

13. Chapter Summary
The media helps set the policy agenda, prime the electorate, and frame issues.
Media stories affect public opinion—especially among people who do not have strong political views.
CHAPTER 7: MEDIA, TECHNOLOGY, AND GOVERNMENT

14. Chapter Summary
Media platforms have expanded from traditional television, radio, and newspapers to include online news sites, podcasts, Facebook, Twitter, and more.
Media technology changes rapidly, and each change reshapes the connection between citizens and their leaders—a crucial criterion for democracy. Does today’s media strengthen or weaken American democracy?
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15. Chapter Summary
Newspapers, magazines, television, and radio face shifting business models, and rush to adopt new formats such as on-demand streaming and podcasts. Online news is now the main source for people under thirty. The enormous number of news sources spans the political spectrum and blurs the line between entertainment and news.
The media is biased—though mainstream reporters do not seem to tilt coverage. The deepest bias arises because the media is a business requiring an audience to generate revenue. Therefore the news emphasizes drama, conflict, and scandal.
CHAPTER 7: MEDIA, TECHNOLOGY, AND GOVERNMENT

16. Chapter Summary
In most other democracies, the government plays a central role in the media world. In authoritarian countries, the new social media poses a threat to the old model of information control and censorship.
The new social media is changing the nature of news and information. On the upside, active users can choose, respond, report, comment, critique, create, and share. Candidates and parties have new ways to connect. On the downside, the ready availability of news on the Internet has challenged the pay models of traditional print outlets, leading to a new media environment that facilitates the spread of rumors and even lies. Americans less and less often share the same news.
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17. Chapter Summary
Media’s influence gives it considerable power over American politics. Whether that power is used for the public benefit is a much-debated question—perhaps most sharply when it comes to covering urgent topics such as war, terrorism, and election campaigns.
In many ways, the media reflects America. What we watch and hear tells us who we are.
CHAPTER 7: MEDIA, TECHNOLOGY, AND GOVERNMENT