1. The News

2. What is “news”? Timely and different (Zimmerman?) Driven by low level of audience sophistication Entertainment For-profit v. government ownership

3. The News How is political news gathered? “beats” Symbiotic relationship between political leaders and the press

4. The News Press Political Figures Stories

5. The News Press Political Figures Message

6. The News How is political news gathered? “beats” Symbiotic relationship between political leaders and the press Trial balloons Periodic breaks from familiar sources

7. The News How is news presented? Superficial Political strategy v. substance

8. The News Consumers News Political Strategy

9. The News How is news presented? Superficial Political strategy v. substance Sound bites Role of cable networks

10. The News Bias? Not systematic? Political views of reporters? Story selection Presentation Agenda setting  1992 recession  2010 health care

11. The News Impact? Watchdog  Who watches the watchers? Reduced importance of political parties