Media, public opinion,
and public policy
The public in public opinion
The public in public opinion
The public in public opinion
The public in public opinion
The media’s position
What kind of media do we
want?
• “Under the law,
broadcasters, who hold
valuable licenses to use the
public's airwaves, are
considered public trustees. I
thought, and still do, that
responsible worldwide
network news coverage,
which is costly, is an
obligation to be borne by the
network broadcasters as a
loss leader if need be.”
Lawrence K. Grossman ,
http://www.asne.org/index.cfm?ID=888
http://www.asne.org/ideas/codes/sanjose
mercurynews.htm
What kind of media do we
want?
• "That Amendment rests on the assumption that the widest
possible dissemination of information from diverse and
antagonistic sources is essential to the welfare of the
public, that a free press is a condition of a free society.
Surely a command that the government itself shall not impede
the free flow of ideas does not afford nongovernmental
combinations a refuge if they impose restraints upon that
constitutionally guaranteed freedom. Freedom to publish
means freedom for all, and not for some. Freedom to publish
is guaranteed by the Constitution, but freedom to combine to
keep others from publishing is not. Freedom of the press
from governmental interference under the First
Amendment does not sanction repression of that
freedom by private interests.” Associated Press v. United
States No. 57 Argued December 5, 6, 1944 Decided June
18, 1945
What kind of media do we
want?
• “We demand zero tolerance of violence against
journalists and press freedom. But today more
subtle threats to freedom of expression come from
within media as a result of media concentration,
globalization and a culture of greed within the
industry.” International Federation of Journalists,
May 2001
• http://www.democraticmedia.org/issues/mediao
wnership/chart.html
What kind of media do we
have?
• http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/publications/report
s/1999/top10.shtml
• http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/media/julydec99/uncove
red_news_12-27.html
• http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE
_ID=21206
• http://www.journalismjobs.com/ownership.cfm
• http://www.democraticmedia.org/resources/filings/TVCon
centration.html
Blurring boundaries in the
media
• “Welch's priorities were entirely different. He made it clear that he
would judge NBC News no differently than any other GE division.
News would be expected to make the same profit margins they
did. Welch was disdainful of any other approach. The news
division, he said, had no greater obligation to provide public
service than those GE lines that manufacture refrigerators, light
bulbs, or jet engines. For Welch, as one critic put it, the financial
perspective was the only one that mattered. That tunnel vision
helped produce an era of network news that focused more on
nonfiction entertainment than on the information citizens need
about a dangerous and vulnerable world.” Lawrence K. Grossman ,
a former president of NBC News and PBS
http://www.cjr.org/year/02/1/grossman.asp
Blurring boundaries in the
media
• “The new boys in town -- the Disneys, the Warners,
the GEs -- the news divisions are cash cows, but in
order to make money, they have to bring large
numbers of people into the tent. And the fact of the
matter is that humanitarian stories, foreign stories,
are not of great appeal to most American viewers
and readers. They don't get the ratings and
therefore they don't get much attention.” Barrie
Dunsmore, Journalist
•
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/media/july-dec99/uncovered_news_12-27.html
Brent Spar: blurring boundaries in the
media
• http://archive.greenpeace.org
/~comms/vrml/rw/text/def/bre
nt.html
• http://archive.greenpeace.org
/~comms/brent/apr30d.html
• http://www.ee/lists/infoterra/1
995/06/0057.html
• http://archive.greenpeace.org
/~comms/brent/poll.html
Blurring boundaries in the media
• http://www.demon.co.uk/eurojo
urnalism/storywk.html#brent
• http://society.guardian.co.uk/gi
vinglist/story/0,10994,579454,
00.html
• http://www.flipside.org/vol1/oct
98/oc98w609.htm
• http://www.esemag.com/0197/
0197ed.html
• http://archive.greenpeace.org/
~comms/photos/photo01.html
Questions
• What is the character of the media?
• Are all preferences created equal?
• Will new technologies compromise or
contribute to democracy?