Welcome back!
Feedback from last class
 NEXT TEST March 31
 Phoenix Forum April 7

Connecting with government
the role of the media and
political campaigns
What do you think…true/false?
Most Americans rely on tv for their
major source of political information.
 Spin doctors work for the media.
 Most tv coverage during an election is
on the issues, not the race.
 The rate of presidential press
conferences has increased since 1940.

Functions of the media

reporting and interpreting the news
– media is privately owned: air/print stories
that have audience appeal

media serves as a “watchdog”
– alert citizens to governmental abuse of
power
In the news

Terri Schiavo case
– Should Congress have intervened to allow
the case to be heard in federal court?
– How does this case relate to federalism,
separation of powers, scope of
congressional power?
Who controls the news?
media
 elected officials

Media control news
decisions to print/air stories are the
gatekeepers
 Freedom of press protections: prior
restraint (censorship) is almost always
unconstitutional

Elected officials control news
create news: staged events, press
conferences, address public directly
 play on the short time frame of most
reporters
 “spin doctors”

• people who try to put the best “face” on a story
Video news release
Agencies create news segments to
encourage public support
 TV stations air segments as news
 Bush administration used more than
any other administration

Is reporting biased?

Yes, biased because of the
conservative owners of media
– Media conglomerates create lack of
competition

Yes, biased because of reporters who
put a liberal spin on their stories
Non-ideological bias

report on the “horse-race”
– focus on the race rather than the issues
pursuit of same story
 emphasis on character

Special role of television
TV is America’s place for news
 most trusted source for news
 television hypothesis

– people become confused rather than
educated about politics by watching tv
why?
sound bites: 15-30 second “bits” of
information
 more attention paid to “happy talk” than
political issues

Other reasons:
Little coverage of candidate positions
 Punditocracy
 more political ads than news coverage

$ spent on tv ads for
Congress and Presidency over time
Structure of a campaign
General campaign
 Personal campaign
 Organizational campaign
 Media campaign

Media campaign
Paid (ads)
Positive or negative
Contrast
Inoculation
Free (news stories)
Elements of political ads
Candidate mythologies/ persona
Background location, props, clothing
Faces communicating emotion
Appeals to values
Music and background sounds
Film editing and camera use
Supers and “code words”
Some examples
Which ads are most effective? Least
effective?
 What elements are incorporated?

Negative campaigns

Are they effective? Yes and No
– Can backfire

Are they detrimental to democracy?
– Some scientists see demobilizing effect;
others do not
– 2004 campaign and PACs/527
organizations
Thursday
PACs, campaign finance
 Interest groups

Writing option
Go to American Museum of the Moving
Image and evaluate two campaign ads
using the elements we discussed today
 Due Thursday


www.livingroomcandidate.org
Political Action Committees
separate legal entity that solicits
contributions from its members for the
purpose of donating $ to candidates
 reason is to gain access

How PACs operate
direct contribution
 bundling of individual contributions
 independent expenditures

Features of PACs
PACs are increasing in number
 largest PACs are tied to business
 PACs donate to incumbents

Incumbency advantage
franking privilege
 name recognition
 credit claiming
 access to campaign resources

Campaign Finance
Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA)
 legalized Political Action Committees
 required disclosure of campaign
contributions
 enforces contribution limits

Disclosure requirements
all contributions over $200 must be
reported by name and address
 quarterly reports to FEC
 reports 10 days before and 30 days
after electio

Key provisions of Bipartisan
Campaign Reform Act




Bans soft money contributions ($500 million in 2000)
Doubles to $2,000 the amount of regulated "hard
money" an individual can contribute to a federal
campaign (max $95,000)
Prohibits groups from broadcasting ads that refer to a
candidate within 60 days of a general election, and
30 days of a primary.
Effective Nov. 6, 2002 a day after the congressional
elections.
Expenditure limits
Buckley v. Valeo (1976)
 key: not linked to campaign
(contribution v. expenditure)
 “issue advocacy” campaigns
 Exception: accept public funding

Public funding of presidential
campaigns
Pre-nomination: Must receive $5,000 in
20 states of contributions of $250 or
less.
 Matching funds in primary; nominees
receive twice that amount for general
campaign ($100 million)
 Candidates can only spend $50,000 of
own money

Soft money loophole*
1979 amendment to FECA
 donations to political parties for
organizational support
 not subject to contribution limits
 exploited by both parties

congressional districts

malapportionment
– Baker v. Carr (1962)
reapportionment; redistricting
 gerrymandering
 majority-minority districts

– Shaw v. Reno (1993)
“Bottom line”
all legislative districts must contain
equal population
 gerrymandering is unconstitutional
ONLY if it discriminates or significantly
ignores community cohesiveness
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