AP GOVT – 11/7/14
Objective: SWBAT understand the role that
media plays in the modern political
environment of the US.
Agenda:
 Bell Ringer
 Final Paper/Project discussion
 Start Lecture/Notes over Mass Media (Ch. 12)
BELL RINGERS
Most forms of economic activity are now included under:
A) First Amendment freedoms.
B) interstate commerce.
C) the doctrine of implied powers.
D) the reserved powers of the states.
E) compact theory.
A Supreme Court decision that upheld limits on contributions to
candidates but struck down limits on how much candidates could
spend on their own campaigns was:
 McConnell v. FEC
 Citizens United v. FEC
 Buckley v. Valeo
 McCulloch v. Mar yland
 Madison v. Marbur y
BELL RINGERS (CONT.)
 Over the past 20 year s, reforms of the presidential nomination process
have had which of the following ef fects?
A . The nomination process in both par ties has become less
democratic and open
B. The number of Black delegates at Republican national
conventi ons has grown substantially
C. The number of female delegates and minority -group delegates at
Democratic national conventions has grown substantially
D. The number of of candidates willing and able to seek the
nomination has grown substantially.
E. None of the above
 Public monies are used to help finance which of the following campaigns?
I. Presidential
II. Congressi onal
III. Gubernatorial
A.
I only
B.
II only
C.
I and II only
D.
II and III only
E.
I, II, and III
THE MASS MEDIA AND
THE ROLE IT PLAYS
THE MASS MEDIA
 Media Events:
 Events purposely staged for the media that nonetheless look
spontaneous. Media events can be staged by almost anybody.
 Other items to consider:
 60% presidential campaign spending is TV ads
 Image making / news management is important, especially for
presidents
 Policy Agenda:
 The issues that attract the serious attention of public officials
and other people actively involved in politics at the time.
 Policy Entrepreneurs:
 People who invest their political “capital” in an issue.
 All depend on good images and good will.
THE ROLE OF THE MEDIA
First of all, what is the “media”
 It’s any form of mass communication including:
 Newspapers
 Radio
 Television
 Magazines
 the Internet
IT’S ROLE
Most people’s understanding of government
and politics comes from the media !!
MEDIA HISTORY
The US media has more freedom than a lot
of European countries
The US has a long history of private
ownership of media but it has two
potential limits


1
2
They have to make a profit and sometimes make
up stories to entice readerships. Some truth to it
but it’s very complicated
Media bias could be an issue if reporters and
editors all shared the same viewpoints
MEDIA HISTORY
In the early days the political parties
controlled the press but changes in
technology and society created the popular
press
Telegraph, high speed presses and
population concentrated in cities
1848 the AP showed up (Associated Press)
which provided objective reporting and equal
distribution of information
AP GOVT – 11/10/14
 Objective: SWBAT understand the role that the media has on
the political process.
 Agenda:




Housekeeping
Tomorrow’s Assembly – Behavior, Appropriate Qs, etc.
Bell Ringer
Notes over the Media
 Bell Ringer:
 Video
 Explain Ms. Goodwin’s reasoning on modern day muckrakers and how
they compare to muckrakers in the past.
STILL SOME CRAZY STUFF OUT THERE
 Even so, the publishers views were reflected in the papers
 Hearst and Pulitzer and Yellow Journalism helped start the
Spanish/American War in 1898
 Clearly there was a profit to be made in criticizing the
government and sensational news reporting!!!
MAGAZINES
 The middle class favored progressive periodicals
(magazines)
 Creation of Muckrakers - investigative reporting
 Readers were more sophisticated and educated
 Today, though, national magazines focusing on just
politics account for only a very small percentage of
total magazines
PRINT MEDIA -(NEWSPAPERS AND
MAGAZINES)
 Pecking Order
 New York Times, Washington
Post, LA Times, Chicago
Tribune
 Smaller papers reprint the
big stories
 T V and the internet are causing
newspaper sales to decline
BRING ON THE RADIO!!
 Dawn of the electronic media in the 1920s
 Politicians could reach voters directly but it
was also easy for listeners to “turn them off”
 T V in the 1940s has eventually created short
“sound bites” of info and made it harder for
people to get a real understanding of events
 Now have cable, satellite, magazine shows
and too many news programs to list
 “narrowcasting” is broadcasting to a
segmented audience, a target group only!!
THE DEVELOPMENT OF MEDIA POLITICS
The Broadcast Media
 Television (not cable or satellite) and radio
 Brought government and politics into people’s
homes
 Made the politicians more aware of their
appearance
 Generally the top source of news for most
Americans, and most believable
THE DEVELOPMENT OF MEDIA
POLITICS
 Herbert Hoover (1929-1933)-no media involvement in
politics
 Franklin D. Roosevelt (1933 -1945)- invented modern media
politics/Fireside Chats
 Gave press conferences twice a week
 First to use the radio extensively
 Press respected FDR
 Until the 1960s the press respected the government
 Didn’t report private lives
 Impact of Vietnam War and Watergate Scandal
 Clinton-Lewinsky Scandal
 Investigative Journalism
THE DEVELOPMENT OF MEDIA
POLITICS
Investigative journalism
- Use of in-depth reporting to unearth scandals, scams and
schemes
- Watergate is an example
- Contributes to a negative view of government and politics
- The media serves as a watchdog, which may restrain
government
GOVERNMENT REGULATION OF THE
BROADCAST MEDIA
 1934: Federal
Communications
Commission was created
 Prevents Monopolies
 Conducts exams over goals
and performance
 Stations must benefit
society to get a license
 Fair treatment rules provide
equal airtime to both
candidates
ADD THE INTERNET
 Increasingly important as almost 50% of American
households have access to it
 It’s free and is playing a larger role in politics
 Almost every candidate has a web site
 It easily facilitates communication between candidates
and voters as well as with political activists
POLITICAL MAXIMS OF MEDIA RELATIONS
 All secrets become public knowledge. The bigger the secret,
the sooner it will leak.
 All stories written about me are inaccurate; all stories written
about my opponent are completely accurate.
 The better the news, the higher ranking the of ficial who
announces it.
 Always release bad news on Friday or Saturday; fewer people
will notice it.
 Taking out the trash
 Never argue with a person who buys ink by the barrel.
WHAT DOES THE MEDIA DO?
1
2
3
Gatekeeper - influences what subjects become
national issues and for how long
Scorekeeper - tracks political reputations as
well as elections. Momentum in the media is
vital during elections season!!
Watchdog - investigate officials and expose
scandals!! Need we mention Watergate??
RULES OVER THE MEDIA
 No prior restraint - can’t stop a story
 Confidentiality of sources usually NOT allowed, especially if it
bears on a crime
 Licensing of broadcast media
 Equal time laws for candidates including prices of commercial
air time
 Fairness doctrine was abolished in 1987 and has allowed the
rise of controversial shows like Rush
 Other rules around elections
SO, IS THE MEDIA BIASED?
Generally more liberal than the average person
But public believes it more than that!!
Talk radio is predominately conservative
Many more conservative media outlets recently including Fox
News and shows like Rush
 Selective attention: people only believe or remember what
they want to
 Candidates believe the media including Johnson who gave up
on Vietnam after the press did




GOVERNMENT AND NEWS
 The president is the most covered
 Congress coverage not equal to President and they are
resentful!!
 Senate more open than House
 More coverage for Senators
 100 vs. 435
 States vs. Small districts






C-Span covers all floor action
Lots of leaks to the press
Why??
Competition
Not “illegal”
Decentralized power
REPORTING THE NEWS
 Presenting the News
 Most news coverage is superficial
 Sound Bites: Short video clips of approximately 15 seconds or
less.
Figure 7.2
JOURNALISTIC TERMS
 Beat- Specific locations from which
news emanates, such as Congress
or the White House.
 Trial Balloons- An intentional news
leak for the purpose of assessing
the political reaction.
ADVERSARIAL PRESS
 Press and government fighting each other since Vietnam,
Watergate and Iran-Contra
 Competition for journalistic awards
 Media cynicism has created an era of “attack journalism” and
that cynicism mirrors the public’s view
 People think media has too much influence and the public is
down on big business – the media is big business
GOVERNMENT FIGHTS BACK
 Big staf fs of media people working for Congress and the
president
 Press releases – canned news
 Leaks and stories only go to “favorite” reporters
 On-record, of f-record information
 Presidential rewards and punishments for reporters based on
their stories
NEWS ABOUT THE NEWS (4:26)
 http://www.ted.com/talks/alisa_miller_shares_the_news_abo
ut_the_news.html