Lecture – The News Media
The Media Industry and the Government. The American news media are among the world’s freest and
most vast. The media regularly present opinions about government that are highly critical – evidence of
cherished First Amendment freedoms. Although the media world is so immense, there is surprisingly
little variety in reporting on national issues and issues.
A. Types of Media. Americans get their news from three sources: broadcast media (radio and
television), print media (newspapers and magazines), and the Internet. Television reaches more
millions of Americans than any other news source. Television news covers a few headlines with
pictures, superficially. As a result, politicians and other groups seek to manipulate the news
with “sound bites” that dominate the market for at least a few days. Local broadcast news is
friendlier to politicians. For this reason, politicians favor the local news, which is likelier to
accept their pronouncements in a positive light, rather than risk national reporters’ criticism.
Radio news is also a repetitive headline service without pictures or detail, targeting an audience
assumed to be driving in cars and changing throughout the day. Radio news shows have
become an important source of commentary and opinion. Newspapers and other print media
remain the most important news sources for three reasons:
1. Broadcast media rely on leading newspapers to set their news media.
2. Print media provide more complete reports that can be used for analysis.
3. Educated and influential individuals rely on print media coverage in making national
economic, social, and political decisions.
A transformation in news reports is taking place on the Internet. Internet use is on the rise and
is the favored news source of younger Americans. Its advantages include the combining of
timely and in depth news coverage. It also facilitates news discussion forums via blogs
(weblogs) or timely updated personal websites with commentaries on the news. Blogs have
attracted the attention of voters, journalists, and politicians, who even publish their own blogs
in order to shape mainstream political news. Social networking sites such as Facebook and
video content from YouTube increasingly factor in political campaigning and fundraising.
B. The Power of the New Media. Blogs and other Internet forums are often there to challenge the
dominance of the mainstream media. Their greater accessibility to entrepreneurial reporting
and lower production costs have enabled today’s new media to act in ways that traditional
reporting often falls short. When the mainstream media overlook, minimize, or provide
important coverage and force the hand of more conventional news sources to follow suit.
C. Regulation of the Broadcast Media. The American government does not control the
communications networks, but it regulates the content and ownership of the broadcast media.
The print media are essentially free from government interference, but the broadcast media are
regulated by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). The FCC’s regulations prohibit
obscenity, indecency, and profanity all the time, and sexually explicit references during the
daytime to protect younger audiences. The FCC also tried to regulate competition in the
broadcast industry. However, the 1996 Congressional Telecommunications Act effectively did
away with regulations in place since 1934. The act’s passage produced a greater concentration
of media ownership. Also, the Communications Decency Act made it illegal to present sexual
material on the Internet. The act was ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court for infringing
on the First Amendment right to freedom of speech. Federally imposed regulations on the
broadcasting media’s political content include the following:
1. Equal time rule: the requirement that broadcasters provide candidates running for the
same political office an equal opportunity to communicate their messages to the public.
2. Right of rebuttal: FCC regulation giving individuals the right to have the opportunity to
respond to personal attacks made on a radio or television.
3. Fairness doctrine: FCC requirement for broadcasters that air programs on controversial
issues to provide time for opposing views. The FCC ceased enforcing this doctrine in 1985.
D. Organization and Ownership of the Media. The American media world is enormous, but the
number of national news media is small and owned by large conglomerates, making it unvaried.
Most national and local news reports are influenced by major news reporting sources such as
the New York Times, the Washington Post, and CNN. This news homogenization trend has
accelerated with media ownership changes facilitated by relaxation of governmental
regulations. This trend has prompted questions about whether enough competition exists in
the media market to produce diverse political views or whether the United States is a prisoner
of media monopolies.
E. Media Ownership and Political Equality. Increasing media ownership concentration threatens
political equality. Lack of access to the broadcast media undermines the ability of those with
limited resources to influence the political process.
F. Nationalization of the News. National news media cover more or less the same events and
present similar information. This is to say that similar news content is presented nationwide as
a result of concentrated media ownership. News nationalization has contributed to the
nationalization of political views in the United States. Some radio stations and print media are
aimed exclusively at specific racial, ethnic, or religious groups. The alternative news groups are
likely to retain and present a news perception quite different from that of the American
mainstream. Internet blogs are examples of news enclaves in which individuals seek out others
with views similar to their own.
Point 2. News Coverage. The three major factors influencing media coverage include 1. Journalists or
news producers, 2. News sources or topics, and 3. The news audience.
A. Journalists. Media content and coverage are affected by the producers’ views, ideals, and
interests. Publishers historically have sought to influence politics by manipulating news
coverage. Reporters can interpret stories at their discretion. Consequently, they may
incorporate their views into news stories. Accordingly, conservatives claim that reporters’
liberal biases result in distorted news coverage. However, most reports to maintain objectivity
when covering the news. Also, many of the media owners and publishers have conservative
views, opposing and balancing liberal media. The most significant ideological bias is the favoring
of dramatic or entertaining news delivery known to increase audience ratings.
B. Subjects of the News. News coverage can be influenced by the individuals or groups (their
interest or activities) that are news topics. A leak is the disclosure of confidential information to
the news media. Politicians may leak information to cultivate good relationships with reporters
and influence news coverage to be favorable to the politician. Press (or news) releases are
stories written by advocates or publicists and distributed to the media in the hope that
reporters will use the information as it has been presented by the politician and his or her staff.
C. The Power of Consumers. The media are businesses seeking a profit and must cater to
consumer preferences.
1. Catering to the Audience. The media are very responsive to the interests of the educated
and affluent public, which has a profound effect on media content, particularly news
coverage. Events and issues of interest to lower middle class and working class American
events are under covered by the media.
2. The Media and Conflict. Although the media respond to the most upscale audience, other
groups can publicize their interest through protest. However, although protest can draw
media attention, it does not ensure effective competition for groups lacking financial or
organizational resources.
Point 3. Media Power in American Politics. News content influences politics profoundly.
A. Shaping Events. In American political history, the media played a central role in three political
events:
1. Critical media led the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s to force Congress to put
an end to segregation.
2. The media were instrumental in compelling the Nixon administration to put an end to
American involvement in the Vietnam war.
3. The media were central actors in the Watergate affair, forcing President Nixon to resign
from office in disgrace.
B. The Sources of Media Power. There are several media power sources, including:
1. Agenda Setting: This is defined as the power of the media to bring public attention to
particular issues and problems. In this case, groups or individuals seeking to generate
support for their interest must secure media coverage. The media must be persuaded that
an item is newsworthy.
2. Framing. This is defined as the media’s power to influence how people interpret events and
issues. In this case the media’s interpretation or evaluation of an event or political action
can sometimes determine how people perceive the event or result.
3. Priming. This is defined as the process of preparing the public to take a particular view of an
event or a political actor. In this case most citizens will never meet their political leaders,
but will base their opinions about these leaders on their media image. The media have a
great deal of control over the individual’s public evaluations and attention. Also, the media
shape public issue perceptions.
C. The Rise of Adversarial Journalism. The news media’s political power over government has
grown with adversarial journalism, reporting in which the media adopt a hostile posture toward
government. Some critics suggest that this posture contributes to popular cynicism and low
levels of citizen participation in government. At the same time, media criticism is one of the key
instruments of political accountability.
Horse Race Issues
News (TV especially) is much better at covering " horse race issues " (who's ahead, who's
trailing, etc.) than in-depth, complex events. Often complex events take a certain perspective of
time or distance to understand. But the news is focused on the here and now, the 24 hour
"news cycle."
"Setting the Agenda"
The various news providers (all large corporations which usually produce products other than
just the news) compete daily with each other for a shrinking market of "news consumers
(people who watch TV news or read newspapers). Setting the agenda has to do with that
completion, in a way. Newspapers and TV news do not call each other and ask "what are you
covering?" They try to scoop each other (be the first to report a story - or the first with a new
angle on the story). Over a period of time (a month or a year or whatever) we can see that what
TV news and newspapers are covering is what the US population is most likely to be talking
about. In many ways the TV news and newspapers set the agenda of the national dialog (if such
a thing exists) The internet is not used and viewed by everyone and TV is still supreme in
numbers of viewers, but still the main topics of discussion around the country are those issues
covered by the news industry. It's an inescapable fact.
Infotainment
The label "infotainment" is emblematic of concern and criticism that journalism is devolving
from a medium which conveys serious information about issues that affect the public interest,
into a form of entertainment which happens to have fresh "facts" in the mix. The criteria by
which reporters and editors judge news value - whether something is worth putting on the front
page, the bottom of the hour, or is worth commenting on at all - are integral parts of this
debate. Some blame the media for this perceived phenomenon, for failing to live up to ideals of
civic journalistic responsibility. Others blame the commercial nature of many media
organizations, the need for higher ratings, combined with a preference among the public for
feel-good content and "unimportant" topics (like celebrity gossip or sports). In her critique of
infotainment News Flash, Bonnie Anderson cited the CNN lead story of February 2, 2004. It was
the accidental exposure of Janet Jackson's breast on national TV. The follow up story was about
a ricin chemical attack on the U.S. Senate majority leader.
Media bias
Refers to the bias of journalists and news producers within the mass media, in the selection of
which events and stories are reported and how they are covered. The term "media bias" usually
implies a pervasive or widespread bias contravening the standards of journalism, rather than the
perspective of an individual journalist or article. The direction and degree of media bias in
various countries is widely disputed, although its causes are both practical and theoretical.
Practical limitations to media neutrality include the inability of journalists to report all available
stories and facts, and the requirement that selected facts be linked into a coherent narrative.
Since it is impossible to report everything, some selectivity is inevitable. Government influence,
including overt and covert censorship, biases the media in some countries. Market forces that
can result in a biased presentation include the ownership of the news source, the selection of
staff, the preferences of an intended audience, pressure from advertisers, or reduced funding
due to lower ratings or governmental funding cuts. Political affiliations arise from ideological
positions of media owners and journalists. The space or air time available for reports, as well as
deadlines needing to be met, can lead to incomplete and apparently biased stories.
Types of bias
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Political bias, including bias in favor of or against a particular political party, candidate,
or policy.
Advertising bias, corporate media depends on advertising revenue for funding. This
relationship promotes a bias to please the advertisers.
Corporate bias, coverage' of political campaigns in such a way as to favor or oppose
corporate interests, and the reporting of issues to favor the interests of the owners of
the news media or its advertisers. Some critics view the financing of news outlets
through advertising as an inherent cause of bias.
Mainstream bias, a tendency to report what everyone else is reporting, and to gather
news from a relatively small number of easily available sources.
Religious bias, including bias in which one religious or nonreligious viewpoint is given
preference over others.
Bias for or against a group based because of their race, gender, age, class, sexual
orientation, or ethnicity.
Sensationalism, bias in favor of the exceptional over the ordinary, giving the impression
that rare events, such as airplane crashes, are more common than common events, such
as automobile crashes.
Fragmented Media
Consumers increasingly expect to be able to consume media when and where they want, on any
platform or device, in any context. The technology and media industries are beginning to oblige
them. Fragmentation is both a cause and effect, creating a cycle in which fragmented audiences
lead to fragmented content, which allows audiences to fragment further, and so on. These
changes will threaten established practices and entrenched interests in the media and
advertising sectors, but consumers will benefit and ultimately, companies that can ride this
wave will benefit as well. They have no choice.
The Big Picture
On a typical day... according to survey done by the Pew Research Center in 2011
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57% of Americans watch TV news
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54% watch their local news
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34% watch cable news channels
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28% watch the nightly network news
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23% watch the morning news programs (The Today Show, Good Morning America, etc.)
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40% of Americans read a newspaper
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36% of Americans listen to news on the radio
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23 % of Americans get news online
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18% visit news aggregators (Google News, Yahoo! News, AOL News, etc.)
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14% visit national TV networks' sites (CNN.com, MSNBC.com, ABCnews.com, etc.)
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14% visit newspaper Web sites
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4% visit news blogs
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3% visit online news magazines (Slate.com, Salon.com, etc.)
Overall audience trends:
The total number of Americans getting news on an average day is down almost 10 percent from
1994. Young Americans are the most likely to get no news at all, with 27 percent of people
under 30 reporting they get no news on an average day. Of those who do get news, half go to
multiple sources. On average, Americans spend 67 minutes of each day gathering news from
various formats.
As points of comparison: on an average day, 63 percent of Americans watch non-news TV, 44
percent exercise or play a sport, 38 percent read a book, 24 percent read a magazine, 24
percent watch a movie at home, and 17 percent play video games.
A Closer Look
Television:
Evening News Broadcasts
Television is Americans' favorite news source. But the popularity of the nightly network news
has plummeted in the past decade. In 1993, 60 percent of Americans reported that they
regularly watched the CBS, ABC or NBC evening news -- today it's 28 percent. And only 9 percent
of people under 30 tune in to the networks' nightly newscasts. Despite the highly-publicized
ratings wars, the three big networks' news broadcasts were almost tied when Americans
reported to Pew what they regularly watch: 15 percent watch NBC Nightly News, 14 percent
watch ABC World News Tonight, and 13 percent watch the CBS Evening News. Five percent
watch The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer.
Cable News
CNN and Fox News lead the pack among the cable news networks: 23 percent regularly watch
Fox and 22 percent regularly watch CNN, down from the early '90s, when 35 percent of
Americans reported regularly watching CNN. MSNBC and CNBC each regularly attract 11 percent
of the public.
Local News
Local television news remains the most commonly watched TV news among Americans, but
measuring trends across such a diverse category proves challenging. In general, local channels
are experiencing a decline in viewership for their morning and early evening news broadcasts.
The late-night local news, however, has seen on average a slight increase in ratings in recent
years.
Newspapers:
In 1965, 71 percent of Americans reported reading a newspaper on an average day. As of 10
years ago, that number had fallen to 50 percent, and today it stands at 40 percent. The average
circulation for a U.S. newspaper in 2005 was 37,492 for the weekday edition and 63,118 for the
Sunday edition.
Among national newspapers, as of September 2006, the New York Times had an average daily
circulation of just over 1 million and an average Sunday circulation of over 1.6 million. As of
2010, The Washington Post had a weekday circulation of just over 715,000 and a Sunday
circulation of just under 1 million. The Los Angeles Times had a circulation in fall 2006 of roughly
900,000 on weekdays and 1.2 million on Sundays. USA Today and The Wall Street Journal both
have weekday circulations over 2 million.
The New York Times and USA Today have the most popular newspaper Web sites according to
the Pew Center study. Five percent of people who get news online report using each of these
sites. Local newspapers are struggling to attract readers to their Web sites, with fewer than half
of people who read newspapers online visiting local newspaper sites.
Radio
Since 1998, the number of Americans getting news from the radio has dropped from 49 percent
to 36 percent. One in five listens to call-in political or news programs -- a group roughly equally
split between Democrats and Republicans. Seventeen percent regularly listen to NPR; "Morning
Edition," NPR's most popular program, has an average audience of 13 million people.
Satellite radio's audience is still comparatively very small, reaching roughly 10 million people
compared to the 247 million people traditional radio reaches. Internet radio stations reach still
fewer people, with Arbitron, the largest measurer of radio ratings, counting only 3.7 million
listeners of the five largest online radio networks combined. Roughly 10 million people -- 6.6
percent of the population -- have downloaded an audio podcast, a figure that includes news and
non-news podcasts. NPR, which in August 2005 launched a podcast library that has now grown
to nearly 400 titles, including over 50 news-related podcasts, reported that as of February 2007
it had delivered 80 million podcast downloads. In the future, these new alternatives will likely
continue to grow and reshape how and where Americans listen to news.
Internet Overtakes Newspapers As News Outlet
The Internet has now surpassed all other media except television as an outlet for national and
international news.
Currently, 40% say they get most of their news about national and international issues from the
Internet, up from just 24% in September 2007. For the first time in a Pew survey, more people
say they rely mostly on the Internet for news than cite newspapers (35%). Television continues
to be cited most frequently as a main source for national and international news, at 70%.
For young people, however, the internet now rivals television as a main source of national and
international news. Nearly six-in-ten Americans younger than 30 (59%) say they get most of their
national and international news online; an identical percentage cites television. In September 2011,
twice as many young people said they relied mostly on television for news than mentioned the Internet
(68% vs. 34%).