Aim: What is the impact of the
media on public opinion?
Do Now: why do they call the media
“the fourth branch of government?”
Functions of the Media
• Entertainment
• News
• Agenda setting – ability of the media to
draw public attention to certain issues and
to ignore other issues
• Political forum – place to make
announcements or advertise government
Agenda Setting – we must do
something!
How much power does the National
Press have?
1. Gatekeeper: the media choose which stories
to cover, how extensively, and for how long
2. Scorekeeper: the media keep track of and
help make political reputations, note who is
being “mentioned,” and analyze who is
winning or losing
•
Focus on Presidential elections like a horse race
(Iowa caucus and New Hampshire primary)
3. Watchdog: Investigate politicians and
expose scandals
How has the media evolved?
•
•
•
•
•
Changes in society and technology made
possible self-supporting, mass readership daily
newspapers
The middle class favored new, progressive
periodicals
Radio arrives in 1920s, television in the late
1940s
Today mass media includes: Electronic media
(TV, radio, the internet), and Print media
(newspapers, magazines)
Most people get their news from television, but
the internet is becoming an increasingly
popular source, especially among young
people
How have the media changed?
1. In the early years, newspapers were
controlled by parties, and were
expensive to buy
2. Over the years, the public’s access to
news became greater as newspapers
became cheap, and televisions, radios,
and computers became widely available
3. Most newspapers and TV and radio
stations focus on local interests
http://www.pewresearc
h.org/facttank/2013/10/16/12trends-shaping-digitalnews/
http://www.peoplepress.org/2012/09/27/section-4demographics-and-politicalviews-of-news-audiences/
Newspapers
• Number of daily newspapers has declined
significantly
• Number of cities with multiple papers has
declined
• Subscription rates have fallen as most
people get their news from television
Media Conglomerates
• WHO OWNS THE NEWS???
•WHO OWNS INFORMATION?
Media Conglomerates
• Gannet owns USA Today and controls the
biggest circulation in the nation + owns
100 additional papers
• Rupert Murdoch owns 124 radio stations,
New York Post, Weekly Standard, and
FOX News
Disney
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
ABC
A&E
History Channel
Lifetime
ESPN
Marvel Entertainment
Star Wars
How do Politicians Adapt to
Modern Mass Media?
• Shorter sound bites on the nightly news
make it more difficult for candidates and
officeholders to convey their message
• Politicians now have more sources—
cable, early-morning news, news
magazine shows
• 40% of American households access the
Internet
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z2jie_
B1n2E
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NDrbzt
CiRP8
How are the media regulated?
1. Prior Restraint: The First Amendment stipulates
that the government (Federal, state, local)
cannot place prior restraint (censorship) on the
press except under narrowly defined
circumstances
•
The Pentagon Papers
2. Confidentiality of Sources (except in certain
criminal investigations)
3. FCC Rules:
•
In the past, the Fairness Doctrine was followed:
broadcasters had to give time for opposing points of
view
- This was abandoned because competition among news outlets
provides opposing views
•
Equal Time Rule: Stations must sell equal amounts
of time to candidates
FCC
• Federal Communications Commission
• Controls the media, no one may operate
radio or TV stations without their license
• Who are they? – 5 members nominated by
President for 5 years.
Government Constraints on the Media
• Reporters must strike a balance between
expressing critical views and maintaining
sources
• Governmental tools to fight back:
numerous press officers, press releases,
leaks, bypass the national press in favor of
local media, presidential rewards and
punishments
Aim: Are the news media
biased?
1. Most members of the national media are
liberal and secular
•
•
•
Conservative talk shows have become more
prominent on TV and radio in recent years
Outright bias is unlikely, but news outlets
can choose which stories to cover, how in
depth the coverage will be, and what type of
spin to put on the story.
Pundit: an expert, often featured on
television, who offers analysis and opinion
on a particular subject, usually politics.
Table 12.2:
Journalist
Opinion
Versus
Public
Opinion
Types of Stories:
1. Routine: cover major political events
•
Most news outlets cover these stories the same way
2. Feature Stories: events that are public, but a
reporter has to persuade an editor to publish
them
3. Insider Stories: things that are secret and
uncovered through investigative journalism
•
Feature and insider stories can more easily reflect
political bias.
4. Loaded Language: words that imply a value
judgment to persuade a reader without having
made a serious argument
McCain Slams LA Times
for Double Standard in
Withholding ObamaKhalidi Tape
Obama takes top
billing on U.S.
television
On TV, it seems like
it’s all Obama, all
Obama's Aunt
the time
Found Living in
Rundown
Boston
John McCain:
Neighborhood
Obama lied about
public financing
MSNBC
FOX NEWS
CNN
How much do the media influence
how people think?
• Selective Attention: paying attention only
to those stories with which one already
agrees.
– Remembering and believing what one wants.
• Studies show that media attention or bias
can affect how a person votes, but the
influence is often limited
• Media attention can make a candidate
more well known, and thus more likely to
win.
Influence on the Public
• Newspapers that endorsed incumbents
gave them more positive coverage, and
voters had more positive feelings about
them
• Press coverage affects policy issues that
people think are important
Public Perception of Accuracy in
the Media
Source: Pew Research Center, http://www.people-press.org/2011/09/22/press-widely-criticized-but-trusted-more-than-other-institutions/
Coverage of Government
• The president receives the most coverage
• Gavel-to-gavel coverage of House
proceedings since 1979 (C-SPAN)
• Senatorial use of televised committee
hearings has turned the Senate into a
presidential candidate incubator
The Adversarial Press
• Adversarial press since Vietnam,
Watergate, Iran-contra
• Cynicism created era of attack journalism
• Adversarial media has made negative
campaign advertising more socially
acceptable
The Media and Campaigns
• Equal access for all candidates
• Rates no higher than the cheapest
commercial rate
• Now stations and networks can sponsor
debates limited to major candidates
Sensationalism
• Intense competition among many media
outlets means that each has a small share
of the audience
• Sensationalism draws an audience and is
cheaper than investigative reporting
• Reporters may not be checking sources
carefully because there is such
competition for stories
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