Chapter 6
The Future of the Media
 The
printed daily newspaper as we
know it in decline
 More and more people access news
and information via the Internet
 Important questions:
 Is democratic accountability threatened
by the loss of newspapers?
 Is web-based journalism democratizing?
People, Government, and
Communications
 Mass
communication transmits
information to large audiences
 Mass media do the communicating
 Print media
 Broadcast media
 Media
has important role
 Information from government to citizens
 Information from citizens to government
The Development of Mass
Media
in the United States
 Print
and broadcast media primary
means to convey political messages
 Newspapers
 Radio
 Television
 Internet
 And sometimes, music and film
Newspapers
 First
U.S. newspapers not really
mass media
 Number of newspapers published has
declined over time
 Most cities and towns have only one
traditional daily newspaper
Figure 6.2
Audiences of Selected Media
Sources
Magazines
 More
specialized news than daily
newspapers
 Can influence attentive policy elites
 Two-step flow of information then
influences mass opinion
 However,
declined
circulation also has
Radio
 Regular
radio broadcasting began as
local broadcasts in 1920
 Coast-to-coast broadcasts first heard
in 1937
 More than 13,000 licensed stations
today
 Audiences continue to grow
 News and talk radio popular
Television
 First
major broadcasts in 1940; color
and coast-to-coast broadcasts in
1951
 In 2009, U.S. had over 1,300
commercial and 300 public television
stations
 Around 99 percent of homes have TV
 TV has biggest news audience after
Television
The Internet
 Began
in 1969 as connection
between four universities (ARPANET)
 Later networks linked in 1983,
creating Internet
 Used mainly for e-mail among
researchers
 World
Wide Web (WWW) created in
1991 by European physicists
 Over 70 percent of Americans use
Internet
The Internet
 Majority
of government agencies and
political organizations have websites
 Private citizens operate websites and
blogs on politics and public affairs
 Rapid way to transmit information and
mobilize public opinion
 Major stories starting to originate on
blogs; many authors consider selves
journalists
Compared With What?
Private Ownership of the Media
 In
U.S., private ownership of media
taken for granted
 China has Internet police to prevent
“subversive content”
 In some countries, print media privately
owned but broadcast media run by
government
 U.S.
has about 300 public TV stations
and 400 public radio stations
The Consequences of
Private Ownership
 Private
media ownership means more
political freedom, but also
dependence on advertising revenues
 When looking at overall coverage, media
functions more for entertainment than
news
 Criteria for newsworthiness is audience
appeal
Figure 6.3
Getting the News: Consider the
Source
Market-Driven Journalism
Larger audiences earn higher advertising
rates
 Outside agency determines market share
of shows for broadcast media
 So, news broadcasts and commercials
are targeted for viewing audiences, both
national and local
 Major news organizations like CBS, ABC,
and NBC are part of larger corporations

 Must make a profit
The Concentration of
Private Ownership
 Media
owners increase profit by
increasing audiences or purchasing
other publications or stations
 Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation
owns Fox, the Wall Street Journal, and
MySpace
 Some analysts concerned about control
of news by only a few owners
 Propose non-profit newspapers
Government Regulation of
Media
 Although
privately owned, mass
media regulated by government
 Different then State Sponsored Media
 Broadcast
media more regulated than
print media
 Technical regulations
 Ownership regulations
 Content regulations
Technical and
Ownership Regulations


Federal Radio Act (1927) first licensed radio
stations to impose order on frequency
allocation process
Federal Communications Act of 1934
established Federal Communications
Commission (FCC)
 An independent regulatory commission
 Today regulates radio, TV, telephone, telegraph,
cable, and satellite
 Telecommunications Act of 1996 eliminated
many rules and regulations
Telecommunications Act
of 1996
 Deregulated
Media in the US
 Concentration of media into Media
Conglomerates
 Viacom, News Corp, Time Warner, Viacom, General
Electric (NBC-Universal) & Disney
 TV market ownership up to 35%
 NBC, CBS, ABC & Fox
 No limit on radio market ownership
 Clear Channel
 Independent Media has difficult time
competing
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Regulation of Content
The First Amendment prohibits Congress
from abridging freedom of the press
 Federal courts have decided many cases
defining how far freedom of the press
extends in various areas

 Most news allowed, except for strategic
information during wartime

FCC initially designed to ensure radio
and TV served the public interest
 Fairness doctrine and equal opportunity
rule
Regulation of Content
 Fairness
doctrine repealed in 1987
 U.S. Court of Appeals struck down
rules regulating political
endorsements and personal attacks
in broadcast media
 Print media not subject to restrictions
 Some
advocate deregulation of
broadcast media
Functions of the Mass Media
for the Political System
 Reporting
the news
 Interpreting the news
 Influencing citizens’ opinions
 Setting the agenda for government
action
 Socializing citizens about politics
Reporting the News

News media reports on important political events
with journalists on location

Washington, D.C. has largest press corps

Media relationships with president controlled by
the Office of the Press Secretary
 Opportunities include news conferences,
press releases, “background information,” “off
the record” comments, and “photo
opportunities”
Reporting on Congress
Must be accredited to sit in press
galleries
 Most news comes from press releases
and congressional reports

 Sometimes have “leaks” of information

Live coverage of Congress and its
committees not common until House
allowed broadcasts in 1979
 Senate broadcasts started in 1986
 C-SPAN feeds to 90 percent of cable
systems across the country
Interpreting and
Presenting the News


Media executives, news editors, and
reporters function as gatekeepers of news
flow and validity
 Personification makes news more
understandable
Rise of Internet has made more views
available
 More information available, but no
gatekeepers to check validity of content
Media Coverage of
Elections
 Personification
of political news
encourages horse race journalism
 Most Americans want more coverage of
issues
 Changing poll numbers and “media
events” considered more newsworthy
Where the Public Gets Its
News
Newspaper most important source until
1960s, then TV
 Today, 65 percent of Americans name TV
or cable news networks as primary news
source

 Newspapers 14 percent
 Internet 11 percent

Multiple sources used by many, including
late-night talk shows
What People Remember and
Know


Although 80 percent of public access news
media each day, most retain little
 National survey in 2009 found respondents
could only answer five of 12 questions
about current events correctly
 Those who rely on TV retain less than
those who read print media
Some media researchers believe TV is
behind low level of citizen knowledge about
public affairs
 Television Hypothesis
Figure 6.5
Gagging on Late-Night TV
Influencing Public Opinion
 Difficult
to measure extent of media’s
influence on public opinion
 Does the media create public opinion
by its reporting of events?
 Studies on specific areas, such as
pretrial coverage of serious criminal
cases, show significant influence
Setting the Political Agenda
 Most
scholars see media’s greatest
influence in its ability to identify
issues needing government attention
 Media can force government to address
unpopular or unknown issues
 Some issues, such as crime,
disproportionately covered
 Public
also influences media
coverage
Setting the Political Agenda
 Politicians
eager to influence media
coverage
 Public opinion
 Opinions of attentive elites
 Presidents
sometimes “go public” to
advance a political agenda
Setting the Political Agenda
37
Socializing the Citizenry
Young people politically socialized via
media’s entertainment function
 Media reinforces dominance of
existing culture and order
 Today, messages about government
very different than in past
 Media has contradictory roles in
process of political socialization

Evaluating the Media
in Government
 Some
believe news filtered through
ideologies of media owners, editors,
and reporters
 Reporters tend to be liberal (32%)
rather than conservative (8%)
 Editors and owners more
conservative - control content
 Talk radio dominated by
conservatives
Figure 6.6
Partisanship and the Credibility of the
News
Evaluating the Media
in Government
 In
general, incumbents receive more
news coverage than challengers
 Political bias in coverage depends on
the party in power
 Media may also be biased in the way
news stories reported
Contributions to Democracy
 Most
political communications from
government to citizens through media
 News reporters tend to be critical of
politicians, serving watchdog function
 Media polls enable reporting of public
opinion on major issues
 Necessary for majoritarian model of
government
Effects on Freedom, Order,
and Equality
 Media
has played important role in
advancing equality
 Media coverage of civil rights movement
critical to its success
 However,
media resists government
efforts to use it to promote public
order
 What is balance between free press
and national security?
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