Chapter Focus
Section 1 How Media Impact
Government
Section 2 Regulating Print and
Broadcast Media
Section 3 The Internet and
Democracy
Chapter Assessment
Chapter Objectives
•
How Media Impact Government Discuss the
role of mass media in United States politics.
•
Regulating Print and Broadcast Media
Evaluate the role the government plays in
regulating the mass media.
•
The Internet and Democracy Analyze the
impact of the Internet on government in the
United States.
How Media Impact Government
Key Terms
mass media, news release, news briefing, leak,
media event, front-runner, spot advertising
Find Out
• What are the major forms of print and
broadcast media?
• What is news? What is the major purpose of
news reporting?
How Media Impact Government
Understanding Concepts
Political Processes Television has become a very
important part of modern politics, but not without
consequences. How has television’s role weakened
the traditional role played by political parties?
Section Objective
Discuss the role of mass media in United
States politics.
In April 1979 President Jimmy Carter held
a treaty-signing ceremony on the White
House lawn. With him were President
Sadat of Egypt and Prime Minister Begin of
Israel—and nearby recording this historical
event were hundreds of reporters,
television crews, and photographers from
all over the world. This news event ended
30 years of fighting between the two
countries and highlighted Carter’s role in
trying to bring peace to the Middle East.
I. The President and the Media (pages 527–529)
A. The president is an important source of news;
80 percent of all media coverage of national
government focuses on the president.
B. Modern presidents and their staffs try to
manage relations with the mass media in
various ways in order to sell their policies
and programs to the public.
C. The White House uses news releases and
briefings, as well as press conferences, to
make announcements and to explain
policies, decisions, or actions.
I. The President and the Media (pages 527–529)
D. The president or another top official
sometimes gives reporters important pieces
of information in a backgrounder, which the
media report without naming the source
of information.
E. Top government officials also provide the
media with information “off the record” and
through news leaks.
F. Modern presidents stage news events to
reinforce their positions on issues.
I. The President and the Media (pages 527–529)
How do the president and the press rely
on each other in order to do their jobs? In
what ways does this interdependency
interfere with doing their jobs effectively?
Students should discuss the mutually
beneficial relationship of press and president.
II. Media and Presidential Campaigns
(pages 529–532)
A. Television greatly impacts presidential
campaigns by 1) requiring that candidates
be telegenic, 2) making it possible for
unknowns to quickly become serious
candidates, and 3) encouraging celebrities
from other fields to enter politics.
B. Mass media coverage of nominations,
especially primaries presented in horse-race
terms, has fundamentally changed the
presidential nominating process.
II. Media and Presidential Campaigns
(pages 529–532)
C. Early primaries are covered intensely by the
media and so become critically important,
establishing the front-runners even though
the states involved represent only a small
fraction of the national electorate.
D. The front-running candidates are the only
ones able to attract the needed funds to
succeed in the long nominating process,
and the candidates of each party are
clearly identified months before the
nominating conventions.
II. Media and Presidential Campaigns
(pages 529–532)
E. Television has also affected how candidates
communicate with the voters, relying largely
on spot advertising, the technique used to
sell most products on television.
F. Television advertising campaigns cost
candidates huge sums of money.
G. Television has weakened the role of political
parties as the key link between politicians
and the voters in national politics and has
made candidates less dependent on their
political party organization.
II. Media and Presidential Campaigns
(pages 529–532)
Do you agree or disagree that media
coverage of presidential campaigns
would improve if there was a greater
focus on issues? Explain.
Answers will vary. Ask: Why do media focus
less on issues?
III. Congress and the Media (pages 532–533)
A. Congressional coverage in the news media
focuses on individual members and tends to
report on the most controversial aspects of
Congress, such as confirmation hearings,
oversight activities, and the personal
business of members.
B. Senate confirmation hearings attract wide
media coverage, and the media often
conduct their own investigations of those
nominated for office.
C. Media coverage of certain congressional
investigations, such as Watergate, has
created some of the biggest stories in
American politics.
III. Congress and the Media (pages 532–533)
D. The news media try to create big stories by
looking for scandal in the personal activities
of members of Congress.
E. Both the House and Senate allow television
coverage of floor proceedings, and both
have recording studios where lawmakers
prepare radio and television messages for
voters back home.
III. Congress and the Media (pages 532–533)
Which part of the mass media do you find
most helpful in understanding the issues
before Congress?
Students may not be familiar with many
forms of media coverage. Discuss press
coverage and C-SPAN.
IV. The Court and the Media (page 533)
A. The Supreme Court and the lower federal
courts receive much less media coverage
than the executive and legislative branches
because of the remoteness of judges and
the technical nature of the issues with which
courts deal.
B. The Supreme Court holds no news
conferences and keeps to the tradition that
its decisions must speak for themselves.
IV. The Court and the Media (page 533)
In what way is the relationship between the
Supreme Court and the news media different
from that between the media and the other
two branches of government?
Broadcast media do not cover many Court
decisions because of their complexity.
V. Setting the Public Agenda (pages 533—534)
A. The public agenda is a list of the societal
problems that both political leaders and
citizens agree need governmental attention.
B. The news media play a very important role in
setting the public agenda by highlighting
some issues and ignoring others.
C. Competition between media networks
influences which decisions the media should
cover; networks try to attract a large audience
by focusing on stories that will interest the
largest number of viewers.
D. The media also have a major impact on public
opinion toward government and issues by
influencing people’s attitudes and values.
V. Setting the Public Agenda (pages 533—534)
The mass media tend to play an important
role in setting the national agenda. What
are some positive or negative effects of
this tendency?
Positive: keeps people informed.
Negative: focus narrows to popular issues.
Checking for Understanding
1. Main Idea Use a graphic organizer like the one
below to identify how media impact government.
Answers might include: President—media
impact image, communication with public, and
campaigns; Congress—media coverage of
congressional hearings and debates helps
members be aware of constituents’ concerns;
Court—largely independent of media coverage
and public opinion
Checking for Understanding
Match the term with the correct definition.
___
E mass media
___
D news release
___
C news briefing
___
B leak
___
A spot
advertising
A. the brief, frequent, positive
description of a candidate or a
candidate’s major themes broadcast
on television or radio
B. the release of secret information by
anonymous government officials to
the media
C. a meeting during which a government
official makes an announcement or
explains a policy, decision, or action
D. a ready-made story government
officials prepare for members of the
press
E. means of communication, such as
television, newspapers, movies,
books, and the Internet
Checking for Understanding
3. Identify press conference, backgrounder,
horse-race coverage.
A press conference is the news media’s
questioning of a high-level government official.
A backgrounder is information given by top
government officials to a reporter who can use
the information in a story but cannot reveal his or
her source.
Horse-race coverage is the media approach of
focusing on “winners” and “losers” and “who’s
ahead,” rather than on issues or policy positions.
Checking for Understanding
4. Why are television networks reducing coverage
of nominating conventions?
Since the nominees are already chosen before
the convention, the networks feel the
conventions are not “news” and therefore
deserve less coverage than they used to get.
Critical Thinking
5. Formulating Questions Write three questions
that should be asked in order to determine
whether the media challenges government
actions effectively.
Questions will vary but should ask whether the
media truthfully inform the public, protect public
interest, influence public opinion, provide a fairly
unbiased viewpoint, serve as many people as
possible, and so on.
Political Processes Create a political
cartoon that describes the role of the mass
media in forming your basic ideas about
government, politicians, and national and
international events. Consider broadcast,
print, and Internet media.
Regulating Print and Broadcast Media
Key Terms
prior restraint, libel, shield law, fairness doctrine
Find Out
• Why does the federal government have more
power to regulate the broadcast media than the
print media?
• What issues did the Telecommunications Act of
1996 address?
Regulating Print and Broadcast Media
Understanding Concepts
Civil Liberties Should all the liberties that are
extended to the print media also be extended to the
broadcast media? Explain your answer.
Section Objective
Evaluate the role the government plays in regulating
the mass media.
Televised debates may have determined the
outcome of the 1960 presidential election.
The Republican candidate, Richard Nixon,
had injured his knee weeks earlier and was
still in pain. He also had lost weight and
looked haggard. By contrast, John F.
Kennedy had just returned from a rest in
Florida and looked fit and tanned. Most radio
listeners thought Nixon had won the debates,
but the far larger television audience
perceived Kennedy as the victor. Kennedy
won the election by a paper-thin margin of
118,000 votes.
I. Protecting the Media (pages 536–537)
A. The First Amendment guarantees
freedom of the press; the press is
free from prior restraint.
B. Public officials almost never win libel suits
because there is no law against criticizing
government officials.
I. Protecting the Media (pages 536–537)
Do you think that public officials should
sue for libel if they feel their reputations
have been damaged? Explain.
Yes: damage to reputation.
No: there is no law against criticizing
government officials.
II. The Right to Gather Information (page 537)
A. Lower courts generally have supported the
right of the press to have information about
government actions and decisions.
B. The media have fought in the courts for
shield laws to avoid disclosing sources; no
such federal law exists, though more than
half the states have them.
II. The Right to Gather Information (page 537)
Why might you support or oppose shield
laws for news sources?
Support: to keep sources of information
from vanishing.
Oppose: criminals may escape unpunished.
III. Regulating Broadcast Media (pages 537–540)
A. The federal government has the power to
regulate the broadcast media because
airwaves are a public resource.
B. The Federal Communications Commission
(FCC) regulates interstate and international
communications by radio, television,
telephone, telegraph, cable and satellite.
C. The FCC cannot censor broadcasts, but it
can fine stations that violate rules.
III. Regulating Broadcast Media (pages 537–540)
D. The extent of FCC content regulation varies
in response to changing technology, court
rulings, and changes in the political climate.
For example, the controversial fairness
doctrine, which required broadcasters to
guarantee equal airtime to both sides of a
controversial issue, was removed during the
Reagan administration.
E. Until 1996,the federal government set rules
for media ownership to prevent a few
owners from gaining control of the news and
entertainment in the largest American cities.
III. Regulating Broadcast Media (pages 537–540)
F. The Telecommunications Act of 1996 ended
or greatly relaxed many of the FCC’s limits
on media ownership with the goal of
increasing competition, and also tried to
control violent and obscene content in the
mass media.
III. Regulating Broadcast Media (pages 537–540)
III. Regulating Broadcast Media (pages 537–540)
Do you think the federal government should
be allowed to regulate obscene or violent
content in the mass media? Why or why not?
Yes: public interest, because airwaves are
a public resource;
No: may violate free speech and free
press rights
IV. Media and National Security (pages 540–541)
A. National security concerns may conflict
with citizens’ need to know, especially in
foreign affairs, where weapons,
intelligence information, and military
secrets often are involved.
B. Government restriction on media coverage of
military actions has varied. Media reporting
on the Vietnam War and the secret Pentagon
Papers in 1991 caused controversy; tensions
caused the government to limit access to the
battlefield during the 1991 Persian Gulf War.
IV. Media and National Security (pages 540–541)
Do you agree or disagree with the
government’s actions in restricting media
coverage during a war, such as those in the
1991 Persian Gulf War? Explain.
Answers will vary. Students should balance
national security needs against citizens’ right
to know.
Checking for Understanding
1. Main Idea Use a graphic organizer like the one
below to show how the Telecommunications Act
of 1996 affected the FCC.
Answers might include that the FCC’s control
over media ownership was greatly relaxed and
that the FCC was required to conduct studies
on media ownership every two years.
Checking for Understanding
2. Define prior restraint, libel, shield law,
fairness doctrine.
Prior restraint is government censorship of information
before it is published or broadcast.
Libel is false written or published statements intended to
damage a person’s reputation.
Shield law is a law that gives reporters some means of
protection against being forced to disclose confidential
information or sources in state courts.
Fairness doctrine is the rule requiring broadcasters to
provide opportunity for the expression of opposing views
on issues of public importance.
Checking for Understanding
3. Identify right of access.
Right of access refers to the media’s special
rights regarding access to information on the
decisions of government.
Checking for Understanding
4. Explain why the federal government regulates
broadcast media more than print media.
The federal government has more power to
regulate broadcast media because it involves the
sharing of public airwaves.
Checking for Understanding
5. Why have regulations on media ownership been
loosened in recent decades?
Advancing technology has forced the loosening
of regulations.
Critical Thinking
6. Synthesizing Information Why might the need
for national security conflict with the First
Amendment protections that are usually given
to the media?
Students’ answers will vary but should focus on
the tension between the need to protect national
security and the need of a free society to
receive open and accurate information.
Civil Liberties Interview, write, or e-mail
a local newspaper editor to find out what
precautions the newspaper takes to
prevent libel suits. Share the information
you obtain with your classmates.
The Internet and Democracy
Key Terms
partisan, electronic mailing list, action alert,
electronic petition
Find Out
• What are some of the identifying characteristics
of the Internet?
• Name three ways that the Internet has changed
how citizens participate in government.
The Internet and Democracy
Understanding Concepts
Public Policy Do you agree with the Supreme
Court’s decision that much of the content on the
Internet is protected by the First Amendment?
Explain your answer.
Section Objective
Analyze the impact of the Internet on government in
the United States.
After the controversial 2000 presidential election, the
accuracy of voting methods—particularly electronic voting,
in which citizens have the opportunity to vote online—was
called into question. In coast-to-coast rallies in July 2004,
thousands of voters took to the streets to protest paperless
electronic voting machines. Civil rights advocates,
technology professionals, and others mobilized in
“Computer Ate My Vote” rallies that questioned the security
of electronic voting, or E-voting. At the 2004 Democratic
National Convention, several legislators joined together to
address the need for secure voting systems that are reliable
and traceable. Howard Dean, former Vermont governor and
onetime presidential hopeful, spoke on the importance of
establishing a system in which every vote is accurately
counted: “If people don’t think votes count, the first thing
they’ll do is stop voting. And when people stop voting,
elected officials will stop caring about [them].”
I. Key Features of the Internet (pages 543–544)
A. The Internet is rapidly developing a
widespread audience.
B. The Internet supports interactive
communications among many people at
once, which allows political activists to quickly
mobilize huge numbers of supporters.
C. Internet organizations and activities are
spread around the world; as a result, it is
often not clear which national laws govern
Internet activities.
I. Key Features of the Internet (pages 543–544)
How has the Internet changed the delivery of
news and political information?
Answers may vary. Answers may include that
it is easier to access information or that it is
now possible to access information from
around the world.
II. Gathering Information (pages 544–546)
A. Thousands of Web sites devoted to politics
and government are sponsored by
government agencies, Congress, political
parties, universities, and interest groups;
some of these Web sites may be partisan,
meaning that they support only their own
point of view on issues.
B. Legislation can be tracked online through a
government database called THOMAS.
C. Electronic mailing lists alert subscribers to
current information on an issue.
D. Local, state, and federal government Web
sites provide information and services such
as absentee ballot and license applications.
II. Gathering Information (pages 544–546)
II. Gathering Information (pages 544–546)
Have you ever used the Internet to obtain
a government service, sign up for an
electronic mailing list, or learn about a
political candidate? Explain.
Answers will vary.
III. Impact on Citizen Participation
(pages 546–548)
A. Citizens can use e-mail to communicate with
government officials.
B. Political organizers use online action
alerts and electronic petitions to spread
information quickly or to gain support for
an issue.
C. “Grassroots” Web sites are set up by
individual citizens supporting their favorite
candidate or issue and provide a way for
citizens to become active in election
politics at any level of government.
III. Impact on Citizen Participation
(pages 546–548)
D. Election candidate websites supply
information on how to volunteer for an
election campaign or political cause; cyber
volunteering is a class of volunteer activities
that can only be done on the Internet.
E. Many states are currently conducting studies
or tests on how to conduct online, electronic
voting in primary and general elections.
III. Impact on Citizen Participation
(pages 546–548)
Do you support or oppose a switch to
electronic voting in primary and general
elections? Why?
Support: makes voting easier and
more efficient.
Oppose: possible election fraud,
discriminates against voters who
cannot afford online access.
IV. Challenges for Public Policy (pages 548–549)
A. In Reno v. American Civil Liberties Union
(1997), the Supreme Court ruled that the
First Amendment guarantees freedom of
expression on the Internet.
B. Controversy exists between state and local
governments and some companies about
whether to tax E-commerce, or the sale of
goods and services online.
IV. Challenges for Public Policy (pages 548–549)
Should government be able to limit
children’s exposure to offensive online
materials such as pornography? Explain.
Answers will vary. Yes: government has a
responsibility to protect its citizens. No: such
limitations violate First Amendment rights
Checking for Understanding
1. Main Idea Use a graphic organizer like the one
below to analyze key features of the Internet.
widespread, interactive, global scope
Checking for Understanding
Match the term with the correct definition.
___
C partisan
___
B electronic
mailing list
___
D action alert
___
A electronic
petition
A. a message that asks the recipient
to “sign” his or her name
electronically on a request that will
be sent to an official
B. an automated e-mail notification
that provides subscribers with
current information on a topic
C. adhering to or supporting a
particular party, faction, cause, or
person
D. a message from an interest group
to its members, calling upon them
to respond immediately by
telephone, fax, or e-mail to a
specific lawmaker, group of
lawmakers, or other official
Checking for Understanding
3. Identify E-Government Act.
The E-Government Act established the Office
of Electronic Government to help federal
agencies work together to provide better online
service to the public.
Checking for Understanding
4. Why has it been difficult for media companies to
sue Internet file swapping organizations?
It is difficult because Internet activities and
organizations are spread around the world, and
so it is often not clear which national laws
should govern such activities.
Critical Thinking
5. Demonstrating Reasoned Judgment What
are some benefits and weaknesses of
electronic voting?
Benefits include the ease and efficiency
of electronic voting; weaknesses include
the possibility of sabotage or vote
stealing by hackers.
Public Policy Visit your local library and
ask the librarians about their opinions on
indecent Internet materials versus the right
of free speech. Share the opinions you
gather with your classmates.
Reviewing Key Terms
Write the term that best completes each sentence.
action alerts
fairness doctrine
prior restraint
news releases
1. Government officials prepare
news releases
_________________,
ready-made stories for
the press.
fairness doctrine requires television and
2. The _________________
radio stations to present both sides of a
controversial topic.
3. The First Amendment frees the United States
prior restraint
print media from _________________.
action alerts
4. An interest group sends _________________
that call on members to respond quickly to a
political development.
Recalling Facts
1. What are the two traditional types of
mass media?
The two types of traditional mass media are
print and broadcast media.
2. What amendment protects the media?
The First Amendment protects the media.
Recalling Facts
3. What government agency regulates the number
of radio and television stations a single
company can own?
This is regulated by the Federal
Communications Commission (FCC).
4. What steps does the federal government take
when attempting to control sensitive national
security issues?
The government classifies information as secret
and limits press coverage of military actions.
Recalling Facts
5. How does the Internet assist citizen activists?
The Internet makes it easier to gather
information, communicate with candidates, and
get involved in grassroots movements.
Understanding Concepts
1. Political Processes How has television’s role
in the political process developed?
The president and Congress use television to
share information with and present a certain
image to constituents. Television also helps to
set the public agenda by choosing which issues
to cover and in how much detail.
Understanding Concepts
2. Public Policy Why is the issue of e-commerce
taxation difficult to resolve?
E-commerce taxation is difficult to resolve
mainly because of the conflict between state
governments—which support taxation as a
source of revenue—and online retailers,
technology companies, and Congress, who
oppose taxes on e-commerce.
Critical Thinking
1. Demonstrating Reasoned Judgment Should
the media have been limited in its coverage of
the 1991 Persian Gulf War? Explain.
Possible ‘yes’ response: Because of the
incidence of military personnel deaths from
capture, “friendly fire,” and the possibility of
media personnel becoming POWs;
Possible ‘no’ response: It is within the
rights of the media to take risks, barring
breaches of national security, to cover the
war independently.
Critical Thinking
2. Synthesizing Information Use a graphic
organizer like the one below to list two or more
arguments for and against this statement: “The
media’s greatest power is in the way they define
reality for the American people.” Then explain
why you agree or disagree with the statement.
Answers might include: For: Coverage largely determines which
issues people think are important. The media influence people’s
attitudes and values. Against: People balance what they hear in
the media with personal observations. While the media may
determine issues covered, they don’t tell people what to think.
Conclusion: Answers should reflect arguments made in the
graphic organizer.
Interpreting Political Cartoons Activity
1. Who is the “new guy”?
the new president of the United States
Interpreting Political Cartoons Activity
2. According to the cartoon, how is the new guy
treated by the press and Congress? Explain.
The president is tortured by the press and
Congress. He is in the spotlight, and the press
and Congress are there to highlight his flaws
and criticize his policies.
Interpreting Political Cartoons Activity
3. What does the television camera symbolize?
The television camera symbolizes the media.
The flaws of the president will be highlighted for
the audience—the American public. Uncle Sam,
the press, and Congress will “torture” the new
guy for all Americans to witness.
What presidential election results were
the first to be reported over the radio?
the election of 1920 announcing Warren
G. Harding’s defeat of James M. Cox
1) about $620
2) yes; because different age
groups have different interests
3) Online/ Internet access services will be most
likely answer. Internet usage has increased
tremendously
1) that the media favored Bill Clinton
over Bob Dole
2) He brings Clinton’s name into each network name.
3) He uses the words of the
cameramen.
1) in 1927
3) Many
telecommunications
applications did not
exist until the latter
half of the century.
2) Possible answers include telephones, cellular
phones, the Internet, cable systems, radio, and
satellite communication.
Creating a Media Booklet Design a booklet about
the mass media. This booklet should include three
sections—one for each section of this chapter. As
you read through each section in the chapter, collect
news articles from magazines or newspapers that
reflect the topic of each section, and paste them into
their booklets. Write an analysis next to each article.
Fireside Chats
The McCarthy Hearings
Fireside Chats President Franklin Delano Roosevelt
tried to give the people the feeling that they were
participating in the government’s decision-making
process. He did this by taking his programs to the people
via radio in the form of “fireside chats.” On Sunday
evening, March 12, 1933, just eight days after his
inauguration, President Roosevelt broadcast his first
fireside chat to announce the reopening of the banks. He
began his chats with “my friends,” and then proceeded to
seemingly open his heart to millions of Americans. A
Brooklyn, New York, resident described Roosevelt’s chats
as making him feel “. . . that he [Roosevelt] walked into
my home, sat down, and in plain and forceful language
explained to me how he was tackling the job I and my
fellow citizens gave him.”
The McCarthy Hearings The first major congressional
event to be televised live was the McCarthy hearings,
which took place from April 22 to June 17, 1954. Joseph
R. McCarthy, a second-term Republican senator from
Wisconsin, began his quest to ferret out Communists in
the government by claiming that he had a list of 205 State
Department employees who were members of the
Communist Party. McCarthy misjudged the power of
television when a televised, emotional outburst confirmed
in Americans’ minds that McCarthy was, in fact, nothing
but a heartless, brutal bully.
Real-Life Television The 1980s and 1990s television
public clamored for slice-of-life television, which mixes
news with sensational journalism. Such shows as Cops,
Rescue 911, and America’s Most Wanted helped law
enforcement officials track down hundreds of fugitive
felons. Other mixed fact-with-fiction types of television
shows were the semibiographical, made-for-television
movies. Such movies as The People vs. Jean Harris
(1981) and Baby M (1988) were based on subjects taken
from headline news, often before all the facts of the case
were revealed. Fictional dramas such as Hill Street Blues
and NYPD Blue even began using facts from real-life
events as the basis of their story lines. In the 1980s and
1990s, fictional shows borrowed from factual events and
factual shows became more sensationalistic.
The Internet When the Internet was created in
1969, it consisted of four connected computers. It
was founded as part of the quest to ensure that
communication could continue during and after a
nuclear war. In 1990 the Federal Networking
Council modified the Internet’s membership policy
from only organizations with sponsorship by a
United States government agency to anyone who
wanted membership. This opened the door to
commercialization of the Internet and resulted in its
exponential growth.
Press conferences
USA Networks
President Richard Nixon held the fewest press
conferences—39, or 0.6 per month. Even the
president called the “Great Communicator,” Ronald
Reagan, held only 53 press sessions, which
averaged out to 0.6 per month during his eight-year
term as president. John F. Kennedy, who held the
first live news conferences, averaged 1.9 a month.
The founder, chairperson, and CEO of the first
cable television station to distribute live sports and
entertainment programming is a woman. Kay
Koplovitz launched USA Networks in 1977. Today
USA Networks is worth nearly $20 billion and does
business on four continents. Koplovitz believes that
being the only woman in “a world that was all men”
was to her advantage. “As the only woman,”
according to Koplovitz, “everyone knew who I was.”
More About Becoming an Informed Voter
Watching or listening to presidential debates is
another way of becoming an informed voter. The
first televised presidential debate took place during
the 1960 election between candidates Richard
Nixon, a Republican, and John Kennedy, a
Democrat. Most television viewers believed
Kennedy won the crucial first debate over a
nervous-looking Nixon. Radio listeners were, of
course, not influenced by appearances and often
scored Nixon higher than Kennedy.
Presidential Face-Off
Presidential candidates try as hard as possible to control the
rules of televised debates. Sometimes they succeed and
sometimes they don’t. Before the first presidential debate of
2004 between John Kerry and George W. Bush, both sides
argued over the format of the debate, held in Coral Gables,
Florida. One rule they agreed to was that “when a candidate is
speaking, either in answering a question or making his closing
statement, television coverage will be limited to the candidate
speaking.” In other words, the networks couldn’t show a
candidate listening to his opponent speak. The networks abided
by most of the rules, but not this one. On many channels, a split
screen allowed viewers to see both candidates—and their facial
reactions—simultaneously. One network executive declared,
“We’re not going to allow anyone to dictate how we cover a
news event.” In this particular case, his boast was true.
Television and Elections The majority of Americans
rely upon television as their primary source of
information, including information on political
candidates. Because of this trend, much of the money
spent on political campaigns is spent on television
advertising and program time. Much of the effort in a
campaign is directed toward getting the candidate
featured on the nightly news, and on staging media
events. Discuss whether controls ought to be placed on
television or on campaigns using television. If you think
controls ought to be initiated, discuss what types of
controls might be implemented and how such controls
should be enforced. Predict the future of television and
election politics.
Regulation versus Deregulation Discuss the
benefits and liabilities of government regulation of
any industry. Choose sides and debate the issue of
government regulation of mass media.
Regulating Electronic Media After reading the
provisions of the Telecommunications Act of 1996,
evaluate what current changes should be added to
the act to bring it up to date with advancements in
technology. Write your recommended changes in
the form of an amendment to the act.
Technology Television coverage of the Vietnam War
fed public antagonism toward it. Graphic color
images of devastation and carnage shown live on
television news brought the war into Americans’ living
rooms. In January 1991, millions of Americans
watched Operation Desert Storm and kept track of
the United States’s progress in the Persian Gulf War.
News coverage of this war brought a display of hightech weaponry in action, while viewers watched,
glued to their television sets.
Lloyd Newman and LeAlan Jones
LeAlan Jones and Lloyd Newman’s year-long
investigation of the Eric Morse murder included
interviews with the prosecutors and public defenders
involved in the case. They also interviewed the head of
the Chicago Housing Authority and housing security
officers who knew the killer. Our America draws from
more than 100 hours of taped interviews, conversations,
and monologues that were not included in the original
National Public Radio (NPR) documentaries.
Activity: Write an outline for a book you would propose
to publish. Identify issues you could write about from
firsthand experience to use as the topic of the book.
Think of issues that might interest readers.
Lucinda Franks
Lucinda Franks is the first woman to receive the
Pulitzer Prize for national reporting. This freelance
writer shared the 1971 Pulitzer Prize with journalist
Thomas Powers for The Making of a Terrorist,
which consisted of five articles written for United
Press International (UPI). At the time Franks
received the award, she was also the youngest
person to ever win it.
Colin Powell
Colin Powell, appointed by President George H.W.
Bush, became, at age 52, the youngest Chairman
of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. He was also the first
African American to be named to this position. After
declining the Republican Party’s call for him to run
for president in 1996, Powell championed the
cause for the President’s Summit for America’s
Future by serving as general chairperson.
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