MASS MEDIA
Just how much influence should they have…
Role of the Media in the
Political Process
Key Functions of the Media
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Entertainment
 Mass
media emphasizes entertainment
 Popular programs are continued, while programs that
receive low ratings are cancelled
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Informing the Public
 News
Reports- American newspapers have reported
political news since the late eighteenth century (ex: The
Federalist Papers)
 Radio and television stations provide their audiences
with varying degrees of news programming
Key Functions of the Media
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Creation of Political Forums
 Politicians
use the mass media to promote their careers
and draw public attention to their issues
 The president has direct access to the media and is thus
able to use it to help set the policy agenda
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Watchdog, Gatekeeper and Scorekeeper
Media Influence
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Gatekeeper: Editors and producers make decisions
regarding what is printed or aired.
 Control
access to information
 Pressures? Advertisers, public, desire for profit,
personal bias
 Limits?
Selective exposure or selective perception
Media as a Linkage Institution
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Mass Media connects people and
communicates public opinion to their
government officials
 interviewing
citizens, presenting poll results, and
covering protests
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Connect government officials to the public
 interviewing
political leaders and reporting on
government committees and programs
Presidential Debate
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http://news.yahoo.com/obama-romney-wantmoderator-keep-quiet-next-debate035840467.html
The Media and Politics
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Agenda Setting
 The
policy agenda consists of issues that attract the
serious attention of public officials
 The mass media play an important role in drawing
public attention to particular issues
 Determine what news to cover
 Play
a role in deciding what issues will get national attention
and this influence the national agenda
Candidate-Centered Political
Campaigns
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Political campaigns have become more centered on
candidates and less focused on issues
1960- Presidential Debates between Kennedy and
Nixon (television replaces newspapers and radio as
America’s principal source of political news)
“The Living Room Candidate”
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http://www.livingroomcandidate.org/
Candidate-Centered Campaigns
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The mass media contribute to the candidatecentered campaigns in the following ways
 By
replacing speeches and dialogues with sound bites
that average just 7.8 seconds in length
 By focusing on day-to-day campaign activities such as
rallies, scandals, gaffes, and negative commercials
 By engaging in horse-race journalism, which emphasizes
how candidates stand in the polls instead of where they
stand on the issues
Candidate Centered Campaigns
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An election which focuses on the person and not the issues
or the political party
TV/Media contributions?
Image is EXTREMELY important
Technical and Advertising strategies become more
important than the candidate’s experience or
qualifications
“marketing strategies”
Media’s impact on CCC
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30 sec spots on news
Horse race coverage
Scandals
Personal lives
Debate coverage
Convention coverage
Primary and caucus coverage
Candidate Impact on CCC
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Negative ads
Mainstream programs like SNL, Oprah
Cable and internet advertising
Consultants and “image”
Current Trends in Modern Media
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Internet and Cable TV becoming more of a trend with
younger voter demographics
SNL, Tonight Show, etc.
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Article: “Strange Bedfellows”
Result- growth in the airing of political views but a
decline in the objectivity of news delivery
Current Trends in Modern Media
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Americans perceptions of political affairs depend on the
news sources they follow
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Lack of a common version of reality
Contributed to greater polarization in the nation’s policies
Article: “How the Mass Media Divides Us”
Consider: Consequences of concentration of ownership of
media outlets?
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Increased similarity in network news coverage
Media Events
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Public appearances
Photo ops
NAME RECOGNITION, public AWARENESS
Free advertising
Even a negative story is beneficial?
Can be detrimental? (The tank ad)
Television Advertising
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60 percent of the campaign budget is spent on
advertising
2/3 of political ads are NEGATIVE
We market our candidates like toothpaste and
deoderant. -Larry Sabato
Same advertising agencies
“The Living Room Campaign”
Presidential Communications
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FDR-”fireside chats”
JFK-1st television president
Reagan-”the great communicator”
 Acting
background
 TV presence/comfort level
 Choreography/performance attitude
Print Media
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Newspapers are declining in circulation
NY Times and Washington Post are still influential
Concerns?
Less informed voters since TV is where most people get their
news
 Only hear “soundbites” which cannot tell the whole story
 TV reliant on advertising: How does this impact how stories
are covered?
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Federal Election Commission
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Formed in 1934
Responsible for regulating the airwaves (radio, tv)
Regulatory examples:
 Limits
number of stations owned by one company
 Licensing standards (language, content, etc.)
Cable TV
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News available 24 hours a day
Affect on networks?
Selective exposure
Narrowcasting - aiming media messages at specific
segments of the public defined by values,
preferences, demographic attributes
More choices available (can that reinforce bias?)
“Business” of Journalism
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Privately owned by corporations
Investigative journalism
Advertisers impact
News homogeneous due to many media outlets
owned by one Corporation
Media terms to know
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Soundbite
Less informed
 Pressure on candidate
 Context is IMPORTANT and could be misrepresented by the
media
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Leak
Intentional: gauge public response and make a
decision/form a strategy
 Unintentional: punishment may follow for the leaker
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