Starter Question #9 (Pick one of the 3)

(1) Read “Chicago Strike…” What is collective bargaining? To what extent
should teachers have the legal right to strike?

(2) Read “Romney faces…” To what extent is Romney’s response to the
press coverage of this video effective? Your answer should either identify
effective statements he has already made or actions you feel would
benefit his campaign.

(3) Read “Syria Conflict” The Middle East is a rather complicated aspect of
US foreign policy right now. What (if anything) can we do about the
conflict in Syria? Identify two countries that would be affected by US
action or inaction in Syria
The Media
By Mr. Miguel
Academy of Our Lady of Guam
Essential Questions

How strong of an effect does media have on us?

Are media a mirror of reality? What is news? What stories should take up
space/time? What sources are credible? What should be emphasized?
Primary functions of media

Inform the public

Entertain the public

Watchdog
Who gets what news
from where

Who gets what news from where

Newspapers and Magazines

Radio

Television

The Internet
Who Gets what news from where
Traditionalists
Integrators

Stick to network news as primary
source

¼ of public, news from TV but also
go online for news daily

Older, less well-educated

Well to do, middle aged
Net-Newsers

More online news

Less educated, well off, younger
Disengaged

18%, younger, less educated, least
informed
Newspapers and Magazines
Newspapers
Magazines

Sales at a historic low

More comprehensive

Only a dozen cities have more than 1
daily paper

Tend to be middle of the road

Liberal: American prospect

National Review, American
Spectator: Conservative


USA Today, NYT, LA Times,
Washington Post, Christian Science
monitor – national circulation
Politics in newspaper?
Radio and Television
Radio

Decline in newspapers 1900 =
emergence of radio

More up to the minute, personal

99% of American household own at
least 1 radio

Non-commercial: National Public
Radio (NPR) and Public Radio
International
Television

Like the radio, allowed them to reach
an even broader audience w/o need
for print reporters

Entertainment medium

Narrowcasting
 Specifically Liberal: Michael
Moore, Mother Jones
 Specifically conservatives:
weekly standard, rush
Limbaugh
The Internet

2007 – 62% of American household – access to internet

2008 – 37% went online for regular news

More than ¼ of Americans have a customized web page

More than 1/3 watch news shows and video clips online

All major news sources have websites

Slate, Salon, Politico, Huffington Post, Drudge Report – solely internet
sources
Problem
How is it that information has become
overwhelmingly easier to access but we as
a nation are becoming even less politically
informed?
Who Owns the Media,
and How does that
affect our news?

The Early American Press: Dependence
on Government

Growing Media Independence

The Media Today: Concentrated
corporate power

Regulation of Media
The Early American
Press

Colonial Times

Early Republic

Antebellum/Civil War years

Media Today
Dependence on government
Colonial times

Printers needed government
approval

Avoided controversial political
reporting

Radical patriot movement – become
more aggressive at securing a
supportive press

1st Amendment -> Federalist papers
Early Republic

Anything but free and independent

Newspapers still risky business
financially

Jackson -> offered friendly papers
the opportunity to print government
documents

Mass democracy, less elitist style
Growing Media Independence
Antebellum/Civil War

Effort to be objective: driven by
economic imperatives of selling
newspapers to large numbers of
people who do not share the same
political views

Prior to 1833 – newspapers =
expensive

New York Sun: penny a copy;
superficial reporting
Civil War

Yellow Journalism

Helped them achieve independence
from parties and politicians, but
lowered standards of journalism
The Media Today: Concentrated Corporate
Power

Media Monopoly

5 companies own a majority of media outlets

Implications

Commercial Bias

Reduced emphasis on political news

Content lightened and dramatized

Conflict in interests prevents certain news stories from being translated
Alternatives to Corporate Media

Public radio and television

Britain and other European countries

Alternative Press – intended to offer a radial alternative to mainstream
media

Internet

Allows any motivated ind. To get around the biases of mainstream media
Regulation of Media

Media = mostly privately owned

Freedom of the press: keeps print media almost free of restriction;
broadcast media is treated differently

1934 Federal Communications Act: Creates Federal Communications
Commission (FCC) – independent regulatory agency
FCC
The Equal Time Rule: if a station allows a candidate for office to buy or use airtime
outside of regular news broadcasts, it must allow candidates that opportunity
The Fairness Doctrine: requires stations that give free airtime to issues that
concerned the public and to opposing sides when controversial issues were
covered
The Right of Rebuttal: Individuals whose reputations are damaged on air have a
right to respond
1996 Telecommunications Act – permits ownership of multiple stations/can’t
reach more than 35% of market
Internet

Net neutrality – NO restrictions!
Starter Questions 10a and 10b

Read "Why it's time..." and "Why they won't..." Do you feel that Romney's
comments constitute a genuine "shift" to the middle? If so, do you feel it is
for show or that is his true colors? Identify changes topics or slogans that
you anticipate from President Obama. To what extent will those issues be
determined by the battleground states.

Next get a laptop and follow the link to the second article. Scroll through
the 17 photographs that chronicle recent tension between the Muslim and
non-Muslim world. What should the non-Muslim world "learn" from this
article?
Who Are Journalists?

What roles do journalists play?

Who chooses Journalism?

What Journalists Believe: Is there an
ideological bias in the Media

The Growth of the Washington Press
Corps
What role do Journalists Pay?
Gatekeepers

Decide what news gets covered (or
not) and how
Disseminators

Role confined to getting facts of the
story straight and moving the news
out to the public quickly

Criticism: simple dissemination does
nothing to help citizens understand
the news
What role do journalists play?
Interpretive/investigators


Combines functions of investigating
government's claims, analyzing and
interpreting complex problems, and
discussing public politics in a timely
way
Public Mobilizes

Develop the cultural and intellectual
interests of the public , set the
political agenda, and let the people
express their views

Civic Journalism: movement among
journalists to be responsive to
citizen input in determining what
news stories to cover

Media = takes a democratic turn
Muckrakers
Who chooses Journalism?
Do demographics make a
difference?
Some numbers for you..

2/3 of journalist work in print media,
1/3 are in broadcast journalism

67% Male, 33% women

15-34 = 30% of journalist

85.4% white (non Hispanic)

46% (protestant)

Ex. Most mainstream media focus
on issues concerning white middle
class America and reflect the values
of that population
Is there Bias in Media?

The more educated people are, the more liberal their views end to be – and
journalists are well-educated lot on the whole

the media is slightly more liberal than the rest of America

Studies suggest it has little effect…no discernable overall ideological bias in media

Growth in perception that the media = bias coincides with the growth of a more
partisan tone in media
Growth in the Washington Press Corps

America = organized into beats (identifiable areas of reporting)


Ex: police, politics, business, education, sports
More specialized =White House, Congress, Supreme Court

The Revolving Door: practice of journalists taking positions in government
and then returning to journalism again, or vice versa, perhaps several times
over

Rise of the Pundit


Observer/commentator on politics
Meant to check power of the politicians

The Shaping of Public Opinions

The Portrayal of Politics as Conflict and
Image

Politics as Public Relations
The Media and Politics
The Shaping of Public Opinion

Agenda Setting: Deciding what is news and what we should pay attention to

Priming: ways media influence how people and events should be evaluated
by things that they emphasize as important

Framing: A political event could look diff. depending on how the media frames it

Persuasion by Professional Communication
The Portrayal of Politics as Conflict and
Image

Horse-Race Journalism

Emphasis on Image

Scandal Watching

Growing Negativism, Increased Cynicism

Consequences of Emphasis on Conflict and Image
Politics as Public Relations

Permanent Campaign: effort to control media, emphasis on short-term gain
over long-term priorities and the making of policy decisions with an eye to
political impact

News Management: Describes chief mechanism of this campaign: efforts to control
the news about the politicians
News Management Techniques
Tight control of access to the
politician
Tight Control of information
Staffers pick a “line of the day”


Press conferences, guest
appearances
Elaborate communications
bureaucracy

Press secretaries

Speech writers

Public liasions
A concerted efforts to bypass
the White House

Go to TV talks hows or late night TV
or other forums that go directly to
the public
News Management Strategies
Leaks
Prepackaging the news in sound
bites

Let the staffers decide what sound
bites to use

Work on catchy and memorable
phrasing

Secretly revealing confidential
information to the press

Trial balloon: which an official
leaks a policy or plan in order to
gauge public reaction

If positive, go ahead with out
risk, if negative, deny it was ever
mentioned
News Management in the Bush
Administration and Beyond
Bush = good job at news
management
-Private
-Paid
journalists
-Covert
--
events
propaganda
Use reporters to ask supportive
questions during Press Conferences
Reduction in Political
Accountability
Who do we hold accountable?
The Citizens and Media

The New Media

Civic Journalism
Essential Question

Directions: Keep the following question in mind. You will be asked to
comment prior to leaving the class.

Evaluate whether American mass media has become too powerful.
In particular, is the impact of mass media on public opinion and public
outcomes consistent with the concepts of limited gov’t and balanced power.
Is there any democratic way to hold mass media organizations accountable
for their behavior?