Soc. 118
Media, Culture & Society
Chapter Three:
Political Influence
on Media
OVERVIEW
 The Context of Media Regulation Debates

The “First Freedom” and the “Public Interest”
 Regulating Ownership and Control

Outlets, Programming, and Technology
 Regulating Media Content and Distribution

Diversity, Morality, Accuracy, and the “National Interest”
 Video
Presentations
 Informal Political, Social and Economic Pressure
The Context of
Media Regulation Debates
 How do political forces influence the nature of the media?

The relationship between the political process and control over
the media
 Use of the media to disseminate propaganda and ideology


The press as an instrument of the state
 Censorship and totalitarian regimes
 Orwell’s “1984”—technology as “Big Brother”
The press as an instrument of revolution
 Underground and alternative presses
 Examining the political context in which media operate

The role of media in a democracy
First Amendment
to the U.S. Constitution
“Congress shall make no law
respecting an establishment of
religion, or prohibiting the free
exercise thereof; or abridging
the freedom of speech, or of
the press, or the right of
people to peaceably assemble,
and to petition the government
for a redress of grievances.”
The American Political System
and the Media
 Historical context
 The US was formed as a response to a monarchy
 European governments had limited the rights of the media through
different tactics
 The First Amendment
 Freedom of expression and of the press were almost synonymous
 Because of means of distribution
 U.S. established a system of "checks and balances" on
power


Three branches of government
 Executive, legislative and judiciary
The media as the “Fourth Estate”
The American Political System
and the Media
 Relationship of the government to the media

Copyright clause of the Constitution
 Lists “powers of Congress” (Article I, Section 8)

“To promote the progress of science and useful arts, by securing for
limited times to authors and inventors the exclusive rights to their
respective writings and discoveries.”
Intellectual property rights
The language of copyright statements has evolved to address new
technologies
 In 2000, case against Napster for “peer-to-peer” file sharing


 The media industry may want government regulation in
some matters
The American Political System
and the Media
 The Federal Communications Commission (FCC)—1934

Regulation of interstate and international communications



5 commissioners appointed for 5 years
7 regulatory bureaus
Responsible for:



Issuance of licenses
Enforcement of rules
Charges for violations
 Three basic types of communication media



Print media
Broadcast
Common carriers

Mail, telephone, telegraph, computer networks


Operators must provide equal access to public
Often operating as “protected monopoly”
The History of
Media Regulation
 Early regulation of broadcast media

Based on premise that airwaves are public
property
 Limited
electromagnetic spectrum
 Licensing of broadcast frequencies


“Call numbers” of radio and TV stations
Protect against interference with military,
emergency and other broadcasters
 The

Case of “Pirate Radio”
Highlights issues around regulation
The History of
Media Regulation
 Changes in technology—new media
 The consequences of digitization
 Broadcasts

can now be done in binary code
The emergence of satellite and fiber optics
 Increased
capacity to transmit vast amount of
information at high speed
 Leads to a convergence of mass media formats
 More "multi-media" services
 Changes raise critical new questions about
regulation
The Debate Over
Regulation of the Media
 Almost everyone agrees about the need for some regulation
 To protect the rights of the media to function
 To protect citizens against a too powerful media
 Debate characterized as “liberals—vs—conservatives”
 Debates are somewhat paradoxical
 Liberals tend to support certain regulations that promote diversity
 Conservatives tend to support a free-market approach but
restrictions on content
 FCC attempts to balance the “public interest” and the
interests of various groups

Rules evolve along with changes in technology and with the
political climate
Regulating Ownership of
Media Outlets
 Historically of little concern
 Easy access to equipment needed to produce and distribute press
 Technology has changed
 Broadcast media dramatically expands reach and potential influence
 Ownership patterns have changed
 “Press” now affordable only to large corporations
 Early FCC limitations

Anti-trust and common-law monopolies
 1996 Telecommunications Act

Changed limits on the number of media outlets a single company can
own
 Increased concentration of ownership


May be detrimental to free flow of ideas
Media companies oppose restrictions

Easing of restrictions through deregulation
Regulating Ownership
of Programming
 Government intervention in protecting ownership of media
properties

Copyright laws
 Government intervention in prohibiting ownership monopolies
 FCC regulation on TV programming (1970s)
 Financial interest and syndication (“fin-syn”) rules


To encourage a diversity of programs through diverse sources


Limits on networks
Forcing networks to buy programming from independent producers
Change in broadcast media (1990s)
 Easing of regulations

Swift changes in network practices of owning and producing programs
Regulating Ownership
and Control of Technology
 Government protection against monopolies


Regulations on ownership and control of technologies
 Example: Telephone companies could not enter cable TV business
Deregulation in 1990s
 New fears of “single wire” monopolies
 Government intervention in prohibiting ownership monopolies

Examples:
 “Broadband” cable and open-access
 Digital television broadcast frequencies
 Microsoft Windows bundled with Explorer (Internet browser)

Anti-trust lawsuit
Regulating
Media Content and Distribution
 Areas of Concern:
Regulating for Diversity
 Regulating for Morality

 Sex

and Violence
Regulating for Accuracy
 Advertising

Regulating in the National Interest
Regulating for Diversity
 The Fairness Doctrine (Established by FCC in 1949)


To ensure diversity of views within the program schedule of a
station
 Cover public issues
 Provide opportunity for the presentation of contrasting viewpoints
Sometimes required additional programs to achieve balance
 Repealed in 1987 (Reagan administration deregulation)


Broadcast frequency scarcity no longer posed a problem
 Marketplace to determine the content of the media
Fragmentation of audiences
 Tuning into stations that support their views
Regulating for Morality
 Concerns about sex (and violence) in the media
 Outlawing distribution
 Obscene material is illegal
 Not protected under First Amendment


Debates over definition of obscenity
Supreme Court decision in 1973
 Three-pronged test

Community standards, offensive, lacking in value
 Controlling distribution
 Indecent material is legal but limited
 Regulations


Restricting sales of pornography to minors, decency standards in
broadcasting, 7 dirty words
New problems in regulating the Internet
Regulating for Morality:
Ratings and Warnings
 Industry response to concerns about sex (and violence) in the
media

Self-regulation to avoid external control
 Movies
 The Production Code (1934)
 Prevented

release of any indecent material
 Challenged by filmmakers in 1960s
Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) ratings system
(1968)
 Problems with enforcement
 X rating associated with pornography became NC-17
MPAA Ratings
Rating Symbol
Text
G - General Audiences
All ages admitted
PG - Parental Guidance Suggested
Some material may not be suitable for children
PG-13 - Parents Strongly Cautioned
Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13.
R - Restricted
Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian.
NC-17 - No One 17 And Under Admitted.
Regulating for Morality:
Ratings and Warnings
 Music
 Response to graphic lyrics
 Parents’

Senate hearings
 Results

Music Resource Center (PMRC) in 1985
in “Parental Advisory” stickers
Video presentation: MTV News “When Lyrics Attack”
 Other Ratings Systems
 Video games
 Television
Entertainment Software Rating Board
Television Ratings
Level of
rating
Sexual
situatio
ns (S)
Fantasy
violence
(FV)
Violence
(V)
Language
(L)
TV-Y
(unused)
(unused)
(unused)
(unused)
(unused)
TV-Y7
(mild)
(mild)
(unused)
(unused)
(Exclusive)
TV-G
(unused)
(unused)
(unused)
(unused)
(unused)
(mild)
(mild)
(mild)
(unused)
(moderate)
(moderate)
(moderate)
(unused)
(strong)
(the D sub
rating is
unused)
(unused)
TV-PG
TV-14
TV-MA
(mode
rate)
(strong)
(Extre
me)
(Strong)
Dialogue (D)
The Problem of Violence
 Studies on the effects of watching violence on behavior


Debates about the effects
 Aggressor, victim and bystander effects
Does media shape or reflect society?
 Four basic approaches to violence on TV




Let the marketplace determine programming, no government
interference
Total ban because it is a public health threat
Limit violent programs to certain hours
Install “V” chip
Regulating for Accuracy:
Advertising
 Other agencies involved in media



Federal Trade Commission (FTC)
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF)
 Two basic concerns


Protect the public against fraudulent or deceptive advertising
 Misleading ads
Regulating ads for potentially dangerous products
 Especially when ads target kids or minors
 Deregulation in 1980s

Advent of “infomercials”
Regulating in the
National Interest
 The media’s relationship to government in times of war
 Tension between:


Right to inform the public
Government need to protect sensitive information
 Contrast news coverage of U.S. wars
 Vietnam War (1965-1973)



Gulf War (1991)



Reporters given free rein to go everywhere
Realistic portrayals of battles, casualties
Strict control of media access to war zone (“press pools”)
Images and information approved by military
Iraq War (2003-2007)


“Embedded” journalists with military units
Sanitized and positive view of the war
Informal Political, Social,
and Economic Pressure
 Political role played by other actors


Directly influencing the media
Prompting government to act on media
 Players in the debates over the media



Media critics and think tanks
Citizen activists
Media advocacy organizations