Media
Fourth Estate, Information Source,
Government Watchdog
This presentation is the property of Dr. Kevin Parsneau for use by him and his
current students. No other person may use or reprint without his permission.
Media and Democracy
• What is the media and its role in democracy?
• How does the government regulate the
media?
• How does the media affect public opinion?
• What are the major trends in media coverage?
• How is the media biased?
Main Media Sources
• Newspapers
• Radio
• Television
– The Days of the “Big 3”
– Cable
• Internet
– Reliability
– News niches
Government and the Media
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Equal Time Rule
Reasonable Access Rule
Right of Rebuttal
Fairness Doctrine
F.C.C. (Federal Communications Commission)
Media Effects
• Hypodermic Effect?
• Agenda setting—which issues are most
important.
• Priming—which issues to consider when
making evaluations.
• Framing—the ways to consider issues.
Media Trends
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Television is king
Nationalization of news
Centrality of the President
Less investigative reporting
Demise of Newspapers
Sound bites
Oversimplify
“Horse Race” coverage
Is the media biased?
If so, in what ways?
Is it too far left?
Is it too far right?
Media Bias Considerations
• Political Science has had a difficult time
identifying a systematic ideological distortion
in overall news coverage.
• Challenges to finding bias…
• Some findings
– Reporters
– Editors
– Ownership
– Bipartisanship
Other Biases
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Status Quo Bias
Foreign affairs
Negativity
Commercial Bias
Infotainment
Other Biases
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Status Quo Bias
Foreign affairs
Negativity
Commercial Bias
Infotainment
Final Thoughts
• Media as a watchdog of government and an
important way of experiencing politics
• Government has some regulations on the
media, but mostly broadcast media
• Media effects– agenda setting, priming,
framing
• Nationalization and oversimplification
• Media bias is not what you might think