MEDIA
A Linkage Institution
Party Press
Parties created and subsidized
newspapers.
Circulation was small, newspapers
expensive, and advertisers few.
Newspapers circulated between political
and commercial elites.
Popular Press
--the growth of mass readership
High speed press
Telegraph
Associated Press in
1848--objective
reporting.
Urbanization=growth of
newspapers
Government Printing
Office; end of subsidies
in 1860
“Yellow journalism”
attracts readers.
Hearst foments war
against Spain.
Media-created
partisan bias.
Opinion Magazines
Middle class favors
new, progressive
periodicals.
Nation, Atlantic, and
Harpers in the
1850’s and 60’s
McClure’s,
Scribner’s and
Cosmopolitan later
on.
Individual writers gain
national followings
through investigative
reporting.
Sensationalism declines
as “muckraking”
increases.
Today, few national
political magazines are
popular in the
mainstream.
Electronic Journalism
Radio arrives in 1920’s; television in
the 1940’s.
Fewer politicians are covered.
Use of “bold tactics”--be controversial.
Rise of “Talk Show” Journalism
The “Big Three” dominated access and required candidates to
speak in “sound bites”, though viewership has waned in recent
years.
Rise of Cable Broadcasting and the Internet.
National Press Roles
Gatekeeper: What is news? How long?
Agenda setting.
Auto Safety
Water Pollution
Prescription Drugs
Crime Rates
Scorekeeper: Who is winning? Losing?
Attention to Iowa and New Hampshire.
Unknown Jimmy Carter in 1976 and his
“mentions” in NY Times, Washington Post, etc.
“Horse Race” Journalism: Political journalism of
elections that focuses on polling data and public
perception, not candidate policy. Reporting on
candidate differences rather than similarities, just
like you compare horses to other horses.
Watchdog: Investigate personalities
and expose scandals.
Gary Hart and Donna Rice relationship in
1987, Ted Kennedy and Chappaquiddick
revival in 1980, and Bill Clinton in 1992.
Watergate (Woodward and Bernstein and
Investigative Journalism)
John Edwards, Eliot Spitzer, Herman
Cain?, etc., etc., etc.
Will Cain be the next to drop out because of these charges?
Rules Governing Media
Newspapers are basically unregulated.
Prosecutions after the fact and limited: libel,
obscenity, defamation, and incitement.
“Prior Restraint”—Gov’t action (injunction) to
prevent communications from the public.
First amendment protection from censorship.
Near v Minnesota (1931); Pentagon Papers.
Radio and TV licensed and regulated (FCC).
Supreme Court and the First
Amendment: No Prior Restraint
Confidentiality of Sources
Reporters desire confidentiality.
Federal and state governments do not agree-makes court cases necessary.
Supreme Court allows that reporters must
divulge if a crime is involved.
Myron Farber case: Reporter jailed for
contempt.
Police search of newspaper office upheld.
Congress than passed a law requiring a
subpoena.
Broadcasting Regulations
FCC licensing
Deregulation
Telecommunications Act of 1996--Large
companies control radio (Clear Channel).
Equal Time/Right of Reply/Political
Editorializing Rules
Fairness Doctrine abolished in 1987. Of
course, that gave us this…
Landmark Cases
Near v. Minnesota (1931): Freedom of the press
applies to state governments, so that they cannot
impose prior restraint on newspapers.
New York Times v. Sullivan (1964): Public officials
may not win a libel suit unless they can prove that the
statement was made knowing it to be false or with
reckless disregard for the truth.
Miami Herald v. Tornillo (1974): A newspaper
cannot be required to give someone a right to reply to
one of its stories.
Campaigning
Debates used to have
to include all the
candidates.
Reagan-Carter
sponsored by League of
Women Voters as news
event.
Now, stations and
networks can sponsor.
More Senate than
House candidates buy
TV time.
Bias
Liberal and secular: Perception meets reality.
Conservative Talk Shows and Fox News
Objectivity in newspapers (Great Britain/France
follow party lines).
Routine, Feature, Insider stories
News Leaks--infamous “Deep Throat” of Watergate
Scandal
In determining bias, point of view is everything:
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2009/11/04/t
he_double_standard_about_journalists_bias__99003
.html
Media Influence
Selective attention
Trial balloons: News leaks to get public reaction.
Loaded Language
Spin vs. Spun
Media Exposure (Estes Kefauver and the Mafia, and
Howard Dean--check out Jib Jab)
http://sendables.jibjab.com/originals/this_land
Endorsements
Issues (environment and foreign policy vs. high gas
prices)
TV influences the popularity of Presidents
Government and the News
Teddy Roosevelt
builds the West
Wing in 1902.
FDR elevates the
role of the Press
Secretary, which
Hoover had created
a few years before.
Robert Gibbs, the
current Press
Secretary, manages a
large staff and performs
many functions, such as
briefing the President.
White House press
corps is main focus.
Spokesperson for the
White House.
Congress Coverage
Never equal to that of the President.
House quite restrictive--no cameras on floor until 1978. Gavel
to gavel proceedings since 1979 with C-SPAN.
Senate more open--committee hearings have frequently been
televised and an incubator of presidential ambition.
News Leaks
Constitution: decentralization of power, 3 branches
of government compete, and not illegal to print most
secrets.
Adversarial Press: Suspicious of gov’t officials and
hope for a Pulitzer has led to attack journalism.
“Feeding Frenzy”--Clinton and Monica and
Whitewater/Cheney and Quailgate
http://www.centerforpolitics.org/crystalball/articles/ljs2
006022201/
Watergate and Irangate
Public Cynicism
People dislike attack journalism.
People believe media slant coverage.
A cause of lower voter turnout.
Public distrust of big business and
media is now big business.
Drive for market share leads media to
focus on corruption and negativity in
politics.
Sensationalism
Pre-1980’s sex and
politics not covered.
Since the 80’s,
everything is fair
game. The Big
Three were not the
only game in town
anymore--CNN, et al.
Impact of 9/11: Greater
confidence and
viewership in news
organizations as we
fight terrorism.
Journalists who show
emotion or wear flag
pins get some criticism
from media analysts.
Did the media go too far
in helping Bush’s rush
to war?
Miscellaneous
“Pack” Journalism (groupthink by reporters)
“On/Off the record”
Background/Deep Background
“Above” or “Below the fold” stories
Shield Law (36 states and DC have it)
Freedom of Information Act (1966) and the related
Privacy Act (1974)
Student Journalism--Hazlewood v. Kuhlmeier (1988)
Lastly, is the Media too soft
on Obama?—Not anymore.