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Chapter 9 The Media
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Fiorina, Peterson, Johnson, and MayerNew American Democracy, Sixth Edition
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Development of the Mass Media
Mass media– Forms of communication that are
technologically capable of reaching most people and economically affordable to most
– Have existed for less than two centuries– Political power related to control of information
Early newspapers weeklies– No reporters– They basically printed anything and everything
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The Partisan Press and the Penny Press
As party politics developed, so did the parties’ relationships with newspapers– Most were one-sided– Printed the party line– Until the Civil War, almost all newspapers were
partisan• many received subsidies or patronage from
the party’s supporters
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The Partisan Press and the Penny Press
Technological improvements made it easier to publish newspapers– Penny Press– Sensationalism—sells papers– Still partisan
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Newspapers and Magazines 1865–1920
Publishers began to see that they need not alienate potential readers with highly partisan offerings.
– Partisanship became relegated to the editorial pages.
Yellow journalism
Pulitzer and Hearst
– Involvement in the declaration of war against Spain
Magazines — the first major national medium
– McClure’s
– Cosmopolitan
– Munsey’s
– Later Collier’s and the Saturday Evening Post
– Aimed at larger national audience of middle-class, educated readers
Muckraking
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Radio
1920 – three important characteristics of U.S. radio– licensing system– importance of advertising– emergence of national
networks
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Television
The first public demonstration of television took place at the N.Y. World’s Fair in 1939
May, 1949 – 6 percent of Americans owned a television set.
– Less than half of the public had ever seen a television program
– Ownership jumped to 45 percent in 1952 and to 90 percent in 1959
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The Contemporary SceneTelevision– 99 percent of all households in U.S. have at least one
television– The network system had dominated, but has declined
dramatically due to UHF and cableNewspapers– Decline in number of cities with more than one
newspaper– Spread of chain ownership
Radio– Not dominant, but popular– Growth of talk radio (satellites allow for transmission of
one program to hundreds of stations)Magazines– As a news source, they are increasingly marginal– Growing in numbers, but few focus on government and
politics. However,Time and Newsweek rank in the top 20.
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New MediaBeginning in the 1970s
Cable and satellite TV, VCRs, fax, e-mail, and the Internet – the media that have grown out of the technological advances of the past few decades
Will people use this new media to seek out political information?
New media may lead to small number of activists being very informed, while Americans in general are actually less knowledgeable about politics
Decentralized the ownership and control of media
How will all of this change American politics?
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What Information Sources Do Americans Rely on?
Tough question to answer
– We encounter different media during our day
– Most people say television when asked directly
TV has been the public’s main source of information since in the 1960s
– But how much attention do they pay to this information; how much is retained?
– Halo effect
– News not well-defined concept
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What Information Sources Do Americans Rely on?
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What Information Sources Do Americans Rely on?
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Media Effects?1940s spread of radio danger to democracy?War of the Worlds and mass panicHypodermic model– direct and powerful capacity of the
media to put ideas into people’s heads
Minimal Effects School
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Agenda Setting
Agenda setting– Occurs when the media affect which issues
and problems people think about, even if the media do not determine what positions people adopt
– SalienceCNN effect– Purported ability of TV to raise a distant
foreign affairs situation to national prominence by broadcasting vivid pictures
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Priming and FramingPriming– Occurs when the media alter the standards
people use to evaluate political figures Framing– Occurs when the media induce people to
think about an issue along particular lines, as opposed to others
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Socialization
The media may play a role in socializing individuals.– Ex: sex and violence on television – Not clear how this influences American politics– Could account for the widespread concern over
crime or increasing acceptance of sexual practices once considered deviant
Concerns over portrayal of government and minorities, particularly African Americans– X-Files, 24 examples. Leadership corrupts.
Good guys always rogue agents.– stereotyping minorities on TV
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How Strong Are Media Effects?
Effects, like agenda setting, framing and priming, depend on both the characteristics of the audience and the nature of the information
Those who are uninterested in and uninformed about politics are most susceptible to agenda setting
Partisans are inclined to think in terms of issues at the core of their party’s concerns
Can have impact but it depends on
– Who is being reached
– What is being covered
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Media BiasesModern journalists present themselves as objective
Supposed to report events and conflicts accurately so that voters can make informed judgments
Yet many observers believe that the media do skew the news
– Ideological bias, spin
– Selection bias
– Professional bias
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Media Biases
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Media Biases
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Prospects for Change
News media are private, profit-making enterprisesRespond to public demandsLike to change only if public demands such change
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The Media and Electoral Politics
Transmit information about problems and issuesThis information helps voters make their choices.But does media bias cause media coverage to fall short of the ideal?
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Campaign CoverageThis is an area where the media are criticized heavily– Charge: The media provide little coverage of
policy issues– Charge: The media concentrate on issues
such as character at the expense of genuine policy and expertise issues
– Charge: reporters intermediate too much
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The Conventions
Since 1972, and the stabilization of presidential nominations, conventions have lessened in importanceMedia coverage has dropped– The more the party managers tried to package
their message to please television, the less the major networks were interested
– Now the convention coverage venues are cable and the Internet
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The Presidential Debates
No other campaign events earn the ratings that the presidential debates earn
First televised debates were in 1960
– Nixon and Kennedy
– Radio listeners thought Nixon won; TV viewers thought Kennedy won
Studies show that performance in the debates can sway the undecided voter
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Media Coverage of Government
Media coverage of government is similar to that of campaignsFrom the news media perspective, government and the work it does is pretty dullFor that reason, there is relatively little news coverage of itWhen they do cover government– Emphasis is on president– Emphasis is on conflict– Emphasis is on the negative
The response: officials have exaggerated the problem