Media Unit 3 Notes M

Mass Media Form of communication that can reach large

audiences (**news media is media that emphasizes just the news)

Media is a link between the government and people

Interviews and Reports on government Programs

Interview, poll results, cover protests

What is news? What’s going on at the time Interviews/facts/what others want you to

know Celebs, war, government, important

events

Horse Race journalism Media focuses on polls and who is ahead

during campaigns rather than issues

Print Media Newspapers: Most influential =

Wallstreet Journal, NY Times, Washington Pst

Magazines: Most influential = Time, US News and World Report and Newsweek

Broadcast Media 1) Radio – FDR’s “Fireside Chats”, Talk

Radio (usually conservative) 2) TV – 3 major networks = ABC, NBC,

and CBS; cable (continuous coverage) = Fox, CNN, MSNBC

3) Internet – mostly people under 30 Politico.com and Huffington Post Blogs, websites to connect with

governemnt

Functions of Media

Entertainment Popular culture Take citizen’s minds off negative

political events

News Newspapers have been a source of

information since the 1700s Radio and TV and increasingly internet

are most prominent formats now (and give a different tone/perspective)

CNN: liberal Fox: conservative

Public Forums Politicians use the media to promote

careers President has direct access to use the

media to set policy agenda (set of issues, problems or subjects that are important and addressed by policy makers)

How journalists and officials interact Press release: official written statement

issues to journalists Press brief: restricted questioning of

press secretary/officials Press conference: questioning of

government officials Leaks: when information is anonymously

released to press

Rules for journalists On record: can quote Off record: can’t quote or print

information On background: can print, but can’t give

officials name On deep background: can print but can’t

tell source

No Libel or Slander! Libel – written defamation of character Slander – spoken defamation of

character

NY Times v. Sullivan – only libel if it is knowingly untrue or there is a reckless disregard for truth

NY Times v. US government can’t censor the press (1st

amendment) Pentagon papers case

Media and the President President can address the nation at any

time on all networks Speech, brief, conference, sound bite

(clip) Press Secretary – link between president

and media Media focuses more on president than

Congress (one person vs. many, campaigns and issues more high profile)

Media and Congress Cover: hearings, oversight,

investigations, scandals, vote on bills, C-Span

Who gets attention? Entire group, Speaker of House, Minority and Majority Leaders, Committee Chairs, Whips

Receive less attention than the President

Media and SCOTUS TV is not allowed in SCOTUS Written/audio transcripts released at

end of session Since Bush v. Gore (2000) some audio

recordings allowed on case by case basis

Effect of Media on politics Influential in determining what

information people get Agenda setting = ability of media to

shape what is important and what make it onto policy agenda

Adversarial Press tendency of the media to be suspicious

of officials and eager to reveal unflattering information

Starts with Vietnam and Watergate

Roles played by the Media Scorekeeper: keeps track of “horse

race” aspect of political campaigns Gatekeeper: decides who/what becomes

important shapes policy agenda Watchdog: investigative journalism

watches and exposes details about candidates and officials

Homogenization Media events report on the same topics,

events, people Why? Less local news, more media

conglomerates and national news

Our Perceptions Selected Perception: people perceive

what they want to from media messages

Selected exposure: process in which individuals screen out messages that do not conform to their own beliefs

Media Bias Does media favor certain point of view

or ideology? Journalists are … mostly liberal (up to

90% vote Democratic)

FCC Regulates all media outlets Conflicts arise over regulation v. 1st

amendment Compromise = rating scale and delay in

live tv

FTC Regulates merger of media outlets

Freedom of Information Act 1966 federal agencies must make documents

available to public Exceptions: national security, internal

practices, personal files Expanded under Clinton to include

electronic files George W. Bush issues executive order

to restrict access to former presidential records

Sunshine Laws Over 50 department meetings open to

public Government can’t conduct business in

private Gives media a chance to cover and

report

Fairness Doctrine Media must present both sides Equal time rule – give candidates equal

coverage Dissolved in 1987 – media should be

objective on its own