rey ty, political communication, political science, chapter 9
TRANSCRIPT
Rey Ty
Political Communication
Rey Ty
Rey Ty
Source:•Michael G. Roskin, Robert L. Cord, James A. Medeiros, & Walter S. Jones. (2012). Political Science: An Introduction. New York: Pearson Longman.
Rey Ty
Political Communication
Face-to-face
Mass electronic
media
T.V.
Rey Ty
Political Communication
Only 1/3 Americans
are interested in
news
New generation care about
entertainment
Education, age, & income matter
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Modern Mass Media
Newspapers in decline
Big corporations
control 75% of newspapers;
profit = status quo; not
controversy
Youth watch TV, go online
& blogs; don’t read much
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Modern Mass MediaFDR successful using radio
for “fireside chats” with public
3 corporations own ½ of all stations; in decline too
Popular angry right-wing talk radio shows reinforce
conservative views
NPR reinforces liberal views
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Modern Mass Media
News Services:
-Most from Associated Press
-AP is 1 of few not owned or controlled by government
Problems:
-Stories move fast; often superficial
-wire service defines news as something from an official source
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TV GiantsU.S. folks get news from TV (cable
channels more than broadcast networks)
Election campaigns
revolve around TV
TV similar to radio,
except for visuals
Hence, TV news focus
on news with “good
visuals”
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TV & Politics
TV news focus more
on President > Congress >
Courts
U.S. folks worship
Presidents; media blames
Presidents when things
go wrong
TV proclaims the winner in presidential campaigns,
depending on momentum
Front-runner gets
bandwagon effect
TV focuses on personalities,
not issues
Through TV, candidates go
directly to the people , bypassing political parties
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TV & PoliticsTV makes people
apathetic & passive
(newspaper reading makes
people gain social trust & join groups)
TV pulls down election
turnouts; TV floods viewers with info way ahead of time
that people lose interest
Voters more and more disregard party labels & are influenced
by TV
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TV Ownership & Control
US has least regulation & media control in all industrial
countries
Thanks to U.S. guarantees of free speech, free enterprise, &
non-paternalistic attitude
Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regulates media using airwaves since
1934
FCC gives licenses to broadcasters but not supervise
their content
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Is the U.S. Poorly Served?
“Structural bias:” News are
highly selective, over-concentrating
on some & ignoring others
News media wait for issues
to blow up before covering
them
U.S. media do not give a coherent, complete image of
what’s going on in the world
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What can be done?
Most media don’t give meaning, analysis &
interpretation
Few people care to be
well-informed, esp.
about (1) complicated things or (2)
things in other countries
Surveys show U.S. folks don’t care
much about other
countries
U.S. folks care about local
news
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Media vs. Government?
Tradi-tionally,
news organi-zationscriticize government
1960s &
1979s: Richard
Nixon
Water-gate
Viet-namWar
Now?
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Reference:•Michael G. Roskin, Robert L. Cord, James A. Medeiros, & Walter S. Jones. (2012). Political Science: An Introduction. New York: Pearson Longman.
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Political Communication
Rey Ty