the media and politics political science i. copyright © texas education agency 2013. all rights...

The Media and PoliticsPolitical Science I

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What is the mass media?


Mass Media

• Medium – a means of communication that transmits information

• Media – the plural of medium• Mass media – the means of communication

that can reach large, widely dispersed audiences simultaneously


Types of Mass Media: Television

• Is all-pervasive• Replaced newspapers as the primary source of political

information for the majority of Americans in the early 1960s (McClenaghan, 2009)

• Dominated historically by three major national networks• Challenges to its power structure have been posed

recently by• Several independent broadcasting groups• Cable broadcasters• Non-profit public broadcasting


Types of Mass Media: The Internet

• Is quickly becoming the leading source of political information for US citizens (second only to television) (McClenaghan, 2009)

• Is used by other forms of media via websites• Is used by almost all government agencies,

interest groups, political parties, elected officials, and candidates’ campaign organizations

• Makes information available to the public in many ways, including websites, blogs, and podcasts


Types of Mass Media: Magazines

• Have a long history in the US• Most published today are trade or interest

specific• Some are devoted to news and public affairs

and have a large circulation


Types of Mass Media: Other

• Newspapers• Have carried regularly political news since their

beginning• Have a declining circulation due to newer media (e.g.

Internet and television) but remain an important source of political information

• Radio• Is a major source of information, but most stations spend

minimal time on public affairs• Has talk radio shows devoted to political commentary

that have large national audiences


What is the history of journalism and US politics?


History of Journalism and US Politics

• The nature of politics changes with the organization of and the technology available to the press

• Four major historical periods• The Party Press• The Popular Press• Magazines of Opinion• Electronic Journalism


The Party Press

• Newspapers were the primary source of mass media• Newspaper subscriptions were expensive and

primarily owned by the elite• Printing technology was labor intensive and slow• Transportation available at the time was poor

• Newspapers were created by politicians to support their own party-specific political agendas, two politicians of whom were serving as President• Thomas Jefferson, the National Intelligencer• Andrew Jackson, the Washington Globe


The Popular Press

• Technological changes made possible self-supporting, daily, mass-readership papers • Printing technology advanced, making the printing

process inexpensive and fast• The invention of the telegraph (1840s) allowed news

from Washington to be transmitted almost immediately to major cities

• Urbanization allowed citizens to support an inexpensive daily paper due to • Reduced costs (e.g. decreased need for transportation)• Increased income (e.g. advertising from local merchants)


The Popular Press (continued)

• The Associated Press was created to share systematically information via telegraph to newspaper editors across the country• Was non-partisan• Presented facts objectively


The Popular Press (continued)

• Mass-readership papers• Were subject to the biases of their publishers and editors

instead of party funds• Used sensationalism to sell papers• Were often used to push political agendas (e.g. Spanish-

American War)• Created a common national culture• Established the possibility of a “free” (non-government

controlled) press• Demonstrated the profitability of stories about public

policy and political scandal


Magazines of Opinion

• In the mid-1800s, national magazines that discussed political policy were created to satisfy the growing middle class’s desire for political reform• They provided the means for developing a national constituency• Some writers who contributed to the magazines were the first

investigative reporters

• There was an increase in editors’ and writers’ power due to changes in• Circulation needs• Audience interests• Managerial style• Emergence of nationally known writers


Electronic Journalism: Radio and TV

• Two inventions changed the way news was gathered and disseminated

• They allowed politicians to communicate directly to citizens• Broadcasts were

• Easier to avoid than articles in newspapers• Expensive compared to newspaper ads

• The expense of electronic media required politicians to • Purchase expensive air time• Make controversial statements• Acquire a national reputation

• Today politicians • Have many electronic media options• Crave the media spotlight


Electronic Journalism: The Internet

• Is the ultimate free market in political news• Allows political activists and voters to communicate

directly• Impacts politics profoundly by making it easier to• Raise money by small donations• Organize people to attend meetings• Take instant (questionably reliable) opinion polls• Disseminate instant opponent criticism• Mobilize local followers• Target campaigners with contact names


How do mass media affect politics?


Affect of Mass Media on Politics

• Most citizens rely on the media for information about public issues

• Two areas that significantly show the media’s influence are• The Public Agenda• Electoral Politics


The Public Agenda

• Public agenda – “the societal problems that the nation’s political leaders and the general public agree need government attention” (McClenaghan, 2009)

• The media determine what issues the public will focus on and talk about by emphasizing some topics while downplaying others

• Several news organizations have a direct impact on the nation’s leaders who closely monitor these sources


Electoral Politics

• Now that television and the Internet allow politicians to communicate directly with voters, they are less dependent on party organizations

• How voter’s perceive a politician’s image greatly affects votes

• Campaign managers and candidates use strategies to manipulate the voters’ perceptions


Limits on the Media’s Influence

• Only a small part of the public watches political events closely and understands them accurately

• Most people watch political news with selective attention; they focus on sources that agree with their beliefs and ignore sources that challenge their beliefs

• Most of the media’s content is apolitical• This limits the time for political news• Requires news editor’s to abbreviate stories

• Being an informed political participant requires effort


What are the rules that govern the media?


Protecting the Media

• First Amendment• States that “Congress shall make no law …

abridging the freedom of the press”• Means that print media are free from prior restraint

(government censorship prior to publishing)• Public officials may file a libel suit• Libel – falsely written statements intended to damage a

person’s reputation (Remy, 2010)


Protecting the Media (continued)

• The Right of Access• Is supported more in the lower courts than in the

Supreme Court• Means that reporters may be given special access,

but the law does not require it


Protecting the Media (continued)

• Confidentiality of Sources• Most reporters believe that they have the right to

maintain the confidentiality of their resources• Some states have passed laws to support this right• Most states and the federal government do not

support this belief• The Supreme Court generally rules for the

government’s right to the information if it is an important part of a criminal investigation


Regulating Print and Broadcast Media

• Most media in the US are privately owned, for-profit businesses and are subject to some government regulation

• Broadcasting shares public airwaves, which gives the federal government grounds for more regulation


Regulating Print and Broadcast Media (continued)

• The Federal Communications Commission (FCC)• Is a “government agency with the authority to regulate interstate

and international communications by radio, television, telephone, telegraph, cable, and satellite” (Remy, 2010)

• Has two major regulatory functions• Content regulation

• Fining stations for rules violations• Threatening not to renew a station’s license

• Ownership regulation

• Telecommunications Act of 1996• Ended or reduced many of the FCC’s limits on media ownership• Had a key objective to increase competition between owners, but led to

a greater concentration of ownership


Constraints on Campaigning

• Broadcasters must• Provide equal access to candidates• Charge the cheapest commercial advertising rate

for comparable time


Constraints on Campaigning (continued)

• Not all politicians campaign using television• It depends upon whether the market aligns efficiently with

their voters• Market – “an area easily reached by a television channel”

(Wilson, 2011)• There are approximately 200 television markets in the US• The media depends upon “horse-race journalism,” which is

a concern for scholars• Horse-race journalism – campaign coverage based on

guesses about who is ahead instead of the candidates’ opinions on the issues (Wilson, 2011)


How does the US government interact with the media?


Government Constraints

• Reporters are dependent on the quality of their sources

• The government employs a large number of press officers


Government Constraints (continued)

• President• The Press Secretary

• Manages and informs the press for the president• Supervises a large staff• Briefs the president on potential questions• Attempts to control the news about cabinet departments• Coordinates briefings for non-White House reporters

• White House Press Corps• Is a group of reporters who • Have a lounge in the White House• Wait for breaking stories and photo “ops”• Attend the daily press briefing• Provides coverage of the President that is highly personalized



• Congress• House of Representatives

• Does not receive much individual attention• Has gavel-to-gavel coverage provided by cable

television

• Senate• Works in Washington, D.C., which provides many

opportunities for publicity• Receives live coverage of its sessions on cable television• Has used the live coverage to incubate presidential

candidates



• The four ways that reporters and public officials (or their press officers) communicate• On the record – the reporter can give the official’s name• Off the record – the reporter cannot use what the official

says• On background – the reporter can use what the official

says, but cannot give the official’s name (i.e. a reporter may refer to the source as a high-ranking official)

• On deep background – the reporter can use the information, but it cannot be attributed to anyone


News Leaks

• The various aspects of the US government regularly leak stories favorable to their interests

• The branches of the US government compete for power and the press is one tool that they utilize to support their individual political agendas

• The US has an adversarial press; it tends to view official news at the national level with suspicion and prefers to find an unofficial source who will leak the “real story”


News Releases and Briefings

• News release – “ready-made story prepared by officials for members of the press” (Remy, 2010)

• News briefing – a meeting in which a government official makes an announcement or gives an explanation and gives reporters a chance to ask questions about news releases


Press Conferences and Media Events

• Press conference – are usually carefully planned events that allow the press to ask a high-level official questions

• The White House staff may limit and/or request questions depending on the topic

• Media event – “a visually interesting event designed to reinforce the president’s position on some issue” (Remy, 2010)


Sensationalism

• Historically, reporters would not report the moral failings of political figures

• The competition for viewers between news shows has increased greatly

• This competition is a strong incentive for sensational news stories that grab viewers’ attention


Resources

• McClenaghan, W. A. (2009). Magruder's American Government, Pearson.

• Remy, Ph.D., R. C. (2010), United States Government: Democracy in Action, Glencoe McGraw-Hill.

• Wilson, J. Q., Dilulio Jr., J. J., and Bose, M. (2011). American Government Institutions and Policies, Wadsworth Cengage Learning.

• Conduct and Internet search for the following key terms: Platform Breathe TV Commercial, 'Food Deserts'

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