Media Influence on Political Agenda and Perception in the US

2. Mass Media and the Political Agenda 7

3. Mass Media and the Political Agenda 7 • Politicians use the media to get their message out to Americans • As time has progressed, their ability to do this has diminished • High-Tech Politics is when the behavior of citizens and policy makers and the political agenda itself are increasing shaped by technology • The Mass Media is television, radio, newspapers, magazines, the Internet, and other means of popular communication

4. Mass Media Today 7.1 • Controlling the political agenda • Media events • Carefully staged • Commercials • 60% of presidential campaign budget • Nearly always negative • Image-making

5. Mass Media Today 7.1 • Controlling the political agenda • The entire goal of using media events and TV advertising is to control the agenda and perception of the politician

6. Mass Media Today 7.1 • Media Events • Events that are purposely staged for the media and that are significant just because the media is there

7. Mass Media Today 7.1 • TV Advertising • 60% of campaign spending • 2/3 is negative

8. Development of Media Politics Early days: Almost no relationship between politicians and the media existed FDR begins to utilize the media to get his message out – this created a positive relationship Press conferences allowed public officials to meet with reporters 7.2

9. Transformation Watergate The Vietnam War Investigative journalism The use of in-depth reporting to unearth scandals, scams, and schemes, at time putting reporters in adversarial relationships with political leaders. 7.2 Development of Media Politics

10. Focus on campaigns is on the why instead of the what What = candidates policy statements Why = the campaign as a horse race Driven by ratings and money 7.2 Development of Media Politics

11. Two key forms of media in politics Print Media Newspapers and magazines, as compared with electronic media Electronic Media Television, radio, and the Internet, as compared with print media 7.2 Development of Media Politics

12. Two key forms of media in politics Print Media Newspapers and magazines, as compared with electronic media Electronic Media Television, radio, and the Internet, as compared with print media 7.2 Development of Media Politics

13. Print Media Newspapers developed due to free press Newspaper readers better informed Yet, circulation declines Online news How to make money? Magazines Suffering same fate 7.2

14. Emergence of Radio and Television Radio - 1930s Television – post-WWII Cable television – 1980s Internet – 1990s End of the golden age of network news 7.2

15. Development of Media Politics 7.2 • Government Regulation of Electronic Media • From Broadcasting to Narrowcasting: Rise of Cable and Cable News • Impact of the Internet • Private Control of the Media

16. Government Regulation of Electronic Media Federal Communications Commission (FCC) 1934 Limits monopolies Stations must serve public interest Fair treatment rule Right-of-reply rule Fairness doctrine abolished 7.2

17. From Broadcasting to Narrowcasting: Rise of Cable and Cable News Narrowcasting Media programming on cable TV (MTV, ESPN, C-SPAN) or the Internet that is focused on a particular interest and aimed at a particular audience, in contrast to broadcasting 7.2

18. From Broadcasting to Narrowcasting: Rise of Cable and Cable News A general audience no more Breaking news “Talk radio on television” “Outrage discourse” Selective exposure The process through which people consciously choose to get the news from information sources that have viewpoints compatible with their own. 7.2

19. 7.2 FIGURE 7.1: How the audiences of cable news channels have polarized into rival partisan camps

20. Impact of the Internet Information at your fingertips Pop culture over politics 7.2

21. 7.2 TABLE 7.1: Top 25 Lycos searches for the week of the first 2008 presidential debate

22. Impact of the Internet Facilitating communications Meetup and Facebook Blogs Equal weight with professional journalists? 7.2

23. 7.2 Political bloggers

24. Private Control of the Media Private v. public ownership Private more common in U.S. Public more common abroad Freedom of the press varies Profit orientation Advertising revenue Decline of foreign news reporting Chains Groups of newspapers published by media conglomerates and today accounting for over four-fifths of the nation's daily newspaper circulation. 7.2

25. Reporting the News 7.3 • Focus has become on entertainment (profits) rather than substance

26. Finding the News Beats Specific locations from which news frequently emanates, such as Congress or the White House. Most top reporters work a particular beat, thereby becoming specialists in what goes on at that location. Trial balloons Intentional news leaks for the purpose of assessing the political reaction. 7.3

27. Finding the News Symbiotic relationship Pulitzer Prize winning journalism 7.3

28. Presenting the News Skimming off the cream 10-second sound bites Short video clips of approximately 10 seconds. Typically, they are all that is shown from a politician’s speech on the nightly television news. Complex policy issues ignored Politicians can’t present issues Politicians can avoid issues Presidents rebuffed Shunted to cable 7.3

29. Bias in the News Do the media have a liberal bias? “If it bleeds, it leads” Visual stimulation: no talking heads Talking heads are shots of a person’s fact talking directly to the camera. Because such shots are visually unstimulating, the major networks rarely show politicians talking for very long. 7.3

30. 7.3 Jerry Sandusky

31. 7.3 TABLE 7.2: Stories citizens have tuned in and tuned out

32. News and Public Opinion 7.4 • How influential are the media? • Agenda-setting effects • Sets criteria by which public evaluates leaders • Emphasizes one event over another • Focuses on misstatements

33. Policy Entrepreneurs and Agenda Setting 7.5 • Policy agenda • The issues that attract the serious attention of public officials and other people actively involved in politics at the time • Many issues compete for attention from government • Interest groups, parties, politicians, agencies, all push their priorities

34. Policy Entrepreneurs and Agenda Setting 7.5 • Policy entrepreneurs • People who invest their political “capital” in an issue. According to John Kingdon, a policy entrepreneur “could be in or our of government, in elected or appointed positions, in interest groups or research organizations.” • Political activists depend upon the media • Protests attract coverage

35. Media and the Scope of Government Media as watchdog Press criticism does more good than harm Reporters hold negative views of public officials Media as skeptic Constrains government Focus on injustices enlarges government 7.6

36. Individualism and the Media TV furthers individualism No need for intermediaries Candidates can reach individual voters TV focuses on individuals Personality important Focus on executive branch 7.6

37. Democracy and the Media “Information is the fuel of democracy” But more info does not equal more competence Superficial by demand Profit motive again Public appetite shapes choices 7.6