1. The Media Wilson 12 A

2. Objective Questions Who Governs To What Ends What public policies will the media support? How can we read the media for persuasion and information? • How much power do the media have? • Can we trust the media to be fair?

3. Nature of the Media • Politicians need them • Use them (less party) • Great freedom in US • Freedom of Information Act (FCC licensing) • Private ownership • Profit Driven • Bias • Politicians fear them • Critical of them • Great Britain • Official Secrets Act • Publicly owned • French punishment • Italian ownership

4. Party Press • Nature of the technology of the time • Highly partisan • Small circulation • Expensive • Elitist • Subsidized

5. Popular Press • Population Shifts • New technologies • Rotary press • Telegraph • Mass readership • Profitable • Balanced • Sensationalized • Independent (even critical)

6. Magazine of Opinion • Yellow journalism • Trustbusting • Muckraking • Investigative reporting • News services • National media corporations • Lighter News

7. Electronic Journalism • Radio/TV • Reach voters directly • Fewer stories • Shorter sound bites • Many new outlets • Narrowcasting

8. The Internet • Ultimate in free market news • No control • No regulation • Unlimited opinion • Candidate web sites • Back to grassroots?

9. Types of National Media • Wire services • AP, UPI • Network news • Evening • TV Magazines • Internet • Cable • National Newspapers

10. Roles of National Media • Set the tone • Better paid • More liberal • Gatekeeper • Issue selection • Scorekeeper • Horse Race elections • Watchdogs • Investigation

11. Democratic? • Consider the following changes and characteristics of media in America, then comment on media as an institution in politics. • Youth have moved away from political coverage • Network news now covered by affiliates • Media is big profit industry • 4-5 large corporate providers • Many satellite outlets • Unregulated, free internet • Independent of government