Media's Role in Democracy: Government Control vs. Free Press Protection

2. Authoritarian v. democratic regimes • DIFFERENT ASSUMPTIONS ABOUT MEDIA…. * Government knows people’s best interests v. Governments are fallible and can be corrupt, make mistakes * News should engender support for government policies v. News should stimulate critical thinking about government actions/public policy

3. Media’s role in a democracy First Amendment Why is free press so important and worthy of protection? Role of press in American revolution (and in ratification of Constitution)

5. What did newspapers do during the American revolution? Newspapers were main means of uniting the population to resist the Stamp Act and British rulers 2/3 of papers supported Revolution, criticized British but also AMERICAN public officials Newspapers helped fulfill the ideology animating the revolution which gave power to the people and expected them to be responsible and informed *

6. First Amendment enshrines principle of free press: But Courts as arbiters of the limits on free press

7. Courts’ defense of free press • Cases going back to 1700s where juries/state courts said newspaper publishers had right to criticize government officials – Zenger case 1735 (seditious libel of NY governor is okay) • Sullivan v. New York Times (Supreme Ct. 1964) –Alabama official criticized by newspaper – inaccurate speech is still protected speech • Pentagon Papers case (Supreme Ct. 1971) –Court say OK to publish info government wants to keep secret if government is being overly cautious

8. Limits on free press • HOWEVER, Supreme Court: media does not have an absolute right to all government information/documents: lst amendment protection of freedom of press is not absolute. • (And in wartime, court has said it’s okay for military to bar news personnel from combat zones, etc. –more on this later….) • Media/citizen access to gov documents structured by FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (1966)

9. Evolution of American media * Intertwining of government and media: have never been fully independent of each other Since 1792, government subsidies for newspapers-lower rates than for other things traveling through the mail)- postal subsidies facilitated emergence of national news network • Political parties also gave contracts to newspapers to print government business. Papers supported themselves through government contracts – and in return they backed the party that gave them the contract in their editorial policy and news reporting • Early newspapers were blatantly, unashamedly partisan • 1810: 86% of newspapers had a clear partisan orientation.

10. Partisan journalism to…. • Since two political parties emerged late 1700s/around 1800 (Federalists and Jeffersonian Republicans): PAPERS TOOK SIDES • No separation between “hard news” and editorial section of papers • Jacksonian era (1828-1836): high point of partisan press • WHY DID THIS CHANGE? Why did newspapers start to move away from close affiliation with parties beginning in the 1830s and throughout the 1800s?

11. Why move away from partisanship? • Economic and social changes: Urbanization, population growth, bigger potential audience out there: Desire to attract more readers – not just ones who support one party or the another. Also increase in literacy – bigger potential audience

13. Technology Telegraph (1844: Morse sends first message) –increases scale and speed of news sharing Railroads: their expansion makes delivery of papers across the country possible Upgrade from hand driven to power driven steam presses, makes it cheaper to print newswpapers…

14. *As price of producing papers goes down, get rise of the “penny press” starting in 1830s. *Move from “elitist media” to more “mass media” (1788: only 2% subscribe to newspapers at 6 cents per copy 1900: 20% subscribe and many more buy penny papers on the street –Rise of penny press also brings change in CONTENT of papers

15. Penny press features more human interest, crime stories – less partisan - (1840s) you begin to see “rise of independent editors. ” – e.g. Horace Greeley’s NY Tribune - “my leading idea was the establishment of a journal removed… from servile partisanship.” Some of these would become very active in the abolitionist cause Greeley promoted Lincoln in the 1860 election

16. Decline in government subsidies/contracts with publishers – Government Printing Office established 1860 – no more federal government contracts with newspapers • Rise of advertising as alternative source of revenue for newspapers – as papers shift from parties to advertisers for revenue, they become more independent of parties (but implications…) • Also electorate becomes less partisan starting around 1870 – newspapers respond to this

17. 1870s – emergence of Pulitzer, Hearst, two newspaper owners/editors • Pulitzer: “serve no party but the people…” • but not pure high-minded journalism: combines attacks on political corruption with sensationalism… • YELLOW JOURNALISM (Pulitzer’s NY World – 1893 issues first colored supplement with cartoon character “Yellow Kid” – sensationalist headlines, grab readers’ attention

19. Yellow journalism lacks credibility • newspapers no longer as dependent on political parties or serving as “party organs”, the low-brow content does not gain them respect… • But still have influence (Hearst’s New York Journal pushed US into war with Spain over Cuba)

21. Shift to more objective journalism – turn of 20th century/around 1900 • Link to Progressive movement – Progressive reformers believed in science, in objective and non-partisan evidence: Progressives emphasized reason, rationality, independence from sleazy political parties and their bosses. • Some journalists became part of this movement. • Professionalization of other occupations (medicine, law) – journalists want the same respect – must become more professional.