The Media
Historical Stages of the Media
The Party Press
Politicians created, sponsored, and controlled papers
Were opinion, not fact-reporting.
Circulation was mainly among commercial and political elites.
In early days, party in power would give out government jobs to those who ran presses for their particular faction
Elites read because: they were literate; they cared; they could afford it
The Popular Press
Technology and society’s changes allowed for the rise of a publicly-supported paper with mass readership
Cheaper printing; telegraph allowed "wiring" of stories, etc.
1848 – AP forms to allow dissemination of information
To attract subscribers, it had to be unbiased
Papers were still partisan, but partisanship arose from feelings of editors and publishers rather than those of the party machines that controlled them
Popular papers (Like that of Hearst) could be powerful political tools
Still, papers began to create a common national culture, to establish feasibility of true freedom of the press¸ and to show that newswriting could be popular
The Magazines of Opinion
Middle class was growing tired of yellow journalism, and magazines thus sprung up that discussed public policy
Nation, Atlantic Monthly, Harpers
Investigative reporting; championed certain issues
Made certain names household-words
National political magazines are in decline today
Electronic Journalism
Radio in 1920s, Television in 1940s
Problems with electronics
People can ignore tv and radio broadcasts
It costs more to add info
People thus must DO something
Soundbite dropped from 42 seconds in 1968 to <10 seconds in 1988
Cable, news-magainzes, and talk shows have all given politicians an increased format
The Structure of the Media
Competition
There has been a decline in the number of cities where there are competing daily papers
Radio and TV are very competitive and becoming more so
There is more local competition on TV
American Press is much more locally-owned-and-operated than its european counterpart
FCC has traditionally held very tight rein on who can own what
National Press importance
Washington DC officials pay attention to what national papers say about programs
National press tends to differ from the local ones, are more educated, more liberal
Four functions of the media
Information gatherer
Gatekeeper: influences what becomes news, and for how long
Scorekeeper: keeps track of who makes political reputations, who is winning and losing in washington politics.
Watchdog: watches what people do
Missionary Journalism and the Ayatollah Corollary
Used to be the concept that reporters would actually go to the scene of the event
Where news occurs is an uncomfortable place
Reporters thus visit the site simply to get footage, then go back to americanized place
Ayatollah corollary – you must go to the reporters if you live in a remote place
Rules Governing the Media
Least-competitive media (printed press) has the least regulation, and the most competitive (electronic) has the most regulations
Government can’t have prior restraint
Newspapers can be prosecuted if material is libelous, obscene, or incites someone to committ an illegal act
To be libel, it must be wrong, damaging, and printed with reckless disregard for its truth
It is illegal to use printed words to advocate the violent overthrow of the government if by your advocacy you incite others to action
Confidentiality of sources
The court has upheld the right of government to compel reporters to divulge information as part of a properly conducted criminal investigation if it bears on the commission of a crime
A persons right to trial includes the right to compel reporters to give up information
Regulating broadcasting
FCC’s license renewal policies were used to control what was published
Equal-time rule: if a station sells time to one candidate, it must be willing to sell equal time to another
Right-of-reply rule: if a person is attacked, they have a right to respond
Political editorializing rule: if a broadcaster endorses a candidate, the opposing candidate has a right to respond
Fairness doctrine: required broadcasters to broadcast both sides of an issue; 1987 fcc abolished it
The effects of the Media on Politics
Is it effective? Elections are not a good indicator because there are too many influencing factors
Many suffer from selective attention: they only hear or see what they want to.
Why can we sell products but not candidates? The citizens are not idiots
The major effects of the media has less to do with how people vote and more to do with the manner in which things are conducted
The media helps set the agenda on those things which people have little personal experience
The Media, President, and congress
The President
No other nation has brought the press so close to the president
i.e. White House Press Secretary position, etc.
Thus, we are much more personalized
Congress
House of Representatives doesn’t receive much coverage because they are so specialized and so numerous
Senate uses TV more fully, broadcasting of committee meetings turns it into an "incubator of potential presidential candidates"
The Liberal Press
Journalists are more liberal; national ones are most liberal
Evidence: Most vote for democrats
Three story types and bias
Routine stories
: public events regularly covered; still can be incorrectly reported when issues are complexFeature stories: involve acts and statements not routinely covered;
Insider stories: information made public because somebody inside tells a reporter
Eric Jonas's
1998-1999 AP American Government Notes
This material
copyright Eric Jonas, 1999.
These
notes have been taken from American Government, 7th edition, by Wilson
and DiIulio, and from in-class lecture by Mr. Greg Sandmeyer at Timberline High
School.