7 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.

7Mass Media and the Political Agenda

7Mass Media and the Political Agenda

• 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

Mass Media Today

Controlling the political agenda

Media events Carefully staged

Commercials 60% of presidential campaign budget Nearly always negative

Image-making

7.1

Mass Media Today

Controlling the political agenda

The entire goal of using media events and TV advertising is to control the agenda and perception of the politician

7.1

Mass Media Today

Media Events

Events that are purposely staged for the

media and that are significant just because

the media is there

7.1

Mass Media Today

TV Advertising

60% of campaign spending

2/3 is negative

7.1

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

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.

7.2Development of Media Politics

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

7.2Development of Media Politics

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

7.2Development of Media Politics

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

7.2Development of Media Politics

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

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

Development of Media Politics

Government Regulation of Electronic Media

From Broadcasting to Narrowcasting: Rise of Cable and Cable News

Impact of the Internet

Private Control of the Media

7.2

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

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

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

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

7.2

Impact of the Internet

Information at your fingertips Pop culture over politics

7.2

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

7.2

Impact of the Internet

Facilitating communications Meetup and Facebook

Blogs Equal weight with professional journalists?

7.2

Political bloggers 7.2

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

Reporting the News

Focus has become on entertainment (profits) rather than substance

7.3

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

Finding the News

Symbiotic relationship

Pulitzer Prize winning journalism

7.3

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

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

Jerry Sandusky 7.3

TABLE 7.2: Stories citizens have tuned in and tuned out

7.3

News and Public Opinion

How influential are the media?

Agenda-setting effects Sets criteria by which public evaluates leaders Emphasizes one event over another Focuses on misstatements

7.4

Policy Entrepreneurs and Agenda Setting

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

7.5

Policy Entrepreneurs and Agenda Setting

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

7.5

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

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

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