“National” Newspapers and Wire Services

“National” Newspapers and Wire Services

News Magazines

News Magazines

Radio

Television

Television

The Internet

What sources of news are most popular today?

Sources of News for American Audiences, 2001-2010

Time Spent With the News “Yesterday,” 1993-2008

Watch this Onion video spoof on the decline of newspapers.

c. What do you think is the result of the decline of network news shows?

• More viewing of cable news network instead, which practices narrow-casting catering to the partisan divide of the political parties.

• More one-sided stories, and lack of balance in presenting the information

• Media bias!

d. Difference in news gathering habits between persons of different age?

News Consumption “Yesterday” By Age, 2008

e. How many Americans choose not to read the news? Is that number growing or shrinking? Is the this trend the same

for all age groups?

Percent of Americans Who Got No News Yesterday, 1998 and 2008

f. Difference between partisan profiles of viewers of various TV news? Which accessed more by

Republican? Democrats?

Partisan Profile of TV News Audiences

Do Americans tend to trust their news source? Which sources

trusted the least? More trusted by GOP? Democrats?

Believability and Partisanship, 2008

Why is the polarization of TV

news media possible only in the

era of cable television

(“narrowcasting” vs. “broadcasting”)?

h. What is the Impact of polarization of American news media you saw in (f) & (G)?

• Media bias• Only getting one side of the story• Citizens not well informed• Generally, they disagree on their largest

sources, but on sources considered secondary, they do come together!

I. What are differences in news gathering habits between persons with different levels of education?

Socioeconomic status? Race? Effects on voter turnout?

J. What kinds of households have the greatest access to internet? Lowest level of access? Ramifications of these

differences?

Summary

• Trends– Declining news audiences, especially among

young audiences– Differences among levels of SES in news

readership and access to cable and Internet.– Declining newspapers

Summary

• Trends– Rise of television news and changing news

coverage since 1960s. Quest for profits, competition over declining audiences, and the nature of television has led to:• Focus on image• More superficial news coverage (i.e. the “sound bite”)• Focus on the “game” of politics rather than on

substance• Focus on sleazy scandals and politicians’ personal lives

Summary

• Trends– Decline in broadcast news– Rise of cable TV news • Political polarization of TV news• Rise of the “pundits”• Decline in trust in news sources

– Rise of Internet news– Consolidation of media companies

The Press as Linkage Institution

• Conveys the views of the people to government– Interviewing citizens– Presenting poll results– Covering protests and/or opposition– Providing an outlet for citizen opinion– Help set the policy agenda (“agenda setting”) –

raise awareness, provide information, draw attention to, demonstrate the importance or consequence of a problem.

The Press as Linkage Institution

• Convey information about the government to the people– Reporting on government activities– Providing opinion/analysis of government

activities– Providing a platform for politicians to “speak”

directly to the people.