The Media and Politics

Politics in the Age of Mass Media

Media and Elections

Politicians and media have a symbiotic relationship

Media focus on conflict and negative advertisements

Media focus on frontrunners and the horserace

Campaigns focus on spin and soundbites

Media and Politics

Theories of Media and Politics Patterson Sabato Zaller

Media and Elections Debates Conventions Ads

Patterson’s Out of Order

Trends in media coverage of elections

1. Tone of coverage Positive to negative

2. Style Descriptive to interpretive

3. Issues Policy issues to reporters’ issues

Patterson’s Out of Order

Consequences1. Tone of coverage Positive to negative

Consequence: Voters distrust candidates, government, media

2. Style Descriptive to interpretiveConsequence: Voters less informed

3. Issues Policy issues to reporters’ issuesConsequence: Voters adopt media frames/primes

Sabato’s Feeding Frenzy

Lapdog journalism (1941-1966) Reporting that served and reinforced the political

establishment.

Watchdog (1966-1974) Scrutinized and checked the behavior of political elites by

undertaking independent investigations into statements made by public officials.

Junkyard dog (1974 to present) Reporting that is often and harsh, aggressive intrusive,

where feeding frenzies flourish and gossip reaches print.

Causes of the Feeding Frenzy

Advances in media technology

Competitive pressure

Political events

Zaller’s Theory of Media Politics

Theory of campaign coverage needs to take into account the different interests of voters, media, and candidates

1. Voters: "Don’t waste my time"; "Tell me only what I need to know"

2. Candidates: Use journalists to "Get Our Story Out"

3. Journalists: Maximize their "voice" in the news

Media and Elections: Debates

1960: First Televised Debate 1984: Reagan’s Age

"I will not make age an issue in this campaign. I am not going to exploit, for political purposes, my opponent's youth and inexperience."

1988 - “You’re no Jack Kennedy” 1988 - Death Penalty 1992 - Price of milk? 2000 - Gore (sighing)

Media and Elections: Conventions

In the past, party conventions were much more important

Today, they are media events Nothing new happens Scripted events, speeches

Today, conventions usually give candidates a positive bump in the “horserace” These bumps are short-lived

Media and Elections: Ads

Political advertising: positive vs. negative Positive advertising

Seek to define yourself before your opponent does it for you

Negative advertisingDoes it work?

Yes Voters remember negative ads longer than positive ads Negative ads provide information to voters

1964 – Daisy Spot

1988 – Willie Horton

2000 - Meatball