The Presidential News System

The first age of communication—the two decades after WWII—was an era dominated by political parties.

The second age is ushered in by the introduction of television.

The third age begins with the arrival of cable television and the internet.

Several characteristics mark the second age of communication: Diminished importance of political-party

based messages Rise of limited channel or network broadcast

television for political communications The growth in the size of the audience for

political communication The replacement of long-term influences on

politics like party identification, with short-term influences like current events. This boosted the personal aspect of politics.

The third age is associated with five major changes: The rising professionalization of political advocacy Increased competitive pressure on journalists The rise of anti-elitism and populism in

communications and journalism A diversification of news media and

communications media A change in the structure of the audience for

political content—for example the fragmentation of the audience and its exposure to “bits and pieces” of information that it picks up “here and there.”

One last note here:

The emergence of populism in the media has led to the undermining of the importance of the hierarchical organizations in society such as the establishment press, for example, the New York Times.

The web of interrelationships among the president, the news media, and the mass public is what is called the presidential news system.

In order to understand this, we will break down the “needs” of each of these three groups. President News media Public

Access to the public Prime-time speeches

Help relay messages Helps promote an image of the president (image

building) Have you to use these sparingly

News coverage of the president Allows frequent access to the public Allows him to convey his message on a wider range of

topics Helps with image building Drawback—the president loses some control over the

content of their message to journalists

Audience News generally needs to contain the following

characteristics: Novelty Negativity/conflict Balance Authority/importance Familiarity Constancy

News about the president often meets all these criteria. Thus it attracts viewers—the number one thing news outlets need to survive.

Accountability from public officials The media provides information on what

the president does and the results or impact of those actions and decisions

Helps the public make informed decisions about whether to continue to support and reelect the president and his party, or not.

In this capacity, the public needs to make sense of the president’s actions.

Journalists can help with this.