Mass Media

and the political agenda

How does a politician use the media to talk to the public and how does the public use the media to talk to a politician?

Does the media assist, impede, or transform these messages?

Essential Questions

The Mass Media Today

Modern political success depends upon control of the mass media

Image making does not stop with the campaign

It is a critical element in day-to-day governing since politicians’ images in the press are good indicators of their clout (media event- 30 second presidency)

Meet the master of mass media1. plan ahead

2. stay on the offensive

3. control the flow of information

4. limit reporters’ access to the president

5. talk about the issues you want to talk about

6. speak in one voice

7. repeat the same message many times

7 principals of Reagan

Development of Media Politics

Development of Media Politics

•First it was newspapers

•FDR used media effectively (1000 press conferences - fireside chats)

• Vietnam and Watergate soured the press on the gov’t

•now the perspective is investigative journalism (pitting reporters against political leaders)

Mass Media

McNugget vs. Whole Chicken

Television As Mass Media

Broadcast journalism has replaced print media as America’s principal sources of news and information

1960’s debates b/w Nixon and Kennedy

Nation was taken to war with Vietnamexposed the gov’t naivete/lying about the progress of wartoday - embedded reporters

Birth of cable TV

Internet - instant news

Mass Media - Regulation

Ownership: large corporations & some foreign investors (Fox = Rupert Murdock -Australian)

Regulation: FCC licensing controls- created 1934 by Congress

• FCC is independent regulatory body - but in practice it is subject to many political pressures

Mass Media - Regulation

FCC

Regulates market in 3 important ways• prevent near-monopolies of control over a broadcast market- rules limit number of stations owned/controlled by one company

• FCC conducts periodic examinations of the goals and performance of stations as part of its licensing authority

• FCC has issued a number of fair treatment rules concerning access to the airwaves for political candidates and office holders

Fairness DoctrineFCC requires those who hold broadcast licenses to present controversial issues of public concern in a fair, equitable manner

don’t confuse this w/ Equal Time Rule which ony deals w/ political candidates

SC upheld FCC right to enforce fairness doctrine but not the obligation to do so (Red Lion Broadcasting v FCC 1969)

1987 FCC abolished the fairness doctrine

Mass Media - Regulation

INTERNET has added a whole new element....

narrowcasting - increase of “broadcast” channels that are oriented toward particularly narrow audiences

Traditional broadcast news is being partially replaced by political Web sites, bloggers, The Daily Show

Current pending legislation adds more limits (not more than 25% of local market)

Telecommunications Act of 1996

Current Issues

A bipartisan Congressional group has asked the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to investigate Google's alleged policy of blocking high-cost calls to rural areas. According to Reuters, the legislators described Google's position as "ill conceived and unfair to our rural constituents."

http://www.tgdaily.com/business-and-law-features/44237-congress-demands-fcc-probe-of-google-voice

With the release of the Federal Communications Commission's new Internet nondiscrimination proposals (that is, network neutrality), one vexing question continues to vex. Does the FCC have the legal authority to regulate access to the 'Net? The issue came up again this week, and not just because of the net neutrality proceeding; Comcast, which is suing the FCC for its sanctions against the ISP for last year's P2P throttling, told a federal court hearing the case that the answer is no. 

http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2009/11/does-the-fcc-have-authority-to-enforce-net-neutrality-rules.ars

The Net at Risk

Current Issues

http://www.pbs.org/moyers/moyersonamerica/net/index.html

Visit this website to check out the issues with the Net - A Bill

Moyers discussion

REporting the news

REporting the news

American media is free and independent when it comes to journalistic content - still totally dependent on advertising revenues to keep the business going.

News reporting is a business in America in which profits shape how journalist define what is newsworthy, where they get their information, and how they present it.

TV networks, it could be said, define news as what is entertaining to the average viewer

Mass Media - SignificAnce of Ownership

National level: impact on elections and everyday politics – daily news, campaign ads, in-depth news shows, campaign sites

Star quality of some news journalists( Brian Williams, Katie Couric, Wolf Blitzer…) “experts”

Stories presented driven by hidden agendas (ie: corporate ownership)

Most stories accepted by the public as FACT

Emerging role of the internet as a legitimate news source (CNN, CMBC, MSNBC) and as a more questionable source (Drudge Report)

Consider the

Following

Mass Media - SignificAnce of Ownership

What is the role of the profit motive in how journalists report the news?

What if we had a publically funded information service?

Various Roles of

Mass Media

Mass Media - Role as Gatekeeper

Controls what is news and for how long•Auto safety, water pollution, crime rates, etc.

•Can help to set or swing the political agenda

•Can be biasedBy ownership of the mediaBy ability to “sell” a story (or advertising)Journalist’s personal bias

Mass Media - Agenda Setter

• People try to influence the gov’ts policy agenda when they confront gov’t officials with problems they expect them to solve.

• Interest groups, political parties, politicians, public relations firms, and bureaucratic agencies are all pushing for their priorities to take precedence over others.

• Political activists (often called policy entrepreneurs - people who invest their “political capital” in an issue) depend heavily on the media to get their ideas placed high on the governmental agenda

Mass Media - Role as Scorekeeper

• Historically it was believed media had little effect on public opinion

• “Minimal effects hypothesis” based on looking for direct impacts such as how people vote

• BUT...if focus is on how the media affects what Americans think about, it does seem that the media has a considerable effect on public opinion.

• Decision to cover or to ignore certain issues can affect public opinion. By focusing public attention on a specific problem(s), the media influence the criteria by which the public evaluates political leaders.

Mass Media - Effect on PoliticsCampaigning

Largest factor in driving up the cost of campaigns

Equal time rule doesn’t affect all (3rd parties – ie: Perot)

Necessity of exposure: key to nomination

Can show a bias

Mass Media - Bias in Media

Not all bias is deliberate but can be detected by watching the following techniques:

Selection & ommission: choice of news items; content & details used/not; words used

Placement: first page stories/above fold; lead off stories – reflect significance

Headlines: most read part of the paper – wording & size can reflect biasPhotos & camera angle: visual portrayal can show bias as can captions

Mass Media - Bias in Media

Names & titles: choice of words such as “terrorist” or “freedom fighter” clearly indicate bias

Statistics: opinion can be reflected in method of counting – “a hundred injured in crash” vs. “minor injuries in crash”

Source: supplier of the information and their credibility – PR director’s puffpiece; staged-events (sit-ins, ribbon cutting, demonstration)

Word choice & tone: use of positive or negative words – value judgments

Media ownership: trying not to offend sponsors, ownership, etc

Mass Media

Names & titles: choice of words such as “terrorist” or “freedom fighter” clearly indicate bias

Statistics: opinion can be reflected in method of counting – “a hundred injured in crash” vs. “minor injuries in crash”

Source: supplier of the information and their credibility – PR director’s puffpiece; staged-events (sit-ins, ribbon cutting, demonstration)

Word choice & tone: use of positive or negative words – value judgments

Media ownership: trying not to offend sponsors, ownership, etc

Mass Media - Effect on Politics

Conducting PoliticsEvents like conventions, Presidential addresses are staged to accommodate

media, esp. electronic

Issues are established by media attention

Affects the popularity of President and Congress

Media can be manipulatedBy government: press conferences and “leaks”

• Investigative report shows (Dateline, 20/20) that attempt to influence agenda and cause distrust (Dan Rather’s debacle in Campaign 2004- Bush Nat’l Guard story)

What does Wag The Dog mean?

Mass Media - Role as Scorekeeper

Decides who is winning and losing

Disproportionate attention given to 1st primaries (can shape the campaign or kill and candidate)

Can be found in regular news as well as the election news (i.e., presenting an issue as if it has “lost” such as a piece of legislation before the vote)

Mass Media - Role as Watchdog

Exposing scandals and intrigues

Began with Woodward and Bernstein breaking Watergate in The Washington Post

Especially seen in election analysis of candidates

Can drive policy by “creating” an issueTime magazine cover on Bob Dole’s Age 1996Monica Lewinsky/Bill Clinton publicity Swiftboat Controversy in 2004

Summary Thoughts

Mass Media

Robert GibbsPres. Obama’s press secretary

The media act as a linkage institution between people and the policymakers

It has a profound impact on the political policy agenda

Mass Media

Mass Media

Watchdog function of media helps to keep gov’t small

many people feel the media is biased against whoever holds office and that reporters want to expose them in the media

With every new proposal being met with skepticism, regular constraints are placed on gov’t growth

Mass Media

Of course, when the media focuses on injustice in society, the media inevitably encourage the growth of gov’t.

The media portray gov’t as responsible for handling almost every major problem

Mass Media

TV has furthered individualism in the American political process

candidates can appeal directly to the people through TV

has it made political parties decline in the face of candidates’ personalities?

Mass MediaThe rise of the “information society” has not brought about a corresponding rise of an “informed society”

With media’s superficial treatment of important policy issues, it is clear the increase in the amount and availability of information has not increased voters political participation/awareness

Essential Question

Exit Ticket

CONSIDER THE FOLLOWING

Evaluate whether American mass media has become too powerful.

In particular, is the impact of mass media on public opinion and public outcomes consistent with the concepts of limited gov’t and balanced power?Is there any democratic way to hold mass media organizations accountable for their behavior?