Politics of the Media

What is meant by the Media?News organizations and journalists of either

the print (newspapers, magazines), broadcast (TV, radio), or internet (websites, newsfeeds, blogs)

Pathways Past and Present: The Role of Profits

Libertarian View

The media should show what they think the

public wants, with no worry about

consequences

Social Responsibility Theory

The media needs to balance what the public wants with what’s good

for it

Who should control the media?

Two views

How Journalists Report the News

Agenda Setting

The media’s ability to determine which issues will be covered, in what detail, and in what context--and conversely, to decide which

stories are “not news” and thus will not be covered

Functions of the Media: Common-Carrier

A link between the masses & governmentProblem: Politicians will attempt to

manipulate the media, push a positive image of themselves or an issue

“Pseudo-Events”Appear spontaneous, but are scripted for

appealGroundbreakings, school ceremoniesTeddy’s Bear

Functions of the Media: Surveillance / Watchdog

The media has a watchdog role as the “eyes and ears of the world”

Investigative reporting“Muckraking”

Exposing societal ills such as corruption Upton Sinclair’s, The JungleWatergateAbu Ghraib

Functions of the Media: Surveillance / Watchdog

U.S often regarded to have freest media Other countries: state-run news, or highly

censored news, even in democracies

IRNA: The national Police chief has verified

confiscation of a number of squirrels, equipped with eavesdropping devices, on the Iraqi border. Reportedly, when asked about the confiscation of 14 spy squirrels, he stated, “I have heard about it, but I do not have precise information”. IRNA adds, “These squirrels were equipped by foreign intelligence services, but were captured two weeks ago by the Police”.

News Agency of the Republic of Iran (IRNA)

The national Police chief has verified confiscation of a number of squirrels, equipped with eavesdropping devices, on the Iraqi border. Reportedly, when asked about the confiscation of 14 spy squirrels, he stated, “I have heard about it, but I do not have precise information”. IRNA adds, “These squirrels were equipped by foreign intelligence services, but were captured two weeks ago by the Police”.

How Groups Use the Media: Media in Campaigns

How does the media affect campaigns?

Determining “front-running candidates”

Charging for advertising

Televising debates

Portraying charismatic politicians as more “electable”

Mass Media “For it seems more

certain now than ever that the bloody experience of Vietnam is to end in a stalemate”-Walter Cronkite, February 1968

“That’s it. If I’ve lost Cronkite, I’ve lost middle America” -President Johnson

History of the Mass Media:Print Media First newspaper: Boston

News-Letter, April 1704 Avoided controversial

issues

Revolutionary War - newspapers abandon impartiality and work to build resistance to British policies;

Federalist Papers

1833, advent of the penny press

1837 – Telegraph invented

1848, creation of the Associated Press

Yellow journalism

Centralization of ownership of newspapers in early 20th century has continued to this day

Print newspapers are QUICKLY dying out

History of the Mass Media: Radio

Radio Act of 1927Established the airwaves

as a public good, subject to governmental oversight

The Federal Communications Commission created in 1934

History of the Mass Media: Television

Unlike newspapers and radio stations, high costs dictated that almost from the beginning, TV stations were affiliated with networks, thus centralizing ownership

Ratings /profit driven, particularly cable

24-hours news explodes during the 1990s

The InternetA revolution for politics

Broadcasting is essentially free

Not a large audience, but a gigantic potential audience

Direct channel between parties/candidates and citizens

Blogs Quickly making mainstream media less

relevant

Authors usually have a particular bias Recognize this going in

Act as a media and political watchdog

Investigative reporting is growing among bloggers

Media BiasThe Media IS UNDENIABLY biased

They do not randomly select what they cover

They choose when/where/how long to cover it

What about liberal v. conservative?Often unclear, even with specific news

outletsInvestigators carry own biases

Media BiasGeneral Trends

Ethno-centric foreign affairs coverageDependent on official sourcesIncumbents not challenged as often

Negativity and Scandal given much greater attention

Evaluating Press FreedomReporters Without Borders

Evaluation is survey-basedRSF Questions

Reporters Without BordersProblems:

Does not account for country sizeU.S. violations on par with Tonga in the mid-

2000sU.S. has many more “opportunities” to

harass the media

The ratio of reporters being harassed is far lower in the United States than in many countries that rank better

Reporters Without BordersSelection Bias

Reporters do not randomly publish critical stories

Journalists in repressive countries will avoid these, creating less of an opportunity to be harassed

Tonga’s media practices “self-censorship”

Other IssuesLegal framework not addressedNature of the repressor is not distinguishedNature of imprisonment or crime is now

distinguished (wasn’t previously)

SolutionMake a ratio based on population

For example, jailed reporters per 1 million people

U.S. moves to top, Iceland drops to about 35

Still problematicDemocracies, in particular the U.S., have a

higher percentage of people working in the media – will still have more repression opportunities

U.S. DeclineThe Press Freedom Index can indicate a

change in trends2002: 17th 2003: 31st 2004: 22nd 2005: 44th 2006: 53rd 2007: 48th 2008: 36th

2009: 20th (“Obama Effect”)

Concerns under ObamaCampaign: papers that endorsed McCain

are booted from Obama’s campaign planeAudience “plant” (this isn’t new)Press corps abandonedPromised Information not made public

(including bills, C-SPAN coverage of healthcare debate, Abu Ghraib photos)

Foxnews “boycott”Lack of open press conferences

A Closing NoteStewart on Crossfire