Mass+Media+and+the+Political+Agenda

Pre-Test - Take It!

Jon Stewart on Corporate Media

Steven Colbert on Lamestream Media

Mass Media Video Lecture

John Green - Mass Madia



Chapter 7 Quizlet


 * Trace the development of the mass media and the ways in which presidents used the media in different periods of our history.
 * Describe the major sources that people rely on for their information about politics, and how technologies--especially the Internet--are changing this.
 * Explain the role that the profit motive plays in decisions by the mass media on how to report the news.
 * Examine and analyze the charge that the media has a liberal bias.
 * Identify factors that would explain why the news is typically characterized by political neutrality.
 * Determine methods used by political activists to get their ideas placed high on the governmental agenda.
 * Explain how functions of the media may help to keep government small and how other functions may encourage the growth of government.
 * Describe how the rise of television broadcasting has encouraged individualism in the American political system.
 * Explain why the rise of the "information society" has not brought about a corresponding rise of an "informed society."

Analyze the following campaign ads using the, and answer the following questions:
 * TASK:**

1)How has the style of ads changed over time? 2)Are they moral? 3)Do you think that they are effective? 4)Fill in the blanks of this sentence for each ad: "Vote for __because____.

Wilson's 1912 Campaign

Famous Daisy Campaign

Hillary Clinton Ad

Donald Trump Campaign Ad

Here are a few helpful links: Huffington Post NY Times Baltimore Sun Pew Research center Chapter 7: mass media and the political agenda SUMMARY The Mass Media Today 1.) Whether promoting a candidate, drawing attention to a social issue, or generating a government program, effectively communicating a message is critical to political success. 2.) A media event is staged primarily for the purpose of being covered. If the media were not there, the event would probably not have happened or would have little significance. 3.) Approximately 60% of presidential campaign spending is now devoted to TV ads. Many people are worried that the trade of accusations, innuendoes, and countercharges in political advertising is poisoning the American political process and possibly even contributing to declining turnout.
 * //YOUR MAJOR WRITING ASSIGNMENT: //**
 * //In recent years, the Fox News Network has become the most popular cable news network, almost doubling the audience of CNN and MSNBC. Research and write an opinion essay as to why this is the case. Also, the election of Donald Trump is relevant, and should be incorporated into your essay. This should be between 2 and 3 pages in length, backed by stats and well cited. //**

The Development of Media Politics 1.) Today, most scholars would agree with Johnson that the mass media have changed the face of American politics. The media were not always so important. 2.) Franklin D. Roosevelt practically invented media politics. To him, the media were a political ally. FDR was also the first president to use radio to communicate to the Depression-ridden country. 3.) Patterson found that several aspects of the trend toward more negative media coverage of the candidates over the last decades. He found that the emphasis of campaign reporting has changed dramatically from "what" to "why" Also, the type of interpretative story that has become prominent is hard-biting analysis of political maneuvering and the horse race

The Print Media 1.) The ratification of the First Amendment in 1791, guaranteeing freedom of speech, gave even the earliest American newspapers freedom to print whatever they saw fit. This has given the media a unique ability to display the government's dirty laundry, an aspect that continues to distinguish the American press today. 2.) At the turn off the century, the era of Yellow Journalism was ushered in. This style of reporting focused on corruption, violence, wars, and gossip, often with less than any regard for the truth 3.) Ever since the rise of TV news, newspaper circulation rates have been declining. Most political scientists who have studied the role of the media in politics believe this is an unfortunate trend.

The Broadcast Media 1.) Gradually, the broadcast media have displaced the print media as Americans' principal source of news and information 2.) With the growth of cable TV, particularly CNN, television has recently entered a new era of bringing the news to people and political leaders as it happens 3.) Since 1963, surveys have consistently shown that more people rely on TV for the news than any other medium. By a regular two-to-one margin, people think television reports are more believable than newspaper stories. People are predisposed to be skeptical about what they read in a newspaper, with television, seeing is believing.

Government Regulation of the Broadcast Media 1.) In 1934, Congress created the FCC to regulate the use of airwaves 2.) Today, the FCC regulates communications via radio, television, telephone, cable, and satellite 3.) The FCC has regulated the airwaves in three important ways: •to prevent near-monopolies of control over a broadcast market •conducts periodic examinations of the goals and performance of stations as part of its licensing authority •issues a number of fair treatment rules concerning access to the airwaves for political candidates and officeholders

Narrowcasting: Cable TV and the Internet 1.) About two-thirds of the American public currently subscribes to cable television, thereby giving them access to dozens of channels 2.) Rather than appealing to a general audience, channels such as ESPN, MTV, and C-SPAN focus on a narrow particular interest. Hence, their mission can be termed "Narrowcasting," rather than "broadcasting' 3.) The first major networks-ABC, NBC, and CBS-adopted the term "broadcasting" in the names of their companies because their signal was being sent out to a broad audience

Private Control of the Media 1.) One of the main reasons America has such a rich diversity of media sources is that journalism has long been big business in the U.S., with control of virtually all media outlets being in private hands 2.) Although the American media is free and independent when it comes to journalistic content, they are totally dependent on advertising revenues to keep their businesses going 3.) With corporate business managers increasingly calling shots, American journalism has definitely been affected

Reporting the News 1.) News is what is timely and different. In its search for the unusual, the news media can give it's audience a peculiar view of events and policymakers 2.) Millions of new and different events happen everyday; journalists must decide which of them is newsworthy. To a large extent, TV networks define news as what is entertaining to the average viewer 3.) A dull complicated story would have to be of enormous importance to get on the air; in contrast, relatively trivial stories can make the cut if they are interesting enough. Regardless of the medium, it cannot be emphasized enough that news reporting is a business in America.

Finding the News 1.) Major news organizations assign their best reporters to particular beats-specific locations from which news often emanates, such as Congress 2.) Newsmakers rely on journalists to get their message out at the same time that reporters rely on public officials to keep them in the know 3.) Although journalists are typically dependent on familiar sources, an enterprising reporter occasionally has an opportunity to live up to the image of The w crusading truth seeker

Reporting the News 1.) Once the news has been "found," it has to be neatly compressed into a 30-second news segment or fit into the advertisements in a newspaper 2.) As technology has enabled the media to pass along information with greater speed, news coverage has become less thorough 3.) Over the last decade, politicians have found it increasingly difficult to get their message covered on the major networks, as ratings pressures have led to a decrease in political coverage, leaving the field to much less watched channels like CNN and MSNBC.

Bias in the News 1.) Many people believe that the news is biased in favor of one point of view. The charge that the media have a liberal bias has become a familiar one in American politics, and there is some limited evidence to support it 2.) The vast majority of social science studies have found that reporting is not systematically biased toward a particular ideology or party 3.) The news should mirror reality. Although television is particularly biased toward stories that generate good pictures.

The News and Public Opinion 1.) By increasing public attention to specific problems, the media influence the criteria by which the public evaluates political leaders 2.) The media can have a dramatic effect on how the public evaluates specific events by emphasizing one particular news aspect over all others 3.) The media is a key political institution. The media control much of the technology that in turn controls much of what Americans believe about politics and government

The Media's Agenda-Setting Function 1.) Policy agenda is the list of subjects or problems to which government officials and people outside of government closely associated with those officials, are paying some serious attention at any given time 2.) Political activists depend heavily on the media to get their ideas placed high on the agenda 3.) Political activists are often called policy entrepreneurs-people who invest their political capital in an issue

Understanding the Mass Media 1.) The media act as key linkage institutions between the people and the policymakers, and have a profound impact on the political policy agenda

The Media and The Scope of Government 1.) Observers say the press is biased against whoever holds office at the moment and that reporters want to expose officeholders 2.) Once the media identify a problem in society, reporters usually begin to ask what the government is doing about it 3.) The media report on America's social problems in a manner that often also encourages government to take on more and more tasks

Individualism and the Media 1.) The rise of television broadcasting has reinforced and furthered individualism in the American political process 2.) Television finds it easier to focus on individuals than on groups. As a result, parties have declined, and candidate personality is more important than ever

Democracy and the Media 1.) "Information is the fuel of democracy." Widespread access to information could be the greatest boon to democracy since the secret ballot, yet most observers think it has fallen far short of this potential 2.) Whenever the media are criticized for being superficial, their defense is to say that this is what people want 3.) If people are not better informed in the high-tech age, it is largely because they do not care to hear about complicated political issues

VOCABULARY

High-Tech Politics - A politics in which the behaviour of citizens and policymakers and the political agenda itself are increasingly shaped by technology.

Mass Media - Television, radio, newspapers, magazines, the Internet, and other means of popular communication.

Media Events - Events purposely staged for the media that nonetheless look spontaneous. In keeping with politics as theatre, media events can be staged by individuals, groups, and government officials, especially presidents.

Press Conferences - Meetings of public officials with reporters.

Investigative Journalism - The use of in-depth reporting to unearth scandals, scams, and schemes, which at times puts reporters in adversarial relationships with politica leaders.

Print Media - Newspapers and magazines, as compared with broadcast media.

Brodcast Media - Television and radio, as compared with print media.

Narrowcasting -Media programming on cable TV or the Internet that is focused on one topic and aimed at a particular audience. Examples include MTV, ESPN, and C-SPAN.

Chains -Newsapers published by massive media conglomerates that account for almost three-quarters of the nation's daily circulation. Often these chains control broadcast media as well.

Beats -Specific locations from which news frequently emanates, such as congres or the white house. Most top reporters work on a particular beat, thereby becoming specialists in what goes on at that location.

Trial Balloons - An international news leak for the purpose of assessing the political reaction.

Sound Bites - Short video clips of approximately 15 seconds; typically all that is shown from a politician's speech or activities on the nightly television news.

Talking Head - A shot of a person's face talking directly to the camera. Because this is visually unappealing, the major commercial networks rarely show a politician talking one-on-one for very long.

Policy Agenda - The issues that attract the serious attention of public officials and other people actively involved in politics at the time.

Policy Entrepreneurs - People who invest their political "capital" in an issue. According to John Kingdon, a policy entrepreneur "could be in or out of government, in elected or appointed positions, in interest groups or research organizations."