Mass Media and Politics
Chapter 7
Linkage Institutions
People
Government
Linkage Institutions
You must be able to:
1.Identify the key linkage
institutions
2.Explain how they connect
citizens and the
government
Key Linkage Institutions
People
Political
Parties
Media
SIGS
Government
Key Linkage Institutions
People
Political
Parties
Media
SIGS
Government
Definitions

A medium is a means of communication
 Media is the plural of medium
Definitions

The Mass Media are forms of communication
that can reach large, widely dispersed
audiences.
– Television
– Radio
– Newspapers
– Magazines
– Internet
Definitions

High-Tech Politics:
– A politics in which the behavior of citizens and
policymakers and the political agenda itself are
increasingly shaped by technology.
KEY FUNCTIONS OF THE
MEDIA
Key Functions of the Media
1.
Entertainment
Key Functions of the Media
1.
News Reports
Key Functions of the Media

Creation of Political Forums
Key Functions of the Media

Linkage Institution
Key Functions of the Media
Entertainment
2. News Reports
3. Creation of Political Forums
4. Linkage Institution
1.
Key Functions of the Media
Entertainment
2. News Reports
3. Creation of Political Forums
4. Linkage Institution
1.
TYPES OF MASS MEDIA
Types of Mass Media

Print media:
– The most influential newspapers
Types of Mass Media

Print media:
– The most influential news magazines
Types of Mass Media

Print media:
– The most influential news magazines
X
X
Types of Mass Media

Print media
Types of Mass Media

Print media
Types of Mass Media

Print media
– 1960: 50% of adults regularly purchased
a newspaper
– Today less than 20% of adults regularly
purchase a newspaper.
– Competition from TV and the Internet
– Magazine circulation rates have also
dropped dramatically.
Types of Mass Media

Radio
FDR and
Fireside
Chats
Types of Mass Media

Radio
– Today, most radio stations devote little
time to political programming.
Types of Mass Media

Radio
Nationally
syndicated
talk radio
hosts
Types of Mass Media

Radio
Nationally
syndicated
talk radio
hosts
Types of Mass Media

Television
– 1960 Kennedy Nixon debates is a
watershed moment when Americans
began to replace newspapers with
television as the principal source of
political news.
– Over 98% of households own at least one
TV.
Types of Mass Media

Television
– The three major networks—
CBS, NBC and ABC—
traditionally dominated political
coverage.
– The big three have a steadily
declining viewership.
– The news departments are money
losers.
Types of Mass Media

Television
– Cable networks—MSNBC,
CNN, FOX—provide 24 hour
political coverage and news.
– Narrowcasting: aimed at a
particular audience.
Types of Mass Media

Internet
– Rapidly becoming a key source of
–
–
–
–
information
Especially popular with people under 30
People choose what to learn about
Many websites offer extensive political
coverage,
Blogs provide rapid communication
between the public and government.
Types of Mass Media
 Print media
– Newspapers
– Magazines
 Broadcast
– Radio
– Television
– Internet
media
MEDIA AND POLITICS
Media and Politics

Agenda Setting
1. The policy agenda consists of issues that
attract the serious attention of public officials.
2. The mass media play an important role in
drawing public attention to particular issues.
Media and Politics

Agenda Setting
– Television news can affect what people think is
important.
– The media influence the criteria by which the
public evaluates political leaders.
– Some stories or events can be made more
important, others less important, depending on
their coverage
Media and Politics

Agenda Setting
– 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 to get it placed
high on governmental agenda

Use media to raise awareness of issue
Media and Politics

Political Campaigns
1. Political campaigns have become more
centered on candidates and less focused on
issues.
2. The mass media contribute to candidatecentered campaigns in the following ways:
Media and Politics

The mass media contribute to candidate-centered
campaigns in the following ways:

Sound bites have replaced speeches and
dialogues.
Media and Politics

The mass media contribute
to candidate-centered
campaigns in the following
ways:

By focusing on day-today campaign activities
such as rallies, gaffes,
scandals and negative
commercials.
Media and Politics

The mass media contribute to candidate-centered
campaigns in the following ways:

By engaging in ―horse-race journalism‖
which emphasizes how candidates stand in
the polls instead of where they stand on
the issues.
Media and Politics

Media Events: events purposely staged for
the media.
 60% of presidential campaign spending is
on TV ads
 Image making and image management is
important for politicians, especially
president
– Events purposely staged for the media
DEVELOPMENT OF MEDIA
POLITICS
Development of Media Politics

The news media wasn’t always so important.
Development of Media Politics


The news media wasn’t always so important.
Press Conferences: meetings of public officials with
reporters

Franklin Roosevelt held over 1,000


Development of Media Politics
The news media wasn’t always so important.
Press Conferences: meetings of public officials with
reporters
– Franklin Roosevelt held over 1,000

Investigative Journalism: the use of in-depth reporting to
unearth scandals, scams & schemes putting reporters &
politicians opposite each other
Watergate
Development of Media Politics

Introduction
– The news media wasn’t always so important.
– Press Conferences: meetings of public officials with
reporters

Franklin Roosevelt held over 1,000
– Investigative Journalism: the use of in-depth
reporting to unearth scandals, scams & schemes putting
reporters & politicians opposite each other
– Coverage of presidential candidates has become less
favorable.
Development of Media Politics

Government Regulation of the Broadcast
Media
– The Federal Communications Commission
(FCC) regulates the use of airwaves in three
ways:
1.
2.
3.
Prevent near monopoly control of market
Reviews performance of stations
Issues fair treatment rules for politicians
Development of Media Politics

Private Control of Media
– Small number of publicly owned stations
– Indepentent reporting
– Dependent on advertising revenue
– Chains: massive media conglomerates that
account for 4/5 of newspaper circulation.
Development of Media Politics

Telecommunications Act of 1996
– Relaxed limitations on media ownership
– Own up to 35% of the television market
– Gannett owns USA Today and controls the
biggest daily circulation in the nation + owns
100 additional papers
– Rupert Murdoch owns 124 radio stations, New
York Post, WSJ, Weekly Standard, FOX News
Development of Media Politics

The Big Six Media Conglomerates
1. Time Warner
2. Walt Disney
3. Viacom
4. News Corp.
5. CBS
6. GE/ NBC
Reporting the News

Finding the News
– Beats: specific locations from which news
frequently emanates, such as Congress or the
White House
– Trial Balloons: an intentional news leak for the
purpose of assessing the political reaction
– Reporters and their sources depend on each
other; one for stories, the other to get them out.
Reporting the News
Reporting the News
Is there bias in
the news?
Reporting the News

Bias in the News
– Many people believe the news is biased in favor
of one point of view.
– News reporting is biased towards what will
draw the largest audience; good pictures and
negative reporting???
– If it bleeds, it leads.
Dirty Laundry

I make my living off the evening news
Just give me something, something I can
use
People love it when you lose, they love
dirty laundry
Dirty Laundry

Well, I could've been an actor, but I wound
up here
I just have to look good, I don't have to be
clear
Come and whisper in my ear, give us dirty
laundry
Dirty Laundry

Kick 'em when they're up, kick 'em when
they're down
Kick 'em when they're up, kick 'em when
they're down
Kick 'em when they're up, kick 'em when
they're down
Kick 'em when they're up, kick 'em all
around
Dirty Laundry

We got the bubbleheaded bleach-blonde,
comes on at 5
She can tell you about the plane crash with
a gleam in her eye
It's interesting when people die, give us
dirty laundry
Dirty Laundry

Can we film the operation? Is the head dead
yet?
You know the boys in the newsroom got a
running bet
Get the widow on the set, we need dirty
laundry
Reporting the News

You don't really need to find out what's
going on
You don't really want to know just how far
it's gone
Just leave well enough alone, keep your
dirty laundry
Dirty Laundry

Kick 'em when they're up, kick 'em when
they're down
Kick 'em when they're up, kick 'em when
they're down
Kick 'em when they're up, kick 'em when
they're down
Kick 'em when they're stiff, kick 'em all
around
Dirty Laundry

Dirty little secrets, dirty little lies
We got our dirty little fingers in everybody's
pie
Love to cut you down to size, we love dirty
laundry
Dirty Laundry

We can do the innuendo, we can dance and
sing
When it's said and done, we haven't told
you a thing
We all know that crap is king, give us dirty
laundry
Understanding the Mass
Media

The Media and the Scope of Government
– Media as watchdog restricts politicians
– New proposals are met with skepticism which
restricts scope of government, what it can do
– If media identify a problem, and force the
government to address it, that expands the
scope of government
Understanding the Mass
Media

Individualism and the Media
– Candidates run on their own by appealing to people on
television
– Easier to focus on one person like the president, than
groups, e.g., Congress or the courts

Democracy and the Media
– “Information is the fuel of democracy.”
– But news provides more entertainment than
information; it is superficial.
– News is a business, giving people what they want.
Summary

Media shape public opinion on political
issues and influence policy agenda.

Broadcast media have replaced print media
over time.

Narrowcasting and the Internet are further
shifting media.

Seeking profits, media are biased in favor of
stories with high drama.