Chapter 15The News Media

Where do people get their news?

Mass media includes Print sources Movies Radio Television New Media

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Print Media Early partisan press Penny press Yellow Journalism Muckraking

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Radio News

FDR’s fireside chats Today

AM Talk—conservative dominance Liberals: National Public Radio

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Television News Network News Cable News: C-SPAN Comedy News: SNL, the

Daily Show, the Colbert Report

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New Media

The Internet Blogs

Redstate.org, dailykos.com

Social networking sites Facebook, Twitter

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Citizen Journalists

The rise of citizen journalists Internet Traditional media

Pro: Democratization Con: Untrained in rules and standards of journalism

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Media and the political agenda

Many people wouldn’t be concerned with issues if they weren’t in the media

The media has control over what people become concerned about, but not how they react to it

Public view on the media

Most people believe the media, especially what they see on t.v.

The percentage of people that believe the media is biased is increasing

The press itself believes it is unbiased

Roles played by the Nat'l media

Gatekeeper: they decide what becomes news and for how long

Scorekeeper: they keep up with what is going on

Watchdog: investigate personalities/ expose scandals

Narrowcasting

Fierce competition to attract viewers and the rise of cable and satellite television have led media outlets to move toward narrowcasting

Fox News versus MSNBC Spanish-language news programs on stations such as Univision and

Telemundo Black Entertainment Television Pat Robertson’s Christian Broadcasting Network

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Toward Reform: News Media Influence, News Media Bias, and Public Confidence

News Media Influence on public opinion Sway people who lack a strong opinion Bring attention to issues removed from daily lives Agenda setting Framing

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How the News Media Cover Politics

How the Press and Public Figures Interact Press releases Press briefings and press conferences

Covering the Presidency Receives the most media attention The press secretary

Covering Congress Cover leaders of parties and committees

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Rules governing the media

Newspapers Vs electronic media: Prior Restraint-The constitution says you

cannot place restrictions ahead of time on newspapers (only in very narrow circumstances), however you can punish afterward

Radio and t.v. networks are regulated. Both require licenses to air

News leaks

Contrary to many other democracies, printing government secrets is not illegal

Many leaks occur because of the competition between governmental branches. Each branch competes with one another by leaking information about projects and such to make themselves look better

Government and journalists

Abundance of congressional staffers makes it easy for reporters to get information for their stories

Reporters who bash the president are frowned upon however those who write good about the president are benefited with news leaks and tips for stories