POL 140 Fall 2014
Sources help to gather, package, and disseminate information to the public Newspapers
Radio
Television
Internet
Main goal of media has stayed the same
How information is delivered has changed
Informing
Press informs public of political events
Investigating
Researching and revealing information about events
Interpreting
Media interpret a given day’s news
Labor-intensive and expensive
Newsprint comprised of individual letters of metal type
Common Sense was mass-produced.The Federalist Papers were published in New York newspapers.
Newspapers and partisan politics
Influence of the “penny press”
Beginnings of “Yellow Journalism”
JOSEPH PULITZER WILLIAM RANDOLPH HEARST
President Franklin D. Roosevelt on Radio
THE “BIG THREE” KENNEDY VS. NIXON, 1960
Decline in Traditional Newspaper Readership
Popularity of Talk Radio
Rise of Soft News or “Infotainment”
Prevalence of Blogs
Rise and Continuation of Social Networking
Cell Phones and Text Messaging
Gatekeeper Decide what will be covered Managers of wire services, editors, reporters
Disseminator “Just the Facts,” avoid unverifiable stories Does this help the public?
Investigator Investigate problems, critically analyze and report them “Muckrakers,” Woodward and Bernstein (Watergate)
Public Mobilizer Emphasis on civic journalism Grassroots movement due to Internet, etc.
Focuses on 1940 Election
Results: People already made up minds prior to voting; campaign
did not add information
Study gave rise to minimal effects thesis
Selective Exposure
Individuals exposed to information with beliefs
Selective Perception
Individuals interpret information with beliefs
Selective Retention
Individuals recall information with beliefs
Agenda Setting
Must choose which events to cover— signal to public
Priming
Media emphasizes characteristics of people, events, or issues—and this influences public’s view
Framing
Media alters public view on issue by presentation
George W. Bush, New Orleans, post-Hurricane Katrina
IRAQ: SPIDER HOLE IRAQ: MILITARY CASKETS
James S. Brady Press Briefing Room
Obama Press Conference, East Room of White House
Depends on:
1) News model employed by journalists
2) News management technique employed by White House
Mirror Model
Professional Model
Organizational or “Bargaining” Model
Political Model
Public Journalism / Civic Journalism Model
Tight Control of Information
Tight Control of Access to Politicians
Elaborate Communications Bureaucracy
Concerted Effort to Bypass WH Press Corps
Prepackaging News in Sound Bytes