Longman Political Science Interactive Magleby Light Government

Role of the Internet in the 2008 Presidential Election The Internet was extremely beneficial to Barack Obama’s campaign – By March 2008, Obama had about 1 million “friends” on My. Space and Facebook • “Friends” received invitations to campaign events, links to speeches, and requests for campaign contributions – Music videos supportive of Obama on You. Tube – Obama also advertised on Web sites Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. , Publishing as Longman Hall

The Influence of the Media on Politics: Television Most people in the U. S. watch some kind of TV news every day Recent growth of around-theclock cable news and information shows Voters now rely more on TV commercials for information about candidates and issues, and less on news coverage Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. , Publishing as Longman Hall

Radio and Newspapers Radio Newspapers Continues to reach more U. S. households than TV Daily newspaper circulation has been declining, especially among younger persons Candidates use radio ads to “microtarget” particular audiences USA Today is the nation’s top-circulation newspaper Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. , Publishing as Longman Hall

The Internet More than 153 million unique domains have been registered worldwide For 37 percent of Americans, the Internet is their primary source of news The Internet provides an inexpensive way to communicate with volunteers, contributors, and voters Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. , Publishing as Longman Hall

The Changing Role of the American News Media First newspaper: Boston News-Letter, April 1704 – Avoided controversial issues During Revolutionary War, newspapers abandoned impartiality and worked to build resistance to British policies 1833, advent of the penny press Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. , Publishing as Longman Hall 1848, creation of the Associated Press Yellow journalism Centralization of ownership of newspapers in early twentieth century has continued to this day

The Impact of Broadcasting Franklin D. Roosevelt was the first president to recognize the

The Impact of Broadcasting TV added a dramatic visual dimension In 2004, an investigative team at CBS News uncovered and aired this and other photos of prisoner abuse in Abu Ghraib. Although the military had been privately investigating the situation for several months, the actions of the CBS reporters brought the tragedy into the national spotlight. Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. , Publishing as Longman Hall

Investigatory Journalism Seymour Hersh and the Pentagon Papers Robert Woodward and Carl Bernstein and Watergate Nina Totenberg and Clarence Thomas Dana Priest on the existence of secret CIA prisons Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. , Publishing as Longman Hall

Media Consolidation Emergence of large conglomerates owning multiple media outlets Rupert Murdoch, founder of the FOX network, owns 35 TV stations in the U. S. , Direc. TV, 20 th Century Fox, Harper. Collins Publishers, My. Space. com, and TV Guide, which has the largest magazine circulation in the U. S. Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. , Publishing as Longman Hall

Regulation of the Media The national government oversees TV and radio licensing, financing, and

Public Opinion Issue Framing Agenda Setting The power to set the context, to frame the issue, to interpret the facts, and potentially to provide legitimacy for people, issues, or groups are powerful and controversial functions of the media Deciding what will be decided, defining the problems and issues to be addressed by decision makers Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. , Publishing as Longman Hall

The Media and Public Opinion The ability of TV to present images and communicate events has influenced U. S. public opinion – Civil Rights movement – Vietnam War – Watergate hearings – September 11 – Hurricane Katrina Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. , Publishing as Longman Hall

Factors That Limit Media Influence on Public Opinion Political Socialization Recall and Comprehension Audience Fragmentation Selectivity Needs Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. , Publishing as Longman Hall

Are the Media Biased? Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. , Publishing as Longman Hall

The Media and Elections: Choice of Candidates Presidential candidates welcome invitations to appear with Oprah, Leno, or Letterman, and try to reformulate their messages in a light, comedic style that fits the program Consistent with the media’s focus on personality is its highlighting of mistakes and gaffes by candidates Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. , Publishing as Longman Hall

Campaign Events Officials want to control information about themselves and their policies, including the way such information is framed and presented by the media Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. , Publishing as Longman Hall

Technology With the Web, citizens now have the opportunity to interact with each other

Image Making and Media Consultants Role of media consultants: Campaign professionals who provide candidates with advice and services on media relations, advertising strategy, and opinion polling - Give advice on what colors to wear, how to behave and act on TV - Use focus groups and public opinion polls to determine what the candidate says and does A portrait of Abraham Lincoln as “Abe the Rail Splitter” Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. , Publishing as Longman Hall - Media consultants have taken over the role party politicians formerly played

The Media and Voter Choice Personality over substance The horse race Negative advertising Information about issues Making a decision Election night reporting Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. , Publishing as Longman Hall