The Influence of the Media on Politics Whenever

The Influence of the Media on Politics Whenever there is a crisis, most people turn first to television for information

The Influence of the Media on Politics • The Pervasiveness of Television - Television becomes major news source in 1960 s. - It remains a major news source today. - Movement away from network news to cable. - Growth of comedy news programs. • The Persistence of Radio - Radio news evolved in early 1900 s. - Today, talk radio is a source of political commentary. • The Declining Importance of Newspapers • The World Wide Web

The Pervasiveness of Television The growth of around-the-clock cable news and information shows is one of the most important developments in recent years. Half of the public are regular viewers of CNN, CNBC, MSNBC, or Fox News.

The Changing Role of the American News Media • The Impact on Broadcasting - Franklin D. Roosevelt was the first president to recognize the effectiveness of radio to reach the public -The televised Presidential Debate between Kennedy and Nixon

The Changing Role of the American News Media • • Newspapers first appeared as early as 1690. First newspaper: Boston News. Letter, April 1704 – Avoided controversial issues During Revolutionary War, newspapers abandon impartiality and work to build resistance to British policies 1833 advent of the penny press 1848, creation of the Associated Press Yellow journalism Centralization of ownership of newspapers in early 20 th century has continued to this day -“You provide the pictures, I’ll provide the war. ”

Radio and Newspapers Radio Newspapers • One household in 100 does not have a radio, compared with 4 in 100 without television • Daily newspaper circulation is one copy for every six people • 9 out of 10 people listen to the radio every week; 8 out of 10 do so every day • Core newspaper audience is aging • USA Today is the nation’s top-circulation newspaper

The Internet

The Changing Role of the American News Media • Media Conglomerates A media conglomerate, media group or media institution is a company that owns large numbers of companies in various mass media such as television, radio, publishing, movies, and the Internet. Media conglomerates strive for policies that facilitate their control of the markets across the globe.

POLITICAL USES OF MEDIA Intentional Explicit Content is explicitly political and intends to change political beliefs or behavior Implicit Political content is implied and intent is change political beliefs or behavior Unintentional Content is explicitly political, but with no intent to influence political behavior or beliefs Whatever political content and consequences that may exist are unintentional

POLITICAL USES OF MEDIA Intentional Unintentional Explicit Political ads, PSAs, Documentaries News Implicit Political values in entertainment programming Vast majority of entertainment programming

Sources of Media Power Interpreting 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 Socializing The media is an agent of socialization, teaching us political facts and opinions that help form our political belief-structures and our political culture

Mediated Politics • Public Opinion • Agenda Setting - The media’s ability to determine which issues will be covered, in what detail, and in what context - and conversely, of deciding which stories are “not news” and thus are not going to be covered • Issue Framing - Issue framing in a political context, means presenting an issue in a way that will likely get the most agreement from others. From a political sense, language is often used as a way to gain compliance on contentious points

Public Opinion Issue Framing 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 Agenda Setting Deciding what will be presented, defining the problems and issues to be addressed by decision makers

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

The Media and Elections • Campaign Events How does the media affect campaigns? • Determining “frontrunning candidates” • Charging for advertising • Televising debates • Portraying charismatic politicians as more “electable”

The Media and Elections • Technology - With the Web, citizens now have the opportunity to interact with each other on a wide range of political topics • Image Making and Media Consultants A portrait of Abraham Lincoln as “Abe the Rail Splitter” and Barack Obama as a family man. • The Media Impact on Voter Choice o Personality over Substance o The Horse Race o Negative Advertising o Information About Issues

The Media and Elections • The Media Impact on Voter Choice o Making A Decision o Election Night Reporting • The Media and Governance o When policies are being formulated and implemented, decision makers are at their most impressionable. o Some critics contend that the media’s pressuring policy makers to provide immediate answers forces them to make hasty decisions.