Mass Media and the political agenda The Mass

Mass Media and the political agenda

The Mass Media Today Modern political success depends upon control of the mass media Image making does not stop with the campaign It is a critical element in day-to-day governing since politicians’ images in the press are good indicators of their power

Meet the 1. master of mass media plan ahead 7 principals of Reagan 2. stay on the offensive 3. control the flow of information 4. limit reporters’ access to the president 5. talk about the issues you want to talk about 6. speak in one voice 7. repeat the same message many times

Development of Media Politics

Development of Media Politics • First it was newspapers • FDR used media effectively (1000 press conferences - fireside chats) • Vietnam and Watergate soured the press on the gov’t • now the perspective is investigative journalism (pitting reporters against political leaders)

Television As Mass Media Broadcast journalism has replaced print media as America’s principal sources o news and information 1960’s debates b/w Nixon and Kennedy Nation was taken to war with Vietnam exposed the government naïveté/lying about the progress of war today - embedded reporters Birth of cable TV IRAN CONTRA Internet - instant news

Mass Media - Regulation Ownership: large corporations & some foreign investors (Fox = Rupert Murdock Australian) Regulation: FCC licensing controls- created 1934 by Congress • FCC is independent regulatory body - but in practice it is subject to many political pressures

Mass Media - Regulation FCC Regulates market in 3 important ways • prevent near-monopolies of control over a broadcast market- rules limit number of stations owned/controlled by one company • FCC conducts periodic examinations of the goals and performance of stations as part of its licensing authority • FCC has issued a number of fair treatment rules concerning access to the airwaves for political candidates and office holders

Fairness Doctrine FCC requires those who hold broadcast licenses to present controversial issues of public concern in a fair, equitable manner don’t confuse this w/ Equal Time Rule which only deals w/ political candidates SC upheld FCC right to enforce fairness doctrine but not the obligation to do so (Red Lion Broadcasting v FCC 1969) 1987 FCC abolished the fairness doctrine

Mass Media - Regulation INTERNET has added a whole new element. . narrowcasting - increase of “broadcast” channels that are oriented toward particularly narrow audiences Traditional broadcast news is being partially replaced by political Web sites, bloggers, The Daily Show • Current pending legislation adds more limits (not more than 25% of local market) Telecommunications Act of 1996

Current Issues A bipartisan Congressional group had asked the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to investigate Google's alleged policy of blocking high-cost calls to rural areas. According to Reuters, the legislators described Google's position as "ill conceived and unfair to our rural constituents. " With the release of the Federal Communications Commission's new Internet nondiscrimination proposals (that is, network neutrality), one vexing question continues to vex. Does the FCC have the legal authority to regulate access to the 'Net? Comcast, which is suing the FCC for its sanctions against the ISP for last year's P 2 P throttling, told a federal court hearing the case that the answer is no. …. AND NOW SOPA/PIPA

The Net at Risk

REporting the news

REporting the news American media is free and independent when it comes to journalistic content - still totally dependent on advertising revenues to keep the business going. News reporting is a business in America in which profits shape how journalist define what is newsworthy, where they get their information, and how they present it. TV networks, it could be said, define news as what is entertaining to the average viewer

Mass Media - Signific. Ance of Ownership National level: impact on elections and everyday politics – daily news, campaign ads, in-depth news shows, campaign sites Star quality of some news journalists( Brian Williams, Katie Couric, Wolf Blitzer…) “experts” • Stories presented driven by hidden agendas (ie: corporate ownership) • Most stories accepted by the public as FACT • Emerging role of the internet as a legitimate news source (CNN, CMBC, MSNBC) and as a more questionable source (Drudge Report)

Consider the Following

Various Roles of Mass Media

Mass Media - Role as Gatekeeper Controls what is news and for how long • Auto safety, water pollution, crime rates, etc. • Can help to set or swing the political agenda • Can be biased • By ownership of the media • By ability to “sell” a story (or advertising) • Journalist’s personal bias

Mass Media - Agenda Setter • People try to influence the gov’ts policy agenda when they confront gov’t officials with problems they expect them to solve. • Interest groups, political parties, politicians, public relations firms, and bureaucratic agencies are all pushing for their priorities to take precedence over others. • Political activists (often called policy entrepreneurs - people who invest their “political capital” in an issue) depend heavily on the media to get their ideas placed high on the governmental agenda

Mass Media - Effect on Politics Campaigning Largest factor in driving up the cost of campaigns Equal time rule doesn’t affect all Perot) rd (3 parties – ie: Necessity of exposure: key to nomination Can show a bias

Mass Media - Bias in Media Not all bias is deliberate but can be detected by watching the following techniques: Selection & ommission: choice of news items; content & details used/not; words used Placement: first page stories/above fold; lead off stories – reflect significance Headlines: most read part of the paper – wording & size can reflect bias Photos & camera angle: visual portrayal can show bias as can captions

Mass Media - Bias in Media Names & titles: choice of words such as “terrorist” or “freedom fighter” clearly indicate bias Statistics: opinion can be reflected in method of counting – “a hundred injured in crash” vs. “minor injuries in crash” Source: supplier of the information and their credibility – PR director’s puffpiece; staged-events (sit-ins, ribbon cutting, demonstration) Word choice & tone: use of positive or negative words – value judgments Media ownership: trying not to offend sponsors, ownership, etc

Mass Media - Effect on Politics Conducting Politics Events like conventions, Presidential addresses are staged to accommodate media, esp. electronic Issues are established by media attention Affects the popularity of President and Congress What does Wag The Dog mean? Media can be manipulated By government: press conferences and “leaks” Investigative report shows (Dateline, 20/20) that attempt to influence agenda and cause distrust (Dan Rather’s debacle in Campaign 2004 - Bush Nat’l Guard story)

Mass Media - Role as Scorekeeper Decides who is winning and losing Disproportionate attention given to kill and candidate) st 1 primaries (can shape the campaign or Can be found in regular news as well as the election news (i. e. , presenting an issue as if it has “lost” such as a piece of legislation before the vote)

Mass Media - Role as Watchdog Exposing scandals and intrigues Began with Woodward and Bernstein breaking Watergate in The Washington Post Especially seen in election analysis of candidates Can drive policy by “creating” an issue Time magazine cover on Bob Dole’s Age 1996 Monica Lewinsky/Bill Clinton publicity Swiftboat Controversy in 2004

Mass Media The media act as a linkage institution between people and the policymakers It has a profound impact on the political policy agenda Robert Gibbs Pres. Obama’s press secretary

Mass Media

Mass Media Watchdog function of media helps to keep gov’t small many people feel the media is biased against whoever holds office and that reporters want to expose them in the media With every new proposal being met with skepticism, regular constraints are placed on gov’t growth

Mass Media Of course, when the media focuses on injustice in society, the media inevitably encourage the growth of gov’t. The media portray gov’t as responsible for handling almost every major problem

Mass Media TV has furthered individualism in the American political process candidates can appeal directly to the people through TV has it made political parties decline in the face of candidates’ personalities?

Mass Media The rise of the “information society” has not brought about a corresponding rise of an “informed society” With media’s superficial treatment of important policy issues, it is clear the increase in the amount and availability of information has not increased voters political participation/awareness