Media as a Linkage Institution Why is media

Media as a Linkage Institution

Why is media a linkage institution? • Media educates citizens and politicians • For politicians, candidates, and interest groups: – They use media to communicate a message integral to political success • Politicians want to: gain control of and influence the political agenda

Media Events! • Politicians will often hold media events to communicate an image • Typically, a candidate will spend 60 -70% of his/her campaign funds on television ads, commercials, print media, etc. • Media Event example: – President Barack Obama – https: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=b 715 GKJNWXA – What is President Obama talking about in this video? ____________________________________________

Types of media • Broadcast media: television programs, more popularly watched and followed – Examples: Nightly News, ABC World News Tonight, etc. • Print media: written news articles; these are commonly more popular amongst the more politically informed, activist types – Examples: The Washington Post, The New York Times, The Washington Times, USA Today

The Rise of Cable News • Narrowcasting: viewers can select what information they want and what they do not want (selective attention/”tuning stuff out”) and they would rather watch sitcoms, TV dramas, reality T. V. , etc. • As a result, the electorate is less knowledgeable, more suspicious of politicians, more unaware of everyday political activity, and policymaking/agenda, and simply less politically involved

20 th Century (and beyond) Changes to Media • Radio, T. V. , press conferences, debate, internet (i. e. youtube debates, individual websites, etc. ) • In the 1800 s, we had yellow journalism; today, we have investigative journalism = detective-like reporting methods to unearth scandals and negative interest stories – Today, this makes news more adversarial and watchdog

1960 s- Present • More negative • More focused on politician’s daily behaviors and personality lack of depth in content • SOUND BITES: 10 seconds on average; in the ‘ 60 s, they were 40 seconds • http: //www. theguardian. com/usnews/2016/feb/07/marco-rubio-republicandebate-repeat-line-christie

Roles of Media • Watchdog – Scrutinizing the behavior and decisions of public officials – In the late 20 th century, there was a significant rise in the popularity of investigative journalism – Since then, this type of journalism has declined – Clips: • http: //thedailyshow. cc. com/videos/4 d 109 s/investigati ng-investigative-journalism

Roles of Media, Con’t. • Gatekeeper/agenda setter – The media determines what they will print or cover and in turn, this dramatically affects what the public knows about

Roles of Media, Con’t. • Scorekeeper/horserace journalism – Media keeps track of where candidates and those in office stand in the polls, especially during an election year – Clip: • http: //www. cbsnews. com/news/poll-south-carolinastill-solidly-for-donald-trump-hillary-clinton/