Evolution of Media in the US

Transcription

1 The Media Part I Thse wh rule have always had an interest in shaping the perceptins f thse they wish t rule. But never in the histry f humanity has their tlbx been s full. Advances in technlgy and psychlgy have enabled the messages f the rulers t permeate ur cnsciusness t a degree n prir sciety culd have imagined. James Rzff

2 Evlutin f Media in the US first newspapers published in American clnies in 1690 weeklies, n reprters, basically printed anything and everything The first editrs discvered readers lved it when they criticized the lcal gvernr. The gvernrs discvered they culd shut dwn the newspapers. Washingtn despised the press but a free press is a necessary cmpnent f a demcratic sciety. infrms the public prvides infrmatin needed t chse leaders and influence public plicy

3 Evlutin f Media in the US partisan press: After 1750, general news became accessible, and newspapers shwed mre and mre interest in public affairs. Eventually became strnghlds f patritism and, later, partisan bitterness. As party plitics develped, s did the parties relatinships with newspapers. mst were ne-sided printed the party line Until the Civil War, almst all newspapers were partisan. Many received subsidies r patrnage frm the party s supprters. 1848: creatin f Assciated Press (AP) wire service

4 Evlutin f Media in the US partisan press gave way t penny press penny press: fcused n scandal made pssible by new high speed presses that allwed the cheap printing f tens f thusands f papers a day discvered sensatinalism sells papers still partisan Cleveland vs. Blaine scandals in 1884 electin: Cleveland accused f fathering child ut-f-wedlck, Blaine accused f financial wrngding and assciatin with minister wh made sme unfrtunate cmments abut ppsitin Cleveland and running-mate Hendricks

5 Evlutin f Media in the US Publishers began t see that they need nt alienate ptential readers with highly partisan fferings. Partisanship became relegated t the editrial pages. yellw jurnalism: frm f newspaper publishing in vgue in late 19 th century, featured pictures, cmics, clr and sensatinalized, versimplified news cverage William Randlph Hearst, Jseph Pulitzer invlvement in the declaratin f war against Spain magazines: first majr natinal medium... aimed at larger natinal audience f middle-class, educated readers McClure s, Csmplitan, Munsey s, later Cllier s and the Saturday Evening Pst

6 Evlutin f Media in the US muckrakers: frm f jurnalism cncerned with refrming gvernment and business cnduct, investigative jurnalism in vgue in the early 20 th century (muckraker: reference t a character in Jhn Bunyan's Pilgrim's Prgress) Julius Chambers, Nellie Bly radi: the first device t allw fr mass cmmunicatin... used by military in WWI, bradcasting began in Eurpe and US after the war three imprtant characteristics f US radi: licensing system, imprtance f advertising, emergence f natinal radi netwrks 1920: Westinghuse Cmpany applied fr a cmmercial radi license... first bradcast was the electin returns f the Harding-Cx presidential race

7 Evlutin f Media in the US Natinal Public Radi: American privately and publicly funded nn-prfit membership media rganizatin that has served as a natinal syndicatr t a netwrk f 900 public radi statins since 1970 call-in talk shws: mre recent develpment... mstly appeal t middle-aged, male cnservatives (tp five: Rush Limbaugh Shw, Mrning Editin, Sean Hannity Shw, All Things Cnsidered, Delilah) Currently, ne husehld in 100 des nt have a radi, cmpared with 4 in 100 withut televisin. 9 ut f 10 peple listen t the radi every week; 8 ut f 10 d s every day.

8 Evlutin f Media in the US Franklin D. Rsevelt was the first president t recgnize the effectiveness f radi t reach the public.

9 Evlutin f Media in the US televisin: first public demnstratin f televisin tk place at the NY Wrld s Fair in : first televised electin results 1949: 6% f Americans wned televisin set, less than 50% f public had ever seen a televisin prgram 1952: 45% f Americans wned televisin set, first televised presidential campaign advertisements 1959: 90% f Americans wned televisin set (10 years t g frm 6% t 90%) 1960: first televised presidential campaign debate 1979: C-SPAN funded, live rund-the-clck cverage f gvernment and plitics 1980: CNN begins prviding 24-hur news cverage 1992: TV talk shws begin t circumvent news shws

10 Evlutin f Media in the US internet: remarkable rise in verall use... new mechanism fr cmmunicatin amng citizens, and between citizens and gvernment 1996: fficial candidate hme pages begin t appear n web 2000: explsin f web as a primary campaign tl fr candidates... 9% f Americans claimed t receive news frm the Internet 2004: blgs ppular frum fr disbursement f plitical news and cmmentary Majr netwrks and newspapers, US gvernment and freign surces als ffer their news nline.

11 Evlutin f Media in the US In early 2005, ff-the-recrd cmments by CNN chief news executive Easn Jrdn were published by a private citizen in an internet blg. Large news rganizatins then published the cmments, ultimately resulting in Jrdan s resignatin frm CNN. The lessn: News rganizatins can n lnger dminate the infrmatin that citizens receive. Is this gd r bad fr demcracy? The internet makes wide range f news surces available t citizens while lwering barriers t publicatin and encuraging develpment f hme-grwn media and aspiring plitical reprters. The internet is purpsive... peple chse what t learn abut.

12 Evlutin f Media in the US With the web, citizens nw have the pprtunity t interact with each ther n a wide range f plitical tpics.

13 Evlutin f Media in the US Despite the wealth f infrmatin available nline, there is n cnclusive evidence that citizens are better infrmed plitically than they were befre the rise f internet-based news. dn t knw where t lk fr plitical infrmatin dn t search wide range f surces but tend t fcus narrwly n sites that share their plitical views nt interested in reading bring stries abut plitics infrmatin available nline is f questinable reliability Internet much less regulated than ther news frmats are. Histry f the Internet

14 Evlutin f Media in the US Mre than 250 millin unique dmain names have been registered. Fr 25% f Americans, the internet is their primary surce f news.

15 Evlutin f Media in the US Internet Grws as Campaign News Surce,

16 Evlutin f Media in the US mass media frms f cmmunicatin that are technlgically capable f reaching mst peple and ecnmically affrdable t mst have existed fr less than tw centuries a key linkage institutin between the peple and plicymakers plitical pwer related t cntrl f infrmatin Rise f infrmatin sciety has nt brught abut an infrmed sciety as mass media are superficial abut imprtant plicy issues. An American Media Timeline, 1700 t 2013

17 Evlutin f Media in the US Scilgists refer t the US as a mediated culture where media bth reflect and create the culture. Cmmunities and individuals are bmbarded cnstantly with messages frm a multitude f surces. These messages prmte nt nly prducts, but mds, attitudes and a sense f what is and is nt imprtant. Mass media make pssible the cncept f celebrity... withut the ability t reach acrss thusands f miles, peple culd nt becme famus. While pinins vary as t the extent and type f influence the mass media wield, everyne agrees that mass media are a permanent part f mdern culture.

18 Evlutin f Media in the US What media surce was ppular during the funding f the US? What media surces are the mst ppular tday? Why d yu think print media is in demise?

19 Cntemprary Media newspapers: decline in number f cities with mre than ne... grwth f chain wnership, chains: massive media cnglmerates that accunt fr ver fur-fifths f natin s daily newspaper circulatin (als cntrl bradcast media)... three rugh categries f newspapers: natinal, serius and in-depth... tend t prvide mre cmprehensive and high-quality infrmatin but Americans increasingly favr televisin as a surce f news... Currently, daily newspaper circulatin is ne cpy fr every five peple. USA Tday is the natin s tp-circulatin newspaper. magazines: increasingly marginal as news surce... number is grwing but few fcus n gvernment and plitics

20 Cntemprary Media radi: nt dminant, but ppular... grwth f talk radi (satellites transmit ne prgram t hundreds f statins) televisin: 99% f all US husehlds have at least ne set, average is fur... netwrk system had dminated but declined dramatically due t UHF and cable... rise f niche audiences that tune int news utlets that share their preexisting views

21 Cntemprary Media annual audience trends, 2016

22 Cntemprary Media media verall: fragmentatin prvide the ptential fr citizens t gain access t a variety f infrmatin Main Surces f Campaign News, Main Surce f Campaign News by Party

23 Cntemprary Media The Pervasiveness f Televisin: The grwth f arund-theclck cable news and infrmatin shws is ne f the mst imprtant develpments in recent years. Half f the public are regular viewers f CNN, CNBC, MSNBC r Fx News.

24 Organizatin f Mass Media crprate wnership Mergers and buyuts f media and entertainment cmpanies since the 1980s have led t increasing cncentratin f wnership. By the end f 2006, there were nly 8 giant media cmpanies dminating the US: Disney, AOL-Time Warner, Viacm, General Electric (NBC), News Crp, Yah, Micrsft, Ggle. Influences f advertisers and wners have enrmus impact n hw mainstream media shape itself and sciety.

25 Organizatin f Mass Media crprate wnership Cmmercially driven, ultra-pwerful mass market media are primarily lyal t spnsrs (advertisers and gvernment) rather than t the public interest. A few cmpanies representing the interests f a minrity elite cntrl the public airwaves. Healthy, market-based cmpetitin is absent, leading t slwer innvatin and increased prices.

26 Organizatin f Mass Media crprate wnership If cmpanies dminating a media market chse t suppress stries that d nt serve their interests, the public suffers since it is nt adequately infrmed f crucial issues that may affect it. inftainment: tendency f news netwrks t sensatinalize news prfit mtive: primary purpse is t make prfit... must appeal t audience, attract advertisers, satisfy sharehlders

27 Organizatin f Mass Media Rupert Murdch Why shuld we be cncerned abut the cncentratin f wnership in the media?

28 Media s Rles in Demcracy The central idea f demcracy is that rdinary citizens shuld cntrl what their gvernment des. Yet, this requires citizens t have cmprehensive, accurate and bjective infrmatin abut plitics. Framers believed newspapers and pamphlets were fr cmmunicatin and deliberatin. Media ften act as... gatekeeper: prcess thrugh which infrmatin is filtered fr disseminatin, whether fr publicatin, bradcasting, the internet r sme ther mde f cmmunicatin screkeeper: keep scre, reprt n plitical trends n state and natinal levels... fcus n plitical issues that affect vters and the reputatins f plitical candidates and elected fficials... als ften used in reference t electins

29 Media s Rles in Demcracy: Watchdg act as a watchdg ver gvernment Press must be free t reprt the news as it is, withut censrship. prtected by the First Amendment unique prtectin nt fund in mst ther cuntries Still, ther factrs may limit the willingness and ability f the American media t perfrm this rle. The relatinship between jurnalists and pliticians is cmplicated. They need ne anther, yet they ften clash.

30 Media s Rles in Demcracy: Set Public Agenda agenda setting: prcess whereby the news media lead the public in assigning imprtance t varius public issues salience: the imprtance f an issue CNN effect: purprted ability f TV t raise a distant freign affairs situatin t natinal prminence by bradcasting vivid pictures types f agendas media agenda: tpics cvered by media public agenda: tpics public believes t be imprtant plicy agenda: issues that decisin makers believe are imprtant agenda cutting: if media chses nt t talk abut smething, peple will be uninfrmed abut the issue

31 Media s Rles in Demcracy: Set Public Agenda Whenever there is a crisis, mst peple turn first t televisin fr infrmatin.

32 Media s Rles in Demcracy: Set Public Agenda plicy entrepreneurs: peple wh invest their plitical capital in an issue t get it placed high n gvernmental agenda... use media t raise awareness f issue media and natinal security: Tensin exists between the American citizen s need fr infrmatin and the need fr the gvernment t keep secrets t prtect natinal security. clarify what electral chices the public has: What d the parties stand fr? What d we knw abut candidates persnal character, knwledge, experience, psitins n the issues? present a full and enlightening set f ideas abut public plicy t the public: Are current plicies wrking? What are the prs and cns f particular plicies? What are the alternatives? The media affect which issues and prblems peple think abut, even if the media d nt determine what psitins peple adpt.

33 Media s Rles in Demcracy: Free Exchange supprt the free exchange f ideas, infrmatin and pinins transmit infrmatin abut prblems and issues Help vters make their chices. Des media bias cause media cverage t fall shrt f the ideal?

34 Media s Rles in Demcracy: Free Exchange The media nt nly prvide an arena fr plitics, they are themselves players in that arena.

35 Media s Rles in Demcracy: Scializatin The media play a rle in scializing individuals. nt clear hw this influences American plitics culd accunt fr the widespread cncern ver crime r increasing acceptance f sexual practices nce cnsidered unacceptable cncerns ver prtrayal f gvernment and minrities (particularly African Americans) X-Files and 24: leadership crrupt, gd guys always rgue agents steretyping minrities n TV

36 Cntinued in The Media Part II