Chapter 12 Outline. Internet is a new important tool in politics, but there has always been trouble between the media and politics

Transcription

1 Chapter 12 Outline The Media And Plitics Internet is a new imprtant tl in plitics, but there has always been truble between the media and plitics Public fficials try t get media n their side Media lves cntrversy and are just as likely t critique as t praise On the Internet, pliticians create web pages and directly influence the vters, but s can their rivals Americans are strngly cmmitted t free press, s there is little the gvernment can d abut it In Britain, it is easier t sue newspapers fr publishing articles, but in the U.S. libel laws make it practically impssible Freedm f Infrmatin Act makes it relatively easy fr the press t extract dcuments frm the gvernment The Cnstitutin prtects all statements, even thse that are blatantly wrng Newspapers dn't need gvernment license, but radi and televisin d; these licenses are granted by the Federal Cmmunicatins Cmmissin, and must be renewed peridically Tw ptential limits t the freedm f privately wned newspapers: Must make a prfit; need fr prfit will bring sme media utlets t distrt the truth, but every media utlet has t satisfy a variety f peple Media bias; if the majrity f reprters share a similar view, then they will nly tell ne side f the stry Jurnalism In American Plitical Histry Changes in the nature f plitics has gne hand-in-hand with majr changes in the rganizatin and technlgy f the press The Party Press In the early years, pliticians created, spnsred, and cntrlled newspapers t further their interests This was pssible because circulatin was small and newspapers

2 were expensive Few large advertisers t pay fr the prductin f the newspapers During Gerge Washingtn's administratin, the Federalists created the Gazette f the United States and the Republicans created the Natinal Gazette During this era, there were ver 50 jurnalists n a gvernment payrll Papers became very partisan, and rarely culd yu find ne that supprted bth sides The Ppular Press Self-supprting, mass-readership daily newspapers began rising numbers alng with changes in sciety and technlgy The telegraph meant that news culd be sent t and frm Washingtn in an instant In 1848, the Assciated Press was created, which allwed telegraphic disseminatin f infrmatin t newspaper editrs n a systematic basis The Assciated Press prvided brief stries t newspapers f every plitical bias, and s culdn't affrd t be partisan; they presented the facts bjectively s they culd attract the mst subscribers Natin became mre urbanized, and peple payed a penny per cpy and patrnized merchants wh advertised in the pages Newspapers didn't need plitical patrnage anymre In 1860, the creatin f the Gvernment Printing Office brught an end t mst printing cntracts in Washingtn Still very partisan The way t attract readers was thrugh sensatinalism: vilence, rmance, patritism, with expsés f gvernment, plitics, business, and sciety Media ften used t influence sciety; William Randlph Hearst sent an artist t Cuba t supply paintings f the cnflict, and wrte articles n real and imagined Spanish brutalities t persuade the public t favr interventin Mass-readership newspapers began t create a cmmn natinal culture, establish the feasibility f a press free f gvernment cntrl, and demnstrate hw exciting and prfitable the criticism f public plicy and the revelatin f public scandal culd be Magazines Of Opinin

3 Middle class ften repelled by "yellw jurnalism" Develping a taste fr plitical refrm and a belief in the dctrines f the prgressive mvement A variety f natinal magazines appeared that discussed issues f public plicy; they prvided the means f develping a cnstituency fr certain issues such as regulating business, purifying municipal plitics, and refrming the civil service system Lincln Steffens and ther "muckrakers" frequently cntributed t the magazines, setting a pattern fr what we nw call "investigative reprting" Gave individual writers a chance t gain natinwide fllwing Mre successful papers bught up r eliminated cmpetitin, which reduced mre extreme frms f sensatinalism, which was reinfrced by the grwing sphisticatin and educatin f the readers The funding publishers were replaced with less flambyant managers All these changes gave editrs and reprters mre pwer Hwever, nwadays the majrity f the magazine is fcused n ppular entertainment and leisure activities instead f plitics Electrnic Jurnalism Radi came in the 1920s and televisin in the late 1940s; these tw dramatically changed the way news was gathered and disseminated A bradcast permits public fficials t speak directly t audiences withut their remarks being filtered thrugh editrs and reprters Peple culd ignre a speech bradcast, but nt always newspaper displays Space in a newspaper is cheap cmpared t time n televisin T gain the advantage f electrnic media, public fficials must d smething sufficiently bld r clrful enugh t gain free access, r find the mney t pay fr it Three big netwrks: ABC, CBS, and NBC all claim 80% f all viewers Cvered primaries, party cnventins, general electin campaigns, and presidential debates In the last few decades, newscasts have made it harder fr candidates t get their message acrss Sund bites, radi r vide clip f smene speaking, have been

4 shrtened frm the average being 42 secnds t 7.3 secnds Other surces available: cable televisin, early-mrning news, etc. Mst pliticians crave media sptlight, during campaigns and when in ffice; effrts t get "visuals" n televisin cntinue after electin The Internet Half f all Americans fund their plitical news n the Internet in 2008 Variety f views, blgs, rumrs fund n the Wrld Wide Web Internet nw plays a big rle in plitics: Raising mney Organize peple t attend meetings Take instant pinin plls Disseminate instant criticism f yur ppnent Mbilize lcal fllwers Target campaigners with the names f peple they shuld cntact Every candidate fr imprtant ffices has a web page Vters and plitical activists can talk t each ther Sme wrry that , YuTube, Facebk, text messaging, blgs and Twitter islate peple frm ne anther, and make public pinin mre extreme Several studies have been dne, with n clear answer The Structure Of The Media Pliticians take advantage f the cmmunicatins media makes available, and media uses plitics t entertain and infrm their audience Prcess f selectin, editing, and emphasis, that reflects hw the media is rganized, what audiences they seek t serve, and the pinins f the members f the media Degree Of Cmpetitin Large decline in the numbers f daily newspapers Only half as many peple between the ages f read newspapers, cmpared t the number in 1970 The American Press is made up f lcally wned and managed

5 enterprises In Britain, France, Germany, Japan and Sweden, the media is perated natinally American newspaper is riented mre twards lcal, rather than natinal, news Early-mrning and late-evening news is still largely plitical, scial, and sprts news, in part because f regulatins created by FCC Until the mid-1990s, yu culd wn and perate nly ne newspaper, ne AM radi statin, ne FM radi statin, r ne televisin netwrk The Natinal Media Partially ffset by the emergence f certain publicatins and bradcast services that cnstitute a kind f natinal press Wire services supply mst f the natinal news lcal papers publish Certain magazines have a natinal readership Several papers have acquired natinal influence, thugh mst nly have lcal audiences Newspapers have natinal standing fr several reasns: Distribute a lt f cpies (ver 1 r 2 millin a day) Papers are carefully fllwed by plitical elites Radi and televisin ften decide what they shuld bradcast based n frnt pages f sme f the papers, particularly the Washingtn Times and the New Yrk Times Editrs and reprters f natinal press are usually better educated and better paid than fr lcal papers Writers fr natinal press have distinctly liberal views, and seek t write articles n "backgrund," investigative, r interpretive stries Natinal press plays three rles: Gatekeeper: press can influence what subjects becme natinal plitical issues and fr hw lng Screkeeper: press keeps track f and helps make plitical reputatins, nte wh is "mentined" as a presidential candidate, and help decide wh is winning r lsing in Washingtn plitics; leads the press t cver presidential electins as if they were hrse races rather than chices amng plicies Watchdg: the press scrutinize everyne; have an instinctive,

6 prfitable, desire t investigate persnalities and expse scandals, tlerant n underdgs and tugh n frnt-runners Newspapers and televisin statins play these rles differently: Newspaper can cver mre stries, and in greater depth; less cmpetitin; mre freedm, less mney Televisin has mre cmpetitin, brief, punchy stries, little freedm, and mre prfit Rules Gverning The Media The least cmpetitive media utlets have almst n gvernment regulatin, while mre cmpetitive nes must have a license and fllw gvernment regulatins Such narrw restrictins are placed upn the papers, that even if what they say is false, ne must prve that it was written with malicius intent Als laws prtecting an individual's privacy, but this desn't matter with newspapers It is illegal fr the paper t incite thers t vilently verthrw the gvernment Cnfidentiality Of Surces Reprters believe they have a right t keep their surces cnfidential, sme states agree, but the federal gvernment and mst states dn't Supreme Curt has upheld the right f the gvernment t cmpel reprters t divulge infrmatin as part f a prperly cnducted criminal investigatin, if it bears cmmissin f a crime Regulating Bradcasting N ne can perate a radi r televisin statin withut a license FCC can rder statins t reduce vilence, increase the prprtin f "public service," r alter the way it prtrays varius ethnic grups Mvement has arisen t deregulate statins, because there are nw s many statins, that cmpetitin shuld be allwed t determine hw each statin defines and serves cmmunity needs Radi has been deregulated the mst Befre 1992, a cmpany culd wn ne AM and ne FM statin in each market

7 In 1992, the numbers were dubled In 1996, the Telecmmunicatins Act allwed a cmpany t wn eight statins in large markets, five in small nes, and as many as they wanted natinally A few large cmpanies nw wn mst f the big-market radi statins Lser editrial restrictins that accmpanied deregulatin mean that a greater variety f pinins and shws can be fund Fairness Dctrine nce required bradcasters t air bth sides f a stry, but nw FCC relies n the amunt f cmpetitin t manage differences in pinin There is still an equal time rule when selling advertising time t plitical candidates that yu must sell equal time t bth Campaigning Equal time rule nce meant news statins culdn't bradcast a debate withut inviting all candidates and must cver them as a "news event" Nw they can spnsr a debate between majr candidates Presidential candidates always use televisin When running fr senatr r representative, candidates may r may nt use televisin, depending n whether the bundaries f their district cnfrm with the bundaries f the televisin market, therwise they will be advertising t peple wh wn't be able t vte fr them A market is an area easily reached by the televisin signal, and there are abut 200 markets in the U.S. Media relies heavily n hrse-race jurnalism, which is cvering a campaign based n guesses abut wh is ging t win, rather than the candidates psitin n issues Are The Natinal Media Biased? Everyne believes media has a prfund effect n plitics Members f media have a distinct plitical attitude, which affects what they write What they write r say ften has an affect n citizens A Liberal Majrity Studies shw that members f the natinal press are mre liberal than

8 the average citizen Members are als mre secular In recent years, they have becme even mre liberal; 45% f Americans think they are t liberal A fifth f all Americans listen t radi talk shws every day, and anther tenth listen several times a week Cnservative talk shws are mre cmmn Mre self-described cnservatives than liberals Cnservative listeners d nt think their views are reflected in big-city newspapers, majr televisin netwrks, etc. and are drawn t talk shws that represent their views Liberal audience is split up; Hispanics listen t Spanish bradcasts, African-Americans prefer black hsts that fcus n black cmmunity issues Neutral And Objective? Jurnalistic philsphy in the U.S. is that the news shuld be neutral and bjective Three kinds f news stries: Rutine stries, media stries abut events regularly cvered by reprters Feature stries, media stries abut stries that, thugh public, are nt regularly cvered by reprters, reflects the editrs and reprters plitical views Insider stries, media stries abut events that are usually nt made public, reflects the editrs and reprters plitical views What party is in ffice affects what the headlines will be in the paper; if its a Demcrat, then the headline is mre psitive n the situatin in the White Huse, and if its a Republican, then it tends t be mre negative A newspaper's bias reflects the bias f its readers, nt the wner's beliefs Media's Influence Sme peple are influenced by what they see r hear but thers are nt Selective attentin is a psychlgical prcess in which ne pays attentin nly t what they want t pay attentin t Study dne that shwed that editrial views affected news cverage, which in turn, affected plitical attitudes

9 Anther study shws that what citizens believe r say abut certain plicy reflects what the media has t say abut the plicy Media influence has its limits hwever; when it cmes t certain issues citizens have persnal experience with, media des very little Gvernment And The News Prminence Of The President Thedre Rsevelt was the first president t raise the systematic cultivatin f the press t an art frm Gave inside stries nly t friendly reprters, he made sure he did things newswrthy, and built a rm especially fr reprters, and the reprters adred him Franklin Rsevelt institutinalized this system by making his press secretary a majr instrument fr cultivating and managing, as well as infrming, the press Tday, secretary heads a large staff that meets the reprters, briefs the president n questins he is likely t be asked, attempts t cntrl the flw f news frm cabinet departments t the press, and arranges briefings fr ut-f-twn editrs Cverage Of Cngress Cngress isn't sure hw t cmpete with the attentin the president is nw getting The Huse was nce very restrictive abut televisin r radi cverage f its prceedings, but is nw mre bradcasted The Senate has always used televisin mre ften than the Huse, althugh, at first, cverage f the Senate flr was nt allwed The Senate has becme the incubatr f presidential candidates; in Washingtn, there are always cameras, and its easy t get n the air Why D We Have S Many Leaks Separatin f pwer encurages leaks, because each branch cmpetes with the thers fr pwer and uses the press t make the thers lk bad and t advance their pet prjects The press and pliticians have cme t distrust each ther, and are cnsidered an adversarial press; the tendency f the natinal media t be suspicius f fficials and eager t reveal unflattering stries abut them Mst peple dn't like this kind f jurnalism, and are as cynical f the

10 media, as the media is f the gvernment Sensatinalism In The Media Many presidents had affairs with ther wmen, but n ne reprted it, but by the 1980s, these were becming headline news stries The change came because f a change in the ecnmics f jurnalism and the ideas f reprters Until the 1970s, Americans gathered plitical news frm three netwrks that had nly ne half-hur news shw a day Nw there are many surces, with many displaying news shws 24 hurs a day Audiences are split, and are cntinually shrinking, s each prgram relies n sensatinal news stries: sex, vilence, and intrigue These stries are cheaper t cver, than investigating freign plicy r analyzing the tax cde Jurnalists are als mre likely t rely n unnamed surces than befre Gvernment Cnstraints On Jurnalists A reprter is nly as gd as its surces; reprters must strike a balance between expressing their wn views, and keeping a surce The increase in cngressinal staff members has made it easier than it nce was t find this balance Fur ways reprters and public fficials can cmmunicate On the recrd: reprter can qute the fficial by name Off the recrd: what the fficial says can't be used On backgrund: what the fficial says can be used but nt attributed t them by name, annymus surce, "high-ranking fficial," r "a knwledgeable member f Cngress" On deep backgrund: what the fficial says can be used, but nt attributed t anyne, even an annymus surce Public fficials may try t get arund the natinal press by reaching ut t the lcal media, which is less adversarial Ultimate weapn f the gvernment in shaping the press is the president's rewarding and punishing f reprters and editrs Every president tries t use the press t his advantage, but the press always wins