National Influence of the Media

Transcription

1 The Media Part II 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 Natinal Influence f the Media Only a handful f media utlets are influential natinally. New Yrk Times Wall Street Jurnal USA Tday Christian Science Mnitr Washingtn Pst Ls Angeles Times They have reach thrugh their wn circulatin, but als influence what the five majr natinal netwrks and cable news rganizatins decide t fcus n. Wire services als natinalize the news. News magazines supplement ther surces. Time, Newsweek, US News and Wrld Reprt

3 What Infrmatin Surces D Americans Rely On? Tugh questin t answer: We encunter different media during ur day. Mst peple say televisin when asked directly. TV has been the public s main surce f infrmatin since in the 1960s. But hw much attentin d we pay t this infrmatin? Hw much is retained? hal effect: cgnitive bias in which an bserver's verall impressin f a persn, cmpany, brand r prduct influences the bserver's feelings and thughts abut that entity's character r prperties news nt a well-defined cncept decline in the audience fr traditinal news utlets internet an alternative t mainstream

4 What Infrmatin Surces D Americans Rely On? Main Surce fr Natinal and Internatinal News by Age Grup

5 Plitical Newsmaking the limited gegraphy f plitical news: serius natinal news cmes frm surprisingly few places... expensive equipment, time fr editing... mst TV news cverage is assigned t predictable events dependence n fficial surces: beats and newsgathering rutines encurage situatin f mutual dependence by reprters and fficials, dependence n self-interested surces beat reprting: genre f jurnalism that can be described as the craft f in-depth reprting n a particular issue, sectr, rganizatin r institutin ver time, als knwn as specialized reprting

6 Plitical Newsmaking dependence n fficial surces Sme news is created r riginated by these institutins and surces... spin: a frm f prpaganda, achieved thrugh prviding a biased interpretatin f an event r campaigning t persuade public pinin in favr r against sme rganizatin r public figure... ften implies the use f disingenuus, deceptive and highly manipulative tactics staging: allws the candidate t cntrl what is said leaking: much f the news each day is based n infrmatin previusly cnsidered cnfidential, the public's right t knw... Jurnalists are rarely in a psitin t establish the truth f an issue themselves, since they didn t witness it persnally. trial balln: an intentinal news leak fr purpse f assessing public reactin

7 Plitical Newsmaking News cverage fllws the cnturs f elite debate and has little relatin t public pinin. newswrthiness: editrs judgments are quick... elements: nvelty, drama and human interest, relevance t American lives, high stakes, celebrity status templates: generally agreed-upn slant... public knws big stry, pint is t fill in the details episdic freign cverage: lack f affrdability fr freign bureaus... dependence n stringers: temprary teams respnding t crises... limited areas f the wrld are cvered Military actins are ften used as excuse fr media t fllw different rules.

8 Plitical Newsmaking interpreting infrmal rules f bjective jurnalism bias ften is hard t detect explicit interpretatins are generally avided selectin f experts, pundits: academics r frmer gvernment fficials, generally the same nes are used, reflect a NYC-Washingtn view News prvides mre entertainment than infrmatin... it is superficial. News is a business, giving peple what they want.

9 Prevailing Themes in Plitical Newsmaking natinalism apprval f the American ecnmic system negativity and scandal inftainment limited, fragmented and incherent plitical infrmatin superficial: describes mst news cverage tday Demcratic and Republican encunters flw f infrmatin must be free and full schlars and media critics vs. free market and cnsumerism questins abut the media s civic respnsibility

10 Media Cverage f Gvernment Media cverage f gvernment is similar t that f campaigns. Frm the news media perspective, gvernment and the wrk it des is pretty dull. Fr that reasn, there is relatively little news cverage f it. When media d cver gvernment emphasis is n president emphasis is n cnflict emphasis is n the negative respnse: Officials have exaggerated cncern with the press.

11 Media Cverage f Gvernment cmmunicatin between elected fficials / public figures and media press release: dcument ffering an fficial cmment r psitin press briefing: relatively restricted sessin between a press secretary r aide and the press press cnference: an unrestricted sessin between an elected fficial and the press n backgrund: infrmatin prvided t a jurnalist that will nt be attributed t a named surce deep backgrund: infrmatin prvided t a jurnalist that will nt be attributed t any surce ff-the-recrd: infrmatin prvided t a jurnalist that will nt be released t the public n-the-recrd: infrmatin prvided t a jurnalist that can be released and attributed by name t the surce

12 Cvering the Presidency President is the fcus f the mst media cverage. Easier t fcus n ne persn, like the president, than n grups such as Cngress r the curts. can summn the press at will FDR was first t use press cnference as a means t shape public pinin and explain his actins. press secretary: existed since Hver s administratin president s main disseminatr f infrmatin t the press president gets the mst cverage, but much f it is negative (LBJ: If ne mrning I walked n tp f the water acrss the Ptmac River, the headline that afternn wuld read: 'President Can't Swim. ) Gerge W Bush disliked press cnferences. strategy t cntrl his image

13 Cvering the Presidency

14 Cvering the Presidency Newspapers endrse Republican presidential candidates mre ften than Demcratic presidential candidates.

15 Cvering Cngress Size f Cngress and its decentralized nature make it difficult fr the media t cver. Slve this prblem by... giving leaders mst attentin key cmmittee chairs cmmand center stage Lcal newspapers and bradcast statins nrmally devte sme resurces t cvering their wn representatives. Cverage tends t be negative. fcus n cnflict May be part f the reasn peple view Cngress s negatively. Investigative hearings may be televised. Jseph McCarthy Enrn and Wrldcm

16 Cvering Campaigns This is an area where the media are criticized heavily. charge: The media prvide little cverage f plicy issues. charge: The media cncentrate n issues such as character at the expense f genuine plicy and expertise issues. charge: Reprters intermediate t much. media events: events staged by a plitical candidate primarily fr the purpse f being cvered, ften scripted and limited in what they will reprt... candidates ften use media cnsultants t help with their media image sund bites: 30-secnd sund clips used n TV t cnvey the message f an entire speech... which 30- secnds is used can make a huge difference

17 Cvering Campaigns Officials want t cntrl infrmatin abut themselves and their plicies, including the way such infrmatin is framed and presented by the media.

18 Cvering Campaigns prtraits f Abraham Lincln as Abe the Rail Splitter and f Gerge W. Bush riding a muntain bike

19 Cvering Campaigns hrse-race cverage: fcus is n plling data and public perceptin rather than candidate plicies... wh s ahead, etc advertising: candidates rely heavily n media advertising t get ut their message and persuade the public... amunt f mney spend n advertising in the 2012 presidential electin exceeded a recrd $7,000,000,000 negative advertising (attack ads): 2012 campaign nted fr recrd-setting negativity infrmatin abut issues: seemingly less and less prvided with each electin electin night reprting prvide frmal and infrmal settings fr audience t assess candidates

20 Cvering Campaigns Presidential candidates welcme invitatins t appear with Oprah, Len r Letterman, and t try t refrmulate their messages in a light, cmedic style that fits the prgram.

21 Cvering Campaigns: Cnventins Since 1972 and the stabilizatin f presidential nminatins, cnventins have lessened in imprtance. Media cverage has drpped. The mre party managers try t package their message t please televisin, the less majr netwrks are interested. Netwrks will shw interest if smething they deem f interest is present. In mst years, the cnventin cverage venues are usually cable and the internet.

22 Cvering Campaigns: Cnventins Netwrks increasingly ignre Natinal Plitical Cnventins.

23 Cvering Campaigns: Presidential Debates N ther campaign event earns the ratings that presidential debates earn. First televised debates were in Nixn and Kennedy pwer f pictures: Radi listeners thught Nixn wn. TV viewers thught Kennedy wn. Studies shw that perfrmance in the debates can sway an undecided vter.

24 Cvering Campaigns: Lcal Electins Few independent surces cver lcal cntests. perhaps tw- r three-minute stry When media d cver lcal campaigns, they can have a great deal f influence. Endrsements frm newspapers can matter.

25 Investigative Jurnalism... reprters g beynd headlines and scrutinize public fficials and public plicy in rder t find wrngding New Yrk Times C. v. Sullivan (1964): First Amendment prtects publicatin f all statements, even false nes, abut cnduct f public fficials except when statements are made with actual malice (with knwledge they are false r in reckless disregard f their truth r falsity) annymus surces: using annymus surces is a tried-and-true Washingtn ritual that receives almst n criticism in day-t-day reprting... annymity is smetimes warranted when investigating highly classified peratins What fllws are a number f examples f investigative jurnalism (r lack f it) in the last few decades.

26 Investigative Jurnalism Rbert Wdward, Carl Bernstein and Watergate: majr plitical scandal that ccurred in 1970s as a result f a break-in at Demcratic Natinal Cmmittee (DNC) headquarters at Watergate ffice cmplex in Washingtn and f Nixn administratin's attempted cver-up... led t numerus gvernment investigatins and eventual resignatin f President Nixn Seymre Hersh and CIA dmestic spying: CIA illegally spied n American antiwar mvement, wire tapped reprters and placed them under surveillance, cnducted illegal searches and pened sacks f first-class mail, and planned fr assassinatin f freign leaders Nina Ttenberg and Clarence Thmas: disclsed allegatins f sexual harassment ldged against Thmas by University f Oklahma law prfessr Anita Hill... led Senate Judiciary Cmmittee t re-pen Thmas s Supreme Curt cnfirmatin hearings

27 Investigative Jurnalism Michael Isikff and Mnica Lewinsky: uncvered her affair with Bill Clintn while she wrked at White Huse... led t Clintn's impeachment... hurs befre ging t print Isikff s article was killed by tp Newsweek executives Bush and Iraq: administratin s careful campaign f deceptin and manipulatin aimed at engineering supprt fr war with Iraq and silencing war critics... ignred all evidence t the cntrary and punished in-huse critics... created The Office f Strategic Influence whse missin it was t cnduct cvert disinfrmatin and deceptin peratins, planting false news items in the media and hiding their rigins and t find ways t punish thse wh cnveyed the wrng message... at the time, media (knwingly r unknwingly) supprted all administratin claims even in face f cnflicting evidence

28 Investigative Jurnalism Hersh and Osama bin Laden: reprted (1) bin Laden was a prisner f Pakistani military and nt in day-t-day leadership f Al Qaeda, (2) CIA lied abut its rle in finding bin Laden which it used t justify trture t public (bin Laden fund thanks t a walk-in tip), (3) raid during which military said he was killed was a sham and prduced little f intelligence value... Defense Department penly threatened peple if they talked, n lnger any dubt that the administratin has repeatedly misled public abut incident but, except fr Hersh, media have largely buried stry Hersh and the Pentagn Papers (2013): Jint Chiefs f Staff deliberately subverted American freign plicy and frmed a secret alliance with Syrian Pres Assad and Russian Pres Putin. Secretly prvided US intelligence t the militaries f ther natins, n the understanding that it wuld be passed n t the Syrian army in rder t subvert Obama's Syria effrts, prp up Assad and aid him in destrying Daesh and ther extremists. Als tricked CIA int shipping bslete weapns t US-supprted Syrian rebels.

29 Investigative Jurnalism Glenn Greenwald, NSA metadata prgram and PRISM (2013): leaked tp secret curt rder frm Bush administratin that was granted by secret Freign Intelligence Surveillance (FISA) curt, shws (1) NSA has been cllecting phne recrds f citizens bth in the US and verseas in bulk and indiscriminately (2) PRISM peratin has been cnducting similar activities n internet... cntradicted a statement nly mnths earlier by directr f natinal intelligence that n such cllectin f US citizens recrds existed... Cngress USA Freedm Act ended phne activity in 2015 Wdward and thers and recent assassinatin agreements between US, Pakistan and Yemen

30 Investigative Jurnalism This last example is nt technically investigative jurnalism. I include it as an example f what the media can be but s ften are nt. During the 1950s Red Scare, Senatr Jseph R. McCarthy f Wiscnsin, wh believed Cmmunist spies were hiding in the ppulatin, attempted t weed ut and punish them thrugh his public and natinally-televised Un-American Activities Cmmittee hearings. McCarthy s hearings turned int a devastating campaign against inncent citizens backed by unprven facts, a campaign that held the natin in a grip f fear. Thse McCarthy called befre his cmmittee, despite their prtestatins f inncence, lst jbs, careers, families, marriages and (smetimes) lives. Anyne wh criticized his hearings sn wund up n McCarthy s list.

31 Investigative Jurnalism Jurnalist Edward R. Murrw, n his weekly TV shw See It Nw, tk n McCarthy, playing parts f McCarthy s speeches and cmments, while criticizing and highlighting fallacies and cntradictins. Murrw s analysis f McCarthy s weak charges and lack f evidence questined McCarthy s credibility. Murrw s effrts finally paid ff and McCarthy s witch hunt against inncent citizens ended in disgrace. Murrw was a jurnalist with hnesty, curage and a belief in jurnalism as an active part f the plitical prcess and a necessary tl within demcracy. His career reflected that. I encurage yu t watch Gerge Clney s excellent film abut Murrw and McCarthy, Gd Night and Gd Luck. It s frequently n TV r yu may be able t find it n the internet. It s abut demcracy at its wrst, jurnalism at its best and the clsing remarks are abut what the media can and shuld be... plus it s a darn gd mvie.

32 (German TV statins and print media execute Truth) Cntinued in The Media Part III