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The Media and
American Politics
    Dr. Christopher S. Rice
What do we mean by
  “the media”?
The Media
    News organizations and
journalists of either the print
   (newspapers, magazines),
broadcast (television, radio) or
internet (websites, newsfeeds,
         blogs) media.
Mirror Mis-
identification?




        (cc) 2006 Flickr user eggman
What is “news”?
Timely – new, unfolding events
rather than old, static ones.
Dramatic – striking
developments vs. commonplace
ones.
Compelling – developments
which arouse people’s emotions
The quality of democracy
depends upon the quality
      of the media
The Jon
  Stewart
  Principle
High Quality Information
and Debate are Essential
    to a Functioning
       Democracy
The
Marketplace
 of Ideas
HOT
 vs.
COOL
media
“Sixty percent of those who use both [TV
and the Internet] simultaneously report that
they regularly have the television on while
they are using the Internet.”

Al Gore, The Assault on Reason
Cult of
Personality?
Skeptical about
(cc) 2008 Flickr user voteprime
                                   the media...
(cc) 2006 Flickr user idiolector




...but still accept accuracy
   of “mainstream media”
5”

               Question of the Day #5
     Some people believe that too few
     companies control too many news
     media outlets. What is your feeling on
3”
     this issue?
     A.   The concentration of media ownership among just a
          few companies is not a major problem

     B.   The concentration of media ownership among just a
          few companies is a major problem

     C.   Don’t know
Roles of the Media in a
  Democratic Society

Common Carrier     Watchdog



                     Public
   Signaler
                 Representative
Roles of the Media in a
  Democratic Society

Common Carrier     Watchdog



                     Public
   Signaler
                 Representative
The media as common carrier
  Serve as channels of communication
   among political and governmental
              institutions
Spin Doctors
2
illegitimate
  legitimate
The incredible shrinking
       sound bite
Sound Bite
Amount of time a politician
or candidate is allowed to
speak without interruption
Percentage of Chart That
                   Looks Like Pac-Man




Percentage of
 Chart That
Does Not Look
Like Pac-Man
1960’s


40 sec.
2008


<10 sec.
Roles of the Media in a
  Democratic Society

Common Carrier     Watchdog



                     Public
   Signaler
                 Representative
The media as watchdog
should dig up facts, warn public when
 officials are doing something wrong
Watergate
Abu Ghraib
U.S. Attorney Firing Scandal
The importance of the
  First Amendment...
               (cc) 2007 Flickr user Thorne Enterprises
Roles of the Media in a
  Democratic Society

Common Carrier     Watchdog



                     Public
   Signaler
                 Representative
The media as signaler
  alert the public to important events,
keep public informed in a timely manner
“Just the facts, ma’am!”


                    (cc) 2006 Flickr user alex-s
Clarify Electoral Choices


  (c) 2008 Yahoo! Source: http://www.techcrunch.com/wp-content/yahoodashboardb.jpg
Roles of the Media in a
  Democratic Society

Common Carrier     Watchdog



                     Public
   Signaler
                 Representative
The media as public representative
    critical political linkage serving as
  spokesperson/advocate for the public
2
Advocacy
Self-
Interested
   Actor
FAIL
2
Lack of Accountability
POV = Bias?
Effects of the
Media on Politics
Agenda Setting & Framing
            Today’s Media Agenda
           1. Paint McCain as a senile
           old fool.
           2. Make sure people
           associate Clinton with the
           B-word.
           3. Make certain the public
           sees Obama as Jesus.
           4. Taxes and regulation:
              B-A-D.
           5. Take over the world.
Policy Preferences
How to Jump Start the Economy:
         Tax Rebates
               OR
       Public Investment
Effects on Policymaking
       Direct
Effects on Policymaking
      Indirect
What is Bias?
TRUE or FALSE:
Research has found no significant
evidence of ideological or partisan
      bias in the US media.
TRUE!
(cc) 2005 Flickr user jovike




Hard to define
(cc) 2006 Flickr user Aussiegall




                      Hard to measure
?
 Count the proportion of
 references to a political
figure or policy which seem
to be positive or negative?
?
 A deviation from some
perfect representation of
    objective reality?
?
Slanted language?
?
Don’t all of these involve
 personal judgment of
       some sort?
FOX News's editorial policy is set from
the top down, stating that quot;The roots
of FOX News Channel's day-to-day
on-air bias are actual and direct. They
come in the form of an executive
memo distributed electronically each
morning, addressing what stories will
be covered and, often, suggesting how
they should be covered.”
                          Charlie Reina
            former FOX News producer
?Is bias just
negative coverage?
?What is
objectivity,
  anyway?
The problem of
               “Fair and balanced”




(cc) 2006 Flickr user Capt Kodak
Media Bias
  The tendency to present
  information unfairly and
     inaccurately so as to
consistently favor one set of
   interests over another.
People tend to be more concerned about
media bias than they are about
government censorship in the United
States.




                                         (cc) 2007 Flickr user satanoid
Objective Journalism
2
Descriptive Reporting
Straightforward description
        of the facts
Interpretive Journalism
 Analysis and explanation of
   developments, not just
    reporting “the facts.”
How Experts Are Selected
TRENDS
How Fox News has
blurred the line between
    commentators and
       reporters.
Subtle techniques of slanting news
     How you choose your sources.
     Controlling the prominence of a
      story – above or below fold,
      page 1 or buried.
     Solicitation and selection of
      quotations.
     Choose which facts to report.
     Frame the meaning of stories
      with the headline or first line of
      story.
Is the Media biased?
Even if we can’t be sure
media is biased (or to
what extent), we CAN
identify certain tendencies
in media coverage…
Dominant Points of View
3
Foreign Affairs

  Economics

  Politicians

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PS 101 The Media And American Politics Fall 2008