Chapter 7 - The Mass Media and the Political Agenda

I. The Mass Media Today

A. America has entered a new period of high-tech politics which is a politics in
which the behavior of citizens, policymakers, and the political agenda are shaped
by technology.
B. The mass media, means of popular communication, is key in the influencing
technology.
1. Effectively communicating a message is critical to political success.
2. A media event is staged purposely for the purpose of being covered and
nonetheless look spontaneous.
II. The Development of Media Politics
A. The media can be used as an ally or enemy to the president
1. Major change during Johnson’s presidency
2. Roosevelt promised two press conferences: meetings of public officials
with reporters.
3. 60% of presidential campaign spending is TV ads
4. Image making / news management is important, especially for
presidents
B. Now political scientists are critical of investigative journalism: the use of
detective-like reporting to unearth scandals, scans, and schemes, putting reporters
in adversarial relationships with political leaders.
C. Print media
1. Newspapers and magazines
2. Yellow journalism” characterized newspapers at the turn of the
century.
3. Among the press there is a pecking order.
4. Newspaper circulation has been declining and magazines are
also struggling.
5. During the early 19th century newspapers consolidated into
chains; more than 80% of daily papers were controlled by national
and regional chains.
D. Broadcast media
1. Television and radio
2. Brought government and politics into people’s homes.
3. Made the politicians more aware of their appearance and
mannerisms.
4. Television is the principal source of news for most Americans,
and most believable.
E. Narrowcasting media
1. Cable TV and the internet
2. Media programming on cable TV or the Internet that is focused on one
topic and aimed at a particular audience
3. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regulates the use of
airwaves.
F. Private Control of the Media
 1. Only a small number of TV stations are publicly owned in America.
2. The media are totally dependent on advertising revenues.
3. Chains consist of massive media conglomerates that control almost
three-quarters of the nation’s daily newspaper circulation as well as
broadcast media.
III. Reporting the News
A. Finding the News
1. Beats: Specific locations from which news frequently emanates, such as
Congress or the White House.
2.Trial Balloons: An intentional news leak for the purpose of assessing the
political reaction.
3. Reporters and their sources depend on each other - one for stories, the
other to get them out
B. Presenting the News
1. Superficial describes most news coverage today
2. Sound Bites: Short video clips of approximately 15 seconds.
C. Bias in the News
1. Many people believe the news favors one point of view over another.
2. Generally are not very biased along liberal / conservative lines.
3. Generally are biased towards what will draw the largest audience.
4. Talking head: a shot of a person’s face talking directly into the camera
is unappealing to the masses the major commercial networks rarely
show a politician talking one-to-one for very long.
IV. The News and Public Opinion
A. Television news can affect what people think is important.
B. The media influence the criteria by which the public evaluates political leaders.
C. Some policies can be made more important, others will be less important,
depending on their coverage.
V. The Media’s Agenda-Setting Function
A. Policy Agenda: The issues that attract the serious attention of public officials
and other people actively involved in politics at the time.
B. Policy Entrepreneurs: People who invest their political “capital” in an issue.
C. All depend on good images and good will.
VI. Understanding the Mass Media
A. The Media and the Scope of Government
1.The media as watchdog restricts politicians.
2.New proposals are met with skepticism - so that restricts what the
government can do.
3.But, if the media identify a problem, they ask what the government is
going to do to fix it.
B. Individualism and the Media
1.Candidates can now run on their own.
2.Easier to focus on one person like the President, than Congress or the
courts.
C. Democracy and the Media
1. Information is the fuel of democracy.
2. But, is the news more entertainment than information? Is this what the
people want?