Role & Impact of Mass Media on American Politics: Study Guide 2024-2025, Study Guides, Projects, Research of Political Science

Download Role & Impact of Mass Media on American Politics: Study Guide 2024-2025 and more Study Guides, Projects, Research Political Science in PDF only on Docsity! American Government: The Mass Media Complete Exam Study Guide 2024- 2025 The Evolution of the Mass Media Mass media organizations are not part of the American political structure. Voters do not elect journalists, nor do journalists hold any formal powers or privileges (aside from those stemming from the First Amendment right to a free press). Research also shows that the mass media do not exercise direct influence over people, either officials or regular voters. Neither endorsements nor bias in news coverage sways individuals into accepting the views of reporters or publishers.  Nevertheless, media organizations (and in particular the journalistic profession) do enjoy various means of indirect influence over political decisions. They shape how Americans view candidates early in an election process and frame the terms of political debate. They focus the attention of regular Americans on particular social problems, influencing which issues politicians consider worthy of attention. And members of the bureaucracy often use news articles as an indirect means to communicate with each other or to learn what is going on in other parts of the government. For these reasons and others, the mass media are critical players in the American political system.  Mass media fall into two types: the print media of newspapers and magazines and the broadcast media of radio and television. Although most Americans got their news from newspapers and magazines in the 19th and early 20th centuries, electronic journalism, particularly TV journalism, has become dominant in the last 50 years. Today, advances in technology are blurring the distinction between the print and broadcast media. The Internet makes information available that is also published in newspapers and magazines or presented over the radio and TV. It also provides political parties and their candidates, interest groups, and individuals an outlet for their own political content.  Newspapers and magazines The earliest newspapers in the United States were tied to political groups or parties. The Federalist Papers, which urged the ratification of the Constitution, were first published in New York newspapers. During George Washington's administration, the Gazette of the United States represented Alexander Hamilton and the Federalists, while the National Gazette supported Thomas Jefferson and the Democratic Republicans. The development of high-speed presses, growing literacy rates, and the invention of the telegraph led to the rise of independent, mass-circulation newspapers in the first half of the 19th century. Competition for readers and advertisers became intense, so papers increasingly emphasized the sensational side of news in the second half of that century. This style of reporting became known as yellow journalism, and the most well-known practitioner was William Randolph Hearst in his New York Journal. Its stories and reports on Cuba, particularly the explosion of the USS Maine in Havana Harbor, helped build support for the war against Spain in 1898. Although there was a decided shift to objective and balanced reporting in reaction to Hearst's style, this type of journalism continues in the tabloid press, which includes some mainstream newspapers and the "supermarket papers" such as National Enquirer and Star. Weekly and monthly magazines like McClure's and Collier's published in-depth articles on national issues and gained a large, middle-class audience by the late 19th century. They became an outlet for the muckrakers, a group of writers whose exposés on political corruption in the cities and on the practices of the Standard Oil Company were a factor in the political reforms of the Progressive Era (1900-1920). The investigative reporting that brought the Watergate scandal to the public's attention is part of the muckraking tradition in print journalism.  Radio and television From the 1920s through the end of World War II, radio was a popular source of news and political analysis. President Franklin Roosevelt used his radio "fireside chats" (1933-1944) to speak directly to the American people about issues facing the country. Both before and during the war, radio — particularly Edward R. Murrow's broadcasts from London — was an important source of information on developments in Europe and the Pacific. The medium has gone through a resurgence in recent years with both commercial and public (National Public Radio) all-news stations, radio talk shows, and the president's weekly radio address to the nation.  In addition to giving people news and information programming, television has allowed Americans insight into the political process and has actually become part of the process. The Democratic and Republican national conventions were televised for the first time in 1952. Dwight Eisenhower ran the first political TV ads during his campaign. It is generally believed that John Kennedy "won" the 1960 presidential debate because he looked better than Richard Nixon on television. By bringing the Vietnam War into our homes every evening, television certainly influenced the attitudes of Americans toward the conflict and increased support for withdrawal. The advent of cable and satellite TV has also provided a means for Americans to see how their government operates. In many communities, local educational stations broadcast school board and city council The term political agenda is broader in scope than the term public opinion, and it refers to the issues Americans think are the most important and that government needs to address. A person's perception of such matters as crime, civil rights, the economy, immigration, and welfare are affected by the manner and extent of media coverage. Studies indicate that a correlation exists between the significance people assign a problem and the frequency and amount of space or time newspapers, magazines, and television give to it.  Link between the government and the people The mass media is the vehicle through which the government informs, explains, and tries to win support for its programs and policies. President Franklin Roosevelt's "fireside chats" used radio in this manner. Today, the major networks do not always give the president desired airtime if they believe the purpose is essentially political. If they do grant the time, the opposition party usually has the opportunity to rebut what the president says or present its own views on a topic immediately after the president speaks.  Government watchdog From muckraking early in the century to today's investigative reporting, an important function of the mass media is to bring to the attention of the American people evidence of corruption, abuse of power, and ineffective policies and programs. Watergate would have remained just another burglary buried in the back pages of The Washington Post had Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward not dug into the story. Although the media are often accused of having a "liberal bias" (and, indeed, surveys show most journalists to be liberal Democrats), all presidential administrations face close scrutiny from print and broadcast journalists.  Socialization The mass media, most significantly through its news, reporting, and analysis, affects what and how we learn about politics and our own political views. Along with family, schools, and religious organizations, television also becomes part of the process by which people learn society's values and come to understand what society expects from them. In this regard, the impact comes primarily from entertainment programming. Television's portrayal of minorities and women, family relations, and the place of religion in American life is considered to be a powerful influence on our attitudes.  Some people believe that Americans, especially children, imitate behavior observed in media communications. They are, therefore, concerned about the quantity of sex and violence on TV. This theory of behavior may be naive, and certainly it lacks consistent or weighty scientific evidence. Nevertheless, the perspective is a significant political force, because it links social conservatives who disapprove of sexual promiscuity with social liberals who find America's gun culture distasteful. Both the legislative and executive branches have pressured networks to clean up what former Vice President Al Gore called the "cultural wasteland."  The Mass Media and Political Coverage Our prime source of political news is the mass media. But as noted earlier, comparatively little time is devoted to it on the local TV news. The same can be said of the space in many newspapers. Network broadcasts, which have the largest audience, are limited to a half-hour and can only briefly report even major stories. More detailed coverage and analysis are available from cable news stations and programs like Meet the Press. The focus of political coverage is on the president; whatever the president says or does is newsworthy. Part of the White House press corps always travels with the president to make sure every word and deed is immediately reported. With the exception of the most sensational deliberations of Congress or the courts (the confirmation hearings of Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas and the O.J. Simpson trials, for example), the media give less attention to the other branches of government. Cable television has more recently filled this void. The House of Representatives allowed TV coverage in 1979, and the Senate allowed it in 1986 through C-SPAN. truTV gives Americans insight into the workings of the judicial system. Whether TV cameras are allowed in a courtroom is up to the judge, and there has been a reluctance to grant permission in the wake of the Simpson criminal trial.  How reporters get the news Journalists rely heavily on the information they receive directly from elected officials, their aides, and press secretaries. These individuals are interested in giving their story the right spin (that is, presenting the information in a way that puts them, their boss, and his or her programs in the best possible light). Reporters covering the White House get press releases and a daily briefing from the president's press secretary. They also have the opportunity to question members of the administration and the president at news conferences. A presidential news conference is packaged. The president may spend hours rehearsing answers to questions that the staff thinks are the most likely to be asked.  Access to government officials is essential to reporters, and in return, they are expected to follow several unwritten rules. A White House staff person may agree to speak with a reporter only on background, which means that the source cannot be identified. This is why so many news stories quote "a senior White House official" or "sources within the administration." Information that is given off the record cannot be reported at all. Leaks, the unauthorized release of information to the press, are a fact of political life. In fact, sometimes officials intentionally leak a story in order to advance an administration's policies.  The media and presidential elections The election of a president is a media event in which literally thousands of reporters descend on the states with early primary elections. Instead of concentrating on the issues and the candidates' programs, the reporters' coverage tends to stress which candidate is ahead or where each stands with a particular group of voters. This focus on the "horse race" has led media organizations to invest in repeated opinion polls during the campaign. Along the same line, the reporting of televised presidential debates emphasizes who "won" and "lost" and not the ideas that were exchanged.  In addition to hiring pollsters, presidential candidates employ media consultants who are responsible for presenting them and their messages in the most effective way. Media consultants understand that, even in an election year, airtime on the nightly news is limited. The sound bite, a term that describes a politician's succinct remark, fits well into this limited format. These strategists also design the candidates' television advertising campaigns. Most of the money raised for a candidate goes for television ads, particularly in large states like California, New York, and Texas. Although the public and the media often complain about it, negative advertising works. A negative ad is one that focuses on what opponents have done or the positions they have taken rather than on the candidates' own views, and it often distorts the record. In the 1988 presidential election, George Bush effectively used a photograph of Willie Horton, a rapist who committed murder while on a release program, to stress that Michael Dukakis was soft on crime.  The expansion of radio and television talk shows has given candidates access to more free airtime. An appearance by a presidential contender assures such programs instant ratings, and it gives candidates an opportunity to speak directly to the American people without having their statements analyzed by broadcast journalists. A similar advantage is gained from the so-called infomercial, in which candidates buy a half-hour block of time to explain their positions, although the costs are significant. H. Ross Perot used both of these longer formats quite successfully in the 1992 campaign.  The Internet is a powerful resource in presidential campaigns. Howard Dean, a candidate for the 2004 Democratic party nomination, showed how to effectively use the Internet to raise money. Web sites give candidates the means to profile voters, recruit volunteers, and present their views on the issues.