Download The Role of Mass Media in American Politics: Gatekeepers, Scorekeepers, and Watchdogs and more Exams Communication in PDF only on Docsity! Civics Name___________________________ Unit 2, Lesson 2 Reading Date_________________ Per._______ THE MASS MEDIA Question to consider: Does the media have the ability to influence what you believe is important and how you will respond to certain issues? Did you go online today using your cell phone, computer, or tablet? If so, you joined the 95 percent of teens who say they use the Internet at least occasionally. According to the Pew Research Center, a growing number of teenagers are "cell mostly" Internet users, who go online using mostly their cell phones. And if you visited a social media site today, you joined 84 percent of teens who also use social networking sites. The Internet is a form of mass media, and its use continues to grow. Other forms, however, such as television and radio, are also part of American culture. A medium is a means of communication; it transmits some kind of information. Media is the plural of medium. The mass media include those means of communication that can reach large, widely dispersed audiences simultaneously. Five major elements of the mass media are especially significant in American politics today: television, the Internet, newspapers, radio, and magazines. The mass media means technology that is intended to reach a mass audience. It is the primary means of communication used to reach the vast majority of the general public. The most common platforms for mass media are newspapers, magazines, radio, television, and the Internet. The general public typically relies on the mass media to provide information regarding political issues, social issues, entertainment, and news in pop culture. The news media or news industry are forms of mass media that focus on delivering news to the general public or a target public. These include print media (newspapers, newsmagazines), broadcast news (radio and television), and more recently the Internet (online newspapers, news blogs, etc.). THE ROLE OF MASS MEDIA Importantly, the mass media do not function as an arm of government in the United States. They are, instead, almost entirely privately owned and operated. Unlike political parties and interest groups, their prime goal is not that of influencing the course of public affairs. They are, nonetheless, an extremely potent force in American politics. The media typically plays three roles. In no particular order, the media plays the role of a gatekeeper, scorekeeper, and a watchdog. The media as a gatekeeper simply means that the elites who control a particular news entity decide what gets on the air or in a newspaper. Thus, if the story runs, it becomes news. As gatekeeper it can influence what
