Chapter 10: The Media and Cyberpolitics
Chapter 10
The Media and Cyberpolitics
Chapter Summary
The Media's Functions
The mass media performs six functions in U.S. society. These functions are: (1) entertainment, (2) reporting the news, (3) identifying public problems, (4) socializing new generations, (5) providing a political forum, and (6) making profits. The media devotes the greatest amount of its time to entertainment and sometimes stimulates discussion of important issues presented in drama form. Reporting the news is a primary media function in a democracy. The media is crucial in identifying problems and helping to set the public agenda. The content of media, particularly television, offers children and immigrants a view of the basic American values. The political forum function allows citizens a way to participate in the public debate. Finally, media is privately owned for profit.
History of the Media in the United States
The earliest media in the United States was the newspaper. Some historians feel that the printed media played an important role in unifying the country. Many of these early newspapers were politically sponsored. In the nineteenth century, the high-speed rotary press and the telegraph led to the creation of mass-readership newspapers. The late nineteenth century saw sensationalistic, often irresponsible journalism among these newspapers, a situation referred to as yellow journalism. In 1920, the first scheduled radio broadcast transmitted the returns of the presidential election. This was the beginning of the age of broadcast media. Today, cable, satellite television, and the Internet have created narrow casting, which allows the electronic media to target small sectors of the audience. Another development is the rise of talk shows on television and thousands of radio stations. Finally the Internet has become a major source of views and opinions on public issues with the advent of blogging and podcasting.
The Primacy of Television
Television is the most influential medium. The use of images conveys powerful content. While capturing images is a strong point for television, careful and deliberate consideration of the intricacies of public issues is not one of its strengths. Television tends to focus on brief comments of politicians, referred to as sound bites, which can be easily fit into a relatively short news broadcast, for audiences with relatively short attention spans. This has impacted the manner in which campaigns are conducted, as candidates present their views in ten second sound bites rather than in comprehensive considerations of the issues.
The Media and Political Campaigns
Advertising for political candidates is one of the most influential ways to use the mass media. Perhaps the most effective political ad of all time was the “Daisy Girl” ad, used by President Johnson against Barry Goldwater in the 1968 presidential election. Since this advertisement the concept of negative advertising has come to play a major role in many political campaigns. Political advertising is the most expensive part of the political campaign, so candidates have attempted to use free coverage by the news media to their advantage. Political campaign advisers, sometimes referred to as spin-doctors, attempt to interpret events in a positive way for the candidate and present this view to the public. The purpose of this “spin” is to influence the people to see the events in a way most favorable to the candidate. Televised presidential debates have become a feature of the presidential elections since the 1960 debate between John Kennedy and Richard Nixon. Candidates soon realized that the image they presented on television was a critical aspect of the campaign. The question of how much influence media coverage has on voters is difficult to quantify because of the many factors that influence how someone votes. Studies do tend to indicate that media seems to have the biggest impact on voters who are undecided.
The Media and the Government
While the mass media has an impact on political campaigns, it also has an influence on government and government officials. The president has a love-hate relationship with the media. The job of the White House press corps is to uncover news about the president and his administration, while the president’s press secretary attempts to provide the press corps with only the information that the president wants them to have. The media and the president have what is called a symbiotic relationship, in which one party needs the other to survive. Perhaps no president was as successful at using the media as Franklin D. Roosevelt, who brought a new spirit to a demoralized country during the Great Depression. The media also plays an extraordinary role in setting the public agenda. Although the media does not definitively and exclusively determine the public agenda, it is undeniable that media can raise the issues that are likely to become matters of public concern.
Government Regulation of the Media
Although the United States has the freest press in the world, regulation of the media is a reality. Electronic media, which obviously did not exist when the Constitution was drafted, has been regulated more extensively than print medium. The Federal Communication Commission (FCC) was created to regulate broadcast media. In the 1996 Telecommunications Act, Congress imposed restrictions on Internet pornography, but its efforts were so broad that the Supreme Court ruled such restrictions unconstitutional. Also in the Telecommunications Act Congress opened up the telephone, television, and Internet industries to vast mergers. The question for the future is how to prevent the telecommunication companies of today from becoming giant monopolies with an iron grip on the flow of information, in a nation founded on free press as an essential part of an informed citizenry. One of the more controversial areas of governmental regulation concerns the issue of indecency, spurred in large part by public outcry over the “wardrobe malfunction” of Janet Jackson during the Super Bowl halftime show, as well as the antics of radio talk-show host Howard Stern.
Bias in the Media
Many studies have attempted to determine if there is some clearly identifiable bias in media. For years it was assumed that there was a liberal bias. Today many commentators believe that the media is biased, not toward an ideology, but rather in its own self-interest—concerned mainly with issues that can be exploited to produce high ratings and significant advertising revenues.
Key Terms
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Chapter 10: The Media and Cyberpolitics
bias
electronic media
managed news
media access
narrow casting
press secretary
public agenda
sound bite
spin
spin doctor
White House press corps
yellow journalism
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Chapter 10: The Media and Cyberpolitics
Other Resources
A number of valuable supplements are available to students using the Schmidt, Shelley, and Bardes text. The full list of the supplements is in the preface to this study guide. Ask your instructor how to obtain these resources. One supplement is highlighted here, the INFOTRAC Online Library.
INFOTRAC EXERCISES
Log on to http://www.infotrac-college.com.
Enter your Pass code.
You can access the article by typing the exact phrase below.
“Presidential television advertising and public policy priorities”
The premise of this article is that some presidential candidates do a better job addressing public policy concerns in presidential campaigning.
Study Questions
1. How was the research done on this topic?
2. Which presidential candidates did a better job of addressing public policy concerns?
3. What does this research tell you about presidential campaigning?
Practice Exam
(Answers appear at the end of this chapter.)
Fill-in-the-Blank Supply the missing word(s) or term(s) to complete the sentence.
- By far, the greatest number of radio and television hours is dedicated to ______.
- In theory, it is essential for the mass media to ______in order for a democracy to function properly.
- A term for sensationalistic, irresponsible journalism is ______.
- Specialized programming by the media for specialized tastes is referred to as ______.
- ______is the most influential of the media.
- In television news coverage, a several-second comment selected or created for its immediate impact is referred to as a ______.
- An interpretation of campaign events or election results that is most favorable to a candidate’s campaign strategy is referred to as ______.
- The individual responsible for representing the White House before the media is the ______.
- The government has much greater control over the______media than it does over the ______media.
- A “wardrobe malfunction” by ______during a Super Bowl halftime show led to calls for a government crackdown on media indecency.
True/False Circle the appropriate letter to indicate if the statement is true or false.
T F 1. Thomas Jefferson was a firm believer in control of the press by government.
T F 2. Many historians believe that the growth of the print media played an important role in unifying the country.
T F 3. The effect of more diversified cable television broadcasting has been to make television more and more like print media with specialized tastes.
T F 4. Newspapers are today the primary news source for the majority of Americans.
T F 5. In general, challengers have much more to gain from debating than do incumbents.
T F 6. It appears that the media are most influential with those who have not formed an opinion about political candidates or issues.
T F 7. Studies indicate that the media is not playing an important role today in setting the public agenda.
T F 8. The United States has the most highly regulated press in the world.
T F 9. The government places fewer restrictions on the broadcast media than it places on the print media.
T F 10. The government has a right to dictate how the airwaves are used because the airwaves are public domain used for private profit.
Multiple Choice Circle the correct response.
1. By far the greatest number of radio and television broadcast hours are dedicated to
a. news analysis.
b. sport broadcasting.
c. entertaining the public.
d. educational programming.
e. political news.
2. Which of the “founding fathers” supported managed news?
a. Thomas Jefferson
b. Benjamin Franklin
c. George Washington
d. James Madison
e. Alexander Hamilton
3. Information generated and distributed by the government in such a way as to give government interests priority over the facts is referred to as
a. fairness doctrine.
b. right-to-know rule.
c. narrow casting.
d. yellow journalism.
e. managed news.
4. The first network broadcast of electronic media was in the
a. 1920s.
b. 1930s.
c. 1940s.
d. 1950s.
e. 1960s.
5. The term “narrow casting” refers to
a. presenting only one side of an issue.
b. media programming for specialized tastes.
c. a biased news report.
d. presenting a narrow image to your readership.
e. using media in political campaigns.
6. The type of media which has increased in size by the largest percentage in the last fifteen years is
a. cable.
b. network affiliates.
c. PBS.
d. independent stations.
e. specialized newsletters.
7. The “Daisy Girl” commercial from the 1964 presidential election campaign is a good example of
a. spin.
b. managed news.
c. negative advertising.
d. narrow casting.
e. the impact of the Internet.
8. Negative advertising works well in political campaigning because
a. voters do not want to hear good things about candidates.
b. voters have selective attention for the candidates they support.
c. negative ads cost less to produce.
d. negative ads are more memorable than ones that praise the candidate’s virtues.
e. negative ads may demoralize supporters of the candidate under attack.
9. The 1960 presidential campaign was the first to involve the use of
a. political action committees.
b. presidential preference primaries.
c. radio in a meaningful way.
d. televised presidential debates.
e. the Internet.
10. An interpretation of campaign events or election results that is most favorable to the candidate’s position is called
a. take.
b. analysis.
c. commentary.
d. spin.
e. exit poll.
11. The first president to fully exploit the airwaves for his benefit, especially with his fireside chats, was
a. Dwight Eisenhower.
b. Ronald Reagan.
c. John Kennedy.
d. Franklin Roosevelt.
e. Bill Clinton.
12. The American Broadcasting Company is owned by
a. Donald Trump.
b. Disney.
c. Rupert Murdoch.
d. The Washington Post.
e. the United States government.
13. The Telecommunications Act of 1996 was an attempt to regulate
a. radio talk shows.
b. Hollywood movies.
c. Internet pornography.
d. violent professional sports on television.
e. reality shows.
14. Does the public have a right to media access?
a. No, it is prohibited by the Constitution.
b. No, it is prohibited by Congress.
c. Yes, it is specially stated in the Tenth Amendment of the Constitution.
d. Yes, the FCC and the courts support the concept.
e. No, it is just too expensive to achieve.
15. Which of the following individuals argues that there exists a liberal bias in media?
a. Professor Kathleen Jamieson.
b. Professor Thomas Patterson.
c. Pew Research Director Andrew Kohut.
d. CBS broadcaster Bernard Goldberg.
e. Senator John McCain of Arizona.
16. A study done by the Pew Research Center finds that most Americans believe that the media has a bias in favor of
a. liberal ideas.
b. conservative ideas.
c. the president when he clashes with Congress.
d. the media’s own well-being and stories that bring in ratings and advertising revenues.
e. ideas that are distinctively European, as opposed to ideas that represent truly American principles.
17. Blogging and podcasting refer to ways to gain information from
a. satellite radio.
b. the Internet.
c. cable television.
d. magazines such as Time and Newsweek.
e. newspapers such as The New York Times and Washington Post.
18. A comedy show featuring ______has become a source of political information for many Americans and a forum for actual politicians and government officials to present their views.
a. David Letterman
b. Conan O’Brien
c. Jon Stewart
d. Jay Leno
e. Ted Koppel
19. ______moved his show to satellite radio in order to avoid government regulation.