The Media's Role in U.S. Politics: Functions, History, and Impact

1. Chapter 11 The Media and Cyberpolitics

2. The Media’s Functions in the United States • entertainment • reporting the news • identifying public problems • Setting the public agenda • Investigative function • socializing new generations • providing a political forum • making profits

3. History of the Media in the U.S. • The Rise of the Political Press • politically sponsored newspapers • the era of managed news • The Development of Mass Readership Newspapers • development of the telegraph • increased urbanization • The Beginning of the Electronic Media • Changes in the Electronic Media • narrowcasting • the internet • talk show politics

4. Print vs. Television • Which type of media has the advantage and why? • TV is the most influential type of media. • People can actually see news and history happening. • Print and radio media have a hard time competing with the visual imagery of television. • Key criticism of tv is the lack of depth in reporting and lack of context due to time constraints. • Internet is becoming an extension of tv with most news programs having their own websites.

5. The Media and Political Campaigns • Advertising • Effects of negative commercials? • The management of news coverage (spin) -campaign staff attempts to manipulate news converge to be favorable for their candidate. • Presidential debates • What are the advantages and disadvantages for a candidate to go on a televised debate? • The media’s impact on voters • Internet and Campaigns • Candidates use websites to convey their messages and raise funds. • Voters use the internet to research the election.

6. The Media and Government • The proper role for the media in a democratic government is hard to define. • Media should inform the public about topics that are important to the public so that the public can influence policy. • Some say the media is responsible for informing the public about government actions that the government may want to keep secret.

7. The Media and Government • The relationship between the media and the government is a delicate tango. • Each needs the other in order to accomplish its major goals. • The media needs the government for news and information that it can put on its programs and papers in order to make money. • The government needs the media to get out information out to the public in order to gain their support. • The question that always arises is how much access the media and government should give each other.

8. Government Regulation of the Media • The media in the U.S. is one of the least regulated in the world. • Broadcast media is often regulated more than print media. • Anyone can start a newspaper, but broadcasters must have permission from the government. • Telecommunications Act of 1996 • Mandated the “V-chip” in TV sets. • Prohibited the transmission of “indecent or patently offensive” material via the Internet. (ruled unconstitutional.)

9. Media Access • Equal time rule • States that if a radio or television stations gives time to one candidate or political party, then the station must provide equal time for the other candidates in the elections for a particular office. • Personal attack rule: allows individuals and groups air time to reply to attacks that had been previously aired.

10. Bias In The Media • People on both sides of the political spectrum claim that the media has either an ideological or partisan bias. • Others claim that the media is biased toward the status-quo and that the media supports corporate America. • Some claim that the media has a bias against “losers” in a campagin and once a candidate falls behind, the “loser” stigma sticks with them due to the media and can never recover. • Beyaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhh!!!!