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Media coverage of Congress

Media coverage of Congress. Compared to coverage of President Who gets covered? Speaker, Majority Leader, minority leaders, committee chairs History of Congressional coverage Pros and cons of live coverage of Congress Individual websites, Twitter. What do reporters cover?. Conflict

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Media coverage of Congress

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  1. Media coverage of Congress • Compared to coverage of President • Who gets covered? Speaker, Majority Leader, minority leaders, committee chairs • History of Congressional coverage • Pros and cons of live coverage of Congress • Individual websites, Twitter

  2. What do reporters cover? • Conflict • Committee hearings • “Pack mentality” • Senators versus House • Negativity of national media (versus local), especially NETWORK NEWS (versus print media) • Media “entrepreneurs” in Congress

  3. Supreme Court • Least covered of three branches • Seen as most “respectable” branch, but also “needs” the media just like Prez and Congress • Nature of coverage differs too – what do reporters write about? • Cases that are accepted • Oral arguments before the Court • Final decisions

  4. How do journalists cover Court? • Types of cases: • “Newsworthiness” as with other stories • Civil rights and civil liberties especially, and in particular, First Amendment cases that are “near and dear” to journalists’ hearts • Court interaction with media – Public Information Office (1935) • Some “off the record” • Not televised

  5. Media and bureaucracy • The “fourth branch” – • Negative conception of bureaucratic agencies shared by public and journalists • Emphasis on agency failures • Which agencies covered more than others? • News videos produced by federal agencies (Department of Agriculture, Dept. of Health and Human Services, also Defense Department, etc.)

  6. Clinton ethics: investigations 1. Whitewater – land deal back in Arkansas 2. Travel-gate 3. FBI-gate 4. Monica Lewinsky - … Barbara Walters

  7. Impeachment • Office of Independent Counsel report to Congress supported 11 possible grounds for impeachment: basically perjury and obstruction of justice • Republican controlled House votes for impeachment but Senate votes against convicting (2/3 vote needed in Senate, by Constitution, to remove pres. From office)

  8. How did Clinton respond to the scandal? • Defense but also OFFENSE (4 minute speech to the nation) • Success of his media/image management strategy: public approval rating of well over 60% (relatively high) even after Lewinsky scandal broke. Also public considered other factors in evaluating Clinton.

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