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Splash Screen. Chapter Focus Section 1 How Media Impact Government Section 2 Regulating Print and Broadcast Media Section 3 The Internet and Democracy Chapter Assessment. Contents. Why It’s Important. Chapter Objectives.

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  1. Splash Screen

  2. Chapter Focus Section 1 How Media Impact Government Section 2 Regulating Print and Broadcast Media Section 3 The Internet and Democracy Chapter Assessment Contents

  3. Why It’s Important

  4. Chapter Objectives • How Media Impact Government Discuss the role of mass media in United States politics. • Regulating Print and Broadcast Media Evaluate the role the government plays in regulating the mass media. • The Internet and Democracy Analyze the impact of the Internet on government in the United States. Chapter Objectives

  5. End of Chapter Focus

  6. How Media Impact Government • Key Terms • mass media, news release, news briefing, leak, media event, front-runner, spot advertising • Find Out • • What are the major forms of print and broadcast media? • • What is news? What is the major purpose of news reporting? Section 1 Introduction-1

  7. How Media Impact Government • Understanding Concepts • Political ProcessesTelevision has become a very important part of modern politics, but not without consequences. How has television’s role weakened the traditional role played by political parties? • Section Objective • Discuss the role of mass media in United States politics. Section 1 Introduction-2

  8. In April 1979 President Jimmy Carter held a treaty-signing ceremony on the White House lawn. With him were President Sadat of Egypt and Prime Minister Begin of Israel—and nearby recording this historical event were hundreds of reporters, television crews, and photographers from all over the world. This news event ended 30 years of fighting between the two countries and highlighted Carter’s role in trying to bring peace to the Middle East. Section 1-1

  9. I. The President and the Media (pages 527–529) • A. The president is an important source of news; 80 percent of all media coverage of national government focuses on the president. • B. Modern presidents and their staffs try to manage relations with the mass media in various ways in order to sell their policies and programs to the public. • C. The White House uses news releases and briefings, as well as press conferences, to make announcements and to explain policies, decisions, or actions. Section 1-2

  10. I. The President and the Media (pages 527–529) • D. The president or another top official sometimes gives reporters important pieces of information in a backgrounder, which the media report without naming the source of information. • E. Top government officials also provide the media with information “off the record” and through news leaks. • F. Modern presidents stage news events to reinforce their positions on issues. Section 1-3

  11. I. The President and the Media (pages 527–529) How do the president and the press rely on each other in order to do their jobs? In what ways does this interdependency interfere with doing their jobs effectively? Students should discuss the mutually beneficial relationship of press and president. Section 1-4

  12. II. Media and Presidential Campaigns (pages 529–532) • A. Television greatly impacts presidential campaigns by 1) requiring that candidates be telegenic, 2) making it possible for unknowns to quickly become serious candidates, and 3) encouraging celebrities from other fields to enter politics. • B. Mass media coverage of nominations, especially primaries presented in horse-race terms, has fundamentally changed the presidential nominating process. Section 1-5

  13. II. Media and Presidential Campaigns (pages 529–532) • C. Early primaries are covered intensely by the media and so become critically important, establishing the front-runners even though the states involved represent only a small fraction of the national electorate. • D. The front-running candidates are the only ones able to attract the needed funds to succeed in the long nominating process, and the candidates of each party are clearly identified months before the nominating conventions. Section 1-6

  14. II. Media and Presidential Campaigns (pages 529–532) • E. Television has also affected how candidates communicate with the voters, relying largely on spot advertising, the technique used to sell most products on television. • F. Television advertising campaigns cost candidates huge sums of money. • G. Television has weakened the role of political parties as the key link between politicians and the voters in national politics and has made candidates less dependent on their political party organization. Section 1-7

  15. II. Media and Presidential Campaigns (pages 529–532) Do you agree or disagree that media coverage of presidential campaigns would improve if there was a greater focus on issues? Explain. Answers will vary. Ask: Why do media focus less on issues? Section 1-8

  16. III. Congress and the Media (pages 532–533) • A. Congressional coverage in the news media focuses on individual members and tends to report on the most controversial aspects of Congress, such as confirmation hearings, oversight activities, and the personal business of members. • B. Senate confirmation hearings attract wide media coverage, and the media often conduct their own investigations of those nominated for office. • C. Media coverage of certain congressional investigations, such as Watergate, has created some of the biggest stories in American politics. Section 1-9

  17. III. Congress and the Media (pages 532–533) • D. The news media try to create big stories by looking for scandal in the personal activities of members of Congress. • E. Both the House and Senate allow television coverage of floor proceedings, and both have recording studios where lawmakers prepare radio and television messages for voters back home. Section 1-10

  18. III. Congress and the Media (pages 532–533) Which part of the mass media do you find most helpful in understanding the issues before Congress? Students may not be familiar with many forms of media coverage. Discuss press coverage and C-SPAN. Section 1-11

  19. IV. The Court and the Media (page 533) • A. The Supreme Court and the lower federal courts receive much less media coverage than the executive and legislative branches because of the remoteness of judges and the technical nature of the issues with which courts deal. • B. The Supreme Court holds no news conferences and keeps to the tradition that its decisions must speak for themselves. Section 1-12

  20. IV. The Court and the Media (page 533) In what way is the relationship between the Supreme Court and the news media different from that between the media and the other two branches of government? Broadcast media do not cover many Court decisions because of their complexity. Section 1-13

  21. V. Setting the Public Agenda (pages 533—534) • A. The public agenda is a list of the societal problems that both political leaders and citizens agree need governmental attention. • B. The news media play a very important role in setting the public agenda by highlighting some issues and ignoring others. • C. Competition between media networks influences which decisions the media should cover; networks try to attract a large audience by focusing on stories that will interest the largest number of viewers. • D. The media also have a major impact on public opinion toward government and issues by influencing people’s attitudes and values. Section 1-14

  22. V. Setting the Public Agenda (pages 533—534) The mass media tend to play an important role in setting the national agenda. What are some positive or negative effects of this tendency? Positive: keeps people informed. Negative: focus narrows to popular issues. Section 1-15

  23. Checking for Understanding • 1. Main Idea Use a graphic organizer like the one below to identify how media impact government. • Answers might include: President—media impact image, communication with public, and campaigns; Congress—media coverage of congressional hearings and debates helps members be aware of constituents’ concerns; Court—largely independent of media coverage and public opinion Section 1 Assessment-1

  24. Checking for Understanding • A. the brief, frequent, positive description of a candidate or a candidate’s major themes broadcast on television or radio • B. the release of secret information by anonymous government officials to the media • C. a meeting during which a government official makes an announcement or explains a policy, decision, or action • D. a ready-made story government officials prepare for members of the press • E. means of communication, such as television, newspapers, movies, books, and the Internet Match the term with the correct definition. • ___ mass media • ___ news release • ___ news briefing • ___ leak • ___ spot advertising • E • D • C • B • A Section 1 Assessment-2

  25. Checking for Understanding • 3. Identify press conference, backgrounder, horse-race coverage. • A press conference is the news media’s questioning of a high-level government official. • A backgrounder is information given by top government officials to a reporter who can use the information in a story but cannot reveal his or her source. • Horse-race coverage is the media approach of focusing on “winners” and “losers” and “who’s ahead,” rather than on issues or policy positions. Section 1 Assessment-3

  26. Checking for Understanding • 4. Why are television networks reducing coverage of nominating conventions? • Since the nominees are already chosen before the convention, the networks feel the conventions are not “news” and therefore deserve less coverage than they used to get. Section 1 Assessment-4

  27. Critical Thinking • 5. Formulating Questions Write three questions that should be asked in order to determine whether the media challenges government actions effectively. • Questions will vary but should ask whether the media truthfully inform the public, protect public interest, influence public opinion, provide a fairly unbiased viewpoint, serve as many people as possible, and so on. Section 1 Assessment-5

  28. Political Processes Create a political cartoon that describes the role of the mass media in forming your basic ideas about government, politicians, and national and international events. Consider broadcast, print, and Internet media. Section 1 Concepts in Action

  29. End of Section 1

  30. Regulating Print and Broadcast Media • Key Terms • prior restraint, libel, shield law, fairness doctrine • Find Out • • Why does the federal government have more power to regulate the broadcast media than the print media? • • What issues did the Telecommunications Act of 1996 address? Section 2 Introduction-1

  31. Regulating Print and Broadcast Media • Understanding Concepts • Civil LibertiesShould all the liberties that are extended to the print media also be extended to the broadcast media? Explain your answer. • Section Objective • Evaluate the role the government plays in regulating the mass media. Section 2 Introduction-2

  32. Televised debates may have determined the outcome of the 1960 presidential election. The Republican candidate, Richard Nixon, had injured his knee weeks earlier and was still in pain. He also had lost weight and looked haggard. By contrast, John F. Kennedy had just returned from a rest in Florida and looked fit and tanned. Most radio listeners thought Nixon had won the debates, but the far larger television audience perceived Kennedy as the victor. Kennedy won the election by a paper-thin margin of 118,000 votes. Section 2-1

  33. I. Protecting the Media (pages 536–537) • A. The First Amendment guarantees freedom of the press; the press is free from prior restraint. • B. Public officials almost never win libel suits because there is no law against criticizing government officials. Section 2-2

  34. I. Protecting the Media (pages 536–537) Do you think that public officials should sue for libel if they feel their reputations have been damaged? Explain. Yes: damage to reputation. No: there is no law against criticizing government officials. Section 2-3

  35. II. The Right to Gather Information (page 537) • A. Lower courts generally have supported the right of the press to have information about government actions and decisions. • B. The media have fought in the courts for shield laws to avoid disclosing sources; no such federal law exists, though more than half the states have them. Section 2-4

  36. II. The Right to Gather Information (page 537) Why might you support or oppose shield laws for news sources? Support: to keep sources of information from vanishing. Oppose: criminals may escape unpunished. Section 2-5

  37. III. Regulating Broadcast Media (pages 537–540) • A. The federal government has the power to regulate the broadcast media because airwaves are a public resource. • B. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regulates interstate and international communications by radio, television, telephone, telegraph, cable and satellite. • C. The FCC cannot censor broadcasts, but it can fine stations that violate rules. Section 2-6

  38. III. Regulating Broadcast Media (pages 537–540) • D. The extent of FCC content regulation varies in response to changing technology, court rulings, and changes in the political climate. For example, the controversial fairness doctrine, which required broadcasters to guarantee equal airtime to both sides of a controversial issue, was removed during the Reagan administration. • E. Until 1996,the federal government set rules for media ownership to prevent a few owners from gaining control of the news and entertainment in the largest American cities. Section 2-7

  39. III. Regulating Broadcast Media (pages 537–540) • F. The Telecommunications Act of 1996 ended or greatly relaxed many of the FCC’s limits on media ownership with the goal of increasing competition, and also tried to control violent and obscene content in the mass media. Section 2-8

  40. III. Regulating Broadcast Media (pages 537–540) Section 2-9

  41. III. Regulating Broadcast Media (pages 537–540) Do you think the federal government should be allowed to regulate obscene or violent content in the mass media? Why or why not? Yes: public interest, because airwaves are a public resource; No: may violate free speech and free press rights Section 2-10

  42. IV. Media and National Security (pages 540–541) • A. National security concerns may conflict with citizens’ need to know, especially in foreign affairs, where weapons, intelligence information, and military secrets often are involved. • B. Government restriction on media coverage of military actions has varied. Media reporting on the Vietnam War and the secret Pentagon Papers in 1991 caused controversy; tensions caused the government to limit access to the battlefield during the 1991 Persian Gulf War. Section 2-11

  43. IV. Media and National Security (pages 540–541) Do you agree or disagree with the government’s actions in restricting media coverage during a war, such as those in the 1991 Persian Gulf War? Explain. Answers will vary. Students should balance national security needs against citizens’ right to know. Section 2-12

  44. Checking for Understanding • 1. Main Idea Use a graphic organizer like the one below to show how the Telecommunications Act of 1996 affected the FCC. • Answers might include that the FCC’s control over media ownership was greatly relaxed and that the FCC was required to conduct studies on media ownership every two years. Section 2 Assessment-1

  45. Checking for Understanding • 2. Define prior restraint, libel, shield law, fairness doctrine. • Prior restraint is government censorship of information before it is published or broadcast. • Libel is false written or published statements intended to damage a person’s reputation. • Shield law is a law that gives reporters some means of protection against being forced to disclose confidential information or sources in state courts. • Fairness doctrine is the rule requiring broadcasters to provide opportunity for the expression of opposing views on issues of public importance. Section 2 Assessment-2

  46. Checking for Understanding • 3. Identify right of access. • Right of access refers to the media’s special rights regarding access to information on the decisions of government. Section 2 Assessment-3

  47. Checking for Understanding • 4. Explain why the federal government regulates broadcast media more than print media. • The federal government has more power to regulate broadcast media because it involves the sharing of public airwaves. Section 2 Assessment-4

  48. Checking for Understanding • 5. Why have regulations on media ownership been loosened in recent decades? • Advancing technology has forced the loosening of regulations. Section 2 Assessment-5

  49. Critical Thinking • 6. Synthesizing Information Why might the need for national security conflict with the First Amendment protections that are usually given to the media? • Students’ answers will vary but should focus on the tension between the need to protect national security and the need of a free society to receive open and accurate information. Section 2 Assessment-6

  50. Civil Liberties Interview, write, or e-mail a local newspaper editor to find out what precautions the newspaper takes to prevent libel suits. Share the information you obtain with your classmates. Section 2 Concepts in Action

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