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Media and Democracy

Media and Democracy. Week 5. Bennett: News: The Politics of Illusion. Key Themes Gatekeeping News as Democratic Information System Politicians, Press, and the People Defining News War on Terror: Chilling Effect Soft News/Infotainment News Bias Beyond objectivity.

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Media and Democracy

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  1. Media and Democracy Week5

  2. Bennett: News: The Politics of Illusion • Key Themes • Gatekeeping • News as Democratic Information System • Politicians, Press, and the People • Defining News • War on Terror: Chilling Effect • Soft News/Infotainment • News Bias • Beyond objectivity

  3. Bennett: The Political Economy of News • Corporate Profit Logic and Content • Audience demographics • Economics vs. Democracy • Ratings • Fragmentation • Media Monopoly • Information Trends • Distorted power in markets; less alternative news • Less critical coverage of corporate activity; ads as news/internal censorship • Infotainment/soft news (news that sells) • Generic News – wire services • Branding the news – news as commodity/product

  4. Bennett: The Political Economy of News • Ownership Concentration & Conglomeration • Logics of Hypercommercialism & Commodification • Synergistic Strategies • Telecommunications Act of 1996, 2003 • News on the Internet

  5. Our Traditional Media Realm • US Media of Note • Newspapers, Television, Radio, Magazines • National, Local • International Newspapers • http://www.newspaperindex.com/

  6. Newspapers • USA Today • NY Times/Washington Post • Wall Street Journal • Centre Daily Times • The Daily Collegian • The Paper • Voices

  7. USA Today • America’s only national newspaper • Gannett Company • Circulation – highest in country • 2.25 million copies/weekdays/all 50 states (hotels) • Founded in 1982 • Easy to read; colorful graphics = “McPaper” • “Imagined Community” – Benedict Anderson

  8. NY Times • “National newspaper of record” • New York Times Company (15 other papers) • Circulation: 3rd in country • Daily distribution • Founded in 1851 • Liberal Bias (cultural cosmopolitanism)

  9. Wall Street Journal • International business/finance news and issues • Published by Dow Jones & Company • Circulation: 2nd in country • Daily distribution (online subscriptions) • Founded in 1889 • American conservatism/economic liberalism • Purchased by News Corps – 2007

  10. Centre Daily Times(CDT) • State College’s main daily newspaper • The McClatchey Company (31 other papers) • Circulation: 27,000 • Daily distribution • Founded in 1898 (Weekly Times); 1934 (CDT) • Penn State Focus (“Blue Weekly” – tabloid)

  11. The Daily Collegian • Penn State’s student-operated newspaper • Including commonwealth campuses (“weekly collegian”) • Gannett Company • Circulation – 40,000/weekdays • Founded in 1887 (Free Lance); 1940 (DC) • The Paper – Aaron Matthews (2007) • http://www.thepaperdocumentary.com/

  12. Voices of Central Pennsylvania • Central Pennsylvania’s monthly news magazine of investigative journalism and regional and local interest news • non-profit , volunteer • “Community platform” – progressive; identity; muckraking; • Circulation – 12,000 • Founded in 1989 • Find copies - http://www.voicesweb.org/node/10 • Internships available • Suzen Erem

  13. Television • “Network News” • ABC, NBC, CBS, • Cable • MSNBC, Fox, CNN • The Sunday Morning Punditocracy • This Week • Public Broadcasting • PBS – Jim Lehrer/BBC • Non-Profit/Public Service • C-Span

  14. “Network News” • Nightly News Broadcasts • NBC (1st - Brian Williams) • ABC (2nd - Diane Sawyer) • CBS (3rd - Katie Couric) • Audiences: 21 million; older demographic (60); shrinking yearly

  15. Cable(24/7 “coverage” ) • CNN (Cable News Network) • Time Warner • Founded in 1980; first all-news television network in US • 212 countries/territories (2nd in the US) • “CNN” Effect” = perceived impact of real-time 24-hour news coverage on the decision-making processes of US government. • Fox - #1 rated cable news network • News Corp. • Founded in 1996; emphasis on graphics • “Nationalistic”/conservative viewpoints • “Fair and Balanced”; “Fox News Alert” (“Breaking news”) • MSNBC • Microsoft/General Electric • Started in 1996; • Liberal/progressive viewpoints

  16. The Sunday Morning Punditocracy Meet the Press: David Gregory NBC 1947 Face the Nation: Bob Schieffer CBS 1954 This Week:ChristianeAmanpour ABC 1981 Fox News Sunday: Chris Wallace FOX 1996 State of the Union: John King CNN 2009

  17. Pundit • A pundit is someone who offers to mass-media their opinion or commentary on a particular subject area on which they are knowledgeable Wikipedia • An authority, or one who announces judgments, opinions or conclusions in an authoritative manner Webster’s Third Dictionary

  18. Public Broadcasting • PBS (WPSU locally – channel 3) • Straight Journalism • Reporting: context, depth, unembellished • The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer(Wash. DC/7pm locally) • (1975/"Robert MacNeil Report“) • 2.4 million viewers nightly • Corporate/Foundational/Viewer Funded • http://www.pbs.org/newshour/aboutus/funders.html • BBC World News (UK/6 pm locally) • World Focus (NYC /11pm )

  19. Non-Profit/Public Service • C-Span • Founded in 1979 • Cable-industry financed non-profit network for televising live sessions of US Government and related events (No government funding) • No Sponsorships or Advertising • C-Span2 (1986); C-Span3 (2001)

  20. Talk Radio/TV/Web • Conservative • Rush Limbaugh(None/1988)(13 million) • (31.25/400 million) • Bill O’Reilly (Harvard/1996) (4 million) • Glenn Beck (None/3.4 million)(3.5 million) • Liberal • Air America Radio (2004/1.5 million) • Difficulties: funding/management • WPSU (PBS member station in State College) • Owned by Penn State • NPR - privately and publicly funded non-profit membership media organization – • serves as a national syndicator to 797 public radio stations in the United States • News and public affairs/ cultural programs – • Most Unbiased news source (?) – attacked by everyone • WKPS (The Lion - 90.7FM) –radio/web (1994) • Owned by PSU/FCC licensed • Radio Free Penn State - Weekdays 5-6:30 (ANDY NAGYPAL) • http://www.collegian.psu.edu/archive/2004/09/09-16-04tdc/09-16-04dnews-11.asp

  21. Periodicals The Nation The American Prospect The Weekly Standard National Review Reason Utne

  22. The Nation Weekly US Periodical: Politics/Culture Liberal/Progressive (Left) Editor: Katrina Vanden Heuvel Circulation: 200,000 Sustained by donors

  23. The American Prospect • Monthly US Periodical: Politics • Liberal/Progressive (Left) • Editors:Mark Schmitt, Paul Starr, Robert Kuttner, Robert Reich • Circulation: 40,000 • Sustained by subscription • “generate debate, further ideas, and set agendas”

  24. The Weekly Standard • Weekly US Periodical: Politics • Leading neoconservative magazine (Right) • Editor: Fred Barnes William Kristol • Circulation: 83,000 • Sustained by News Corps • Advocacy journalism (partisan)

  25. National Review • Bi-weekly US Periodical: Politics • Conservative (Right) • Editor: William F. Buckley (first); today - Rich Lowry • Circulation: 155,000 • Sustained by donations and subscriptions • Young Americans for Freedom • http://www.clubs.psu.edu/up/psyaf/

  26. Reason • Monthly US Periodical: Politics, Culture • Libertarian (Left-Center-Right – debated/issue driven) • Editor: Matt Welch • Circulation: 60,000 • Sustained by Reason Foundation, a national, non-profit research and educational organization. • “Free Minds and Free Markets”

  27. Utne • Bi-monthly US Periodical: Culture • Liberal/ Progressive • Editor: Jay Walljasper • Circulation: 205,000 • Sustained by Ogden Publications • Reprinted Articles from a wide range of alternative sources

  28. Think Tanks A think tank (also called a policy institute) is an organization, institute, corporation, or group that conducts research and engages in advocacy in areas such as social policy, political strategy, economy, science or technology issues, industrial or business policies, or military advice.

  29. Primary Think Tanks http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_think_tanks_in_the_United_States Critics have suggested that, because of the private nature of the funding of some think tanks, their results are biased to a varying degree. Some argue that members will be inclined to promote or publish only those results which ensure the continued flow of funds from private donors. In some cases, corporate interests have found it useful to create "think tanks." For example, The Advancement of Sound Science Coalition was formed in the mid 1990s by Philip Morris to dispute research finding a link between second-hand smoke and cancer.

  30. Political Knowledge and the Public Sphere? • Moral Politics: How Liberals and Conservatives Think • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moral_Politics • Discourse • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Discourse • Political Discourse • http://www.huffingtonpost.com/peter-clothier/language-political-disco_b_81164.html • http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/11/21/a-thought-about-political-discourse/ • Filtering the Flak • http://www.thedailyshow.com/video/index.jhtml?videoId=220276&title=White-House-Press-Corps

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