THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE MASS MEDIA IN THE UNITED STATES

§ Communication § Transmitting information from one individual or

group to another § Mass Communication

§ Process by which information is transmitted to a large, widely-dispersed audience

§ Mass Media § The means for communicating to these audiences

ü Print ü Broadcast ü Internet

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THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE MASS MEDIA IN THE UNITED STATES

§ Prominent mass media for political content . . . § Newspapers § Magazines § Radio § Television § The Internet

§ Other media for political content . . . § Music § Movies




THE GROWTH OF BROADCAST MEDIA SINCE 1920

§ Newspapers § First newspapers: financed by political parties § 1830s: Independent ownership § 1880s: Most large cities had many newspapers § 1960s: Radio and television competition § Today: Circulation down but readership up (online)

ü Institute paywalls



§ Magazines § Can wield political power

ü Attentive policy elites ü Two-step flow of communication

§ Circulation has declined ü Time magazine biggest in U.S.

§ Political magazines ü The National Review ü The Weekly Standard



§ Radio § 1920s: Continuous broadcasting began

ü NBC first radio network ü Edward R. Murrow

§ Today: Nearly 15,000 licensed stations ü Nine out of ten Americans listen to radio every week ü Audience of talk radio more Republican



§ Television § 1940s: 23 stations in U.S. § 1951: first coast-to-coast broadcast

ü Harry Truman’s address at Japanese peace treaty conference ü Kefauver’s coverage of organized crime investigation

§ 2012: 1,300 commercial stations in U.S. ü 97% of households have television ü Three large networks with large audiences ü Millions of viewers moving to cable networks




WATCHING THE PRESIDENT ON TELEVISION

This close-up of John Kennedy during a debate with Richard Nixon in the 1960 campaign showed Kennedy to good advantage. In contrast, close-ups of Nixon made him look as though he needed a shave.

MPI/Stringer/Archive Photos/Getty Images


LAUGH AND LEARN

Many people learn about politics by watching comedians like Jon Stewart, the host of The Daily Show. Almost 30 percent of adults surveyed said that they learned about the 2008 political campaign from comedy shows like The Daily Show, The Colbert Report, or Saturday Night Live.

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§ Internet § 1969: Began with ARPANET § Initially used for e-mail § 1991: World Wide Web

ü Created by European physicists ü Fifty websites in 1993 ü 860 million websites today

§ Development of wireless technology ü Smartphones and tablets

§ Blogs



Critical Thinking Question ?

§ U.S. takes private ownership for granted § Chinese government employs Internet police § Some Western democracies’ print media privately

owned, broadcast media not


PRIVATE OWNERSHIP OF THE MEDIA

§ The Consequences of Private Ownership § Private ownership results in . . .

ü More political freedom ü Dependence on advertising revenues ü Must appeal to audience

§ Newsworthiness § Market-driven journalism

ü Hook-and-hold approach of local television news ü Major broadcasters part of huge conglomerates

§ Infotainment




DUCKING THE CENSORS


GETTING THE NEWS: CONSIDER THE SOURCE

§ The Concentration of Private Ownership § Trend toward concentrated ownership

ü NBC-Comcast merger

§ Increases risk of a few owners controlling news flow ü Gannett chain owns over 80 daily newspapers

§ Suggested that newspapers operate as nonprofits ü No major paper has done

§ Concentration of ownership not a problem in television industry



§ Technical and Ownership Regulations § Federal Radio Act of 1927 § Federal Communications Act of 1934

ü Created Federal Communications Commission (FCC) ü FCC regulates interstate and international communications ü FCC sets social, economic, and technical goals for industry


GOVERNMENT REGULATION OF THE MEDIA

Critical Thinking Question ?

§ Technical and Ownership Regulations § Telecommunications Act of 1996

ü Relaxed ownership rules ü Allowed phone companies to compete and sell TV services

§ FCC regulates Internet ü No jurisdiction to regulate content ü Emerging technologies, ownership issues, cross-platform content



§ Regulation of Content § First Amendment protects freedom of speech § U.S. has freest news media in world § FCC regulates content

ü Fairness Doctrine (repealed in 1987) ü Equal Opportunities Rule ü Reasonable Access Rule



§ Four functions § Reporting the news § Interpreting the news § Setting the agenda for government action § Socializing citizens about politics


FUNCTIONS OF THE MASS MEDIA FOR THE POLITICAL SYSTEM


As press conferences have become more formal and scripted, they have also become less frequent. When journalists and the president had more of a collegial relationship, press conferences were common. With the exception of Bill Clinton, modern presidents are clustered at the bottom of the graph.

§ Reporting the News § 5,000 journalists in congressional press corps § Special access to president began in 1902

ü Theodore Roosevelt ü Mediated through Office of Press Secretary

§ White House and Congressional news ü News releases ü Congressional reports ü Social networking ü C-SPAN coverage ü News leaks



§ Interpreting and Presenting the News § Gatekeepers § Horse race journalism § Media events

§ Where the Public Gets Its News § Until early 1960s: newspapers § Television dominant since 1960s § Radio § Internet § Social networks



§ Media Influence on Knowledge and Opinions § Television hypothesis § Soft news

ü Can improve levels of political knowledge ü Can lead people to be more cynical about politics

§ Nine out of ten Americans believe media strongly influence public opinion



§ Setting the Political Agenda § Media’s greatest influence is on political agenda

ü Issues not on agenda will not get political attention ü Media can force government to address issues ü Some issues receive too much coverage

ü Crime ü Politicians eager to influence media coverage ü Media influences public opinion by defining “the news” ü Going public



§ Socializing the Citizenry § Young people acquire political values through

entertainment media ü Criminal justice system portrayed differently on TV today ü TV reinforces the hegemony of existing culture and order

§ Media plays contradictory roles ü Promote popular support of government ü Erode public confidence




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§ Is Reporting Biased? § News filtered through ideological bias of owners,

editors, and reporters § Citizens skeptical of news § News reports criticized for liberal bias


EVALUATING THE MEDIA IN GOVERNMENT

§ Is Reporting Biased? § Newspapers tend to favor Republican candidates § Congressional incumbents receive more coverage § Bias depends on political party in power § Citizens act as editors to judge information




This graph shows that the public increasingly sees the news media as inaccurate and biased, especially in the past few years.

§ Contributions to Democracy § U.S. political communication goes from government

to citizens by going through media § Watchdog journalism § Media reports citizens’ reactions to political events § Media suggests courses of government action § Majoritarian model of democracy



§ Effects on Freedom, Order and Equality § Media plays role in advancing equality

ü Civil Rights movement ü Offers disadvantaged groups opportunity to state their case

§ Journalists resist government infringement on freedom of press to promote order

§ Sensational journalism ü Weakens public trust




SOCIAL MEDIA AND CONGRESS

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1.  What is your major source of political information? Do you follow any political figures on social networking sites?

2.  Why do members of Congress use social media to communicate with voters instead of relying on traditional media?

3.  Is the traditional press conference still effective? What are its advantages and disadvantages?


VIDEO DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

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THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE MASS MEDIA IN THE UNITED STATES