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Chapter 6 |
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The struggle for who gets what, when and how is largely carried out through the media. Mass communications help determine what the nation knows about politics and thus helps determine who gets what. The media is often referred to as the "fourth branch" of government because of the power they wield. The media consists of television, newspapers, magazines, radio, books, recordings, films, and the Internet.
Television is the most powerful media format since almost every home in America has a television set. Most people watch their local news for information. While the major network news shows have lost viewers, cable news and weekly television news magazines have grown in popularity. Young people now turn to internet news sources in growing numbers. Television is rated the most believable news source by the public, with CNN rated the highest.
While less than half of the adult population reads a newspaper each day, most political and business elites read one of the major newspapers each day. The leading newspapers are "The New York Times," "Washington Post," and the "Wall Street Journal." Weekly newsmagazines are read by an even smaller portion of the population, but their readers tend to be among the most politically active.
One reason behind the power of television is its ability to deliver emotion over the airwaves. The anger of mob or the desperation of a starving child have a greater effect than the written word. Thus, image trumps substance. Media's ability to set the political agenda forces political leaders to pay attention -- more so than the average viewer. The media clearly does more than mirror reality.
Sources of Media Power
A free press is guaranteed in the Constitution. The media and government officials are natural adversaries as the media seeks to serve as watchdogs and define the problems of society. Media professionals view their jobs as a "sacred trust" and believe they serve as the true voice of the public.
Media power derives from five functions: newsmaking, agenda setting, interpreting, socializing, and persuading:
1. Newsmaking. The media determines what will be news, thereby attaching importance to events and people. Investigative journalism can also pose a threat to politicians and bureaucrats, potentially uncovering scandal or ineffectiveness. Also, the media provide opportunities for political actors to gain the limelight through staging media events and providing "sound bytes." By the same token, events which are not pictorial in nature may be relatively neglected by the media.
2. Agenda Setting. This is the real power of the media. The media select what is to be covered, thereby setting a political agenda. Conversely, media inattention can allow governments to continue ineffective policies or worse. The media can even propel a latent issue into a "crisis" with which government must deal.
3. Interpreting. The media interprets the news for us, often in the form of stories. Stories, in turn, often involve good guys versus bad guys, little guys versus big guys, and contrasts of appearance versus reality, sometimes showing governmental hypocrisy. Pictures are key to interpreting stories and can be edited to show whatever viewpoint or emotion the editor seeks to reveal.
4. Socializing. Socialization, which is the learning of political values, is communicated not only in the news, but in entertainment, sports, and even advertising programming. Such programming coverage teaches how democracy works and legitimizes the electoral victors.
5. Persuading. Sometimes the media seeks to influence opinions directly. This occurs in editorial features, paid political advertisements, and sometimes in investigative reports. PACs and corporations can use their funds to purchase media coverage to promote their views on issues and candidates. Candidates, in turn, rely on media professionals to maximize their impact on public opinion. Presidents can go "over the heads of Congress" to seek to persuade the public of the wisdom or propriety of their policies.
The Business of the Media
It is important to remember that the media is a business and they must sell advertising time. Over one-quarter of primetime television is devoted to advertisements. The rate the media charges for advertising time depends on the audience rating numbers. For newspapers and magazines, advertising revenue is based on the number of papers or magazines they sell or circulation.
Most media programming is considered "soft" or fluff -- meaning it lacks hard intellectual content. The mass public prefers soft programming. Because of this preference, news has increasingly been presented as entertainment. A large number of "soft" news programs have been created and for many Americans this is their only source of news. Today seven major multinational corporations control the world media.
The Politics of News
The economic interests of the media in gaining and keeping viewers may bias it toward sensationalism, giving disproportionate coverage to events involving war, violence, conflict, scandal, corruption, sex, scares, and personal lives of politicians and celebrities. In general, there is a negativism in the media, biasing it toward bad news as more newsworthy. "Good news" stories, such as the fact that drug use has declined, is less reported and as a result often is not part of the knowledge base citizens use in forming their opinions. The news profession itself holds investigative reporting in high esteem, creating media pressure toward muckraking. Reporters may see themselves as "watchdogs" of the public interest or even as adversaries of government. Sometimes muckraking stories become "feeding frenzies" where intense coverage blocks out almost all other news. Journalistic activism, in turn, means that the personal values of reporters are more important than they would otherwise be. Surveys of reporters, editors, and other media executives reveal a liberal bias, with few (around 10 percent in typical surveys) classifying themselves as conservative, right-leaning, or Republican. Conservative commentators include George Will, William F. Buckley, and Patrick Buchanan. Fox News network has brought a conservative voice to television. Hollywood is also decidedly liberal, but it is unclear how great an influence it has on politics as most television programs and movies are aimed entertainment and selling advertising time. In the arena of talk radio, however, conservatives dominate. Talk radio is sometimes referred to as "call-in democracy."
Mediated Elections
The media shapes political campaigning and elections.
The public learns about the candidates through the media. Thus, one's media image is of primary concern. The media image includes the candidate's words, mannerisms, appearance, personality, warmth, friendliness, humor and ease in front of the camera. In the arena of television, personal communication becomes central to a successful candidate. How a candidate says something thus becomes as important as what the candidate says. The media plays a central role in selecting candidates early in the process. The media helps create name recognition by frequently referring to a candidate, and media inattention can kill a candidate's aspirations. In presidential elections, it is essential to build name recognition early in the primary process by staging media events that attract coverage for free. The media sort out serious candidates and place expectations on front runners. By establishing front runners the media help determine financial contributions to the candidates.
Early in the campaign season media coverage and standings in the polls are usually synonymous. Therefore, media exposure is essential early in the campaign. Candidates hire media consultants to help them gain access to media coverage. The campaigns create media events to attract coverage by placing the candidates in action-oriented activities. The media report mainly on who is ahead or behind in a race, or horse-race coverage. In addition, focus is on money being spent in the campaign, standings in the polls, controversies, verbal blunders, and character issues, while policy issues only account for about one-third of the coverage. Negative stories of candidates predominate and increasingly the candidates personal lives are being scrutinized in detail. Increasingly, candidates sound bites are shrinking and now are typically less than eight seconds in length. While there is media bias, attempts are made to cover both party's candidates equally. Typically, front runners are criticized more than underdogs.
Freedom versus Fairness
The Constitution protects the freedom of the media but does not guarantee its fairness. Government may not place a prior restraint on the news, as it attempted to do in the famous "Pentagon Papers" case involving Vietnam-era documents. Broadcast media (radio, television) have a special legal status more subject to regulation than print media (newspapers, magazines) because their assignment of a broadcasting frequency by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is regarded as a public trust. Until 2003 the FCC prohibited a single individual or firm to own both a leading television and newspaper in the same city in order to insure diversity, however with the explosion in cable and satellite channels the rule was deemed to be outdated. The FCC imposes an equal-time rule which requires stations to give equal time to opposing candidates if free time is given to any candidate, or to offer opposing candidates air time at an equal price in the case of paid political commercials. The equal-time requirement does not apply to news, talk shows, or documentary coverage
Libel and Slander
Written communication that wrongly damages an individual is known as libel, while spoken language is referred to as slander. The injured party must prove the language called actual damage and was false or damaging. In the case of public officials, based on the case of New York Times v. Sullivan (1964), the injured party must also prove "malicious intent." This is called the Sullivan rule and it means that the media may be biased, unfair, or even print damaging falsehoods as long as no malicious intent was involved.
The media believe that they are protected from revealing sources under the First Amendment, however the Supreme Court has not provided protection to reporters to withhold information in court. Some states do have shield laws to protect reporters.
Politics and the Internet
The Internet provides for interactive participation in politics unlike any other form of media. Anyone can create a website and post information or send emails. The Internet was initially proposed a means of communication that would survive a nuclear attack and which lacked any organization or central control mechanism. Political websites now abound with almost all governmental agencies, interest groups, candidates and parties maintaining their own sites.
The Internet is largely an uncensored and unfiltered medium. When Congress has attempted to place restrictions on its content, such as the Internet and Communications Decency Act of 1996, the Supreme Court has repeatedly ruled that the First Amendment protects free speech through this medium of communication. The Internet also allows for tracking of its users and thus presents privacy concerns.
Media Effects: Shaping Political Life
Media has its strongest effect on information availability and societal concerns. Information overload, in which viewers are bombarded with so much information they can no longer make sense of any of it, seriously reduces the influence of media in determining what one thinks about politics. The media has only limited ability to change values and opinions because most individuals screen out information with which they disagree; this is known as selective perception. In addition, with the focus on so much negative news, many viewers have succumbed to television malaise or generalized feelings of cynicism, distrust and powerlessness concerning American life.
Extensive studies have shown that most people's opinions are not changed by the media, however when opinions do change they typically move in the direction favored by the media. Still, television news anchors have high credibility and trust with the public and their opinions have the greatest media effect on mass opinion. Others who have been shown to have an effect on mass opinion through media exposure include independent experts and popular presidents, whereas interest groups often have little or even a counter-productive effect.
Also, media effects on behavior are limited. Most studies conclude that television is more likely to reinforce existing behavioral tendencies rather than change them. For example, television violence does not make average children more violent, but it can exacerbate such behavior in children with violent tendencies. In politics, advertisements are not likely to change the minds of a candidates supporters, but they may sway that segment of undecided voters.
Chapter Objectives
After mastering the concepts in this chapter, you will be able to
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