Pages 222-236

Reporting the News

Unit 3: Mass Media, Political Parties and

Interest Groups

News reporting is a business in America.Journalists define what is newsworthy based

on the profits that will result from their stories…money, fame, awards, etc.

Reporting the News

Beats – specific locations from which news often emanates, such as Congress.

1991 Gulf War – more than 50% of the lead stories on TV came from the White House, Pentagon and State Department beats.

Trial Balloons – information that is leaked to see what the political reaction will be. (Monica Lewinsky and Bill Clinton)

Finding the News

Reporters and their official sources have a symbolic relationship.

Newsmakers rely on journalists to get their message out at the same time that reporters rely on the public officials to keep them in the know.

Also good examples of investigative reporting making government and politicians take a long hard look at what is really going on in America including the environment and the population.

Symbolic Relationships and Investigated Reporting

Sound bites – short video clips of approx. 15 seconds; typically all that is shown from a politician’s speech or activities on the nightly TV news.

“Rather than presenting their audience with the whole chicken, the media typically give just the McNugget.

Presenting the News

Most reporters strongly believe in journalistic objectivity, and those who practice it best are usually rewarded by their editors.

In addition, media outlets have a direct financial stake in attracting viewers and subscribers and do not want to lose their audience by appearing biased.

Different than MSNBC and Fox News.

Biased in the News

A person’s face talking directly to the camera. Because this is visually unappealing, the major commercial networks rarely show a politician talking one-on-one for very long.

Talking Head

Policy Agenda – “the list of subjects or problems to which government officials, and people outside the government closely associated with those officials, are paying some serious attention at any given time” –

Policy Entrepreneurs – people that invest their political “capital” in an issue.

Policy Agenda and Entrepreneurs