The MediaChapter 10

Candidate Centered Campaigns

Role of the Media• Gatekeeper: influence what subjects

become national political issues, and for how long

• Scorekeeper: the national media help make political reputations, horserace journalism

• Watchdog: Following closely the front-runner candidates, searching for any past or current history that will make “news”—media maintains close eye on all important happenings of major candidates

Horserace Journalism

Kentucky Derby (1987)

• Media coverage that focuses on poll results and political battles

instead of policy issues• Refers to almost exclusive

reporting on candidate differences rather than similarities

Media’s effect on political preferences?

• It’s unclear…research is lackingBUT…• TV may influence the political

agenda• People unlikely to take cues from

the media about things that affect them personally

• Media usually does more to REINFORCE beliefs than CHANGE opinion

Trends in News Coveragemedia = primary link to American

politics• TV: news reduced to 15-45 second

sound bites• Rise of Talk Radio

– 9 out of 10 Americans listen to radio (esp. in cars)

– Radio personalities: Rush, Oliver North, Stern

– “legit” news radio

Trends in News Coveragemedia = primary link to

American politics• Newspapers: even w/ competition from Internet & cable, 63 million Americans read the paper– National papers: – Intense advertising competition– 60% of cities have competing

newspapers

Trends in News Coveragemedia = primary link to

American politics• Media Conglomerates: mega news empires– Disney/ESPN/ABC – Time Warner/Turner Broadcasting

– Gannett Corp. own 92 daily newspapers & 11 radio and cable stations

Criticism of the Media• Profit Motive: Strong competition,

must keep one step ahead• Sensationalism and “feeding

frenzy”• Homogenization of the news:

uniform consistency• Bias• Irresponsible

Who Regulates the Media?• FCC: Federal Communications

Commission—regulates electronic media

• Supreme Court consistently upholds 1st Amendment right of written press including great latitude with celebrities and politicians

• YOU do!—through ratings

Maxims of Media Relations• All secrets become public knowledge.

The more important the secret, the sooner it becomes known.

• All stories written about me are inaccurate; all stories written about you are entirely accurate.

• The rosier the news, the higher-ranking official who announces it.

• Always release bad news on a Saturday night. Few people notice it.

• Never argue with a person who buys ink by the barrel.

Freedom of Information Act• Originally created to give the

citizens information and access to the executive branch which had traditionally been secretive in divulging info.

• Now known as “Sunshine Laws” in the states because they allow full disclosure of all public documents

Does the Media Have a Liberal Bias?

• Only in regards to journalism as a profession. Journalists and broadcasters as a group favor the Democratic Party

Liberal Bias• News is not necessarily liberal

because:• 1. News comes from official

sources• 2. Journalists are trained to report

objectively from both sides of an issue

• 3. Editors and publishers are conservative and influence the final message

• 4. Media is owned by big business thus conservative

Significance of the Media in America

• Linkage Institution: connects people to their government

• Other linkage institutions-political parties and interest groups