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Chapter 10

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Historical Development: From the Nation’s Founding to Today

The early partisan pressSubsidized by political parties

The objective-journalism eraHelped by telegraph and rotary printing pressYellow journalismRadio, the new mass communication systemThe FCC and regulation

The Communications Act Fairness Doctrine

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Historical Development: From the Nation’s Founding to Today

The rise of the “new” newsThe end of the Fairness DoctrineCable news

CNNFounded by Ted Turner in 1980Chose to pursue a path of partisan neutrality

Fox NewsChose a partisan (conservative) format

MSNBCLiberal format

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Historical Development: From the Nation’s Founding to Today

The rise of the “new” newsPartisan radio talk shows

Without the Fairness Doctrine, radio programmers were free to move to a politically partisan format

Emergence of the InternetLow-cost entry compared with other mass mediaSome “new” news outlets a stunning successThe Drudge Report, Daily Kos, Huffington Post

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Journalism and PoliticsThe signaling function

Alert the public to important developmentsU.S. media well-equipped to play this rolePerformed by the traditional media

Wire services (AP, UPI, Reuters) Daily newspapers Television networks

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Journalism and PoliticsThe signaling function

Agenda-setting of U.S. media results in similarity in national news everywhere

News media meant to inform the public, but also need to attract an audience

Media focus on politics instead of policy

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Journalism and PoliticsThe common-carrier function

Conduit for political communicationTV news has become more journalist-centeredTopics often distilled to the “sound bite”Framing: the way events are cast

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Journalism and PoliticsThe watchdog function

Objective journalism fosters watchdog reportingWatergateEdward Snowden NSA leaks in 2013

Internet has expanded watchdog capacity of mediaAlmost any event today will be filmed or taped

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Journalism and PoliticsThe partisan function

Traditional media: mostly neutralTalk shows: mostly conservativeThe Internet: mostly liberal

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The News AudienceThe partisan divide

Until the 1980s Americans had three TV networksHuge daily audiences—newscasts varied only slightly Viewers exposed to the views of both political parties

Patterns disruptedFairness Doctrine rescindedThe emergence of cable TV and the Internet

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The News AudienceThe information divide

More news outlets, yet viewers less informedFragmented news sources have led to partisan polarization

among audienceMore news available, but alternate programming aids

avoidance of newsYounger people are less informed than older people about

political affairs

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