Transcript massmedia
Mass Media The History of Media in Politics BREAKING NEWS: The crawl at the bottom of the 24-hour news channels was born on 9/11 Yellow Journalism- 1890s • Newspaper battle between Pulitzer and Hearst • “You provide the pictures, I’ll Provide the war.” FDR’s Fireside Chats- 1930s Checkers Speech September 23, 1952 • How television and A black and white spotted Dog saved Nixon’s career • “And I don’t care what they say, we’re going to keep him.” Nixon-Kennedy Debates 1960 • First ever Televised debates • People who listened on radio thought Nixon won but people on TV thought Kennedy won. LBJ Woodward and Bernstein The Great Communicator(s) Media & Campaigns • • • • • Traditional Ads Web-based Ads Shadow Campaign Political Best Sellers Movies - Humor- Jib Jab - Popular Music - Vote or Die with celebrities - Media events - Horse race reporting - “The New Media” - drudge - tabloids - Blogs The Amazing Shrinking Soundbite “If you spin….. you will win” • Spin Doctors • Spin Alley • Can you spin it? • “Why does a dog wag its tail? Because a dog is smarter than its tail. If the tail was smarter, the tail would wag the dog.” -Is the dog public opinion, and the tail the media? - Is the dog the media,and the tail campaign managers? - Is the dog the people and the tail the government? White House Press Secretary • Ari Fleischer, Scott McClellan, Tony Snow • “Outer Orbit” • Take out the Trash Day White House Press Conferences? • “We’ve secretly Replaced the White House Press Corps with actual Reporters.” To be a reporter who gets air Time, do you have to drink the Kool-Aid? Heroic Secret Service Agent Takes question intended for Bush. Media Conglomerates • Concentrated ownership of the media • Gannett owns USA Today and controls the biggest daily circulation in the nation + owns 100 additional papers • Rupert Murdoch owns 124 radio stations, New York Post, Weekly Standard, FOX News • So the FCC won’t let me be or let me be me, so let me see. They try to shut me down on MTV. But if feels so empty, without me. • Five members (no more than 3 from same party) nominated by the POTUS for 5 years • Commissioners can only be removed through impeachment and conviction • “serve the public interest, convenience, and necessity” • What can they regulate? Telecommunications Act of 1996 • Relaxed limitations on media ownership a. Own up to 35% of the television market b. own unlimited percentage of radio marketClear Channel c. Remember Andrew Carnegie & Horizontal Consolidation? JD Rockefeller and Vertical Integration d. Cable companies selling telephone, internet, etc. Roles of the Media • Gatekeeper: decision making process of withholding or relaying information to the masses. • Scorekeeper: keep track of and help make political reputations; who is winning and losing in Washington • Watchdog: holding accountable public personalities and institutions that are suppose to serve the masses. - lapdog journalism Rules Governing the Media • Newspapers v. TV and Radio • Prior restraint and the Constitution • Confidentiality of Sources - can be compelled to reveal sources • Regulating Broadcasting - license renewal - deregulating broadcasting - less federal government influence - The Fairness Doctrine - Equal Time Rule • Campaigning - sponsoring debates Are the National Media Biased 1. What are the views of members of the national media? - more liberal than avg. citizen - 1992 = 91% voted Democrat compared to 43% general public 2. Do the beliefs of the national media affect how they report the news? 3. Does what the media write or say influence how their readers and viewers think? - selective attention Propaganda Techniques • Name-calling- derogatory language or words that carry a negative connotation - employed using sarcasm and ridicule • Card-stacking- presenting positive information and omitting information contrary to it. • Glittering Generalities- different positive meaning for individual subjects, but linked to highly valued concepts - honor, glory, love of country • Transfer- transfer blame or bad feelings from • Testimonial- quotations or endorsements in or out of context. Famous people • Plain Folks- views reflect those of the common person and working for their benefit • Bandwagon- follow the crowd, join in because others are. One side is the winning side