Transcript U.S. and Texas Politics and Constitution The News Media I February

U.S. and Texas Politics and Constitution
The News Media I
March 3-5, 2015
J. BRYAN COLE
POLS 1336
What is the Mass Media?
 Mass media: “affordable communications
technologies capable of reaching an extensive
audience” (p. 125)
 Note the kinds of media that can fall under this
broad definition
Types of News Media
Traditional
Newer Forms
Types of News Media
Traditional
Newer Forms
What functions do the news media perform in a
democracy?
What functions do the news media perform in a
democracy?
Important Implications
 Public opinion is enormously dependent on the news
media
 Courts fiercely protective of freedom of the press, i.e.
no prior restraint (journalists do not have to obtain
permission from the government before printing a
story, etc.)
The News Media and Democracy
 Helps keep public
informed
 Holds the government
accountable, beyond just
checks and balances
 Example: Carl Bernstein
and Bob Woodward
 Trailer for All the
President's Men
Fact Checking
 Many fact-checking
websites have emerged in
recent years
 Example: Politifact
Overall Impact of the News Media
Walter Lippmann
 Many observers have feared
that the media is a form of
propaganda, i.e. it reaches
millions of Americans and
tells them what to think
 “Where all men think alike,
no one thinks very much”
(Walter Lippmann)
 Is this true? What powers do
the media possess?
The American news media can tell everyone what
to think.
A. Strongly agree
48%
B. Somewhat agree
C. Somewhat
disagree
D. Strongly disagree
E. Not sure
18%
14%
15%
ur
e
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sa
gr
ly
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Selective Exposure
 Occurs when people deliberately ignore those news
sources with which they disagree
 Becoming increasingly common in the early 2000s
Selective Exposure Made Easy
Liberal News Sources
Conservative News
Sources
 New York Times
 Wall Street Journal
 MSNBC
 FOX News
 Nation
 Huffington Post
 Talk radio (e.g. The Bill
Press Show, The
Stephanie Miller
Show)
 National Review,
Weekly Standard
 Drudge Report
 Talk radio (e.g. The
Rush Limbaugh Show,
Glenn Beck Radio
Program)
Of your three biggest news sources, with how
many do you generally agree?
A. None
42%
B. One
C. Two
32%
D. Three
E. Not sure
11%
ur
e
No
ts
re
e
Th
Tw
o
8%
On
e
No
ne
8%
Selective Perception
 Definition: tendency to discount information that is
inconsistent with one’s prior predispositions in
favor of information consistent with what one
already believes
 Often occurs subtly
 Selective Perception Among Voters
Motivated Reasoning
 Definition: interpreting news in a manner that’s
consistent with your prior beliefs
 Done much more actively than selective perception
 Example: An Inconvenient Truth (Al Gore
documentary about global warming)
Agenda Setting
 The news media don’t tell us what to think; they just tell
us what to think about
 Even in the age of the 24-hour news cycle, journalists
have to make difficult choices about what stories to cover
and which ones to neglect
 Chicken/egg dilemma


Do the media decide what to publicize first?
Or do they just cover events/issues that are already on our minds?
Example: Civil Rights Movement
Agenda Setting and Polling
 Predictably, the presentation of polling results is one
way by which agenda setting occurs
 Consequences of Agenda Setting (including as it
relates to polling)
Framing
 Framing: stating of an argument in such a way as to
emphasize one set of considerations and
deemphasize others
 Deals with how the media cover a news story
 Example: Proposed KKK rally on campus
Framing Example: A Proposed KKK Rally at OSU
Public Safety
Freedom of Speech
 Headline: Ku Klux
Klan Tests OSU's
Commitment to Free
Speech
 Headline: Possible Ku Klux
Klan Rally Raises Safety
Concerns
 “Can campus police
prevent a riot if the KKK
comes to town?”
 “How far is OSU
prepared to go to
protect freedom of
speech?”

From: Nelson, Thomas E., Rosalee A.
Clawson, and Zoe M. Oxley. 1997. “Media
Framing of a Civil Liberties Conflict and Its
Effect on Tolerance.” American Political
Science Review 91(3): 567-583.
Priming
 Priming: what occurs when
the media affect the
standards people use to
evaluate political figures or
the severity of a problem
 Example: George H. W.
Bush and the end of his
presidency
 Effects of short attention
spans
Effects of Changes in the News Media
 "News Wars' on Frontline (PBS Documentary),
February 2007
 We will watch two sections (from Part 3):

“A New Definition for What’s News”

“Info Snacking”