Chapter 12 Flashcards
Importance of media in American politics
As most people are not involved directly in government, the media is by far the common pool of information by which citizens learn about candidates, policy, and political happenings.
The Media as a Public Watchdog
The media watches for and reports on government failures, mistakes, and/or abuses.
Media as gatekeeper:
news organizations can control the flow of information to the citizenry by selecting what stories are shown versus what is not.
Bias in the Media
Commercial bias – media companies may be hesitant to run stories that criticize companies who buy advertising.
Patterns of Bias
Priming – media emphasizing importance of an issue through repetition.
Example: Run a story about a small scandal over and over again until it seems more important.
Framing – how media chooses to portray an issue. They may choose a partisan focus.
Example: Using terminology such as “tax relief” versus “tax expenditure” to discuss a policy proposal.
Changing Media Consumption/Use
-The fall of print newspapers:
>Chicago Sun
>NY Times?
- The fall of old broadcast journalism?
>The rise of cable (more channels to choose)
>Focus is narrowcasting rather than broad appeal.
-The replacement of TV as a news source?
>The rise of streaming video over the internet
>The blending of media sources (ie dovetailing TV programming with online content).
>The demand for linked media (ie wanting to “learn more” by following a link to a related subject or story.
Broadcasting
Reporting news & information to be of interest & importance to a broad audience.
1960s Network TV era, just 3 channels
Forced to appeal to a broad segment of society
Majority of citizenry consumed exactly the same news.
Narrowcasting
Reporting just the news & information that is of interest to a specific and narrow audience.
Rise of cable creates new channels & opportunities
Now one can choose from among several news outlets that cater to one’s own biases/interests.
Example: Sports news, $ news, partisan news…
Spin
intentionally framing an issue in order to promote a bias image. Example: death tax.
Leaks
the strategic release of confidential information to the press.