Comm 160 Exam #2 Flashcards
Natalie Stroud: The Politics of News Choice
Partisan selective exposure is real. We are more likely to watch our party’s news than the others’. (Promotes like-minded individuals). Same with all mediums. Online we do not avoid counter-views, but often don’t get them. Political leaning can predict media use.
(Magazine waiting room study) Wanted to see which ones people would grab and if it correlated with their political affiliation. Controlled with variables.
Jennifer Jerit: Understanding the Knowledge Gap: The Role of Experts and Journalists
Knowledge gap bases on someone’s SES/Higher SES = easier time understanding political stories due to technical terms + jargon that escapes those with low SES. This causes gap to keep increasing. She argues there should be a greater contextual coverage in order to reduce gap and allow low SES to catch up. Education is best indicator for SES (plus race, age, and gender). Maybe writing can be simpler.
Two Hypotheses #1 - More expert commentary will increase knowledge gap #2 - More contextual coverage will decrease knowledge gap
Methods? Textual analysis and coded it. First one was across platforms and the other was print and television.(for the first 2) Before and after survey that was looking for causality. Gave groups information with both H and then tested them after.
Complication: Hard to do w/ pressure of breaking news.
NPR: We Tracked Down a Fake News Creator in the Suburbs: Here’s What we Learned
He claimed FBI agent that was investigating Hilary Clinton died in an apparent murder-suicide. However, this was not true. He knew he was spreading lies, but he was getting a lot of clicks and making a lot of money.
Sidenote: Republicans were far more likely to fall for this than Liberals/Democrats were.
Believability between the parties in their news
It is decreasing for both, but FOX is the sole provider of news to 40% of Republicans. Other parties do not have so much loyalty to a news source (or believability)
Confirmation Bias in Fake News
People will believe stories that confirm their initial beliefs regardless of how absurd they are.
What are some ways to refute rumors?
- Person who refutes it can be an unlikely source, such as someone from another party
- Do not repeat it often (since repetition can enforce it and give it credence)
John McManus: What kind of commodity is news?
Questions: What is news? What determines what is reported? What factors affect quality of news? How do we measure quality? Is news public of private good? Is there a variability in all of these factors?
Argument: News is not like other goods. We do not give all of the money for the information. They get their money through advertisers, so who does that make them loyal to? Incentivized to get as many viewers as they can. (Double transaction)
Cooperative exchange: 4 things you need for it to be beneficial to both parties. Act Rationally, Knowledgeable, Competition, and no Harm. Who determines all of this?
Conclusion: We are moving from letting journalists decide, to deciding ourselves. Market forces might not increase the quality of news. Competition usually increases quality, but news is not the same.
Kernell, Lamberson, and Zaller: The Market Demand for News
Journalists aren’t always happy with what they’re reporting. News is seasonal and can vary days of the week (less in the weekends).
3 Hypotheses #1 - Lower levels of civic affairs news will decrease viewership by driving away members of the core news audience #2 - Professionally- minded journalists provide somewhat an increase in civic affairs than audience wants, but not so much as to sharply undermine the ratings #3 - Supply/Demand of news is working correctly
Study: Checked every news story in NBC, ABC, and CBS over 2 years + OJ simpson coverage.
IV - OJ or soft sensational news VS soft news
DV - Viewership
Conclusion: People wanted MORE OJ news and LESS civic news. NBC and CBS reported less viewership than ABC until NBC caught up. Audience favored soft or OJ news as opposed to hard news.
Implications: Journalists are frustrated and editors see paper as a business aka what will make more money? Lead to an uninformed public unless the hard news is also sensational. Politicians need to go on cable or specialized news and find a way to frame hard news as soft news.
Journalistic theory of news: The probability of an event becoming news:
- Goes up with civic consequences of narrative
- Goes up with expected appeal
Examples of ONLY ECONOMIC, ONLY JOURNALISTIC, BOTH, and NEITHER of news theory
Economic: Social Media Celebrity Fight
Journalistic: In-depth investigation of Marijuana
Both: Watergate Scandal
Neither: Cat video
Gentzcow and Shapiro: Economics of News
Competition increases news. Diversity increases the truth, since a suppressor will be released by their competition. Competition increases investment in news gathering.
Conclusion: This can increase selected viewership and soft news.
US Media tends to be:
More privately owned and less regulated. US has 0 stations fully funded by the government, unlike other countries. (PBS/NPR get 10-15% of government funding) Countries like Europe are now less regulated. US believes airwaves are owned by the public and are licensed by private parties.
Melvin Urofsky: Rights of the People: Freedom of the Press
Individual and institutional necessary for democracy. Free speech not necessarily allowed in England even if it is true. Zenger case: Truth is a defense to libel. Sullivan case: Newspaper lied with malice in order to hurt. (Minor mistakes allowed.) Pentagon papers: No longer can the government claim it is a national security issue for everything. Led to the freedom of information act and things like Court TV.
Shanto Iyengar: Media Politics (Patterns of Media Ownership and Regulations)
American media differs because it is autonomous from the government and privately owned. This makes it less likely to make good on its civil obligations.
3 Models of Ownership: Public, Mixed, and Commercial
- Public requires levels of public programming to receive funds
US: Only competes in soft news. PBS and public news suck. Differences in hard news both domestic and foreign. FCC strict rules have died off (percent of public news and how much can be owned) [Europe provides free airtime]
Fairness doctrine: Allows for partisan news
Antitrust legislation: Attempts to block mergers that would decrease competition, but eventually they just die out.
On the Media: How Not to Leak
Included James Comey and his tapes, plus documents leaking information. Claims people are bad at doing this, they can be tracked down easily, both with technology and small clues. (Printing marks) Be careful who you contact, but especially from where.
Thomas Jefferson on Function of the Press and who to believe
We shouldn’t trust government officials, but the press!
Madison on Functions of the Press and who to believe
Claimed Republicans should trust institutions rather than the press!
First Amendment
Does not protect all speech. Different interpretations.
Modern Law
Near v. Minnesota
- No longer allowed to prohibit scandalous tabloid newspapers and require the government to restart production. Free will.
- This is not how TV started
What was the Swift agreement?
Terrorist Tracking Finance Program. Both parties tried to convince NYT not to publish, but they did anyway and in the end, the editor regretted it.
British System > Formal Defense Advisory System
Requests editor not to publish national security news. Not legally enforced, but generally complied with.
Is leaking illegal in the US or covered by the 1st amendment?
Illegal. Subject to high prosecutions. Often journalists push back and say it goes against their beliefs.
Regulatory rules governing US: Time Limits, Context, Licensing, and Spectrum Allegations
Time Limits: still restrictions with children’s tv, but not with others
Context: There are fines for some things, but a lot more relaxed now
Licensing: Renewal is easy and almost automatic
Spectrum Allegations: Now with wifi, cell, hdtv, there is a higher demand for regulation in broadcast
Regulatory Rules different to US (some)
Europe: Politicians given rights of reply laws
Germany: Certain # of minutes allocated to politicians
Britain: Formal requirements to keep things non-partisan. Free airtime for campaigns. Newspapers subsidies to ensure diversity.
Sinclair Merger
Should there be a cap to how many people you can reach? Merging with a company who shares their views can lead to an increase in bias corporations.
The Mayflower Decision. Is FCC less powerful?
Ordered that a radio station could not take a stand in a controversial matter. They would refuse to give them a license renewal after being reviewed. It is overturned NOW. Fewer license request denied.
Does not mean FCC is less powerful. No, they are a powerful threat. Stations self-sensor. They set their own rules and papers have a code of ethics.
Evolution of Fairness
Mayflower decision to FCC allowing balancing coverage to Select Opposition Rule (seeking opposing views) to stations providing reasonable opportunity for both sides.
Now, FCC has repealed this completely.
RALLY talk most important points
They are an issue driven communications firm that takes on a sticky political and social problem and finds a way to push them forward.
Successful campaigns have provocative positions, specific audience, aligned message and goals, bold, understandable issue, and EMOTION.
They reframed the 2008 gay marriage debate by: reframing the message into people believing it is now a fundamental right. It does not hurt marriage as a union and it’s value/stability. Use someone on both sides. Have correct facts (do not lie). Digital should be huge, as well as targeted marketing.
Plays played a huge part. Company support. Brand support. Had shareable things.
Finally, it was made legal. Now in popular culture.
For discussion:
- what are we challenging? How? Who are the stakeholders and audience? What needs to change? How do we promote ourselves in a way that fits us?
Heilemann and Halperin: Saint Elizabeth and the Ego Monster
Candidate John Edwards wanted to launch a presidential campaign, but he got caught cheating on his wife and his mistress had a camera. His extracurriculars hurt his campaign. He denied it and denied her son, but later it came out that the affair was true and the son was his.
Mohammed: All Attacks are Equal
He said that we care more about our own attacks than others’. We care if it was one of our own. It talked specifically about a bombing and an attack in Baghdad and in Afghanistan.
Thomas: New Hampshire Democrats
Jennifer Flowers allegations and Clinton’s draft letter. The way media covers a President is different- difference between public and private information. Shift in what is newsworthy. Now, journalists are getting really close to candidates. Journalists are more conscious about their influence in government. Media deciding what is news. “Invisible Primary” w/ journalists as politicians.
Informal Rules for Journalists (3 Pressures)
- Peer Pressure (want to be professional, good journalist)
- Cognitive Pressure (attitude bias, we all have)
- Organizational Pressure (news business must follow certain routines to work effectively on a day to day basis)
Arguments for having Professions
Recognition, Salary, Knowledge, Better Society, Easier as a Consumer, Similar Standards, Codify Proper Conduct
Arguments against having Professions
Timely, Exclusive, creates in/out group, shields work from criticism, less competition, scarcity, the have and the have nots
Is journalism a profession?
They have a society, but anyone can be a journalist. They cant control membership or exclude people. They do not get fired for violations because they avoid them. They have their own norms for organizations.
Sony “Finding Your Roots”
Ben Affleck wanted to remove the fact that his ancestors were slave owners and when the Sony emails came out, that was discovered that they did.
FDR and norms
He has polio and could not walk. When he came out, it was hidden and he was always sitting.
What are norms?
Unwritten rules
Haiti Photos/Iraq War and normss
We do not show fallen soldiers, dead people, but they showed Haiti photos. Maybe in an attempt to get more help, no guilt associated, and maybe because it will help people who only care about their own (or white people) to elicit donations
Dilbert Cartoons and norms
They do not show a gun being fired in a cartoon about a police negotiator. Then, they removed the gun being fired and just showed a bam, but still no. Then, they changed the overall gun to a donut and it was okay.
According to McManus, what are 4 things we need for a cooperative exchange in order for it to benefit both parties?
Act Rationally, Knowledgeable, Competition, and no Harm. Who determines all of this?
