media and politics

Question 1

media + political candidates

Answer 1

• first mass participation democracy with newspapers playing role in supporting candidates
• Until 20th C, most of this was local news, produced by local papers
• Media didn’t become nationalised until radio and television

Question 2

tv + radio

Answer 2

Recent years, TV devoted less time to general + international news

Question 3

Federal Communications Commission 1934

Answer 3

• All broadcasting regulated
• Main purpose to issue broadcasting licences + keep ownership diverse

Question 4

1966 Telecommunications Act

Answer 4

• opened up broadcasting + telephone services to more competition
• Leading to more concentration of power

Question 5

newspapers

Answer 5

• Smaller newspapers carry syndicated national columns put out by services/regional newspapers
• Ownership increasingly concentrated in chains
• Chains have similar editorial policies – much less regional + local variation

Question 6

newspaper cons

Answer 6

o Have suffered a decline in readership since rise of internet
o Most newspapers tend toward the right
 Republican bias in smaller towns
 Owned by local businesses whos main interests is to protect and improve local economy

Question 7

bias in media

Answer 7

• strive to achieve impartiality
• local stations tend to reflect biases of local community
• FOX believes it is redressing liberal bias
• networks distort/trivialise the news (opt for soundbites, market driven journalism)

Question 8

trivialises in 5 modes

Answer 8

 Appearance V reality – ‘miracle drug can have serious side effects’
 Little guy V big guy – e.g. housing foreclosure brought on by big banking
 God V evil – e.g. police officer against criminal
 Efficient V inefficient – e.g. inefficient spending by gov’t
 Unique/bizarre events V routine – e.g. freak accidents/weather

Question 9

the internet

Answer 9

o More americans have more access to internet than any other region
o Obama’s support was propelled by his organized internt fundraising campaign
o Blogs can be used to reveal scandals/exaggerate stories
o Internet gives unprecedented access to range of relevant info and intelligence

Question 10

controlling media

Answer 10

o Very little direct censorship
o Commercial considerations often place limits on what can be written or aired
 Local tv cannot easily offend viewers

Question 11

with democracy

Answer 11

In democracies, media serve as crucial intermediaries between public officials and public