Colonial newspapers played an important role in promoting discussion of political issues and preparing colonists for the idea of independence.
In the era of the partisan press, parties paid newspapers to promote their points of view.
New printing technology made newspapers much cheaper in the 1830s, freeing the press from financial dependence on parties.
Sensationalistic reporting called yellow journalism gained enormous popularity in the late 1800s.
In the early1900s, aggressive investigative journalism called muckraking helped to expose corruption and social injustice.
Newspapers abandoned yellow journalism and emphasized objective journalism in the early twentieth century.
Radio provided the first alternative mass media in the 1920s; television added another in the 1950s.
Voters are more likely to turn to television for political information than any other single source.
Newspaper circulation has declined dramatically since its peak in 1985.
Americans between the ages of 18 and 29 are much less attentive to news than are members of any other generation.
Young people are more likely to report using the Internet to gather information and are more skeptical of traditional news sources.
The young have also turned to social networks to engage in political activity.
Narrowcasting, programming directed to a specific segment of the population, has changed the way citizens receive messages from political leaders.
THE MEDIA ENVIRONMENT IN AMERICA
Private individuals have always owned the nation's media outlets.
Ownership of U.S. media outlets is becoming more highly concentrated.
Because the number of broadcasting frequencies is limited, the government regulates use of the airwaves.
- The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) sets limits on private ownership of broadcast stations.
- The FCC also makes rules affecting the content of radio and TV broadcasts.
Modern TV news broadcasts feature a greater emphasis on celebrities, life-style issues, and human-interest stories.
The national media has embraced attack journalism, which adopts a hostile position toward government, political processes, and political figures.
Despite studies to the contrary, many people believe the media has a liberal bias.
The U.S. news media provides generally balanced coverage, with many specialized outlets catering to particular points of view.
MEDIA AND POLITICAL CAMPAIGNS
Broadcast of a candidate's activities or messages as news items is known as free media or earned media.
- Campaign handlers stage free-media events to show candidates at maximum advantage.
- Candidates attempt to spin the news - convince the media to apply a particular interpretation to a story.
Presidential debates offer an opportunity to compare candidates side by side.
- Candidates must look as well as sound presidential in a presidential debate.
- Challengers have more to gain from debating than incumbents.
- Candidates must come across as someone the audience would like to invite into their home.
Advertising, particularly television advertising, is a staple of modern presidential campaigns.
Since the 1996 presidential elections, the Internet has become an increasingly important part of political campaigns.
- The Internet became a major tool for identifying potential supporters.
- Blogging has helped democratize the media by allowing individuals to communicate to mass audiences.
The media cover political campaigns much as they cover sports, as if campaigns were a game.
- Media stress winning and losing; strategy and tactics get more attention than policy positions.
- The favorite game reference in political coverage is the horse race.
- The game approach fits with the media's cynical approach to politics in general.
The private lives and personal failures of candidates are now considered fair game for reporters.
Public opinion polls created a new dynamic for election night reporting.
- The media are tempted to predict the winners on the basis of the polls, rather than wait for the vote count.
- Exit polls allow pollsters to determine voting trends before the polls close.
GOVERNMENT COVERAGE IN THE MEDIA
The relationship between the media and the president has always contained some acrimony.
As the press became more independent and professional, presidents became more sophisticated in their dealings with reporters.
Presidents have increasingly sought to manage media coverage in various ways.
- The president's press secretary exercises some control over the topics discussed at press conferences.
- The president is briefed about the questions likely to arise and has set responses.
- Lower-level officials receive talking points—prepared arguments supporting their policies and positions.
- The administration also controls its message through press releases.
With so many members, it is more difficult for the media to cover Congress.
- Congress lacks a single leader to act as spokesperson.
- The media focus on congressional party leaders, committee chairs and – for local media – local legislators.
The national media treat Congress with great cynicism.
The activities of the Supreme Court are cloaked in secrecy; this makes coverage difficult.
- Media reports deal with ideological splits on the Court, and the winners and losers in particular cases.
- Americans are more familiar with state trial courts than they are with the U.S. Supreme Court.
