“The Fourth Branch” aka The

MediaWhat is the role of the media?

(What should it be may be different that what it is)

How effective do you think it is?

How much influence does the media have in shaping policy?

How much influence do you think the media has in changing public opinion?

Brief historical overview The increasing rapid pace of electronic news

and television’s global coverage shortens the time frame for policy responses.

In 1961, when the Berlin Wall went up, President Kennedy had 8 days to respond to the provocative action.

In 1989, when the wall came down, President Bush was forced to respond overnight.

Penny Press and Yellow Journalism Less partisan, but not objective

Hearst and the Spanish American war- “You furnish the pictures and I’ll get you the war”.

“Yellow journalism”- cheap yellow paper, sensational late 1800s

Muckraking- Upton Sinclair Progressive Era- media became to be more independent

Party Press 1770-1820 Press was seen as an extension of party Until mid 1880s parties sold their proceedings Watch dog role –Jefferson’s relationship with

slave

Function:

Provides information and analysis about policy issues

Polling provides indicators for policy makers about public opinion

Reports and evaluates decisions of government

Roles watch dog-responsibility of media to make public

aware of corruption, incompetence, illegal, unethical actions by politicians

Agenda setter-focuses public attention on issues- is the tail wagging the dog?

The mass media may not be successful in telling people what to think, but they are stunningly successful in telling their audience what to think about.

Average sound bite for Presidential candidate in 1968 was 42 seconds by 2000 less than 10 seconds

Score keeper- media polls drive news, candidates performance constantly criticized, measured

Signaler- Alert the public about important developments

Horse-race journalism- term for primaries particularly-who is in lead, second etc.

Framing- how media presents context-KKK rally more accepted if defined as civil rights story, less if public safety issue (572)

Electronic Media Radio then television transformed media

Televised debate between Nixon Kennedy-radio listeners gave Nixon the edge, but Kennedy did well on tv. changed nature of campaigns

Youtube has brought changes-”His [Obama’s] speeches play well on YouTube, which allows for more than the five-second sound bites that have characterized the television era”- Marc Ambinder Atlantic Monthly June 2008

Television News A full transcript of the typical nightly

network news broadcasts – foreign and domestic – would not fill half of the front page of an average daily newspaper.

Yet ¾ of the American people routinely depend on this source for most of their foreign affairs information.

Watergate and Investigative Journalism Watch dog role becomes paramount-

Power of journalism Media begins to focus on personal lives of

politicians, had been out of bounds, Roosevelt,JFK, etc.

More sensational “If it bleeds it leads”

Press and Public Officials 566 Press release- on paper document with official

position given to reporters Press briefing- limited topic-announcements

then brief questions State Department or DOD Press Conference- statement then questions

on wide range of topics

On background- give info about rival, but won’t be the source

Deep background unsourced "Deep background" This term is used in the U.S., though not consistently. Most journalists would understand "deep background" to mean that the information may not be included in the article but is used by the journalist to enhance his or her view of the subject matter, or to act as a guide to other leads or sources. Most deep background information is confirmed

elsewhere before being reported Off the record- whatever official says can be

printed- but will get info somewhere else On the record

Journalists protect sources- Judith Miller went to jail for refusing to name her source re Scooter Libby Valerie Plame info.

Supreme Court Cases New York Times v United States 1971

Secret “Pentagon Papers” published Ruled that publication could NOT be blocked Can not use “prior restraint” unless “overwhelming”

justification such as military movements before or during war New York Times v Sullivan 1964

Libel requires proof of actual malice- a knowing or reckless disregard for the truth. NY Times found NOT guilty because malice not proved. So information could be wrong, but has to printed or released with malicious intention-difficult to prove.

http://www.oyez.org/cases/1960-1969/1963/1963_39/

Government Regulation of the Electronic Media page 562 Print media are exempt from most

governmental regulation. Electronic media are

Airwaves are considered public property and are leased to networks and private broadcasters by the government.

Telecomm. Act 1996-deregulated much of electronic media so companies merged=“infotainment”

Government also allocates the use of frequencies and channels so that radio and TV do not overlap and jam each others' signals.

Content Regulation page 563 FCC equity-have to sell air time equally to

all candidates if they choose to sell any Fairness doctrine- rule required

broadcasters to cover events with contrasting views- NO longer in effect, although talk of bringing it back

The FCC

Federal Communications Commission 1934

Control airwaves for licenses and content 2003 changed rules about cross-

ownership so companies can now own different types of media outlets Can reach 45% of national audience at any one

time. So Time Warner can have movie, cable news and an entertainment show all on at same time-shill for one another