Mass Media

What is Mass Media?

  • Mass media’s goal is to reach as many people as possible

    • They make more money each person that watches

  • Some examples are newspapers, internet, tv, and radio

Linking Mechanism

  • It reflects public opinion

  • It influences public opinion

  • Most presidents have used mass media to their advantage

    • Trump has been able to use social media (2016: Twitter; 2024: Podcasts)

    • He was able to do this with practically no cost

Why is the Media Important?

  • Entertainment

  • Reporting the news

  • Identifies public problems

Function

  • Entertainment

  • News Reports

  • 24-hour News cycle

    • CNN was the first

    • National news used to be from 6:30-7:00 in the 60s

    • Have to fill 24 hours of time rather than <30 minutes

  • Friday Dump

  • Setting an Agenda

  • Trial Balloons

    • Leaking rumors/information to gage how well people may respond to an event

Understanding the Mass Media

  • The media focuses on Presidential Campaigns because it is easier to focus on one person rather than an institution like Congress or the Court System

  • Entertainment vs. Information

  • Media Event - an event staged by the White House specifically for the media to cover to shine it in a better light

    • Will be an FRQ

Media Code of Ethics

  • Conflict of Interest

  • Verification

  • Being Right vs. Being First

  • Horse Race Journalism

    • Results in false reports

1st Amendment and the Press

  • The Press is guaranteed freedom under the 1st Amendment

  • The Government can’t place prior restraint on the news

  • Prior restraint - Censoring media by the government before it is published

  • It can’t sensor news before it is released

  • What are some restrictions of the press

Terms

Libel and Slander

  • Libel - Publishing an untruth about someone with malicious intent

  • Slander - Speaking an untruth about someone with malicious intent


Court Cases

New York Times v. United States 1971

  • The Court ruled that the publication of Pentagon Papers could NOT be blocked. The government cannot use prior restraint unless there is overwhelming justification, such as military movements before or during the war or publishing CIA agent names

    • Will be part of Unit 3 FRQs

New York Times vs. Sullivan 1964

  • Libel requires proof of actual malice*. The NY Times was found not guilty because no malice was proved

  • Printed information can be wrong but it has to be printed or released with malicious intent

  • *a knowing or reckless disregard for the truth


History

  • Newspapers in the colonies

  • Newspapers were the primary source of information until radio

  • They were openly aligned with political parties until the 1860s

Muckraker

  • A journalist who investigated social conditions and political corruption

  • The term comes from Pilgrim’s Progress; It referred to a character who scraped up filth and ignored everything else.

  • Teddy Roosevelt said these journalists were obsessed with scandal and corruption

Yellow Journalism

  • Printed on cheap yellow paper, featured sensational stories

    • Paper has high acid content, which results in yellowing over time

  • Prominent in the late 1800s

  • Spanish-American War

    • The event that launched the war was the explosion of the USS Maine, it was blamed on a Spanish torpedo and was put on the headlines

      • Was actually a boiler room explosion

Radio

  • FDR was the first radio president

  • Bridged the gap between newspapers and television

  • Fireside chats

  • Talk radio today

  • Podcasts

    • Rush Limbaugh was really important because first of something with this

Television

  • Newsreels

    • Used to show news during WWII in theaters

  • Network News

  • Cable News

Internet

  • How has this changed the way society gets news?

    • Videos

  • Blogs

  • Fundraising

  • Interests groups

  • YouTube

  • Social Media

Telecommunications Act of 1996

  • Relaxed limitations on media ownership

  • Corporations can own up to 35% of television market, and an unlimited % of radio market

  • Why are monopolies important when it comes to the distribution of information 

FCC

  • Federal Communications Commission

  • Controls the media through the issue of licenses

  • Made up of five people

    • Can be no more than three from the same political party

  • Nominated by the President for 5 year terms

  • It is considered an independent government agency

Political Campaigns

  • Most of the money spent in a political campaign is spent on TV advertising

  • These ads are mostly negative

  • News coverage of a campaign works as free advertising

  • Spin

  • Spin Doctor - One who provides an interpretation of an event in a way that seeks to sway public opinion by selectively presenting facts or quotes that support that position

Press Secretary and White House Press Corps

  • Press Secretary is Karoline Levitt

  • Press Conferences can happen with the Press Secretary or the President

    • The number of these has been decreasing


Impact of Media on Politics

  • Sound Bites - Short segments that make an issue seem less complex than reality

  • The average sound bit for a presidential candidate in 1968 was 42 seconds

  • It was 10 seconds in 2000

  • Context matters



Interest Groups

  • Interest Groups - Organized collections of people or organizations that try to influence public policy

    • Other names: Special interests, Pressure groups, Lobbying groups

Interest Group Functions

  • Links the public to the political process

  • Shape specific policy goals

  • Influence political campaigns

Types of Interest Groups

Religious and Ideological Groups

  • Moral Majority

  • Christian Coalition

  • National Rifle Association (NRA)

  • Emily’s List


Business Groups and Corporations

  • Verizon

  • Microsoft

  • Apple


Associations

  • National Association of Homebuilders (NAH)

  • American Medical Association (AMA)

  • National Auto Dealers Association (NADA)

Organized Labor Unions

  • AFL-CIO

  • SEIU

  • IBEW

  • Carpenters and Joiners Union

  • Sheet Metal Workers Union

Interest Group Formation Theories

  • Pluralist Theory - Mentioned in previous unit

  • Hyperpluralism - Argues that the number of interest groups can slow down the system as members of Congress are bombarded with information

  • Elite Theory - Mentioned in previous unit

Key Interest Group Players

  • AARP - Has the biggest membership base

    • American Association of Retired Persons

  • NAACP - Use litigation in the court system the most out of any group

    • National Association for the Advancement of Colored People

  • NRA - Makes the most political campaign contributions

    • National Rifle Association

  • Each of these suffer from the “free rider” problem

    • Whether or not people join them, those people still benefit from the groups lobbying

    • To counteract this, groups provide benefits for paying towards their groups

Lobbying

  • Lobbying allows interest groups to pursue policy agendas by seeking to persuade political leaders to support the group’s position

    • Buying access






Lobbying in the Three Branches

Legislative

  • Examples:

    • Congressional Testimony

    • Letters, emails, phone calls

    • Campaign contributions

      • Lobbyist are paying for access to the politician

    • Buying votes

      • Illegal

    • Many lobbyists are former members of Congress

Quotes

  • "Information is currency on Capitol Hill, not dollars"

  •  "My boss demands a speech and a statement for the Congressional Record for every bill we introduce or co-sponsor-and we have a lot of bills. I just can't do it all myself. The better lobbyists, when they have a proposal they are pushing, bring it to me along with a couple of speeches, a Record insert, and a fact sheet."

Executive Branch

  • The Executive Branch has become more involved in the law-making process

  • Lobbyists work with all levels of a presidential administration including the bureaucracy

  • Lobbyists even write bills and help the executive branch secure funding

Judicial Branch

  • Direct Sponsorship - Providing resources to move a case through the judicial system

  • Amicus curiae briefs

  • Justice Nominations

Other Types of Lobbying

  • Grassroots Lobbying - Applying pressure to lawmakers through the use of public opinion

  • Protests and Radical Activism

    • Ex. Riots

Regulating Lobbying

  • The Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995

PACs and Lobbying

  • PACs can give money to lobbyists

Iron Triangle

  • Requires:

    • Bureaucracy

      • Regulate money

    • Interest group

      • Give money

    • Congressional Subcommittees

      • Spend money

  • ^ Can only have these three things