- **Mass Media:**refers to all forms of communication that transmits information to the public. \n
Newspapers: started in colonial times. Expensive and small circulation. (Funded by political organizations with biases).
Magazines: Less frequent but more in depth. Exposed political corruption.
- examples of Magazines: Muckrakers Time, Newsweek, U.S. and World Report.
- Muckrakers: a group of people who expose corruption in the government and society by writing about it.
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Radio: (1920s) News personalities became celebrities. FDR used radios for fireside chats.
Television: helped broadcast journalism. Largest audience before the internet.
- the first presidential debates that was aired on Television was Nixon and JFK.
- people believed Nixon sounded better on a Radio; while other people claimed that JFK was attractive; Nixon too old on Television. (Different effects on people).
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Inform: informs the public as a way to shape public opinion and provide a link between citizens and the government. (CSPAN).
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Entertain: keeps people interested and potentially distracted by celebrity news, gossip, social media to take attention off other events.
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Persuade: to set the agenda by acting as Gatekeepers (determining what makes it to the public) and Watchdogs (calling out corruption on all 3 levels of Government).
- Gatekeepers determines what makes it on the air for people to see, hear, and read.
What is News?
- News are any important events that happens from the last 24 hours.
- media determines what is “news” by deciding what to report.
- media is directed through gatekeepers (executives, news editors, and prominent reports).
- Elections are more “horse-race journalism”; then about the issues.
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examples of common modern forms of media today: twitter, podcasts, Instagram, blogs/vlog, Facebook
- the biggest and the most common way people can get news from are from social media.
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News Releases: prepared texts to be read exactly as written.
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News Briefings: announcements and daily questioning of press secretary.
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News Conferences: questioning of high-level officials; often rehearsed.
Leaks:
- leaks are information released anonymously on purpose or on accident.
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On the record: May quote by name; can have everything the quote says.
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Off the record: what is said cannot be printed. (often the informant is anonymous).
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On Background: may be printed; but the official’s name and position in the government must remain anonymous.
- On Background mostly applies to government officials.
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On deep background: may print what is said but with no one mentioned.
- (Few Reporters) Congress gets less coverage as viewers prefer information from the White House.
- (Congress as a whole) When reported, it’s about Congress, not about it’s individual members.
- (Congressional News) Confirmation hearings, oversight investigations of scandals among members.
- (C-SPAN) Cable-Satellite Public Affairs Network; increases coverage of Congressional activities.
Observations about Time Magazine Covers:
- Time Magazine (or overall most U.S news site) tends to focus heavily on U.S. News; and not worldwide issues.

- Social media increases a lot of misinformation purposely or not.
- People like to confirm their own biases by watching media that conforms by their beliefs.
- People with high political knowledge tends to read information/news from different sources; while people with low political knowledge tends to only watch or read news from local TV stations and social media.
- it’s important to focus on multiple different news sources.
- much criticism that the media biased and mostly with a liberal slant.
- owners, publishers, and editors of media are said to be more conservative.
- the more biased the media tends to be; the more supportive of incumbents (current holders of positions in the government).
- “Pack Journalism” happens when journalists adapt viewpoints of other sources without fact checking.
- stories are picked up from other reporters; prone to misinformation.
- When the media report the same story all at the same time trying to "break" a story, this is referred to as Pack Journalism.
Types of Biases:
- Omission: leaving particular information out.
- we assume that every news story covers everything important that we need to know; a lot can be left uncovered that is also important.
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- Selective Sources: leaving particular sources out.
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- Spin: using an opinion to explain a way out of something.
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- Labeling: aggressively labeling one side and not doing it for the other side.
- mostly biased while pointing out the other side without taking things into account.
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- Placement: where the story is located in the newspaper or online.
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- Story Selection: following a particular story while leaving out others.
- When a media source follows one story for longer than others and does not give time to stories that may go against their bias, it's known as Story Selection.

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- All news has a bias; AllSides.com helps you show news sources from all sides.
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