The News Media

U.S. and Texas Politics and Constitution: The News Media

Overview of the News Media

• Mass Media Definition:
  • Mass media refers to "affordable communications technologies capable of reaching an extensive audience."
  • Origin: The term 'media' originates from the Latin word 'medi,' meaning "middle."

Basic Functions of the News Media in a Democracy

• Informing the public about political issues and current events.
• Providing a forum for discussion of political issues, offering diverse perspectives.

The News Media Holds the Government Accountable

• Holding the government accountable, beyond just checks and balances.
  • Example: Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward (Washington Post reporters) uncovered evidence of a coverup surrounding the Watergate burglary.
• Many fact-checking websites have emerged in recent years to hold elected officials accountable for their statements.

Types of News Media

• Traditional Forms:
  • Newspapers
  • Bulletin boards
  • AM/FM radio
  • Broadcast television (NBC, CBS, and ABC)
  • Magazines (US News and World Report, Newsweek)
• Newer Forms:
  • Podcasts
  • Satellite radio
  • Apps
  • YouTube
  • Social media
  • Cable news (e.g., CNN, Fox News, and MSNBC)
  • Blogs

Important Implications: Responsibilities Regarding Media Use

• Consult credible sources and be skeptical.
• Consider the source and be cautious of retractions.
• Be alert for fabricated content.
• Consult multiple sources on the same topic.
• Avoid sharing content if its accuracy is questionable.

Effects of News Media on Americans

Walter Lippmann and the Overall Impact of News Media on the Public

• Many observers have feared that the media is a form of propaganda that tells people what to think.
• Quote: “Where all men think alike, no one thinks very much” (Walter Lippmann)
• Question: What powers do the media possess?

Influence of Media on Americans

• Minimal Effects:
  • Early research in the 1940s found little evidence of strong media effects, focusing on persuasion.
• Not-So-Minimal Effects:
  • Broader definition of media effects reveals considerable power for the news media.

News Environment

• Middle 20th Century
  • Few choices of news outlets; almost everyone watched the nightly news on broadcast television.
  • Example: Walter Cronkite, anchor of CBS Evening News (1962-1981).
• 21st Century
  • Exponential growth in available news sources after the early 2000s.
  • Shift from broadcasting to narrowcasting, catering to specific viewpoints.

Selective Exposure

• Definition: Deliberately choosing news sources with which one agrees and ignoring those with which one disagrees.
• Political scientists believe it has a reinforcement effect.

Selective Perception

• Definition: Tendency to discount information inconsistent with one’s prior predispositions and favor information consistent with existing beliefs.
• Often occurs subtly.

Motivated Reasoning

• Definition: Interpreting news in a manner consistent with prior beliefs; more active than selective perception.
• Example: An Inconvenient Truth (2006 Al Gore documentary on climate change).

Agenda Setting

• The news media tells us what to think about, not what to think:
  • Journalists choose which stories to cover and which to neglect.
• Chicken/egg dilemma:
  • Do the media decide what to publicize first?
  • Or do they just cover events/issues that are already on our minds?
• Example: Civil Rights Movement:
  • Graph showing percentage saying civil rights is the most important problem from 1962-1971.

Agenda Setting and Polling

• Presentation of polling results is one way agenda setting occurs.
• Consequences of agenda setting (including as it relates to polling).

Priming

• Definition: Media affects the standards people use to evaluate political figures or the severity of a problem.
• Example: George H. W. Bush and the end of his presidency.
• Effects of short attention spans.

Framing

• Framing Illustration Example
  • Imagine that the U.S. is preparing for an unusual Asian disease, which is expected to kill 600 people. Two alternative programs to combat the disease have been proposed. Assume that the exact scientific estimate of the consequences of the programs are as follows
  • If program A is adopted, 200 people will be saved. Or… If program B is adopted, there is 1/3 probability that 600 people will be saved, and 2/3 probability that no people will be saved.
  • If Program C is adopted 400 people will die. Or… If Program D is adopted there is a 1/3 probability that nobody will die, and 2/3 probability that 600 people will die.

Framing Definition

• Stating an argument to emphasize one set of considerations and deemphasize others.
• Deals with how the media cover a news story.
  • Example: Proposed KKK rally on campus.
• Should Ohio State allow a KKK rally on its campus?
  • Article frames: protecting freedom of speech v. ensuring public safety.
  • Students in the freedom of speech frame are more likely to allow the rally.
    • From: Nelson, Thomas E., Rosalee A. Clawson, and Zoe M. Oxley. 1997. “Media Framing of a Civil Liberties Conflict and Its Effect on Tolerance.” American Political Science Review 91(3): 567-583.

Free Speech Frame Example

• Headline: Ku Klux Klan Tests OSU's Commitment to Free Speech
  • Focus on constitutional rights and the right to speak and hear.
  • Quote from Clifford Strong: “I hate the Klan, but they have the right to speak, and people have the right to hear them if they want to."

Public Safety Frame Example

• Headline: Possible Ku Klux Klan Rally Raises Safety Concerns
  • Focus on campus safety and security.
  • Quote from Clifford Strong: "Freedom of speech is important, but so is the safety of the OSU community and the security of our campus."

Overview of Mis and Disinformation and the Need to Cultivate Media Literacy

• In today’s world, we are privy to (and bombarded by) more news and information than any previous generation in human history
• Not surprisingly, this news and information varies tremendously in terms of usefulness and quality
• How can we possibly make sense of it?

The News Media - Part 2

• Vast quantity of news combined with drastic changes to the media landscape necessitate news literacy.

Word of the Year: Post-Truth

• Oxford Dictionaries selected "post-truth" as its 2016 Word of the Year, acknowledging widespread mis and disinformation during major elections.

Enter News Literacy!

• News literacy: “the ability to determine the credibility of news and other information and to recognize the standards of fact-based journalism to know what to trust, share and act on” (https://newslit.org/)
• Helps develop media literacy skills, i.e. not to teach you what to think but to teach you how to think.
• Explore how social media companies should regulate content on their platforms.

Definitions of Misinformation and Disinformation

• Misinformation:
  • Definition: “the inadvertent spread of false information without intent to harm”
  • Examples: a reporter gets a fact wrong but issues a subsequent correction, someone shares content on social media that they did not realize was false.
• Disinformation:
  • Definition: “false information designed to mislead others and is deliberately spread with the intent to confuse fact and fiction”
• Definitions from Britannica.

Forms of Mis- and Dis- Information

• Wide spectrum of content with varying degrees of manipulation and potential harm.

False Connection Example

• Early 2016 reports claimed 10% of American adults thought Judge Judy served on the Supreme Court.
• Based on a study by the American Council of Trustees and Alumni titled "A Crisis in Civic Education."
• The report contains a scientific survey of Americans which tests basic civic knowledge.
• Results of the survey demonstrate that many American adults lack even a rudimentary understanding of how the American government works.

The Basis of the Claim

• Question: Which of the following people serves on the U.S. Supreme Court?
  • Elena Kagan
  • Lawrence Warren Pierce
  • John Kerry
  • Judith Sheindlin
• About 61 percent of participants correctly answered Elena Kagan; just under 10 percent selected Judith Sheindlin

Spread of Mis and Disinformation

• Appears as clickbait, designed to go viral on social media.
• Quote from Justin Brotman: "All social media is of utmost importance…If your goal is straight page views then Facebook is the best investment of your time."

Infamous Example

• Pope Francis Shocks World, Endorses Donald Trump for President, Releases Statement
• A widely-shared fabricated story in 2016.

Media Literacy is Our Responsibility: An Exercise

• What is SIFT?
  • Stands for Stop, Investigate the source, Find better coverage, Trace claims.
  • Developed by Mike Caulfield.

How to SIFT

• (S)top: Just stop and look at the image.
• (I)nvestigate the source: Who runs the account? For what purpose?
• (F)ind better coverage: Find additional coverage of the issue.
• (T)race claims: Trace claims, quotes, and media back to the original context.

Let’s SIFT!

• Example: Analyzing a tweet from MoveOn about the NRA.
• Investigating the tweet:
  • Who runs MoveOn (the X account)? For what purpose?
  • Click on the link and investigate the press release that the tweet cites
  • Learn the National Rifle Association’s (NRA) position on the issue discussed by the tweet
  • Find additional coverage of public opinion support (or opposition) to background checks for purchasing guns
  • Get your hands on the poll! Does the tweet accurately reflect the poll’s findings?

What Should Social Media Platforms Do about Mis and Disinformation?

• How Should Silicon Valley Respond?
  • Debate over social media companies' responsibility for spreading misinformation and disinformation.

A Word of Caution

• No single “right” approach exists.
• Responses vary across platforms and over time.
  • Elon Musk rebranded Twitter as X and instituted numerous changes after he purchased the platform.
• Example: Meta changing its approach to professional fact checkers.

Two Dominant Approaches

• Lighter Regulation:
  • Platforms argue for a marketplace of ideas.
  • Do not see it as their job to decide what is true and false.
• Heavier Regulation:
  • Critics argue platforms are responsible for content.
  • Fact-checking could be helpful.

Facebook Partnered with Independent Fact Checkers

• In late 2016, Facebook partnered with independent fact-checkers.
• Began placing warning labels on disputed content.

Meta’s 2025 About Face

• In January 2025, Meta stopped using independent, third-party fact checkers.
• Replacing this approach with community notes (similar to a policy that was already in place on X).

From Meta’s January 2025 Press Release

• Quote: “In recent years we’ve developed increasingly complex systems to manage content across our platforms…This approach has gone too far…We want to fix that and return to that fundamental commitment to free expression."

Reactions to Meta Ending Fact Checking

• Positive
  • Example: Washington Post op-ed writer Megan McArdle celebrates Meta's decision
• Negative
  • Others believe that Meta’s previous approach was effective, and are sorry to see it go

Concluding Thoughts Concerning Mis and Disinformation

• Looking Ahead
  • Mis and disinformation are unlikely to disappear, so neither will the need for media literacy or questions about how to respond
• Academics are seriously exploring what responses may stop their spread, flagging suspicious content, and the role of professional fact checkers.
• How (and whether) people to respond to fact checks.