Jaymie TicknorPolitical Science 1050 Sect. 0026 and 13 February 2014Lecture #4Chapter #10 : Media and Politics :Evolution of Free Press: early restrictions on the press; establishment of press freedoms in the twentieth century; Supreme Court established broader interpretation of a free press; news organizations and individuals began winning cases allowing themto criticize governmentAmerican Media is Privately-Owned: largest media outlets owned by the private sector inU.S.; contrasts with media from many other countries, which are publically-ownedConsolidation of media outlets; government regulated the number of news outlets a company could own; courts loosened restrictionsAmerican Media is Mostly Free from Government Restrictions: freedom from “prior restraint”; burden of proof for restraint is on government; what about foreign-controlled press? An example would be WikileaksQuestions: should government prevent U.S. news outlets from publishing information received from Wikileaks? Draw line where government should know information in order to protect citizens while still giving citizens their privacy (listening to phone calls looking for suspicious actions and behavior)Should U.S. punish people who release classified information to the public?What Information Sources Do Americans Rely On?: TV has been the public’s main source of information since the 1960s; we encounter different media during our day; most people say television (most used resource) when asked directly; Internet becoming increasingly importantIs the Media Biased?: early stages of press in U.S. did not focus on objectivityDecline of mainstream newspapers; major sponsors of objective journalism; sagging circulation, advertisingRise of politically-slanted media; higher ratings and more profitableMixed Evidence of Bias in the Media: Conservative accusations of liberal media bias; evidence shows more journalists vote Democratic than RepublicanConservative think tanks are cited more often in the media than liberal ones; Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting (FAIR)2008 Campaign Coverage: Obama got more airtime than McCain; coverage tended to be more negative for ObamaMedia Effects and Public Opinion: early research suggested media impact on public opinion was minimal; voters were party loyalists whose votes could not be swayed by media messages; political behaviors were dictated by a number ofcharacteristicsAgenda-Setting: occurs when the media determines which issues the public thinks are important; media covers some stories and ignores others or place them in differentarea; media places “important” stories in most visible places, even if they are important to individuals or notPriming and Framing: Priming: occurs when the media shape the standards people use toevaluate political figuresFraming: occurs when the media induce people to think about an issue along particular lines, as opposed to othersInfluence of Media Effect: Political Knowledge: are more aware and understand politics (exposure) and yet, less likely to accept political messagesPolitical Ideology and Party Attachment: less receptive to information that is not consistent with their political predictionsModerately Attentive and Predisposed Individuals are most likely to feel media influence because of having no firm foundation of being a liberal or
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