I. News Coverage of Political CampaignsA. Political coverage is framed in the sports frame1. 2 Questions it is framed arounda) Who is winning?(1) By how much(2) Trends of who is ahead and change: “Candidate is pulling ahead or coming back”(3) Dominated by pollsb) How are they winning or losing?(1) Focus on strategy [ aka color commentary in sporting events](2) How are they moving the polls2. 90% of US news coverage is focused on one or both of these questionsB. Alternative way to cover political campaigns1. The Problem, Proposal, Performance framea) Key questions for this frame(1) Key problems facing us(2) What are the candidates proposals(3) Would they work(4) What’s the candidates previous performanceb) This frame is more like a job interview rather than a race: which is fitting since they are being elected for a jobc) Focused more on important criteriaC. Why do we only get the sports frame?1. News coverage has everything to do with audience demand and value2. Entertaining3. Informative In terms of how they are presenting new information4. Objective reporting polls is just the facts so there is no need to evaluate5. Brevity We understand the sports frame of reference; so it can be reported quickly and easilyD. Effects of the sports frame1. Knowledge acquisitiona) Issue: what kind of knowledge they are gainingb) Will know who is ahead and the trends throughout the race; can tell about the strategyc) Will not know much about what they candidates are proposing to dod) People learn much more at partisan sources then they do the mainstream media2. Public Cynicisma) We see politicians as creatures of strategyb) Because all of the media coverage is seeing politicians want to win & do not care about what matters for the countryc) Media frames politicians in a negative way which increases public cynicismE. Does media influence public attitudes/behavior in political campaigns1. Voter Turnouta) Media coverage depressing turnout because of public cynicismb) Negative campaign ads decrease turnout2. Evaluation of candidates & Agenda Setting political priminga) Media not effective at changing our evaluations of candidatesb) When they are effective it is in their likabilityc) Media influences what we think ABOUT through political priming(1) We think about each candidates on separate dimensions on each issue(2) Media can influence what issues we focus and think about which can influence how we vote(a) EX. If running up to the election all of the stories are about the economy then the importance of the economy in voters increases and this is the main issue they focus on: vote for the candidate that they agree with on that issues(3) Enough to swing an election media coverage through agenda setting has then ability to change electionsII. Entertainment FormulaA. What is it?1. Involves three characteristics:a) Conflict: essential part of the formulab) Character Identification: that we like or dislike and that we can relate toc) Next-Step Reality: Grounded in reality in some dimension but goes beyond reality in other dimensions2. EX. USA Networka) Was a super channel and had a bunch of different genres [no one watched]b) 9 years ago [shifted their strategy](1) Used the entertainment formula with every movie and tv show that they thought to bought(2) Worked so well they became #1 program on TVc) Blue Skies Formula(1) Characters: protagonist was aspirational and had goes that they tried to reach & also had a fun flaw(2) Color: wanted daytime shots more than nighttime shots and always had atleast a pop color in the frame3. Genre Difference4. Medium Difference5. Era Differencea) These are all superficial differencesb) At the core they are all telling the same storyB. Why use it?1. Format Contraints2. Audience constraintsa) This formula is what the audience wants to watchTEL-T205 1st Edition Lecture 9The One That Gets PoliticalI. News Coverage of Political CampaignsA. Political coverage is framed in the sports frame 1. 2 Questions it is framed arounda) Who is winning?(1) By how much(2) Trends of who is ahead and change: “Candidate is pulling ahead or coming back”(3) Dominated by pollsb) How are they winning or losing?(1) Focus on strategy [ aka color commentary in sporting events](2) How are they moving the polls2. 90% of US news coverage is focused on one or both of these questions B. Alternative way to cover political campaignsThese notes represent a detailed interpretation of the professor’s lecture. GradeBuddy is best used as a supplement to your own notes, not as a substitute.1. The Problem, Proposal, Performance framea) Key questions for this frame(1) Key problems facing us(2) What are the candidates proposals(3) Would they work(4) What’s the candidates previous performanceb) This frame is more like a job interview rather than a race: which is fitting since they are being elected for a jobc) Focused more on important criteriaC. Why do we only get the sports frame?1. News coverage has everything to do with audience demand and value2. Entertaining3. Informative In terms of how they are presenting new information 4. Objective reporting polls is just the facts so there is no need to evaluate5. Brevity We understand the sports frame of reference; so it can be reported quickly and easilyD. Effects of the sports frame1. Knowledge acquisitiona) Issue: what kind of knowledge they are gainingb) Will know who is ahead and the trends throughout the race; can tell about the strategy c) Will not know much about what they candidates are proposing to dod) People learn much more at partisan sources then they do the mainstream media2. Public Cynicism a) We see politicians as creatures of strategyb) Because all of the media coverage is seeing politicians want to win & do not care about what matters for the countryc) Media frames politicians in a negative way which increases public cynicismE. Does media influence public attitudes/behavior in political campaigns1. Voter Turnouta) Media coverage depressing turnout because of public cynicism b) Negative campaign ads decrease turnout2. Evaluation of candidates & Agenda Setting political priminga) Media not effective at changing our evaluations of candidatesb) When they are effective it is in their likabilityc) Media influences what we think ABOUT through political priming(1) We think about each candidates on separate dimensions on each issue(2) Media can influence what issues we focus and think about which can influence how we