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Battle of Ap Bac
US military trained south Vietnamese. At this battle, use traditionally fighting line tactics that worked at first. But, South Vietnamese didn't seem to want to fight (devastating to US military). Ground reporters hear about fail of strategy from soldiers, but going up the latter to generals, information gets changed.
Radio and TV regulation: • Spectrum scarcity
broadcast spectrum is limited, so not everyone who wants to broadcast can; those who are granted licenses must accept regulation ---However, because they were granted government licenses on a scarce radio spectrum, they could be regulated to preserve openness in covering news by the FCC. ---SIGNIFICANCE: Although the fairness doctrine no longer exists, the case established that a different First Amendment standard than print media because of scarcity of airwaves
Walter Lippmann
https://quizlet.com/39373652/lippmann-public-opinion-flash-cards/ Lincoln Steffens: muckraker for McClure's. Lippmann starts his career working for a muckraker New Republic: commented on politics and public affairs Creel committee: propaganda for WWI. Lippmann wrote leaflets to try and get German soldiers to surrender to Americans New york world: Lippmann working for Pulitzer and got to write column New york herald tribune: Horest Greely paper. Lippmann wrote column. "News comes from a distance... deals with matters no easily understood, assimilated by busy and tired people" -Lippmann o Propaganda: Lippmann wrote propaganda pamphlets to be dropped behind enemy lines to encourage German soldiers to surrender or desert. • Talked about good food and being treated well • Become most common piece of propaganda found among deserting Germans The Great War was full of newspaper propaganda with terrible stories just like these. So why believe these ones? o As a Jew and a man of high regard in American, Lippmann surprisingly stayed silent on the matter of Jews in Europe. o Lippmann's idea of Purpose Perhaps it was because he knew that the general public had little or no regard for the Jewish people at that time and he thought that he could actually reach and hold more readers if he left facts about Jews out and focused on other key aspects of the war. Walter Lippmann's concern for mass democracy Lipmann was skeptical of popular democracy, disenchanted with democracy in the twentieth century Lippmann's books Central focus was journalism and its relationship with self-govt. Defined the crisis in journalism The Crisis 1920's American public questioned the credibility and legitimacy of the news The primary threat to the news and democracy was the rapid emergence of organized propaganda, or what we call public relations today. Propaganda created an existential crisis for the free press and therefore self-government Press corps carried away on wave of patriotism Became self-censors, enforcers, and sheer propagandists. During World War I , Lippmann saw firsthand the successful use of such propaganda by the U.S. government and a compliant press to warp public opinion Lipmann believed that only professionalism could save journalism Wanted journalists to provide objective journalism all the time Would restore public's trust Some don't think people don't have knowledge to make decisions, don't read whole newspapers. Lipman thinks journalists are ill-suited to provide intformation to democracies. He's concerned that marketplace needs structure. We need virtuous leaders. Journalists are up to the task. Take the important and make it interesting. We need a better kind of journalism. They see people as being maniuplated by emotions and actors in society playing on emotions, rise of psychology (Bernays), and think marketplace needs structure because people wont let best ideas win out.
vietnam
impacted the press, public, presidency (left a legacy of distrust) journalists no longer assumed truth, stopped reporting just the facts, began reporting problems with the gov't Congress passed laws to help journalists and the public obtain information weakened the presidency, made it equal with the media people wan ted to look outside D.C. for next pres. (Jimmy Carter)` o 3 conflicts in the Vietnam-Watergate era: Press against... Military: "rouge" reporters deny official story Public: negative coverage put soldiers in bad light. People don't want to hear bad things Government: realistic, critical coverage sways public opinion that government was trying to control o Friction in Vietnam coverage Denial of access: reporters not getting information by government, reporters then started talking to soldiers The official story: contradicting stories get told. US government and military keen to put stories in good light and journalists who tell it like it is.
Press crisis of 1963/
Luce: Owner of Time, changed own coverage because he was so pro-war Sulzberger: Sulzberger called into oval office and Kennedy made a case to pull Halberstam out of Vietnam, NY Times did not do so. In fact, Sulzberger had Halberstam cancel a vacation
Radio and TV regulation • Radio Blue Book
"public responsibility of broadcast licensees" n -said there were too many commercials and not enough content to serve public with valuable information license renewal based on meeting programming requirement , not just technical requirments - viciously attacked by broadcasters, accused FCC of censorship Liked by public and gov't officials for putting people's interests over industry There were too many commercials and too little public service programming and too little programming for minority interest. This established a new procedure to get a license renewed. The procedure was that license renewal was based on meeting programming requirements, not just technical requirements.
Radio and TV regulation: •Progression of regulation in Radio Acts of 1912, 1927, 1934
'12:- It required all radio transmitters and operators to be licensed. But, it did not include an authority to deny licenses, so anyone and everyone could have one. '27: Maintained control of gov't over channels (not license-giving) No power of censorship but banned "obscene, indecent or profane language" Mandated equal treatment of candidates ERROR: Stations could control programming, nullified by fact that networks controlled Advertisements had to be labeled as ads Establish Federal Radio Commission (under a lot of Congressional pressure), five people - it brought order to the chaos. There was content regulation. It allowed use- but not ownership- of channels. People must operate in "public interest, convenience, or necessity". There was censorship of obscenity, indecency, and profanity. There was no interference with free speech by license- meaning there needed to be equal treatment of candidates. This act created the Federal Radio Commission. '34:Created Federal Communications Commission, seven people (reduced to five in '82) Included phone under authority an act to provide for the regulation of interstate and foreign communication by wire or radio, and for other purposes. • FCC • Mission: o "Make available so fast as possible, to all people of the United States, without discrimination on the basis of color, religion • Lease Licensees for scarce electromagnetic spectrum • Enforce licensing policies - This created the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). There was a regulation of content- the FCC got to decide what was broadcasted.
ww2 coverage
- Propaganda- Office of War Investigation (OWI)- essentially the Creel Commission for World War II -- monitored news coverage - Office of Censorship- "code of wartime practice" Censorship was very successful. Government kept the press in check
Social Responsibility Theory
-A theory developed by the Hutchins Commission -The idea was that with great power comes great responsibility. So what the commission did was "make" a reaffirmation of a free press, but with conditions: -Social responsibility theory theory allows free press without any censorship but at the same time, the content of the press should be discussed in public panel and media should accept any obligation from public interference or professional self regulations or both -It was born in a post-war era; at a time when large and powerful publishers were unpopular with the public, and when the public had a high degree of suspicions about the motivations and objectives of the press. People were wondering if there was a problem in terms of mass communication (TV was still relatively new) 1.) Truthful, comprehensive, intelligent amount of the day's events in context which gives them meaning 2.) A forum for the exchange of comment and criticism 3.) A means of representing the constituent group of society 4.) A method of presenting & clarifying the goals and values of society 5.) A way of reaching every member of the society with information
Hutchins Commission
-Created when Luce asked Hutchins to form a committee to inquire proper function of media in a modern democratic society - covered in late 1942 - Was freedom of the press in danger? - Answer: yes - access, shrinking of responsibility, lack of accountability -Developed "social responsibility theory"
Edward R. Murrow
-Journalist who criticized McCarthyism and helped bring about the eventual censure of Joseph McCarthy by the U.S. gov -An American broadcast journalist; he first came to prominence with a series of radio news broadcasts during WWII, which were followed by millions of listeners in the United States 1. First, Murrow was the Director of Talks (DoT): Educational, non-partisan, adhering to "public interest" standards, radio as "common carrier." Murrow was not supposed to talk, he was just organizing the content 2. Second, he was a European Director: still no reporting, only experts on the air. Then circumstances intervene.. (relative to the rise of Nazi Germany. 3. Then, he became a Foreign Correspondent (in London, where was kind of a DoT again): Radio was now - right now; Murrow essentially invents radio reporting (still doesn't talk but puts experts on air); Roundup ("London calling," and then other reporters report from other countries) Murrow doesn't have a journalism background. But he starts hiring people who do know some things about journalism. Those people distribute themselves around Europe. Then, Murrow goes around to the different correspondents and gets their take about what's going on there. So he is organizing feeds from different capitals around Europe and then starts organizing the reporting to the USA. The liveliness of the medium (Radio is Now) is real opportunity that creates real demands. How are they going to capitalize on that, communicate with people, etc.? The fact that they are doing something really different is coming to light. The immediacy of radio is very important. The roundup for example is on the radio first and can only appear in the paper the next day.
3 Criticisms of Objectivity
-The CONTENT of a news story rests on a set of substantive political assumptions -The FORM of a news story incorporates its own bias; they don't allow -The PROCESS of news gathering itself constructs an image of reality which reinforces official viewpoints -These are structural, not intentional issues these are structural, unintentional, biases. o The content...of a news story rests on a set of substantive political assumption o The Form... of the news story incorporates its on bias information, such as the inverted pyramid, by involving the judgment of most important information first o The process... of news gathering itself constructs an image of reality, which reinforces official viewpoints.
Changing Definition of Public Interest-
1925: "The ether is a public medium, and its use must be for a public benefit. The use of a radio channel is justified only if there is public benefit." Herbert Hoover • 1996: "If the commission determines that such forbearance will promote competition among providers of telecommunication services, that determination may be the basis for a commission finding that forbearance is in the public interest" Telecommunications Act of 1996
o The Buddhist Crisis
Buddhists were denied right to have their flag flown. Buddhist majority upset and Buddhist monks set themselves on fire. Kennedy shocked. AP reports and shocks Americans.
Chicago Defender
Black newspaper by Robert S. Abbott that was brought by train to the South Implored blacks to come North for jobs, Largest black weekly circulating newspaper, gave opinoins throughout the trials-in terms of defense, the opinion it gave was that all blacks should work together, NAACP, communist, whatever. Great migration! the defender is important for 3 reasons 1. The Chicago Defender is not one of the most popular newspapers because of its editing but because of its honesty towards dealing with Chicago's racial issues (Ehrenhalt 147). 2. "The Defender was extremely important for modeling the public opinion in the fifty century" (Ehrenhalt 147). 3. The Chicago Defender was a tremendous force in the migrations of African-Americans from the South to the North (Night). The defender is so important because it is a very reliable source for Chicago's social realities
Cam Ne
CBS reporter Morley Safer followed, filmed, and aired a marine troop "taking out" a village called Cam Ne. He captured shootings and, even more emotional, families inside houses that were soon torched up. After being aired on CBS Marine Corps officials became angry and denied that such events actually occurred. Not type of "fighting" Americans thought was happening. President pissed at CBS
Five O'Clock Follies
Daily report by military about Vietman that was almost a farce because person delivering press conference only saying what he was told, which did not match up to truth. Contradicted to journalists reporting. In part of this campaign to spread to idea of success in Vietnam, the military would host press conferences out every afternoon at 5 These briefings where usually given by officers that were not actually at the battles but just heard about them, providing very skewed information in favor of the U.S. Naturally, the fairly recent journalistic standards, such as objectivity, made journalist covering the war skeptic. In fact, some journalist just stopped going to the briefings and did not use that information in their reporting.
Ernie Pyle
Ernie Pyle was famous for his WWII work on the frontlines of battle. He worked closely with the soldiers and other to not focus on politics, but how the war felt and functioned. He focused on one soldier at a time. Pyle did everything the soldiers did to get the true atmosphere of how it felt to be at war. o Ernie Pyle was a Pulitzer Prize-winning American journalist, known for his columns for the Scripps-Howard newspaper chain, where he worked as a roving correspondent from 1935 through most of World War II. o Portraits of the fighting men, the "underdogs" Personal, intimate o Hanging out at the front o Killed on the battlefield
Langston Hughes*
His poetry contributed significantly to the Harlem Renaissance and focused mainly on racial segregation and discrimination. Langston Hughes was known for his infusion of musical elements in his poetry and his hopeful, non-accusatory tone in all his poems. promote the cultural identity of African Americans through the arts the financial success of the Chicago Defender and the Pittsburgh Courier All of them depended on circulation rather than advertising for the majority of their income. Chicago Defender hired Langston Hughes as a columnist and Gwendolyn Brooks to write poetry. Played a huge role in oraganizing and mobilizing blacks from leaving the South and coming to the North. The Pittsburgh Courier introduced a number of innovations to newspaper publishing. It appealed to readers outside of Pittsburgh by basing fifteen different editions in cities across the country. Also did not use the promote just one single point of view. Over 250,000 copies by the end of the 1920s Published a lot about African-American firsts
Committee on Public Information
It was headed by George Creel. The purpose of this committee was to mobilize people's minds for war, both in America and abroad. Tried to get the entire U.S. public to support U.S. involvement in WWI. Creel's organization, employed some 150,000 workers at home and oversees. He proved that words were indeed weapons. ** george creel Established by Woodrow Wilson and headed by George Creel, this was the Federal group that worked on producing and distributing pro-war propaganda to the US people.
Coverage of Kristallnacht
It was the largest program in modern history since medieval times. It wasn't just one night. The war hadn't official broken out yet in this period. -The New York Times coverage of this}: "Nazis smash, loot and burn Jewish shops and temples until Goebbels calls halt." Not the big outcry you would expect. There wasn't a whole lot of reaction (because people didn't know what was coming yet Big loots, fires, and reportations in Germany of Jews. What does journalists' response (or lack of it) tell about journalists purpose, practices, and power? o Journalistic shortcomings "News comes from a distance... deals with matters no easily understood, assimilated by busy and tired people" -Lippmann Propaganda and the notion of "beyond belief": What is really true? • The Great War was full of newspaper propaganda with terrible stories just like these. So why believe these ones? • Around the same time, about the late 1930s, many other important news stories were also all over newspapers and broadcasts: Marauders in Japan, the invasion of Ethiopia, the Spanish civil war, and the mas purges of citizens in the Soviet Union by Stalin. o So much bad stuff to believe. • Lippmann surprisingly stayed silent on the matter of Jews in Europe. Objective and detachment: reporting facts not a call to action Reactive, not pro-active, coverage of events and issues How to handle ongoing-and not just breaking news?
ww1
PR as industry Threatened to fundamentally change democracy Would public opinion change government or would government manufacture consent by changing public opinion? Creel Committee of WWI An independent agency of the US government Created to influence public opinion on US participation in WWI Over just 28 months, it used every medium available to create enthusiasm for the war effort and enlist public support against foreign attempts to undercut America's war aims. George Creel; Wilson administration (before U.S. entered WWI in 1917) Progressive reformers populated Committee for Public Information
New York Times v. Sullivan
Public official cannot win libel suit even if information is false unless official can prove malice or reckless disregard. This new legal standard makes it easy to criticize government brought editorial advertising under the protection of the first amendment/established that the first amendment excuses some falsehoods uttered in the heat of debate over the public conduct of public officials
McCarthy and the press "See It Now"
See It Now is an American newsmagazine and documentary series broadcast by CBS from 1951 to 1958. It was created by Edward Murrow and Fred Friendly. -Murrow was the host of the show. He made TV respectable and showed the shortcomings of a purely objective approach. He puts a stamp on what you can do with television even though eh did not at all wanted to be a part of television. -Murrow's fear was that TV is visual, so it will be superficial. People see things and make them think people are being entertained. No boundary between news and entertainment. -Eventually, it also showed the limits of the objectivity of news on TV The Case Against Milo Radulovich -Milo Radulovish was an American citizen of Serbian ethnicity and former reserve Air Force lieutenant who was accused of being a security risk for maintaining a "close and continuing relationship" with his father and sister, in violation of Air Force regulation. His case was publicized nationally on Murrow's program, See It Now: engaged with a controversy, took a stand; showed the power of TV to influence, make a difference The McCarthy Broadcast -Refusing and correcting McCarthy's facts -Greatest reaction in broadcast history -Murrow uses senator McCarthy words against him. He constructs fooage in such a way that it creates an image of McCarthy that it is extremely unflattering, "on one hand he says this, one the other hand, he says this" Refuting him with facts. -This broadcast is objective because it is factual but also not been done before, it is making a case (investigative reporting) -He was calling out a U.S senator as a lawyer -It is objective but it is still pointing the finger at someone
• The Case of Milo Radulovich
See It Now is an American newsmagazine and documentary series broadcast by CBS from 1951 to 1958. It was created by Edward Murrow and Fred Friendly. -Murrow was the host of the show. He made TV respectable and showed the shortcomings of a purely objective approach. He puts a stamp on what you can do with television even though eh did not at all wanted to be a part of television. -Murrow's fear was that TV is visual, so it will be superficial. People see things and make them think people are being entertained. No boundary between news and entertainment. -Eventually, it also showed the limits of the objectivity of news on TV The Case Against Milo Radulovich -Milo Radulovish was an American citizen of Serbian ethnicity and former reserve Air Force lieutenant who was accused of being a security risk for maintaining a "close and continuing relationship" with his father and sister, in violation of Air Force regulation. His case was publicized nationally on Murrow's program, See It Now: engaged with a controversy, took a stand; showed the power of TV to influence, make a difference The McCarthy Broadcast -Refusing and correcting McCarthy's facts -Greatest reaction in broadcast history -Murrow uses senator McCarthy words against him. He constructs fooage in such a way that it creates an image of McCarthy that it is extremely unflattering, "on one hand he says this, one the other hand, he says this" Refuting him with facts. -This broadcast is objective because it is factual but also not been done before, it is making a case (investigative reporting) -He was calling out a U.S senator as a lawyer -It is objective but it is still pointing the finger at someone
The black press in WWII
Used to unify African American communities. They educated blacks about white societies. The black press fought for equality and civil rights. They struggled to be successful financially. "Race" newspapers were family owned and operated. They advocated on behalf of blacks and engaged in sensationalism. These papers provided jobs for many blacks. Their successes depended heavily on circulation.
David Halberstam
correspondent in Vietnam who took over the Saigon bureau of the NY Times o Took over for old reporter and represented the switch from the WWII generation to the new group of younger reporters. o Noticed the denial of access for reporters o His Vietnam reporting not only set the standard for those who followed but also provided the wedge that resulted in a cultural and political trend that would come to mark the era: the "credibility gap" o Tension between the political imperatives who wanted to sell the program with the professional imperatives, like Halberstam, who wanted to find out what was really going on. o US mission and American correspondents were on a collision course
Sedition Act of 1918
enacted during WWI to keep Americans united in favor of the war effort. -Aimed at socialists, pacifists and other anti-war activists, the Sedition Act imposed harsh penalties on anyone found guilty of making false statements that interfered with the prosecution of the war; insulting or abusing the U.S. government, the flag, the Constitution or the military; agitating against the production of necessary war materials; or advocating, teaching or defending any of these acts. Added to Espionage Act, this act deemed "disloyal, profane, scurrilous, or abusive language" about the American form of government, the Constitution, the flag, or the armed forces as criminal and worthy of prosecution-- the reason why Eugene V. Debs was imprisoned.
george creel?
head of committee of public info
George Creel (face/leader/head of) Committee on Public Information
inspired patriotism during the war and tried to get people to support WW1 Creel's organization, employed 150,000 workers at home and oversees. He proved that words were indeed weapons. it was dedicated to winning everyday Americans' support for the war effort. It regularly distributed pro-war propaganda and sent out an army of "four-minute men" to rally crowds and deliver "patriotic pep". Head of the Committee on Public Info, this man used many techniques to persuade the public to support the war.
Radio and TV regulation • Mayflower, Fairness doctrines
mayflower: - This was before TV. It said that broadcasters cannot take sides in a controversy and there was no advocacy allowed. fairness doctrine: a former federal policy in the US requiring television and radio broadcasters to present contrasting viewpoints on controversial issues of public importance • FCC Policy 1948-1987 • Broadcasters must cover controversial issues of public importance • Fair and balanced manner; providing opposing viewpoints - (Updated after WWII) Applied to both TV and Radio. Broadcasters can take a side, but they must give the other side an opportunity for airtime. This is similar to an open press.
press activity in vietnam?
o 3 conflicts in the Vietnam-Watergate era: Press against... Military: "rouge" reporters deny official story Public: negative coverage put soldiers in bad light. People don't want to hear bad things Government: realistic, critical coverage sways public opinion that government was trying to control o Friction in Vietnam coverage Denial of access: reporters not getting information by government, reporters then started talking to soldiers The official story: contradicting stories get told. US government and military keen to put stories in good light and journalists who tell it like it is.
Morley Safer
o CBS reporter o Followed, filmed, and aired a marine unit "taking out" a village called Cam Ne. He captured shootings and, even more emotional, families inside houses that were soon torched up. o . After being aired on CBS Marine Corps officials became angry and denied that such events actually occurred. o Not type of "fighting" Americans thought was happening. o President pissed at CBS
60 minutes
o Created by Don Hewitt, Murrow's protégé o Demonstrated that news could make money o More a magazine program, people loved it o Created pressure for news programs to make money: entertainment values start pressing on news (which was what Murrow was afraid of)
Public Opinion
o Explores the idea that people only know things that they think are true or information other people give to them. Most of these given ideas come from the mass media, including news, advertising, and entertainment. o The Manufacture of consent: Having the public be so willing to be influences by media makes it extremely easy for politicians to manipulate public opinion just by catering content towards general stereotypes and symbols o Unlikely for people to have a true interest to seek out expert journalism on news. Believed that the idea that citizens in a democracy have enough knowledge to make informed decisions is not realistic. Though in his book he never came to an answer about how to exactly solve the issue, he did state one thing that must be done by journalists: they must inform the general public in a way that attracts them, interests them, and also teaches them. journalism and democracy- Theory People need adequate info to make decisions; the press supplies that information, reality People are limited by: • Impossibility of getting information not tainted by stereotypes, bias • Lack of interest • Unwillingness to support (the press); the idea that information should be free Expectations for the press to inform is high After WWI, Lippmann has a national audience for his thinking and writing about politics and public affairs. Hes got some interesting things to say but they are not all that positive. -Lippmann argues in the book that it is kind of hopeless for people to participate in a democracy. He is acknowledging the basic fact that we cannot experience all things (events become filtered through personal stereotypes) and that we have limited time and interest. He says that people will never be informed as they should be. . -He offers a solution for this in his book, but it can't really be seen as a solution. He says that what we need in addition to journalism, is a sort of elite corps of experts and social scientists who kind of scan the globe, gather information, and try to excerpt that objectivity that is needed. The "team of experts" would now how prejudices work, etc. and so they would have to come up with the good information. Then, the mass media would distribute that good information. So, the journalists wouldn't do the analysis (doesn't sound like a democracy at all)
WW2 JOURNALISM
o Leading up the WWII, it was difficult for Americans to truly understand the horrors that were happening in Europe from the first news report to hit the country. o Propaganda and the notion of "beyond belief": What is really true? The Great War was full of newspaper propaganda with terrible stories just like these. So why believe these ones? Around the same time, about the late 1930s, many other important news stories were also all over newspapers and broadcasts: Marauders in Japan, the invasion of Ethiopia, the Spanish civil war, and the mas purges of citizens in the Soviet Union by Stalin. • So much bad stuff to believe. o Censorship During WWII it continued to be hard for Americans to understand every awful thing happening, such as the Final Solution, because the Germans expelled foreign reporters from areas they conquered. o Propaganda: Lippmann wrote propaganda pamphlets to be dropped behind enemy lines to encourage German soldiers to surrender or desert. • Talked about good food and being treated well • Become most common piece of propaganda found among deserting Germans The Great War was full of newspaper propaganda with terrible stories just like these. So why believe these ones? o As a Jew and a man of high regard in American, Lippmann surprisingly stayed silent on the matter of Jews in Europe. o Lippmann's idea of Purpose Perhaps it was because he knew that the general public had little or no regard for the Jewish people at that time and he thought that he could actually reach and hold more readers if he left facts about Jews out and focused on other key aspects of the war.
Objectivity as Bias
o Legitimacy of societal institutions in the 1960s under attack Generational rebellion Cultural crisis o Objectivity Didn't question underlying structures of power Professional journalism is therefore suspect Incomplete, distorted, reinforced official viewpoints/ status quo
Commercialization
o Power Independence from government and political parties Economic o Practices Definitions of news: what counts as news? Drawing people into your papers/stations o Purpose Journalism as a business: $
Professionlization
o Power: based on credibility Independence, standards, public opinion (shape it) o Practices Objectivity: note taking, telling both sides, , no bias o Purpose: Public service mission
cREDIBILITY GAP
reporters objective and skeptical tell the truth cold hard facts us military- obedience and loyalty tell u what u want to hear a term that became popular among journalists and, soon, American citizens alike around the time of the Vietnam War. The credibility gap refers to the feeling of uncertainty people had about the U.S military was releasing true, factual information to the public. o "As much as anything else, it was the result of a clash between the professional values held by the journalists (such as skepticism and independence) and the political values held by the policy makers and reinforced by the military values of loyalty and obedience" (333) • Objectivity as bias
Credibility gap
the gap between what the government said (the war is going great) and the reality (it wasn't). a term that became popular among journalists and, soon, American citizens alike around the time of the Vietnam War. The credibility gap refers to the feeling of uncertainty people had about the U.S military was releasing true, factual information to the public. o "As much as anything else, it was the result of a clash between the professional values held by the journalists (such as skepticism and independence) and the political values held by the policy makers and reinforced by the military values of loyalty and obedience" (333)
Radio and TV regulation: •Public interest standard
• Strong functional media = strong functional democracy • Media should be accessible and open o Perhaps not free but easily acquired • Freedom of speech/expression o Go along with this idea that journalism and other forms of it keep us informed of controversial debates • Freedom of the press
Walter Cronkite
• TV coverage of Kennedy assassination o Walter Cronkite covered the story as an anchor on CBS. All news stations reported the information live as it came in. All 3 stations had the same information, which means they were all relying on the same wire and sources. o Purpose: Get the story out fast Get the story out right • What to do with uncomfortable information Collective grief • Walter Cronkite: CBS news anchor o Veteran combat coverage in World War II and Vietnam o Successor of Murrow o After Tet offensive, goes to Vietnam and comes back to air "Who, What, When Why" story. After report he looked into the camera and told Americans his opinion on the war. o Covered Kennedy Assassination: got choked up. • Don Hewitt: Director of "see it now" o Never went to college but trained at the associated press o Director the first televised presidential debate between JFK and Nixon TV all about image (JFK had makeup on, Nixon didn't want any) o Executive producer of the CBS Evening News with Walter Cronkite Which aired Kennedy assassination o Launched/created 60 Minutes