Chapter 7: The News and Social Media POLS 1336 UH

Define trends in the history of the press

- Newspapers have developed from occasional pamphlets in the early 1700s, to comprehensive daily publications that aimed for objective reporting of political news, to today's online enterprises filled with a mix of news and entertainment.

State the Zenger case's importance.

- the press had a fundamental right to criticize government, and a free press was more important than the law against seditious libel that had put Zenger behind bars. - The jury agreed and freed Zenger. - The case is a landmark in advancing the idea of a free press.

professional journalists

-A journalist who checks their sources, acts professionally. -NOTE: not being a strict profession does not mean that we abandon professionalism

Explain how changes in the mass media have changed the information environment

-Cable TV, satellite TV, and the Internet make news available day and night. Soft news, with personal stories and emotional content, is replacing hard news. -Increasing Internet access gives all Americans a chance to be informed about politics.

Survey the impact of the rise of infotainment.

-Infotainment- humorous shows that cover current events

State the functions of the news media.

-Inofrming, investigating, interpreting, -alerts to the public for important development -by covering events the media put these issues on public agenda. they tell us what to think about it -provides a channel to communicate with the public

Analyze the importance of a free press to American democracy.

-It allows voters to discuss matters of public interest. -democracy depends on people being informed and being able to freely discuss public affairs in order to make the best choices about public issues

Determine why the media are important in a democracy

-Key linkage institution between the people and the politicians - increases growth of government -access to information is a big boon to democracy -keeps set the policy agenda -provides political socialization and acts as a public forum.

State the effect of television on news reporting

-Narrowcasting: focus on particular interest/audience -News on television tells you everything that you do and don't want to hear -Cables news reduced the overall quality of political journalism and people also have more options w/ market segmentation

Priming

influencing criteria people use to judge issues by choosing which aspects of a story to emphasize

State the concerns over media bias.

-A news outlet uses critical labels to identify politicians or groups, or fails to label biased points of view. -A media outlet interprets a story in one way, to the exclusion of other interpretations. Involves a reporter's tone and subjective comments about objective facts. -The media leaves out one side, or aspect, of a story -A media outlet leaves out sources that support an opposing point of view.

Survey the impact of blogs.

-Blogs are evidence of a new bottom-up journalism by citizens.

Name the laws, government agencies, and court rulings that regulate press freedom.

-New York Times v. Sullivan: outcome was that Actual malice must be found to convict for libel -Near v. Minnesota (1931): only in exceptionally rare cases could the government stop the printing of a story -Pentagon Papers case (1971): the Court rejected the government's argument that national security took precedence over the right to publish documents embarrassing to the government. -1st amendment: freedom of press -the "clear and present danger" rule: some forms of speech pose a risk to the country and that Congress should have the right to prevent that danger -Federal Communications Commission (FCC): a powerful agency that regulates all forms of electronic media, including radio, broadcast television, cable television, cell phones, and even wireless networks. -FCC v. Pacifica Foundation (1978): the FCC has the legal authority to fine any media outlet that knowingly allows the expression of obscene content, under certain circumstances.

Assess how the news media affect public opinion

-Political scientists describe the impact of the news media on the public as agenda setting, priming, and framing. -People tend to filter the news through their political socialization, selectivity, needs, and ability to recall or comprehend the news. -Although conservatives charge that the media are too liberals and vice versa, little evidence exists of actual, deliberate bias in news reporting. -The media's influence is most strongly felt in their ability to determine what problems and events will come to the public's attention and how those issues are framed.

State three ways media coverage of the news affects politics.

-Reporting can sway people who are uncommitted and have no strong opinion in the first place. -

Understand how the mass media can alter your political views.

-Reporting can sway people who are uncommitted and have no strong opinion in the first place. -News organizations can help tell us what to think about, even if they cannot determine what we think.

Distinguish selective exposure from selective perception.

-Selective exposure: The process by which individuals screen out messages that do not conform to their own biases -selective perception: The process by which individuals perceive what they want to in media messages.

Survey the impact of the decline of newspapers.

-The decline of newspapers is a real concern. The decreasing number of journalists means that newspapers have less ability to inform and investigate. If the press cannot perform its watchdog role, the public loses a means by which it holds government accountable.

Describe the role of the press in the Revolution and ratification of the Constitution.

-The press helped spread the idea of independence because newspapers served as networks for sharing information. -They reached not only subscribers but also many people who could not read, for the papers were read aloud in taverns and town squares. -Partisanship in the press carried over to the battle for ratification of the Constitution, and newspapers provided a vital forum for debate. -Example: those supporting the Constitution responded, most famously in a series of essays published in New York newspapers, which are today known as the Federalist Papers.

Describe the role of the press as watchdog.

-The role played by the national media in investigating political personalities and exposing scandals.

Analyze how the law protects the press

-When the government attempts to constrain the press, the Supreme Court generally sides with the press, believing that it is better to protect press freedoms than to permit government censorship.

citizen-journalists

-a form of democratic participation brought about by mass ownership of mobile phones with built-in cameras, image-sharing networking sites including YouTube and Twitter, and the popularity of blogs. - User-generated content from citizen journalists has transformed news, -keep professional journalist honest -go places and tell stories that professionals neglect

Survey the impact of social networking.

-allow for personalized discussion of political issues. -Ways to communicate directly or indirectly with, candidates, citizen journalists, and traditional media sources.

Elaborate on the ethics of professional journalism.

-journalism's first obligation is to the truth: in order to be true, a reporter needs to be accurate, explanatory and objective -journalism's first loyalty is to its citizens -it must serve as an independent monitor of power -it must provide a public forum for comment and compromise -it must keep the news comprehensive and proportional -its practitioners must be allowed to exercise their personal conscience

Evaluate the news media

-media choice and multiple outlets ensure a full range of ideological viewpoints.

profit motive(s) for the mass media

-overwhelming majority of press is privately owned and for-profit -except for newspapers, most media companies continue to make nice profits -profit motive affects decisions on presentation and content -need for profit pushes media to cover things that attract audiences

Track the evolution from partisan press to yellow journalism.

-partisan press: political papers, generally pushed the plan of the particular political group that subsidized the paper. -newspaper companies saw that partisanship drove away customers who did not share their political views. So they began to move toward sensationalism, printing news of crimes and scandals and stories about personalities, -yellow journalism, this form of news reporting distorted the presentation of events and could mislead the public, all in the interest of boosting sales. -As the news business grew, its focus gradually shifted from passionate opinion to corporate profit.

Connect media choice to polarization.

-reinforcement of existing views that make democratic deliberation particularly difficult -the trend of increased media choices has led to greater [ ], as we no longer operate from the same set of facts

Define the propaganda model.

-since most mainstream media are corporately owned, news is biased toward corporations

Agenda setting

-the ways in which those who work within the media decide what is important enough to be reported and what is ignored -Crime is a particularly striking example of the agenda-setting process because it is considered to be inherently newsworthy

Framing

emphasizing certain portions of a story to make them more important