The Media Question: How can the media be used to shape politics and public opinion?
A. Early Newspapers 1. Parties created and subsidized various newspapers 2. Federalists and Democratic Republicans had partisan papers. 3. The Federalists Papers were printed in the The Independent Journal and The Daily Advertiser and then copied by all other papers. B. Influence of publishers, editors created partisan bias 1. Muckrackers a. Progressive Journalists who used the media to expose corruption A. Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle 2. "Yellow journalism" a. William Randolph Hearst’s Use of sensationalism to push US into Spanish American War C. Mass Media- The empire of communications systems through which information is collected and reported D. Print Media 1. Newspapers, magazines, etc E. Radio 1. The repeal of the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Fairness Doctrine(which had required that stations provide free air time for responses to any controversial opinions that were broadcast) in 1987 provided an opportunity for a kind of partisan programming that had not previously existed. a. Talk Radio and the Conservative Movement A. Rush Limbaugh F. Television 1. Creation of 24 hours news network (CNN) 2. Partisan Networks a. CNN- Liberal-Ted Turner b. Fox- Conservative “ 3. Political Shows a. The Daily Show b. The Colbert Report c. The O’Reilly Factor G. Internet 1. Politically based websites 2. Blogs-Generate News Stories a. Drudge Report b. Redstate c. Daily KOS d. Huffington Post 3. Bloggers generate news stories that are then picked up by the “mainstream” press and reported as “news.” Since the mainstream is an accepted for of media reporting, it is considered factual. a. Slow News Day-
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H. The Big Six- Media Control- Control the Message 1. General Electric media-related holdings include television networks NBC and Telemundo, Universal Pictures, Focus Features, 26 television stations in the United States and cable networks MSNBC, Bravo and the Sci Fi Channel. GE also owns 80 percent of NBC Universal. 2. The Walt Disney Company owns the ABC Television Network, cable networks including ESPN, the Disney Channel, SOAPnet, A&E and Lifetime, 277 radio stations, music and book publishing companies, production companies Touchstone, Miramax and Walt Disney Pictures, Pixar Animation Studios, the cellular service Disney Mobile, and theme parks around the world. 3. News Corporation’s media holdings include: the Fox Broadcasting Company; television and cable networks such as Fox, Fox Business Channel, National Geographic and FX; print publications including the Wall Street Journal, the New York Post and TVGuide; the magazines Barron’s and SmartMoney; book publisher HarperCollins; film production companies 20th Century Fox, Fox Searchlight Pictures and Blue Sky Studios; numerous websites including MarketWatch.com. 4. Time Warner is the largest media conglomerate in the world, with holdings including: CNN, the CW (a joint venture with CBS), HBO, Cinemax, Cartoon Network, TBS, TNT, America Online, MapQuest, Moviefone, Warner Bros. Pictures, Castle Rock and New Line Cinema, and more than 150 magazines including Time, Sports Illustrated, Fortune, Marie Claire and People. 5. Viacom holdings include: MTV, Nickelodeon/Nick-at-Nite, VH1, BET, Comedy Central, Paramount Pictures, Paramount Home Entertainment, Atom Entertainment, and music game developer Harmonix. Viacom 18 is a joint venture with the Indian media company Global Broadcast news. 6. CBS Corporation owns the CBS Television Network, CBS Television Distribution Group, the CW (a joint venture with Time Warner), Showtime, book publisher Simon & Schuster, 30 television stations, and CBS Radio, Inc, which has 130 stations. CBS is now the leading supplier of video to Google’s new Video Marketplace
I. The national media 1. Consists of a. Wire services b. National magazines c. Television networks d. Newspapers with national readerships 2. Significance a. Washington officials follow it closely b. Reporters and editors different from the local press A. Better paid B. From more prestigious universities C. Do investigative or interpretive stories 3. Roles played a. Gatekeeper: what is news, for how long b. Scorekeeper: who is winning, losing c. Watchdog: investigate personalities and expose scandals)
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J. Newspapers: Influence 1. Top 10 media chains own 54% of the daily circulation. 2. Chains own a total of 80% of the daily circulation a. Number of daily newspapers has declined significantly b. Number of cities with multiple papers has declined 1. 60 percent of cities had competing newspapers in 1900 2. Only 4 percent in 1972 c. Newspaper circulation has fallen since 1967 d. Most people now get most of their news from television e. Influence: ABC, NBC, CBS, and FOX report the news FROM what is printed in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Christian Science Monitor, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times: K. Narrowcasting: 1. Targeted media programming at a specific audience a. CNN b. FOX News- “Fair and Balanced” c. Telemundo and Univision d. BET- Black Enterainment Television e. 700 Club- Christian TV L. Government Regulations of Media Control 1. Federal Communications Commission 2. A national corporation may control up to 39% of the Natinal Audience a. This is measured by how many stations it owns b. Clear Channel-Bush Administration 1. Dixie Chicks (Shut Up and Sing) 3. Content Regulation (Electronic Media) a. Equal Time Rule 1. Must sell equal time to candidates (if it sells at all)
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