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THE NEWS MEDIA
Chapter 6
Roles of the Mass Media in Democracy
The central idea of democracy is that ordinary citizens should control what their government does.
The media can help citizens help themselves
Popular Sovereignty requires an knowledgeable and informed citizenry
Roles of the Media #1
Watchdog over government
Protected by the First Amendment
No prior restraint
High standards for proving libel/slander
Examples?
Roles of the Media #2
Clarify what electoral choices the public has
What political parties stand for
The qualities/positions of candidates
Problem deciding what is important versus what is interesting
Examples?
Roles of the Media #3
Present a full and enlightening set of ideas about public policy to the public
Pros and cons about policies that have already been in place
Alternative policy ideas
Examples?
Is the News Biased?
Professional bias
Journalists tend to be liberal but media tycoons (owners of the mass media) are conservative=> balance
“Biases” in Political News
Nationalism: Pro-America
Ethnocentric point of view in most news reports about foreign affairs
Dependence on U.S. government news sources
most foreign news coverage supports U.S. foreign policy.
“Biases” in Political News p.2
Pro-Capitalism
Free market
Free trade
Anti-welfare type programs
Ex. Socialized medicine
Episodic, Fragmented, Incoherent coverage of political information
“Biases” in Political News p.3
Negativity and Scandal
Infotainment
The massive invasion of entertainment values in political reporting
Sensation and scandal replace stories about domestic policies, foreign policies, international issues, etc.
Affect of the Media on
Public Opinions and Policy
Agenda-setting effects — the topics that get the most coverage in the media are the same ones that most people say are the most important problems
The media’s framing or interpretation of stories affects how people think about political problems.
In other words, not changing opinions as much as telling people what to think about and how to think about it
Affects of the Media
Fueling Cynicism
Attack journalism: serious consideration of the issues or of the behavior of institutions has lost out to regular coverage of personal misbehavior.
Negativity bias=Cynicism
