Top-Rated Free Essay
Preview

Media

Good Essays
1506 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Media
The Power of the Media
The struggle for who gets what, when and how is largely carried out through the media. Mass communications help determine what the nation knows about politics and thus helps determine who gets what. The media is often referred to as the "fourth branch" of government because of the power they wield. The media consists of television, newspapers, magazines, radio, books, recordings, films, and the Internet.
Television is the most powerful media format since almost every home in America has a television set. Most people watch their local news for information. While the major network news shows have lost viewers, cable news and weekly television news magazines have grown in popularity. Young people now turn to internet news sources in growing numbers. Television is rated the most believable news source by the public, with CNN rated the highest.
While less than half of the adult population reads a newspaper each day, most political and business elites read one of the major newspapers each day. The leading newspapers are "The New York Times," "Washington Post," and the "Wall Street Journal." Weekly newsmagazines are read by an even smaller portion of the population, but their readers tend to be among the most politically active.
One reason behind the power of television is its ability to deliver emotion over the airwaves. The anger of mob or the desperation of a starving child have a greater effect than the written word. Thus, image trumps substance. Media's ability to set the political agenda forces political leaders to pay attention -- more so than the average viewer. The media clearly does more than mirror reality.
Sources of Media Power
A free press is guaranteed in the Constitution. The media and government officials are natural adversaries as the media seeks to serve as watchdogs and define the problems of society. Media professionals view their jobs as a "sacred trust" and believe they serve as the true voice of the public.
Media power derives from five functions: newsmaking, agenda setting, interpreting, socializing, and persuading:
1. Newsmaking. The media determines what will be news, thereby attaching importance to events and people. Investigative journalism can also pose a threat to politicians and bureaucrats, potentially uncovering scandal or ineffectiveness. Also, the media provide opportunities for political actors to gain the limelight through staging media events and providing "sound bytes." By the same token, events which are not pictorial in nature may be relatively neglected by the media.
2. Agenda Setting. This is the real power of the media. The media select what is to be covered, thereby setting a political agenda. Conversely, media inattention can allow governments to continue ineffective policies or worse. The media can even propel a latent issue into a "crisis" with which government must deal.
3. Interpreting. The media interprets the news for us, often in the form of stories. Stories, in turn, often involve good guys versus bad guys, little guys versus big guys, and contrasts of appearance versus reality, sometimes showing governmental hypocrisy. Pictures are key to interpreting stories and can be edited to show whatever viewpoint or emotion the editor seeks to reveal.
4. Socializing. Socialization, which is the learning of political values, is communicated not only in the news, but in entertainment, sports, and even advertising programming. Such programming coverage teaches how democracy works and legitimizes the electoral victors.
5. Persuading. Sometimes the media seeks to influence opinions directly. This occurs in editorial features, paid political advertisements, and sometimes in investigative reports. PACs and corporations can use their funds to purchase media coverage to promote their views on issues and candidates. Candidates, in turn, rely on media professionals to maximize their impact on public opinion. Presidents can go "over the heads of Congress" to seek to persuade the public of the wisdom or propriety of their policies.
The Business of the Media
It is important to remember that the media is a business and they must sell advertising time. Over one-quarter of primetime television is devoted to advertisements. The rate the media charges for advertising time depends on the audience rating numbers. For newspapers and magazines, advertising revenue is based on the number of papers or magazines they sell or circulation.
Most media programming is considered "soft" or fluff -- meaning it lacks hard intellectual content. The mass public prefers soft programming. Because of this preference, news has increasingly been presented as entertainment. A large number of "soft" news programs have been created and for many Americans this is their only source of news. Today seven major multinational corporations control the world media.
The Politics of News
The economic interests of the media in gaining and keeping viewers may bias it toward sensationalism, giving disproportionate coverage to events involving war, violence, conflict, scandal, corruption, sex, scares, and personal lives of politicians and celebrities. In general, there is a negativism in the media, biasing it toward bad news as more newsworthy. "Good news" stories, such as the fact that drug use has declined, is less reported and as a result often is not part of the knowledge base citizens use in forming their opinions. The news profession itself holds investigative reporting in high esteem, creating media pressure toward muckraking. Reporters may see themselves as "watchdogs" of the public interest or even as adversaries of government. Sometimes muckraking stories become "feeding frenzies" where intense coverage blocks out almost all other news. Journalistic activism, in turn, means that the personal values of reporters are more important than they would otherwise be. Surveys of reporters, editors, and other media executives reveal a liberal bias, with few (around 10 percent in typical surveys) classifying themselves as conservative, right-leaning, or Republican. Conservative commentators include George Will, William F. Buckley, and Patrick Buchanan. Fox News network has brought a conservative voice to television. Hollywood is also decidedly liberal, but it is unclear how great an influence it has on politics as most television programs and movies are aimed entertainment and selling advertising time. In the arena of talk radio, however, conservatives dominate. Talk radio is sometimes referred to as "call-in democracy."
Mediated Elections
The media shapes political campaigning and elections.
The public learns about the candidates through the media. Thus, one's media image is of primary concern. The media image includes the candidate's words, mannerisms, appearance, personality, warmth, friendliness, humor and ease in front of the camera. In the arena of television, personal communication becomes central to a successful candidate. How a candidate says something thus becomes as important as what the candidate says. The media plays a central role in selecting candidates early in the process. The media helps create name recognition by frequently referring to a candidate, and media inattention can kill a candidate's aspirations. In presidential elections, it is essential to build name recognition early in the primary process by staging media events that attract coverage for free. The media sort out serious candidates and place expectations on front runners. By establishing front runners the media help determine financial contributions to the candidates.
Early in the campaign season media coverage and standings in the polls are usually synonymous. Therefore, media exposure is essential early in the campaign. Candidates hire media consultants to help them gain access to media coverage. The campaigns create media events to attract coverage by placing the candidates in action-oriented activities. The media report mainly on who is ahead or behind in a race, or horse-race coverage. In addition, focus is on money being spent in the campaign, standings in the polls, controversies, verbal blunders, and character issues, while policy issues only account for about one-third of the coverage. Negative stories of candidates predominate and increasingly the candidates personal lives are being scrutinized in detail. Increasingly, candidates sound bites are shrinking and now are typically less than eight seconds in length. While there is media bias, attempts are made to cover both party's candidates equally. Typically, front runners are criticized more than underdogs.
Freedom versus Fairness
The Constitution protects the freedom of the media but does not guarantee its fairness. Government may not place a prior restraint on the news, as it attempted to do in the famous "Pentagon Papers" case involving Vietnam-era documents. Broadcast media (radio, television) have a special legal status more subject to regulation than print media (newspapers, magazines) because their assignment of a broadcasting frequency by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is regarded as a public trust. Until 2003 the FCC prohibited a single individual or firm to own both a leading television and newspaper in the same city in order to insure diversity, however with the explosion in cable and satellite channels the rule was deemed to be outdated. The FCC imposes an equal-time rule which requires stations to give equal time to opposing candidates if free time is given to any candidate, or to offer opposing candidates air time at an equal price in the case of paid political commercials. The equal-time requirement does not apply to news, talk shows, or documentary coverage

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Better Essays

    The Truman Show

    • 981 Words
    • 4 Pages

    This reflects how the media influence us because if the government wanted to crack down on crime or exploit a celebrities fault, they would use the media through newspapers and the news to sway the public’s opinion on certain aspects of life and people.…

    • 981 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Statistics Quiz

    • 734 Words
    • 3 Pages

    A free media is needed to shed light on matters that may otherwise be known only to a small number of government insiders with technical knowledge.…

    • 734 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Media Bias

    • 930 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Throughout history the news media has an important role in society by providing information for the general public and each individual. Regarded as the "fourth branch" of government, the influence that media has on political affairs is extremely powerful because it enable citizens to form opinions on certain issues. To many politician, media is an instrument of manipulation and enables them to persuade large masses of people. With power follows responsibility, which the public believe it is the responsibility of the press to "accurately" inform the populace. The public believe that an ideal relationship between the media and government is with checks and balances, therefore insuring a functioning democracy. However, over these past few decades…

    • 930 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    It is true that “television entertains no issue that cannot be personified”(Seducing America.) Unfortunately, television must focus on what can be personified in order to retain the attention of its audience. Americans are restless and need constant shift in the media in order to keep them engaged. It wasn’t always like what it is today, before television everything was slower. It took longer for people to communicate and as a result took longer for things to change. In the current media climate, nothing is slow and the news is always changing because the internet allows Americans to keep in contact with the rest of the world. The beauty of it, is that as a human race we are more connected than ever. However, with all good things comes some evil.…

    • 404 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The role of the media in public affairs is important. The media have the power to make or break a candidate. They have the power to denigrate a candidate or make that candidate congenial to the public eye. News media networks affect the public’s interests in politics. News media networks show the public what they want them to see and hear.…

    • 465 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Twenty-four hour news networks provide viewers with mostly accurate information, so that Americans can stay current on the happenings of the world. CNN, MSNBC, and FNC allow viewers to instantly turn on the television at any time of the day or night and discover news events that are occurring at that very moment. We no longer have to wait for the local five o’clock news to come on – we can now get the news as it happens. Newspapers are no longer the primary source of information for the majority of Americans, as the information contained inside the newspaper are dated, compared to the instantaneous information provided through the major news networks. Instead, newspapers are now used as a source of commentary, allowing writers to report on the news and share their opinions on a particular news event.…

    • 1024 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The media is so influential that politicians use it to help them get elected. Using the media helped many presidents to get elected. One of the big reason John F. Kennedy won his election is because the media made him to appear as a better canidate than his oppenent. When Obama ran for president, he had a plethora of media coverage. Oprah Winfrey, who has her own media company, helped Obama greatly by giving him money to campain with. The media controls…

    • 1546 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Wag the Dog

    • 1200 Words
    • 5 Pages

    In today’s dynamic world we rely on different sources of information using varieties of information technologies. We depend on the various mass media for information about events in and outside of the United States. This information influences, and often shapes the view of our country and the world, and helps us determine the position on issues that affect us. The media indeed shapes our reality. Media is and will always be the conductor between a government and the people they govern. We the people are the ones that believe and trust in most cases the information that we receive. Especially when this information comes from a seemingly trusted source, we tend not to doubt anything that we hear. A very good example of how media can interpreter anything and how ethical issues, interpersonal and organizational perspectives play an important role in our life is the movie Wag the Dog.…

    • 1200 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Outline for Media Effects

    • 262 Words
    • 2 Pages

    First of all, Media makes everyone aware of , what is happening around , by the means of reports and newspaper etc.…

    • 262 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Best Essays

    Husserl's Phenomenology

    • 2984 Words
    • 12 Pages

    The political impact that media has is stretched further than the democracy of governments. The politics that media focuses on can vary from contestants on a television show to the Presidential debates…

    • 2984 Words
    • 12 Pages
    Best Essays
  • Good Essays

    Media is inseparable part of people’s life. Hence, media is the right tools which used to forge the human mind either consciously or not. In this era, modern political success depends upon the control of mass media. An image making in the mass media is an important element in world politics since the image of politicians in the media is seen as a good indicator of their influence. Politicians have learned that one way to successfully guide the media focus is to limit what they can report on the events that had previously designed carefully.…

    • 2070 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Despite the growth of the internet for campaign news, television remains the public's main source for such information. However, television is not as dominant as at once was: 60% say they get most of their news about the presidential election from television (local, cable and network outlets combined), down from…

    • 1944 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The Benefits of Democracy

    • 379 Words
    • 2 Pages

    newspaper, editorials, the news media, radio stations, etc. As a citizen in a democratic country…

    • 379 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Television has the most pervasive effect on people. Most of us watch television all the time! because it is free and accessible to most people. Therefore, people know what happens in the world almost in no time at all. The news broadcast and information on finance, crime, education and politics are on television every day, every day. Also, television creates response of not only excitement and nterest but also fear and panic. People without television would become isolated and ignorant. Hence mass media are undoubtedly very powerful.…

    • 472 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Mass Media Communication

    • 1713 Words
    • 7 Pages

    People often think of mass media as the news, but it also includes entertainment like television shows, books, and films. It may also be educational in nature, as in the instance of public broadcasting stations that provide educational programming to a national audience. Political communications including propaganda are also frequently distributed through the media, as are public service announcements and emergency alerts.…

    • 1713 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays