Chapter 10

The Media and American Politics

Television and politics are inseparable. Much of today's politics is played out before television cameras and watched nightly by millions of TV viewers. America will always remember television "events" such as the Clarence Thomas confirmation hearings, Senator Lloyd Bentsen's remark to Senator Dan Quayle during the vice-presidential debate that "You're no John Kennedy," and Ross Perot's countless appearances on the Larry King show. One of the necessary traits of a president or an aspirant to congressional leadership is media presence, acknowledge of how to handle the news media and an ability to look and sound smooth in front of a camera. The campaign process itself has become dominated by media coverage, actions that candidates take to affect that coverage, and the cost and production requirements of television commercials.

Nearly everyone agrees that the electoral process and the operations of government have been affected profoundly by the growth of the media, especially the electronic media. But beyond that, agreement ends. Some see the media as having almost unlimited power over public opinion, replacing the family, the community, and the political party. As the research cited in this chapter indicates, those charges are overstatements. The media set the public agenda, but the impact on shaping attitudes is much more problematic.

This is an exciting topic. Students will tend to think of themselves as experts; they have, after all, spent thousands of hours in front of television screens. The instructor's task here is to dispel some of the conventional wisdom concerning the supposed overwhelming influence of the media, lead students through those studies of the actual impact of the media, point out the implications of the ongoing technical revolution of the media, and guide the discussion of what, if anything should be done to reform the media. The idea of

“Media bias” should also be examined.

I. LEARNING OBJECTIVES

1. Define mass media.

2. Describe the pervasiveness of television, talk radio, newspapers, and the World Wide Web.

3. Explain how the media handled the 2000 presidential election.

4. Outline the evolving influence of the media over the past 200 years.

5. Assess the replacement of parties by the media as mediators between the public and government.

6. Identify and explain factors that influence how people interpret political messages.

7. Assess the political bias of the news media.

8. Explain why the news media has a potent influence in setting the national agenda and framing the issues.

9. Indicate the extent to which the news media are regulated by the government.

10. Describe the impact of the media on the choice of candidates.

11. Describe the impact of the new campaign technology, especially media consultants, on the campaign process.

12. Assess the impact of the media on how voters make choices.

13. Discuss how the media are both observer and participant in government policy‑making.

14. Compare the differing relationships between the press and the president, the Congress, and the Supreme Court.

15. Evaluate whether the news media is doing a good job of bringing information to the citizens and providing a forum in which to debate complex issues.