1. The Media &
American Politics
AP GOVERNMENT

2. What are the elements of the media?
DISCUSSION QUESTION ONE…

3. What impact can the media have on politics?
DISCUSSION QUESTION TWO…

4. Influence of the Media: Internet
 The Internet was extremely beneficial to Barack
Obama’s campaign
 By March 2008, Obama had about 1 million “friends”
on MySpace and Facebook
 “Friends” received invitations to campaign events, links to
speeches, and requests for campaign contributions
 Music videos supportive of Obama on YouTube
 Obama also advertised on Web sites

5. The Internet
 More than 153 million unique domains
have been registered worldwide
 More than 1 billion unique users visit
YouTube each month; Over 6 billion hours
of video are watched each month on
YouTube; 100 hours of video are
uploaded every MINUTE
 For 37 percent of Americans, the Internet
is their primary source of news
 Politico.com
 The Internet provides an inexpensive way
to communicate with
volunteers, contributors, and voters

6. Influence of the Media: Television
 Most people in the U.S. watch some
kind of TV news every day
 Recent growth of around-the-clock
cable news and information shows
(less reporting and more analysis and
bias)
 Fox News: Conservative
 MSNBC: Liberal
 Voters now rely more on TV
commercials for information about
candidates and issues, and less on
news coverage

7. Radio and Newspapers
Continues to reach more U.S.
households than TV
Candidates use radio ads to
“microtarget” particular
audiences
Daily newspaper circulation has
been declining, especially among
younger persons (why?)
USA Today is the nation’s top-
circulation newspaper
Radio Newspapers

8. The Impact of Broadcasting
Franklin D. Roosevelt
was the first president
to recognize the
effectiveness of radio
to reach the public

9. The Impact of Broadcasting
TV added a dramatic
visual dimension
In 2004, an investigative team at CBS News
uncovered and aired this and other photos
of prisoner abuse in Abu Ghraib. Although
the military had been privately investigating
the situation for several months, the actions
of the CBS reporters brought the tragedy
into the national spotlight.

10. Media Consolidation
Emergence of large
conglomerates
owning multiple
media outlets
Rupert Murdoch, founder of the FOX
network, owns 35 TV stations in the
U.S., DirecTV, 20th Century Fox, HarperCollins
Publishers, MySpace.com, and TV
Guide, which has the largest magazine
circulation in the U.S.

11. Regulation of the Media
The national government
oversees TV and radio licensing,
financing, and even content

12. Bias Examples

13. What is Bias?

14. Are the Media Biased?

15. Video Examples
Katie Couric interviews Sarah Palin
(22:00)
Jon Stewart making fun of Fox News
(slide 8)
Glenn Beck on President Obama
Blaming the president for bridge
collapse

16. The Media and Public Opinion
 The ability of TV to present images and
communicate events has influenced U.S. public
opinion
 Civil Rights movement
 Vietnam War
 Watergate hearings
 September 11
 Hurricane Katrina

17. Public Opinion
Issue Framing
The power to set the context,
to frame the issue, to interpret
the facts, and potentially to
provide legitimacy for people,
issues, or groups are powerful
and controversial functions of
the media
Agenda Setting
Deciding what will be
decided, defining the
problems and issues to be
addressed by decision makers

18. Mediated Politics
 The pervasiveness of the media confers
enormous influence on the individuals who
determine what we read, hear, and see
because they can reach so many people so
quickly
 The news media have also assumed the role of
speaking for the people—do they?
 Let’s examine: Outfoxed & News watching
assignment