How the Media covers Politicians

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How the Media covers Politicians
GovernmentPublic Perceptions of the
MediaRegulations
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Basic Functions of Mass Media

• Entertaining Problems arise when disagreement
  on the limits of what is and is not moral
  entertainment
• Informing important to understand your world
  and the people in it. How far is too far, the
  truth can be blunt - responsible to only be
  honest?

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• Influencing expect a certain degree of bias due
  to nature of media (imperfect people presenting
  information). Some believe that the media should
  be as objective as possible
• Allow audience to make own judgments
• Binding culture linking a society together
  linkage institution. Transmits culture to large
  numbers of people.
• TV is especially good at transmitting a common
  identity to a nation or many nations

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Annenberg Public Policy Center

• Located at University of PA
• Conducts content analysis on TV coverage of
  politics
• www.appcpenn.org
• Good source for checking facts
• www.factcheck.org

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Government Watchdogs

• Liberal Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting -
  FAIR
• www.fair.org
• Conservative Media Research Center
• www.mediaresearch.org

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Presidency

• Gets most new coverage
• Holds news conferences
• Shape public opinion
• Explain actions
• Press Secretary briefs media on regular basis

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• Presidential attention - top newsmaker
• Some feel mostly negative
• Encourages cynicism
• Can alienate people from politics
• Watchdog responsibility for party out of power
• Media encountered challenges in covering Bushs
  administration
• Tightlipped
• No leaks nature

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• Obama administration began with a more open
  access with the media
• Analysis of news stories (2480) indicated
  www.cmpa.com/about_methods.htm
• Positive press coverage 59 - 1st 100 days
• Slipped to 43
• Fox News Special Report - 21 of stories
  reported were positive during 1st 100 days
• Rose to 25

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• www.realclearpolitics.com/
• Bush 1st 100 days - positive media coverage was
  22 -
• Clinton 1st 100 days - positive media coverage
  was 27 - 41 after midterm
• Pew poll Obamas job performance rating is 46
  pos 46 neg 8 DNK
• http//people-press.org/report/?pageid1858
• Do not believe he is going along too much with
  Republicans in Congress
• Agree with his agenda
• Low marks for standing up for Democratic
  traditional positions

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Job Approval Ratings

• http//www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/other/pres
  ident_obama_job_approval-1044.html
• http//www.gallup.com/poll/113980/Gallup-Daily-Oba
  ma-Job-Approval.aspx

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Media Coverage of Obama Mixed and Partisan
Reviews

• http//www.gallup.com/poll/114136/media-coverage-o
  bama-gets-mixed-partisan-reviews.aspx
• 38 believe the media has not been tough enough
  in their coverage of Obama

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Public Perception of Media

• 11 people said they have a great deal of
  confidence in the media
• 33 believe media has done an excellent or good
  job fulfilling their role of a free press
• 37 believe medias performance has been fair
• 27 believe the medias performance is poor
• 50 of public feel the media behaves
  professionally

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Medias Job as Watchdog under Obama

• 43 - on par with how it did during previous
  administrations
• 31 - worse job
• 21 - better job
• 75 - Democrats/Independents same or better job
• 49 - Republicans same or better
• 48 - Republican worse job

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Confidence in Accuracy/Fair Reporting by Media

• 58 Democrats - confident
• 36 Republicans - confident
• 74 Republicans - news media too liberal
• 20 Democrats - news media too conservative

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Media Covering Congress

• Different from the President
• 535 members, not all known by the public
• Focus on leadership Speaker, Pres. Pro Temp,
  majority and minority leaders
• Key committee chairs sometimes attract media
  attention

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• Local media focus more on local politicians
• Congressional Investigations often capture media
  attention
• Red Scare 1950s
• Watergate 1970s
• Iran-Contra 1980s
• Clinton-gates 1990s
• Plamegate 2003
• Abu Ghraib 2004
• Healthcare 2008
• Benghazi 2012

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• Media coverage often negative
• Scandals
• Conflicts within chambers
• Conflicts with President
• Possibly responsible for peoples negative
  perceptions of Congress
• Americans view on Congress as a respected
  position
• http//www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/other/cong
  ressional_job_approval-903.html
• http//www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/bus
  iness/general_business/september_2009/americans_no
  w_view_congress_as_least_respected_job

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Media Coverage of Judiciary

• Little attention until unpopular or unexpected
  ruling announced
• Appointment of new justices attracts media
  attention
• Court TV

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Regulation of the Media

• Airwaves considered public property
• Leased to broadcasters by government
• Allocates use of frequencies and channels
• FCC - Federal Communications Commission
• Independent regulatory agency
• Oversees electronic media

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Telecommunications Act - 1996

• Deregulated media
• Increase competition
• Lower prices
• Improve quality
• Raised cap on of TV and radio stations owned by
  a single entity
• Internet decency - struck down by the courts
• Required TVs to have v-chips so parents could
  monitor content

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FCC Rules for TV and Radio

• Equal Time Rule if a station sells time for
  campaigns, they must sell it equally to all
  candidates.
• Exception political debates where minor party
  candidates may be excluded
• Right-of-Rebuttal requires that a person who is
  attacked be offered the opportunity to respond.
• Fairness Doctrine (now defunct 1945-85)
• required broadcasters to be fair in coverage
  of news events and present contrasting views.