Media, Politics, and Government

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Media, Politics, and Government
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Freedom of the Press
Congress shall make no lawabridging the
freedomof the press

• Origins of freedom of the press

• Influence of the printing press
• Ideals of the Enlightenment
• Pamphlets and papers during the American
  Revolution

Colonial-era printing press
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What Is the Press?

• Traditional forms

Non-traditional forms

• Newspapers
• Magazines
• Pamphlets
• Posters

• Radio
• Television
• Internet

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Free Press Essential to Democracy

• The media as the fourth branch of government
• Important benefits of a free press

• Open expression of ideas
• Advances collective knowledge and understanding
• Communication with government representatives
• Allows for peaceful social change
• Protects individual rights

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Freedom of the Press History

• Original intent of the First Amendment was to
  protect political discussion
• Limitations on freedom of the press

• Alien and Sedition Acts (1798)
• Courts defined the scope of freedom of the press

• Identifying a clear and present danger and
  clarifying libel
• Protection against prior restraint

Original text of the Alien and Sedition Acts
(1798)
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Confidentiality of Reporters Sources

• Reporters do not have the same legal protections
  as doctors or lawyers when it comes to sources
• Shield laws
• Reporters sometimes face contempt-of-court
  charges if they refuse to reveal a source

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Freedom of the Press Key Court Cases

• John Peter Zenger (1735)
• Near v. Minnesota (1931)

Minute sheet from the trial of John Peter Zenger
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Freedom of the Press Key Court Cases (continued)

• New York Times v. Sullivan (1964)
• New York Times v. U.S. (1971) Pentagon Papers
• Sheppard v. Maxwell (1966)

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Freedom of the Press Confidentiality of Sources

• Reporters hold source confidentiality as
  essential to the existence of a free press
• Sources more likely to come forward if kept
  anonymous

Supreme Court cases

• Branzburg v. Hayes (1972)
• Recent cases involving reporter/source
  confidentiality (2005)

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Discussion Questions

1. Discuss how the printing press revolutionized the
   spread of information. What kinds of changes did
   it make in how people learned and what they could
   do with information?
2. Describe how the media serves as a fourth
   branch of government and review the benefits of
   a free press.

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Discussion Questions (cont.)

1. Identify the restraints placed on the press by
   the courts and government. Do you feel these
   restraints are justified? Why or why not?
2. Discuss the merits and drawbacks of reporter
   confidentiality. Do you feel reporters have a
   constitutional right to keep their sources secret?

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Student Publications

• 1930s Student publications appear in high
  schools and colleges
• Post-World War II Student newspapers become part
  of school classes
• Most articles focus on school events activities,
  sports, social life, and student achievement
• Articles deemed controversial raise questions for
  school administrators

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Student Publications (continued)

• State and federal courts have ruled that the
  First Amendment forbids nearly all censorship of
  college student publications
• Tinker v. Des Moines School District (1969)
  established criteria that allows censorship of
  student publications if

• publication would result in substantial
  disruption of normal school activities
• publication would violate the rights of others

• Schools may not censor material merely because it
  is controversial or critical of the school or
  administration

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Student Publications (continued)

• Hazelwood School District v. Kuhlmeier (1987)
  distinguishes between publications by students
  and adults

• School-sponsored publications are part of an
  academic program
• Schools can censor publication of material
  inconsistent with its basic educational mission

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Student Access The Internet

• Internet filters control access to information
• The Childrens Internet Protection Act (2000)
  applies to libraries and public schools
• United States v. American Library Association
  (2003)

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New Media

• Old way

• Expensive printing presses and materials were
  available only to a few information providers who
  controlled the content and delivery of information

• New way

• Computers and high-speed Internet connections
  allow anyone to be an information provider
• Computers accelerate the amount of information
  through different delivery methods
• Two-way communication allows for
  near-instantaneous responses

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New Media (continued)

• Wikimedia meet the need for people to
  participate in the news
• Instantaneous, on demand, and tailored to their
  liking
• Sources are interactive so the consumer can
  respond directly to the provider
• Information consumers can also be information
  producers

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New Media Student Access

• Blogs, chat rooms, and Web sites offer
  opportunities to become an information provider
• Student documentaries and news programs
• Effects on students role in a democratic society

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Discussion Questions

1. Summarize the Supreme Courts guidelines for
   censoring public-school publications as defined
   in Tinker v. Des Moines School District.
2. What was the courts general reasoning in the
   Tinker decision? Do you agree or disagree with
   this opinion? Why or why not?
3. What was the courts reasoning in the Hazelwood
   case? Do you think school officials should have
   the right to censor student publications they
   feel are inconsistent with the schools basic
   educational mission?
4. Describe the pros and cons of Internet filters as
   used in schools and public libraries. Are you for
   or against the use of filters in these places?
   Why?
5. How does new media differ from old media?

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The Role of Media in Politics Colonial Era

• Early colonial newspapers
• John Peter Zenger

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The Role of Media in Politics Colonial Era
(continued)

• Between 1750 and 1775, newspapers expressed
  increasingly strong points of view

Benjamin Franklins Join or Die woodcut from
The Pennsylvania Gazette (May 9, 1754)
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The Role of Media in Politics Post-Independence

• Political factionalism Federalists vs.
  Democratic-Republicans
• Alien and Sedition Acts

A Federalist papers cartoon attacking Thomas
Jefferson
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The Role of Media in Politics Abolition and
Womens Rights

• The birth of the alternative press
• The Liberator
• The North Star
• The Lily
• The Revolution

Masthead of The Liberator (May 21, 1831)
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The Role of Media in Politics Goals

• Informing the public
• Setting a policy agenda

New York World headline from the Spanish-American
War
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The Role of Media in Politics Goals (continued)

• Serving as watchdog
• Presenting a forum for the exchange of ideas

Police drag away a civil rights protester
President Nixon leaving the White House after his
resignation
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Discussion Questions

1. What was the biggest obstacle early colonial
   newspapers faced in printing stories about the
   government?
2. What role did newspapers play during the American
   Revolution? Do you think they were responsible
   for the colonists victory? Why or why not?
3. Describe the partisan politics many papers
   participated in following independence. How did
   the Alien and Sedition Acts work to stop people
   from attacking the government? Do you feel these
   acts were constitutional? Why or why not?

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Discussion Questions (cont.)

1. Explain the reasons an alternative press emerged
   to discuss and promote the issues of abolitionism
   and womens rights. What were some of these
   publications, and how effective do you think they
   were in promoting their viewpoints?
2. Review the four role overarching goals of the
   media in politics informing the public, setting
   the policy agenda, serving as watchdog, and
   presenting a forum for an exchange of ideas. How
   do these roles relate to one another? Which do
   you feel is the most important?

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Public Officials Use of the Media Newspapers

• The penny press brought the news to everyone
• Early political parties sponsored newspapers to
  promote their messages
• Yellow journalism sensationalized and even
  staged events

William Randolph Hearst
Joseph Pulitzer
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Public Officials Use of the Media Radio

• Radio as a tool for political communication
• President Franklin Roosevelts fireside chats

FDR giving a fireside chat
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Public Officials Use of the Media Television

• Eisenhower Answers America

Opening shot of Eisenhowers commercial
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Public Officials Use of the Media Television
(continued)

• Nixons Checkers speech

Nixon delivering the Checkers speech
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Public Officials Use of the Media Live
Television

• The NixonKennedy debates
• President Kennedy and his use of television

• Facing his doubters
• Presidential press conferences

Scenes from the 1960 Nixon-Kennedy debate
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Public Officials Use of the MediaLive
Television (continued)

• Ronald Reagan The Great Communicator

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Public Officials Use of the Media Advertising
Techniques

• Attack advertising
• Daisy Girl Lyndon Johnsons 1964 presidential
  campaign

A shot of the Daisy Girl from LBJs 1964 ad
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Public Officials Use of the Media Advertising
Techniques (continued)

• Attack advertising
• Willie Horton George H.W. Bushs 1988
  presidential campaign

Bushs Willie Horton ad

• The infomercial
• Ross Perots 1992 presidential campaign

Perot campaigning on television
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Public Officials Use of the MediaGovernment-Spo
nsored News

• Stories sponsored by government agencies to
  inform the public
• News or propaganda?
• GAO report
• Columnists paid by government agencies to endorse
  programs
• Practice misleads American public

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Public Officials Use of the MediaLeaks

• Thomas Paine one of the first leakers
• Leakers heroes or traitors?
• Leaks by the government itself

• Announce upcoming events
• Discredit political opponents

Thomas Paine
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Discussion Questions

1. How did 19th-century political parties get their
   message to the public when the established papers
   wouldnt carry it? What effect did this approach
   have on shaping public opinion in the days of
   yellow journalism?
2. Describe how radio gave Franklin D. Roosevelt an
   advantage over past presidents in promoting his
   policies.
3. In what way were the visual techniques used in
   the Eisenhower Answers America political ads as
   effective in promoting Dwight Eisenhower as the
   answers he gave?
4. Why did Richard Nixon give his Checkers speech?
   Why do you think it appealed so much to the
   American public?

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Discussion Questions (continued)

1. Describe how Presidents Kennedy and Reagan used
   television as an effective tool in promoting
   their policies.
2. What are attack ads? Do you think they are
   effective in a political campaign? Do you think
   such ads are fair?
3. What problems do citizens encounter when the
   government creates its own news stories? Do you
   think some people would rather hear news produced
   by the government than by the news media? Why or
   why not?
4. Discuss the benefits and drawbacks of news leaks.
   Do you support government news leaks? Why or why
   not?

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New Media in Politics and Government

• The potential of new media
• Government Web sites, email, and blogs
• A Jeffersonian democracy in cyberspace

The home page of the U.S. House of Representatives
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New Media in Politics and Government (continued)

• Virtual political campaigns
• Howard Deans 2004 presidential campaign

Howard Deans Web site during his 2004
presidential campaign
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New Media in Politics and Government (continued)
What impact will new media have on government
leaders, citizens, and policy?

• Will government officials listen more to the
  people? Will they respond to calls for change?
  Will they replace negative actions with better
  behavior?
• Will citizens become more informed or more
  tolerant? Will they feel that their voices are
  being heard? Will it be easier for them to
  organize and take action?
• Will policy itself reflect a broader consensus of
  the citizens and not just private interests? Will
  new policies contain new and different ideas?
  Will such policies actually improve the situation
  or conditions under which people live?