The Mass Media Today
INTRODUCTION
The American political system has entered a new period of high-tech politics in which the behavior of citizens and policymakers, as well as the political agenda itself, is increasingly shaped by technology. The mass media are a key part of that technology. Television, radio, newspapers, magazines, and other means of popular communication are called mass media because they reach out and profoundly influence not only the elites but the masses. This chapter describes the historical development of the mass media as it relates to news coverage of government and politics. Questions regarding how news is defined, how it is presented, and what impact it has in politics are also addressed.
THE MASS MEDIA TODAY
Modern political success depends upon control of the mass media. Image making does not stop with the campaign. It is also a critical element in day-to-day governing since politicians' images in the press are seen as good indicators of their clout. Politicians have learned that one way to guide the media's focus successfully is to limit what they can report on to carefully scripted events. A media event is staged primarily for the purpose of being covered. A large part of today's so-called 30-second presidency is the slickly produced TV commercial. Few, if any, administrations devoted so much effort and energy to the president's media appearance as did Ronald Reagan's.
The Reagan White House operated on the following seven principles: plan ahead stay on the offensive control the flow of information limit reporters' access to the president talk about the issues you want to talk about speak in one voice repeat the same message many times
THE DEVELOPMENT OF MEDIA POLITICS
The daily newspaper is largely a product of the late nineteenth century, while radio and television have been around only since the first half of the twentieth century. As recently as the presidency of Herbert Hoover (1929-1933), reporters submitted their questions to the
The American political system has entered a new period of high-tech politics in which the behavior of citizens and policymakers, as well as the political agenda itself, is increasingly shaped by technology. The mass media are a key part of that technology. Television, radio, newspapers, magazines, and other means of popular communication are called mass media because they reach out and profoundly influence not only the elites but the masses. This chapter describes the historical development of the mass media as it relates to news coverage of government and politics. Questions regarding how news is defined, how it is presented, and what impact it has in politics are also addressed.
THE MASS MEDIA TODAY
Modern political success depends upon control of the mass media. Image making does not stop with the campaign. It is also a critical element in day-to-day governing since politicians' images in the press are seen as good indicators of their clout. Politicians have learned that one way to guide the media's focus successfully is to limit what they can report on to carefully scripted events. A media event is staged primarily for the purpose of being covered. A large part of today's so-called 30-second presidency is the slickly produced TV commercial. Few, if any, administrations devoted so much effort and energy to the president's media appearance as did Ronald Reagan's.
The Reagan White House operated on the following seven principles: plan ahead stay on the offensive control the flow of information limit reporters' access to the president talk about the issues you want to talk about speak in one voice repeat the same message many times
THE DEVELOPMENT OF MEDIA POLITICS
The daily newspaper is largely a product of the late nineteenth century, while radio and television have been around only since the first half of the twentieth century. As recently as the presidency of Herbert Hoover (1929-1933), reporters submitted their questions to the