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Politics in The Age of Mass Media

The document discusses the relationship between media and politics, examining how media coverage has changed over time from more objective reporting to more interpretive journalism focused on scandals and horserace coverage of elections. Several theories are presented on how media, voters, and political candidates interact, and examples are given of how media like debates, conventions, and political advertisements have influenced elections.

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Maire Byrne
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73 views12 pages

Politics in The Age of Mass Media

The document discusses the relationship between media and politics, examining how media coverage has changed over time from more objective reporting to more interpretive journalism focused on scandals and horserace coverage of elections. Several theories are presented on how media, voters, and political candidates interact, and examples are given of how media like debates, conventions, and political advertisements have influenced elections.

Uploaded by

Maire Byrne
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PPT, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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The Media and Politics

Politics in the Age of Mass Media


Media and Elections

 Politicians and media have a symbiotic


relationship
 Media focus on conflict and negative
advertisements
 Media focus on frontrunners and the
horserace
 Campaigns focus on spin and soundbites
Media and Politics

 Theories of Media and Politics


 Patterson
 Sabato
 Zaller
 Media and Elections
 Debates
 Conventions
 Ads
Patterson’s Out of Order

 Trends in media coverage of elections

1. Tone of coverage  Positive to negative

2. Style  Descriptive to interpretive

3. Issues  Policy issues to reporters’ issues


Patterson’s Out of Order
Consequences
1. Tone of coverage  Positive to negative
Consequence: Voters distrust candidates, government,
media

2. Style  Descriptive to interpretive


Consequence: Voters less informed

3. Issues  Policy issues to reporters’ issues


Consequence: Voters adopt media frames/primes
Sabato’s Feeding Frenzy

 Lapdog journalism (1941-1966)


 Reporting that served and reinforced the political
establishment.
 Watchdog (1966-1974)
 Scrutinized and checked the behavior of political elites by
undertaking independent investigations into statements
made by public officials.
 Junkyard dog (1974 to present)
 Reporting that is often and harsh, aggressive intrusive,
where feeding frenzies flourish and gossip reaches print.
Causes of the Feeding Frenzy

 Advances in media technology

 Competitive pressure

 Political events
Zaller’s Theory of Media Politics
 Theory of campaign coverage needs to
take into account the different interests of
voters, media, and candidates
1. Voters: "Don’t waste my time"; "Tell me
only what I need to know"
2. Candidates: Use journalists to "Get Our
Story Out"
3. Journalists: Maximize their "voice" in the
news
Media and Elections: Debates

 1960: First Televised Debate


 1984: Reagan’s Age
 "I will not make age an issue in this campaign. I am
not going to exploit, for political purposes, my
opponent's youth and inexperience."
 1988 - “You’re no Jack Kennedy”
 1988 - Death Penalty
 1992 - Price of milk?
 2000 - Gore (sighing)
Media and Elections: Conventions

 In the past, party conventions were much more


important

 Today, they are media events


 Nothing new happens
 Scripted events, speeches

 Today, conventions usually give candidates a positive


bump in the “horserace”
 These bumps are short-lived
Media and Elections: Ads

 Political advertising: positive vs. negative


 Positive advertising
 Seek to define yourself before your opponent does it
for you
 Negative advertising
 Does it work?
 Yes  Voters remember negative ads longer than positive
ads
 Negative ads provide information to voters
1964 – Daisy Spot

1988 – Willie Horton

2000 - Meatball

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