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Understanding The Role of the Media

October 16, 2000
Web posted at: 5:55 PM EDT (2155 GMT)

Historical Background

The modern mass media -- network/cable/satellite television, radio, newspapers, periodicals/magazines, books, films, recordings, and now the Internet -- all provide information vital to the perpetuation and preservation of democracy. The media represents channels of communication that can reach millions of people across the nation. American citizens have access to all these forms of media, so that they may judge the merits or demerits relating to the individual issues of the day, the feasibility of proposed policy solutions, and the ability of leaders and/or prospective candidates to make important decisions. A democracy must have an informed citizenry, for as Thomas Jefferson once put it, "a nation which expects to be ignorant and free, expects what never was and what never will be." However, the diverse nature of the media today is a far cry from the partisanship press common during the early days of the Republic.

In the early 1800s, typical publications were the Gazette of the United States, a pro-Federalist newspaper sponsored by Alexander Hamilton, and Jefferson's National Gazette, a pro-Republican party publication. Both of these papers, usually appearing only once or twice weekly, cost too much for the average citizen (most were illiterate, anyway) and were directed at the party faithful. Hence, they were not impartial in reporting. However, by 1845, high-speed rotary presses produced inexpensive, mass-produced newspapers. The telegraph allowed a rudimentary wire service, relaying stories between cities at a faster pace. Literacy among Americans also improved, leading to greater paper sales that, in turn, led to financially independent papers. Freed from party subsidies, newspapers covered more issues. Unfortunately, in order to boost sales even more, editors and reporters began stressing "yellow journalism," i.e., coverage of scandals, violence, and disasters. The trend culminated in William Randolph Hearst's handling of the Spanish-American War in 1898. American journalism reacted against Hearst by adopting the concept of "objective journalism." Led by Adolph Ochs, owner of The New York Times, objective journalism avoided partisanship and exaggerated opinions in favor of the "facts" of a story and the presentation on all sides. In addition, newspapers began to separate advertisements from the news, eliminating a source of bias (distortion). Today, most newspaper publishers follow the principles of objectivity (as they see it), trying to achieve a liberal- conservative "balance" even in their opinion columns. While newspapers remain important as a source of information (they reach over sixty million people each day) nationally, the electronic media has now become dominant.

Technology in the twentieth century extended the media's reach to millions of citizens through radio, TV, and the Internet. In the 1930's, President Franklin D. Roosevelt grasped the idea of radio's power through his famed "fireside chats" to the American people. Later presidents could now bypass newspaper editors and reporters, talking directly to the nation (99% of American homes have radios today). Syndicated talk radio shows, such as those headed by conservative Rush Limbaugh, have given new life to the medium (radio actually reaches more households today than television). Television's political use, first in the 1950s and in subsequent decades, involved coverage of national party conventions (beginning in 1952), TV presidential campaign commercials (beginning with Eisenhower), presidential candidate debates (the Nixon-Kennedy debate was the first to be televised in 1960), and live presidential press conferences and speeches (Kennedy was first to do this from 1960-1963). TV network news also expanded dramatically in terms of airtime and the range of topics covered. By 2000, 98% of all American households had at least one television set, and the medium had become the major source of political news for the public. Finally, there was the creation of the Internet in the 1980s (its origins could be traced to earlier computer networks formed by the U.S. Department of Defense and the National Science Foundation), and its explosive growth throughout the 1990s. The World Wide Web, the leading information retrieval service of the Internet, now permits millions of American voters to access data about issues and candidates, allows politicians to create their own web pages for further dissemination of information, offers information on campaign contributions, and even includes "push technology," whereby Internet users can customize the type of information they receive from Web sources. In 1998, more than 20% of Americans went online to receive news. In short, today, the typical adult American is bombarded with innumerable media outlets. So, the media's essential political roles have become even more significant in the modern era.

The Media's Political Roles

The media's roles include (1) shaping the public agenda, (2) serving as a link between the public and its leaders, (3) making or breaking public reputations and molding candidate images, and (4) serving as watchdog for the public.

First, the media focus on particular issues over others, while reporting solutions (propounded by politicians) to society's problems as well. The media may not be able to tell people how to think, but they can tell the electorate what issues they should be thinking about. Problems or issues not mentioned extensively by the media will most likely be ignored. Thus, the issue of protecting the environment was not on the public agenda forty years ago. The media generally ignored air and water pollution, destruction of endangered wildlife, recycling of metals or paper, or holes in the earth's ozone layer. But the media began stressing ecological issues in the early 1970s and throughout the following decades. Currently, environmental issues are uppermost in the public's consciousness. Similarly, the national drug problem and the gun control debate are extensively covered by the contemporary media, making millions of citizens aware of how important these problems are. In the 2000 presidential ampaign, George W. Bush and Al Gore's issue-positions on the future of social security, national missile defense, and the death penalty were all extensively covered by both the print and electronic media.

Second, the media is a natural link between the public and leaders. As an illustration, reporters explain the policy positions of a president or presidential candidate to the voters and periodically survey the electorate's reaction to those positions. So, politicians pay close attention to media coverage. For example, President Lyndon Johnson often watched three television shows simultaneously. Other public officials will frequently use the media to propose new programs or justify their decisions to the citizenry. Thus, in Campaign 2000, both George W. Bush and Al Gore announced their plans for new types of individual retirement accounts.

Third, the media can tarnish or improve a public figure's reputation/image. In 1992, Democratic presidential hopeful Bill Clinton, then Governor of Arkansas, was plagued by media charges that he was an adulterer. In 2000, charges of cocaine use by George W. Bush (when he was much younger) were raised; Vice-President Al Gore was portrayed as a less-than-dynamic campaigner. However, the media can catapult an unknown candidate to prominence. Jimmy Carter received such media treatment in 1976 after doing well in the Iowa caucuses. Eventually, he garnered the presidential nomination and was subsequently elected president.

Fourth, media representatives increasingly see themselves as a collective watchdog for the American people. The media points to its role in criticizing the Vietnam War and hastening its end, exposing the Watergate scandal during the Nixon administration, uncovering the Iran-Contra scandal during the Reagan Administration, and examining the impeachment charges against President Clinton in 1998. But critics argue that the media only occasionally plays the watchdog role, preferring to concentrate on safe or dramatic stories that will least offend advertisers. The media is also highly selective in itscoverage of events and issues. This bias and other problems in news reporting are covered next.

News Presentation

Does the media present the news in a biased (prejudiced) fashion? Are the media truthful and whose interests do reporters serve? The following are recurrent problems associated with news reporting and its influence on the political process: (1) a profit-seeking business, (2) objectivity vs. selectivity and personal backgrounds of journalists, (3) brevity in reporting, and (4) stress on drama, action, violence, and personalities.

First, new stories must hold the attention of large audiences. TV and other media forms depend upon advertising revenue, and the chances of a sponsor's products selling are far less if the viewing or listening audience is extremely small. That is why ratings are so important. Typically, mainstream television (a major news network, such as CNN, is an exception) caters to entertainment shows, not to in-depth civic studies. Hence, the amount of time devoted to communicating political information is reduced.

Second, while journalists strive for objectivity, it is impossible to report every important story in the papers or on TV. Journalists have to be selective. Also, they are human beings with their own emotions and political attitudes. They also tend to be college-educated and upper-middle class in background. So, their stories may be slanted in one direction or the other. The news can appear fair and neutral, but it seldom conveys all of the facts that can help viewers make an independent, informed, responsible, and intelligent judgement.

Third, there is the need for brevity in reporting. Newspaper articles covering important political issues must usually be brief to make room for advertising, sports, or local issues. On TV networks, such as ABC, CBS, and NBC, evening news may have only have twenty to twenty-three minutes for actual stories, with remaining time devoted to commercials. It is very difficult to present the reasons behind complicated political events (inflation, the arms race, crime, etc.) in only a minute or two. Furthermore, TV covers presidential campaigns through the frequent use of "sound bites," small excerpts of 15-45 seconds taken from a candidate's much longer speech. Fortunately, there are more in-depth political news shows on television today, so some progress has been made in negating superficial coverage.

Fourth, lead stories of TV shows or the newspaper's front page will often stress murders, earthquakes, airplane crashes, wars, scandal, etc. For example, rioting by protesters attracts media coverage, but reporters will often neglect the underlying causal factors that led to the riot in the first place. Politically, the media will view a presidential campaign as a dramatic contest or game between two protagonists, dwelling on personal differences, backgrounds, and conflicts. Detailed discussion of policy differences is secondary.

The Media's Coverage of Presidential Campaigns

Media roles and characteristics affect coverage of presidential campaigns. First, without appropriate media attention, a hopeful presidential candidate will find it difficult to gain recognition and public visibility. Elizabeth Dole, a Republican hopeful in 2000, never captured enough media attention or praise to become a serious contender for the nomination. Second, in the modern era, candidates must know how to look and sound good on television. Thus, Republican Bob Dole was no match for the telegenic Democrat Bill Clinton during the 1996 TV debates. Neither was Democrat Walter Mondale vs. former-actor Ronald Reagan in the 1984 debates. Third, candidates must use their TV political ads effectively, since those ads can influence undecided voters. These ads provide brief, but important messages/symbols about a candidate. For example, a 1988 Michael Dukakis television commercial showing the governor riding in an army tank made him appear foolish, but an ad showing Ronald Reagan on horseback, riding through the Western wilderness conveyed a man of stature and leadership. Fourth, the media is adept at depicting campaign conflict. Hence, when one candidate attacks his opponent through commercials or speeches, it may draw more attention by the media (hence voter interest) than a dry and excessively detailed policy-oriented address by either candidate. Fifth, the media can provide a citizen with valuable information about campaign issues, but he or she must have the time and inclination to look for and listen to a variety of media sources. The informed citizen will not only depend upon television, but will consult competing media forms as well. In this way, any ideological biases found in news stories by one media source are likely to be balanced off by opposite views found in another.

The Media and Democracy

As mentioned previously, the essence of a democracy is information. Responsible citizens must gain accurate and worthwhile information from a conscientious, efficient media if they are to make responsible voting decisions. Critics argue that the media has failed in this mission, in that while much "information" (the quality of which is questionable) is available, the end result has not truly been an informed society. But media representatives argue that superficial treatment of the news is compatible with what the American public truly wants. Most Americans are simply not that interested in politics. They prefer to be entertained, rather than informed, by the media. Citizens are thus indifferent to media presentations involving complex issues and in-depth coverage of presidential campaigns. If citizens were to demand a more comprehensive and extensive media discussion of the issues and candidates, then the mass media would surely oblige them.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

1. What is meant by "journalistic objectivity"? Why is this concept important?

2. How did technological advances in the twentieth century change the role of the media?

3. Why and how is the media so important to a democracy?

4. What are the important political roles of the contemporary mass media in America?

5. Why is it important for a citizen to consult a number of media sources, rather than only television?

6. How does journalistic selectivity result in a natural form of media bias?

7. How does media coverage affect the conduct of presidential campaigns?

Lesson plan: The Media