Inquiry3 Evidence2 Nagamine
Inquiry3 Evidence2 Nagamine
Inquiry3 Evidence2 Nagamine
The influence of the mass media affects politics in the United States
greatly. The public's point of view is changed by the way the news is
reported. When the public's views are affected, the voting polls are
too. In turn, when votes are changed, different public officials are
elected. The government officials are the men and women who
make the laws and generally run the country. The mass media is at
the beginning of a long chain, but nonetheless, the media has a
powerful effect on politics in the United States.
Role of the media during the election cycle and beyond...
Primary season: Importance of doing well in Iowa and New
Hampshire...goal is not necessarily to win, but to win over
expectations (Clinton in '92). Candidates who exceed
expectations win, those who fall short lose.
Horserace coverage: typical of media coverage of elections.
Not coverage of issues, but report of who's ahead, stats, and
%s of public opinion.
Sound bytes: contribute to problem. We now expect brevity.
We expect issues and campaigns to be summed up in seconds.
No time for content in a 10 second sound byte.
"Line of the Day" begun by Reagan WH. Pre-empted the
press. Presidential manipulation of the press by setting the
agenda before the media could decide what to cover.
Importance of a good White House Press Secretary: The
creation of this position represents the importance of
maintaining a good relationship with the people and the press.
Theodore Lowi describes the Press Secretary as "the apex of a
huge public relations apparatus in the executive branch which
devotes an extraordinary amount of staff, resources, and time
to generating a positive image of the president." Dee Dee
Myers, Mike McCurry: important to build good relationship with
White House Press Corps. Tough job: must balance loyalty to
pres and appearance of being "on board" with maintaining
trust and respect of press (so that they will cover you
favorably.)