Peffley
Lecture
Outline:
Public
Opinion and the News Media
I.
To
understand the influence of the news media on public opinion, it’s necessary to
study both how the news is made (by journalists and newsmakers) and how it influences
public opinion. Also need to realize that the news industry is a dynamic one
that has changed remarkably over time, making it difficult to generalize about
something news that was once transmitted primarily in newspapers and nightly
television broadcasts that virtually everyone watched and now is beamed in cell
phones, internet and must compete with a huge entertainment industry.
A. Used to say the potential for mass
media to influence public opinion is great due to exposure, trust, and the fact
that the media is the sole window to political reality. Now that influence is
more limited by a declining, segmented news market and increased distrust of
journalists.
II.
Media
as Gatekeeper to Political Reality
A. What roles should the news media play
in a democracy and why don’t they live up to them? (Robert Entman,
Democracy Without Citizens).
1.
Mirror
role
2.
Accountability
or watchdog journalism
3.
Marketplace
of ideas
4.
Entman:
News media (i.e., journalists) try to fulfill all of these roles, but they are
contradictory and are compromised by economic and political constraints
a)
Economic
and political constraints on the news media
(1) Economic constraints: The news media
is a business that must earn huge profits by selling advertising, which often
seriously undercuts their ability to live up to ideal roles. Examples.
(a) Economic constraints in the 21st
century
(i)
Increased
competition in the industry
(ii) Increased concentration of ownership
(iii) Decreased regulation of industry
(2) Political constraints
(a) Reliance on official sources; access
to newsmakers
(i)
Symbiotic
exchange with political elites (“don’t bite the hand that feeds you”)
(b) Comparison of US & Europe on amounts
of regulation and public funding influences degree of public affairs journalism
B. Changes in the news environment
1.
Deregulation
2.
Increased
competition from cable & Internet
3.
Corporate
ownership and its consequences
4.
Other
changes
a)
Soft
versus hard news: what is it?
b)
Corporate
friendly news content?
c)
24-hour
cable stations
d)
Partisan
news outlets (e.g., Fox) versus mainstream
e)
Rise
of Internet and less reliable news sources
5.
Marcus
Prior, Post-Broadcast Democracy
a)
Shifting
from a low-choice environment to a high-choice environment has consequences for
who watches the news and the polarization of the electorate