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The news is mainly an account of obtruding events, particularly those that are timely,
dramatic, and compelling
These tendencies have their origins in a number of factors, the most significant of which
is that news organizations need to attract an audience in order to make a profit
News and public affairs outlets are known collectively as the press or the news media\
This chapter is going to talk about:
Initially tied to the nations political party system but gradually developed an
independent position
In this era of the partisan press, publishers openly backed one party or the other
With the invention of the telegraph, editors had access to breaking news about
events outside the local area
During the era of objective journalism, the news was not entirely devoid
of partisanship
Nevertheless, it was usually difficult to tell from their news pages which
party they backed editorially
The capital investment can run into the tens of even hundreds of millions
of dollars, the Internet has a low cost of entry
Journalism and Politics
Although the media are not the main source of citizens political opinions, they are
the main source of peoples political perceptions
The news media operate as gatekeepers, they determine which events will be
covered and which ones will not
The news is shaped by the need of news organizations to attract and hold audience
for advertisers
The very definition of newswhat it is and what it is notis built around the need
to attract the audiences attention
This need leads journalists to cover what they call hard eventsdevelopments
that have taken a clear and definable shape within the past 24 hours
and rely for this coverage on the wire services, particularly the Associated
Press (AP)
Local television stations also depend on outside sources for their national
news coverage
Television production is hugely expensive, which limits the ability of local
stations to produce anything expect local news
With so little time for news, the days top stories tend to dominate the
newscasts of all networks
The Common-Carrier Function
The press also exercises a common-carrier function, serving as a conduit
through which political leaders communicate with the public
Citizens cannot support or oppose a leaders plans and actions if they do not
know about them, and leaders require news coverage if they are to get the
publics attention and support
National news focuses largely on the words and actions of top political leaders,
particularly the president
Although officials sometimes succeed in getting favorable coverage, two things
blunt their efforts to manage the news
In recent campaigns, the average sound bite has been less than ten
seconds
Even since Watergate, the press usually has been quick to pounce on any sign
of public wrongdoing
The Internet, with citizens acting in the role of journalists, has expanded the
medias watchdog capacity
The Partisan Function
Traditionally, the partisan functionacting as an advocate for a particular
viewpoint or interesthas been the responsibility of political leaders,
institutions, and organizations
Today, the news mediaparticularly the newer of these mediaalso function
in that capacity
Traditional Media: Mostly Neutral
During the era of the partisan press, newspapers sought to guide their
readers opinion
Most newspapers also make the safe choice in elections; they endorse
incumbents of both parties with much greater frequency than they
endorse their challenges
Nevertheless, scholarly research does not support the allegation that the
traditional media have a substantial and systematic liberal bias
In fact, the television-age president with the worst press coverage was a
Democrat, Bill Clinton
The news turned negative at the time of Vietnam and Watergate and has
stayed that way
Over the years, press coverage of Congress has moved from healthy
skepticism to outright cynicism
The networks negativity helps to explain why they are widely perceived
as biased
CNN had a diverse set of hosts while MSNCS has cast itself as the
liberal alternative to FOX
The Internet: Mostly Liberal
Some blogs also have substantial audiences, although nothing on the scale
of the largest traditional outlets
Unlike talk shows, most of the successful blogs have a liberal bias
They had huge daily audiences, enabling them to alter Americans of all ages classes
to the same events
They also provided a platform for political leaders who, through a single statement
or event, could reach tens of millions of citizens
The audience for news and public affairs is far more fragmented than it was a few
decades ago
The audience is spread across dozens of outlets that vary widely in how they
present politics, how they portray political leaders, and what aspects of politics they
highlight
America today has a high-choice media system, one in which peoples media
exposurewhat they see and hear, as well as what they choose not to see and
hereis largely within their control