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The Mass Media as Political Actors

Author(s): Benjamin I. Page


Source: PS: Political Science and Politics, Vol. 29, No. 1 (Mar., 1996), pp. 20-24
Published by: American Political Science Association
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Symposium

Lichter,S. Robert,and DanielR. Amund- Thomas.1994.OutofOrder.


Patterson, Sabato, Larry. 1991. Feeding Frenzy: How
son. 1994."Less News Is WorseNews: New York:Vintage. AttackJournalismHas Transformed
TelevisionNews CoverageofCongress, Pomper,Gerald,andSusanLederman.
1980. AmericanPolitics. New York: Free
1972-92." In Congress, the Press, and Elections in America. New York: Long- Press.
thePublic,ed. ThomasE. Mannand man. Westerstahl, and FolkeJohansson.
J6rgen,
NormanJ.Ornstein. D.C.: Robinson,Michael.1976."PublicAffairs 1986."News Ideologiesas Moldersof
Washington, Domestic News." European Journalof
American and
Institute
Enterprise TelevisionandtheGrowthofPolitical
Malaise:The Case of 'The Sellingofthe Communication1:126-43.
BrookingsInstitution.
Mann,ThomasE., andNormanJ.Ornstein, Pentagon'." AmericanPolitical Science
Review 70:409-32.
1994."Introduction."
In Congress, the
Robinson,Michael.1983."ImprovingElec-
Press, and the Public, ed. Thomas E.
MannandNormanJ.Ornstein. Washing-
tionInformationintheMedia." Paper About the Author
presentedat VotingforDemocracy
ton,D.C.; American Institute
Enterprise Forum,Washington, D.C. ThomasE. Patterson is Distinguished
Profes-
andBrookings Institution. Rosensteil,Tom. 1994. The Beat Goes On: sor ofPoliticalSciencein SyracuseUniver-
Edie N. Goldenberg,
Miller,Warren, and PresidentClinton's First Year withthe sity'sMaxwellSchoolofCitizenship. He is
Lutz Erbring.1979."Type-SetPolitics: Media. New York:Twentieth Century theauthorofOutofOrder(Vintage,1994),
ImpactofNewspaperson PublicConfi- Fund. whichexaminesthemedia'srolein presi-
dence." American Political Science Re- Rozell,MarkJ. 1994."PressCoverageof dentialelections.He is also theauthorofa
view7:67-84. Congress,1946-92."In Congress,the full-length
introductory American govern-
Thomas.1991."More StyleThan
Patterson, Press, and the Public, ed. Thomas E. menttext, The American Democracy
Substance:TelevisionNewsin U.S. Na- Mannand NormanJ.Ornstein.Washing- 1996),and a briefeditionof
(McGraw-Hill,
tional Elections." Political Communica- ton,D.C.: American Institute
Enterprise thesametext,WethePeople(McGraw-Hill,
tionand Persuasion 8:145-61. and Brookings
Institution. 1995).

The Mass Media as PoliticalActors


BenjaminI. Page, NorthwesternUniversity

One can imagineseveralwaysin I wantto focus,however,on a fiedfashionto pursuepolicyobjec-


whichmediaorganizations-that is, differentwayin whichmediaorga- tives.
individual mediaoutlets,chains, nizationsmightseek to influence Subsidiary butimportant re-
networks, or umbrellacorpora- policy:theindirect approachofus- searchquestionsconcernwhat
tions-mightpursuepolicyobjec- ing their
publicationsor broadcasts kindsofmediaact in thisway,un-
tives.One waycouldinvolvestan- to tryand changethebeliefsand derwhatcircumstances, concerning
dardinterest-group techniquesfor policypreferences ofmassand/or whatsortsof issues.Also, who
influencing politicalcandidatesand eliteaudiences,whichwouldpre- drivestheprocess(owners?manag-
publicofficials.Media organizations sumablyaffectsubsequentpolicy ers?journalists?), actinguponwhat
(e.g., RupertMurdoch'sNews Cor- decisions.'Thisindirect approach motives(economicself-interest?
poration)and theirexecutives mightbe especiallyattractive to values?ideology?professional
mightseekpublicpoliciesofpartic- mediaorganizations becauseof norms?),withwhatdegreeofcon-
ularconcernto themselves (e.g., theirspecialpositionsas keydis- sciousness?By whatmechanisms
relaxation oflimitson foreign own- seminators ofpoliticalinformation. couldtheactionsofmanyindivid-
ershipofU.S. TV stations),by Its use couldhaveimportant impli-
ual coworkersbe coordinated
makingcampaigncontributions, cationsforthenatureofdemocratic (ownership interference?manage-
doingfavorsforpoliticians, or lob- deliberation. rialhierarchy? selectiverecruit-
bying, just likeotherinterest The conceptof "politicalactor," ment?internalized normsand rou-
groups.Journalists and scholars tines?)In whatformats are
have comeupona numberofex- appliedto themediaor anyone attempts at policypersuasion
amplesof suchinfluence attempts. else, impliesobservableactionthat made?(In editorialsand commen-
A closerlook,particularly at possi- is purposive(thoughperhapsfunc-
tionalratherthanconsciouslyin- taryonly?Also in newsstories?
ble connections betweenwhatme- Entertainment?) Whatpersuasive
dia firms lobbyforand whatthey tended)and sufficiently unifiedso techniquesare used? (Framing?
airor printcouldbe valuable. thatit makessenseto speakofa Manipulation of salience?Selective
(Devereux1993,forexample,has singleactor.A criticalquestion, quotation?Value-ladenlanguage?
foundevidencethatsomenewspa- therefore, concernswhether--or to Evidenceand argumentation? Strik-
pers' endorsements of Lyndon whatextent-mediaoutletsdo in inganecdotes?False or misleading
Johnson in 1964werelinkedwith factuse theirpublications and assertions?)Finally,whateffects, if
policypayoffs.) broadcastsin a purposiveand uni- any,do suchinfluence attempts
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TheMassMediaas Political
Actors

have uponaudiencesand upon tionslineup at variouspointsalong on Op-Ed pagesand on punditand


publicdeliberation? theideologicalcontinuum or con- interview shows,howdiverseor
tinua. uniform theyare,and howthey
Even on thispoint,however, relateto theexpliciteditorial
Do Media Organizations moreresearchis needed:careful stands(ifany)ofthemediaoutlet
Pursue PolicyObjectives documentation ofwhichmediatake or to otherfactorslikeaudience
editorialstands(presumably print preferences.Does CNN tendto-
ThroughTheir Publications mediaeditorializemorethanelec- wardmostlyconservative commen-
or Broadcasts? tronicones),preciselywhatedito- tary?Arethe(somewhatregulated)
On thisfundamental rialpositionsdifferent
mediaoutlets electronicmediamoreopento con-
question takeon variousissues,and how viewsthanprintmedia?
thereis a curiousdisjuncture be- tending
tweenthecommunications litera- thosepositionsdo or do notchange Are theredifferences betweencor-
tureand commonsense. Mostso- overtime.The lessernewspapers, porateand familyownership, with
phisticated observersofthemedia, general-purpose magazines,and TV press barons or newspaper families
at leastmostnonacademicobserv- programs have beenespeciallylittle perhapsmorepronethanprofit-
ers,wouldsay, "of course." They studied. seekingconglomerates to indulgein
speakwithcasual certainty of how ideologicalcrusades?
theNew YorkTimesworkedto
Do media furthertheirown policy
pass NAFTA, or howthe Wall thereis some stands throughnews stories? This
StreetJournalcrusadesforcutsin S..
evidence to suggest that is hotlydisputed.Communications
government spending. researchhas, I believe,thoroughly
Butcommunications scholars
tendto dismisssuchpossibilities thepredominantpolitical demolishedtheidea thatnewsis or
outofhand,burying themundera can be "value free."The canonsof
values expressed in news bland,"objective"reporting are
flurry ofdoubts.How couldsucha
storiesdo infact perfectlyconsistent withtheselec-
thingbe managed?Journalists take
tionofquotesand facts,thefram-
pridein theirindependence and in
sometimescorrespond
professional normsofobjectivity. ingofinterpretations, and theattri-
butionofimportance (through
Surely media ownersdo notinflu-
ence whatjournalistssay or print!
closely to thepolitical repeatedfrontpage headlines,for
As an anonymous reviewerofone stands thatare taken in example),all so as to supportor
ofmyownmanuscripts succinctly opposea particular policyposition.
and correctly overteditorials. Moreover,thecanonsofobjectivity
putit: mostspecial- themselves seemto have eroded.
istson thenewsmediado nottake
thispossibility Even theformerly greyNew York
veryseriously. Whataboutcommentary
In orderto makeanyheadway and Op- Times, nowsometimes runsnews
on researching thissubjectit is Eds? Thisis less clear.Manypub- (or unobtrusively labelled"analy-
licationsand programs aimforat sis") storiesfullofthecolorful,
necessaryto breaktheglobalques- leastan appearanceofdiversity in value-ladenadjectivesand adverbs
tiondownintosmaller,moreman-
thecomments and opinionsthey once foundonlyinjournalsofopin-
ageablepieces.
carry;somemayevenaspireto ion or Timemagazine.
Do mediaargueforparticular poli- createminiature "publicspheres" Curiously,however,manycom-
cies in editorials?Here we are on in whichall (all?) viewsfreelycon- munications researchers tendto
fairlysolidground.Yes, obviously, tend.The extentof suchdiversity resistthepossibility thatthevalues
mediaeditorialsoftentakestands has impressedsomeobservers. conveyedin newsstoriesmight
on theissuesoftheday; thatis one On theotherhand,mystudyof tendsystematically to reflect
the
oftheirdeclaredpurposes.Many New YorkTimesOp-Edsconcern- policypreferences of media organi-
newspapers, magazines(especially ingwhether or notto go to war zationsthemselves.Scholarsseem
journalsofopinion),and broadcasts withIraq suggeststhattheTimes's particularlyskepticalof theidea
carrysucheditorials.Moreover, apparently free-wheeling discourse thatmultiplenews stories,written
practicallyall observersoftheme- was actuallyconstructed so as to at differenttimesby different(pre-
dia wouldagreethatdifferent me- furthertheTimes'sownpositionas sumablyindependent)reporters,
dia tendto takedistinctive stands, manifested in itsunsignededitori- and based on different sources,
and thatthosestandsoftenremain als. Guestas wellas regularcol- could share a commonpolitical
consistent overmanyyears.The umnscamefromlimitedkindsof thrust,or thatthe "wall of separa-
Nation leans left,and the National sources,expresseda limitedrange tion" between news and editorial
Review tiltsright.The Washington ofviewpoints, and werearranged departmentscould somehow be
Post and New YorkTimes are so- withalmostperfectsymmetry on breachedso thatnews storieswould
cially(and,to a lesserextent,eco- bothsidesoftheTimes'sown tendto mirroreditorialviews.
nomically)liberal,whileWall stand(Page 1996,chapter2). Nonetheless, thereis some evi-
StreetJournaleditorialsthunder Moreresearchis neededcon- dence to suggestthatthe predomi-
withconservatism;
otherpublica- cerningwhatviewsare expressed nant politicalvalues expressed in

March 1996 21

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Symposium

newsstoriesdo in factsometimes whileothersecho mostlyRepubli- If so (and theevidencesuggests


correspond closelyto thepolitical cans). theydo-Reese, Grant,and Daniel-
standsthatare takenin overtedito- This view,carriedin one direc- ian 1994),howand whydo theydo
rials.Rowse (1957),forexample, tion,couldsupporta hegemony so? Mightclosenessto officials suit
founda veryclose fitbetween31 theoryofthemedia,in which thepolicypreferences of mediaor-
differentnewspapers'handling of newspapers, magazines,and TV ganizations themselves? More
the 1952Nixonand Stevenson programs mostlypass alongofficial broadly, is thereroom for a viewof
"fund"storiesand theireditorial propaganda, especiallyin foreign mediaorganizations as somewhat
endorsements ofcandidates.My affairs(HermanandChomsky1988). autonomouspoliticalactors,some-
studyofmediareactionsto theLos Takenin anotherdirection, the timesagreeingwithofficial views
Angelesriotsfounda similarcorre- samefindings that
suggest policy butsometimes going theirown way?
spondencebetweennewsand edi- standsin themediamayreflect
torials,and dissecteda numberof whateverpoliticalforcesare domi- Do owners or managers do it?
techniques by whichnewsstories nantin societyas a whole- Now we approachtheforbidden
can be deployedto advancepolicy whether thoseare primarily large, fruitofmediastudies.The sugges-
objectives(Page 1995;1996,chap- capitalistcorporations (Parenti tionthattheownersand/ormanag-
ter3). ers of mediaorganizations might
Moreresearchis neededon influence thepolicystandsthatme-
whether consistent policystands dia outletstakesometimes triggers
tendto showup in mediaoutlets' I have foundfew criesof "Marxism"or "conspiracy
newsstories;howthosestands theory."Surely,however,thisis a
vary(does CBS newsdiffer from systematiceffortsto possibilitythatserioussocial scien-
ABC?); andjust howcloselysuch tistsofvarioustheoretical stripes
standsdo or do notcorrespond investigatepossible oughtto be willingto investigate.
withoverteditorialsor otherindi- mechanismsof owneror Surprisingly fewhavedone so.
catorsofmedia'sownpositions. The chiefempirically based rea-
Does theextentof news-editorial manager controlof son fordoubting ownership or man-
correspondence varybetweenprint media's political stands. agementinfluence seemsto be the
and electronic media,or withform finding, bya numberofexcellent
ofownership (e.g., familyor corpo- sociology-of-newsmaking studies
rate),or by typeofissue,or in 1993)or a morepluralistic mixof (e.g., Gans 1980),that journalists
otherways? (Do Wall StreetJour- oftenhave subjectivefeelingsof
nal newsstoriesand editorials voters,interest groups,andparty substantial and thatthey
activiststhatgetofficialselected. autonomy
sometimes clashwitheach other? Eitherway,thedependence-on- are not treatedas mere hirelings
If so, is theJournalunusual?) viewcaststhemediaas
officials but engage in complex bargaining
withtheireditors.
passivetransmission belts,feeding relationships all
theiraudienceswhateverotherac- Moreover, nearly practicing
WhoControlsthePolicy tors(officialsthemselves or broader journalists and editorsvehemently
StandsthatMedia Take, societalforcesbehindofficials) denythatownersinterfere with
How,and to WhatEnds? wantto serveup. It casts serious what theydo.
Butdoes thisdisposeofthepos-
doubtupontheimportance ofthe ofownership or managerial
Officialgovernmentsources? A mediaas independent sibility
major,quiteimportant findingfrom political influence?Certainly not.For one
researchis that actors.
communications
theevidenceofheavy thing,thejob description ofeditors
government serveas the
officials Although includesthehiring, promotion, su-
chiefsourcesofmanykindsofpo- mediadependenceupongovern- pervision,and firing ofjournalists.
liticalnewsand tendto constrain mentofficials is quiteconvincing, I Editorsassign(and sometimes take
the range of debate foundin the thinkmoreresearchis neededcon- away) stories.Theyreadcopyand
media (Sigal 1973; Gans 1980; Hal- cerningpreciselyhowit worksand accept,alter,or rejectwhatis writ-
lin 1986; Bennett 1990; Soley 1992). how farit extends.For example, ten. They decide upon storyplace-
Media dependence upon officialsis thelogicofnewsgathering (involv- mentand salience.
oftensaid to resultlargelyfromthe ingtimepressureand dependence It should not be shockingto sug-
natureof newsgatheringroutines on narrow,accessiblesources) gest thateditorsmightconsciously
and the need forregular,easy ac- does notapplyso wellto thepro- or unconsciouslytend to hireand
cess to legitimatesources who pos- ductionofOp-Edpagesor TV dis- promotereporterswho share their
sess valuable information.Such cussionshows,whichoftenhave policy preferences,or thatthey
dependence impliesthatpolicy monthsor yearsin whichto solicit mighttend to assign, edit, and
stands expressed by media outlets theviewsofanyonetheyplease on place storiesin such a way as to
mightsimplyreflectwhatever enduring policyquestions.Do the advance policy views thatthey
stands are taken by officialsin boundariesof official,two-party themselveshold. Such influence
power (some media perhaps echo- debatetendto constrain opinions could be entirelyconsistentwith
ing mostlyDemocratic officials, and commentary as wellas news? journalists' sense of autonomy,es-

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TheMassMediaas Political
Actors

peciallyifthejournalistswerecho- Chomsky1996).A complementary, themediatendto lead people


senforpoliticalcompatibility in the outsidestrategyis to analyzepat- astrayfromtheopinionsthey
firstplace or iftheyquicklylearned ternsin whichnewsand editorial wouldholdiffullyand accurately
and internalized whatwas expected standsmayvaryaccordingto own- informed?
ofthem. ershipcharacteristics,e.g., indus- These are largeand difficult
Similarreasoningappliesto influ- trialsectors(Devereux1993). questionswhichI havetriedto ad-
ence by higher-level mediamanag- dressat lengthelsewhere(Page
ers and owners.Ownersand man- 1996,chapter1, 5; see also Page
agerspicktheireditors;little What EffectsDoes and Shapiro1992,chapter9, 10.)
wonderiftheydo so carefully, with Media Bias Have? Here I wantto suggestthatthe
someregardto politicalcompatibil- overallimpactof mediaas political
ity.Theremay,therefore, be little The daysofbeliefin "minimal actorsmaydependheavilyupon
needforday-to-day interference. effects"bythemediaare over.A howpersuasivepoweris distrib-
(To be sure,somestartling ac- largebodyofevidencenowindi- utedamongthem(especiallyhow
countsof suchinterference can be catesthatwhatappearsin printor concentrated or dispersedthedis-
found;see Bagdikian1992.)The on theairhas a substantial impact tributionis), and howpolitical
extentthatownersdo superviseor uponhowcitizensthinkand what standsare distributed amongmedia
interferewiththeireditorswould theythinkabout:e.g., whatthey outlets(withhowmuchdiversity,
be verydifficult forobservers- citeas "important problems"(Mc- and howclose or fartheyare from
even sociologists or reporters hang- Combsand Shaw 1972;Iyengarand thevaluesand interests ofordinary
ingaroundthenewsroom-tode- Kinder1987),howtheyattribute citizens).
tect.A low-key,privatenoteor responsibilityforpolicyproblems Media outlets'promotion oftheir
phonecall froma Sulzberger to a (Iyengar1991),and whatpolicy ownpolicyagendasmightnotmat-
Timeseditormightaccomplish preferences theyhold(Page, Sha- termuch,forexample,ifthose
quitea lot,and bothpartiesmight piro,and Dempsey1987).Further, agendaswerehighlydiverseand
have reasonto keep sucha contact whatthemediasay oftenhas direct competedvigorously witheach
veryprivate.Furthermore, selec- effectsuponwhatpolicymakers do other,and ifat leastsomesignifi-
tiverecruitment ofeditorsplus (Protess,Cook, Doppelt,Ettema, cantmediavoicesprovidedaccu-
quietsupervision by ownersor top- Gordon,Leff,and Miller1991). rateinformation and offeredinter-
levelmanagerscouldaccountfor I wantto highlight twosetsof pretations that resonatedwell with
politicaluniformity betweennews questionsthatgo beyondtheissue thevaluesand interests ofordinary
and editorialdepartments, evenif of micro-level impact.First,to citizens.Thencitizenscouldpre-
they never talkedto each other and what extentare the media them- sumablysortoutthetruefromthe
the"wall of separation"stayed selves the ultimatecauses of these false,theusefulfromtheuselessor
intact. effects,and to whatextentare they misleading, and cometo sensible
To mygreatsurprise, I have merelytransmission beltsformore conclusions.On theotherhand,
foundfewsystematic effortsto in- fundamental forces?Do "the me- however,ifmostor all influential
vestigatepossiblemechanisms of dia," as relatively
autonomousac- mediapromoted thesamepolicy
owneror managercontrolof me- tors,shapeopinions?Or do they views,and ifthoseviewswere
dia's politicalstands.(A striking just pass on whatcomesfromoffi- badlyoutoftouchwiththevalues
recentexceptionis D. Chomsky cial newssourcesor otherpowerful and interests ofordinary citizens,
(1996),whohas uncoveredremark- elementsin society?These ques- publicdeliberation mightbe stifled
able evidenceofhowtheownersof tionsmatter forhowwe place the and thecitizenry misled.
the New YorkTimes have influ- massmediain a generalmodelof I believeit shouldbe a highpri-
encedthecontentofnewsstories.) publicopinionand policyforma- orityforpoliticalcommunications
Thistopicseemsto deservehigh tion.Theytakeus back to ourear- researchto examinethepolicy
forfuture
priority research. lierquestionsaboutwhoor what viewsadvocatedin or by all acces-
To be sure,it wouldbe difficult determines thepolicystandstaken siblemedia-notjust themost-
or impossibleto gathera random by media. studiednewspapersand TV net-
sample of influenceattemptsand Second, when the manymedia in works-in orderto ascertainhow
observe theirresults.The subtle a large, complex societylike the diverse those views are, how broad
natureof processes like selective United States are all taken to- or narrowa range of ideas and in-
recruitment and internalizedexpec- gether,how do theyaffectthe qual- terpretationsis presented,and how
tations,togetherwiththe highly ityof public deliberation?Do they theyrelate to the values and inter-
confidentialnatureof overtinter- presentsufficientlydiverse and ests of the citizenryas a whole.
ventions,affectswhat research de- helpfulpoliticalinformation and Because the amountof media-
signs are feasible. The use of mem- interpretationsso thatcitizenscan transmitted verbiageis vast-even
oirs, participant-observation,and figureout what kinds of public poli- on a single,narrowlydelimitedis-
interviewscan be helpful,but most cies would best satisfytheirvalues sue-such examinationmustproba-
promisingis archivalresearchinto and interests?Does the "market- bly proceed on an issue-by-issue,
the confidentialmemos or diaries of place of ideas" work in the way case studybasis, but it should do
media owners and managers(e.g., liberaltheoristshave hoped? Or do so in such a way as to ensure com-

March1996 23

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Symposium

parability acrossissues. Variations policy aims, while tryingto destroythose tion: Rejecting'1960s Programs'as
who do not; or seekingto enhance or under- Causes of the Los Angeles Riots." Polit-
by type issue mayprovequite
of
mine the legitimacyof governmentitself. ical Communication12:245-61.
interesting. The highlynegativemedia contentdocu- Page, Benjamin I. 1996. WhoDeliberates?
Is it true,forexample,(perhaps mentedby Jamieson(1992), Patterson Mass Media in Modern Democracy. Chi-
becauseofofficial controlofinfor- (1993), and otherscould reflectsuch strate- cago: Universityof Chicago Press.
mationand lack ofdisagreement gies. Many of the researchquestions out- Page, Benjamin I., and RobertY. Shapiro.
betweenthetwomajorparties)that lined here could be applied to those topics
as well as to the shapingof policy prefer-
1992. The Rational Public: FiftyYears of
Trendsin Americans' Policy Preferences.
media-presented debates on foreign ences. Chicago: Universityof Chicago Press.
policyissuesare oftennarrowand Page, Benjamin I., RobertY. Shapiro, and
distantfromtheviewsofordinary Glenn R. Dempsey. 1987. "What Moves
citizens?Do fundamental features Public Opinion?" AmericanPolitical Sci-
ence Review 81:23-43.
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sometimes lead themedianearly Cold War." UnpublishedPh.D. disserta- New York: Knopf.
unanimously to takepositionsthat tion, NorthwesternUniversity. Protess, David L., Fay Lomax Cook, Jack
C. Doppelt, James S. Ettema, Margaret
are outoftouchwiththecitizenry Devereux, Erik August. 1993. "The Partisan T. Gordon, Donna R. Leff,and Peter
as a whole?(The Zoe Bairdinci- Press Revisited: Newspapers and Politics
in the United States, 1964-1968." Unpub- Miller. 1991. The Journalismof Outrage:
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1988. ManufacturingConsent: The Politi- Rowse, ArthurEdward. 1957. Slanted
sometimes defendthemwithgreat cal Economy of the Mass Media. New News: A Case Studyof the Nixon and
energy,butconcreteevidencere- York: Pantheon. StevensonFund Stories.Boston: Beacon.
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tics: Deception, Distraction,and Democ-
Notes racy. New York: OxfordUniversity
Press. About the Author
1. Different,and perhaps very important, McCombs, Maxwell E., and Donald L.
indirectmeans by which media politicalac- Shaw. 1972. "The Agenda-SettingFunc- BenjaminI. Page is Gordon Scott Fulcher
tors mightseek policy goals include using tion of Mass Media." Public Opinion Professorof Decision Making at Northwest-
theirpages and airwaves to build up political Quarterly36:176-87. ern University,and is the authorof numer-
candidates or officialswho agree withtheir Page, BenjaminI. 1995. "Speedy Delibera- ous books and articleson Americanpolitics.

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