CHAPTER 7 – THE MEDIA
THE MEDIA ARE INDESPENSABLE TO AMERICAN DEMOCRACY: Freedom of the
press is protected under the First Amendment along with the most cherished individual
rights in American democracy, including freedom of speech and religion. Political
speech is especially protected. In the United States, individuals, groups, private
organizations, and companies have the right to publish newspapers, magazines, and
digital media without government censorship and with few government restrictions. In
many authoritarian countries there is no freedom of the press, and the government
controls the news and political information through state-sponsored media. Why would
the Founders care so much about the rights of the media to report the news without
interference from government? Under British rule, before the American Revolution,
freedom of speech and the press did not exist in the American colonies. Criticizing the
British king was a crime punishable, in some cases, by death. When the colonists won
their independence, they wanted to be able to express their political opinions freely
without fear of retaliation. The first of 10 amendments to the U.S. Constitution adopted
during the Founding period states, “Congress shall make no law respecting an
establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; of abridging the
freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble,
and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.” Despite attacks from both
Republican and Democrats who claim that major media outlets are biased, most
Americans believe that freedom of the press is very important for maintaining a strong
democracy and that “news organizations are free to criticize political leaders.” The
media serve 3 important roles in American democracy: informing the public about current
political issues and events; providing a forum for candidates, politicians, and the public
to debate policies and issues; and acting as a watchdog on the actions of politicians and
government. Part of the media’s role of informing the public involves providing a
variety of perspectives and fact-checking sources to provide unbiased coverage of
current events. The media serve as a type of public square where citizens become
informed about their government, political leaders, societal problems, and possible
solutions – a forum where information necessary for democracy is exchanged. The
information presented by the media about politics and current events, government policy,
candidates, and political parties allows citizens to make informed decisions in elections
and to form knowledgeable opinions about policy issues. American philosopher John
Dewey believed the media served to educate the public. A strong democracy, he said,
was based not only on voting rights, but also on ensuring that public opinion on current
issues is based on communication among citizens, experts, and government officials.
This communication ensures that elected officials adopt policies consistent, for the most
part, with the preferences of the citizens and serves as a counterweight to
communication among elites, the wealthy, and corporations. In other words, the mass
media help level the playing field between political elites and “the people,” giving citizens
a more potent voice in society. Without the news media, citizens would not know about
the actions of political leaders, corporations, or foreign governments and would be
powerless to challenge them in the face of corruption. Journalists (people trained to
report the news) give ordinary citizens information, and this information is ultimately
power. Finally, the media serve as a watchdog for the public, scrutinizing the actions
of elected officials on behalf of citizens – most of whom cannot closely follow the actions
of politicians and government. Like an alarm system for the home, the media notify the
public of government actions that may harm them. The media inform the public about
what policy issues are at stake in terms of changes in laws and regulations. They reveal
which individuals and groups are exerting power in politics and what their goals and
, strategies are, and shed light on the different arguments they are using (such as those
for and against a national mask mandate during the coronavirus pandemic, escalating
the trade war with China, or a law to create free public college). The media often expose
scandalous behavior or ties between financial interests and political leaders and policy
making. By reporting the news in the public interest, the media continuously monitor the
actions of public officials and strives to protect the public from government overreach
and corruption by serving as a check on political power.
o JOURNALISM: Most journalists are trained in schools of journalism and mass
communication. They are guided by standards in reporting the news in the public
interest, known as the principles of journalism. The traditional news media aim to
balance coverage of current events by providing objective and factual reporting
that avoids including personal views of reporters or editors. Objective journalism
includes being as accurate as possible, relying on original sources whenever
possible, being transparent about sources, and presenting multiple viewpoints.
While complete objectivity – reporting the news without bias – is impossible
because all individuals have biases that influence how they understand and
describe events, it remains a journalistic ideal.
o THE PROFIT MOTIVE: The media are sometimes referred to as the fourth
branch of government, providing a check on the power of government and
political leaders. But who checks or controls the media? In the United States the
media are not part of government and not subject to checks and balances like
Congress, the presidency, and the courts. Instead most media in the United
States are privately owned for-profit companies, like Verizon, the New York Times
Company, Amazon, Fox Corporation, or Apple. Public broadcasting refers to
television, radio, and digital media that receive partial funding from license fees
and government subsidies. In most other democratic countries public
broadcasting plays a major role in informing the public about politics and current
events. In contrast, public broadcasting in the United States – such as National
Public Radio (NPR) or the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) – plays a relatively
small role in the nation’s media system. Public broadcasting in the United States
has just 2% of the market share, compared to 35% in France, 40% in Germany,
and 65% in Denmark. According to evidence from cross-national surveys, U.S.
citizens have lower levels of political knowledge than those in European
democracies, who consume more public broadcasting. U.S. media companies
earn most of their revenue from advertising, although revenue from subscriptions
has been increasing. They are, therefore, motivated by what audiences want,
because higher ratings generate more advertising revenue. Because of the need
to reach wide audiences to sell advertisements, the U.S. media are more focused
on “soft news,” such as entertainment, sports, and celebrity news, than are
European media, which provide more “hard news” coverage of politics and
government. This may help explain why political knowledge is higher in some
European countries than in the United States. And when it comes to the political
news, American media tend to focus increasingly on more dramatic, highly
conflictual events and issues. Sensational stories of scandals, corruption, or
candidates’ attacks often generate more interest – and thus revenue – than the
stories of everyday governing and details of public policy. Nonetheless,
objectivity is still the goal, and standard practice is that news, opinion, and ads
should be separate and distinct; that is why the opinions of editors are reserved
for opinion pages. The profit motive of the news industry may have contributed
to Donald Trump’s unexpected victory in the 2016 election. Due to the novelty of
a television celebrity running for president without previous political experience,
THE MEDIA ARE INDESPENSABLE TO AMERICAN DEMOCRACY: Freedom of the
press is protected under the First Amendment along with the most cherished individual
rights in American democracy, including freedom of speech and religion. Political
speech is especially protected. In the United States, individuals, groups, private
organizations, and companies have the right to publish newspapers, magazines, and
digital media without government censorship and with few government restrictions. In
many authoritarian countries there is no freedom of the press, and the government
controls the news and political information through state-sponsored media. Why would
the Founders care so much about the rights of the media to report the news without
interference from government? Under British rule, before the American Revolution,
freedom of speech and the press did not exist in the American colonies. Criticizing the
British king was a crime punishable, in some cases, by death. When the colonists won
their independence, they wanted to be able to express their political opinions freely
without fear of retaliation. The first of 10 amendments to the U.S. Constitution adopted
during the Founding period states, “Congress shall make no law respecting an
establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; of abridging the
freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble,
and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.” Despite attacks from both
Republican and Democrats who claim that major media outlets are biased, most
Americans believe that freedom of the press is very important for maintaining a strong
democracy and that “news organizations are free to criticize political leaders.” The
media serve 3 important roles in American democracy: informing the public about current
political issues and events; providing a forum for candidates, politicians, and the public
to debate policies and issues; and acting as a watchdog on the actions of politicians and
government. Part of the media’s role of informing the public involves providing a
variety of perspectives and fact-checking sources to provide unbiased coverage of
current events. The media serve as a type of public square where citizens become
informed about their government, political leaders, societal problems, and possible
solutions – a forum where information necessary for democracy is exchanged. The
information presented by the media about politics and current events, government policy,
candidates, and political parties allows citizens to make informed decisions in elections
and to form knowledgeable opinions about policy issues. American philosopher John
Dewey believed the media served to educate the public. A strong democracy, he said,
was based not only on voting rights, but also on ensuring that public opinion on current
issues is based on communication among citizens, experts, and government officials.
This communication ensures that elected officials adopt policies consistent, for the most
part, with the preferences of the citizens and serves as a counterweight to
communication among elites, the wealthy, and corporations. In other words, the mass
media help level the playing field between political elites and “the people,” giving citizens
a more potent voice in society. Without the news media, citizens would not know about
the actions of political leaders, corporations, or foreign governments and would be
powerless to challenge them in the face of corruption. Journalists (people trained to
report the news) give ordinary citizens information, and this information is ultimately
power. Finally, the media serve as a watchdog for the public, scrutinizing the actions
of elected officials on behalf of citizens – most of whom cannot closely follow the actions
of politicians and government. Like an alarm system for the home, the media notify the
public of government actions that may harm them. The media inform the public about
what policy issues are at stake in terms of changes in laws and regulations. They reveal
which individuals and groups are exerting power in politics and what their goals and
, strategies are, and shed light on the different arguments they are using (such as those
for and against a national mask mandate during the coronavirus pandemic, escalating
the trade war with China, or a law to create free public college). The media often expose
scandalous behavior or ties between financial interests and political leaders and policy
making. By reporting the news in the public interest, the media continuously monitor the
actions of public officials and strives to protect the public from government overreach
and corruption by serving as a check on political power.
o JOURNALISM: Most journalists are trained in schools of journalism and mass
communication. They are guided by standards in reporting the news in the public
interest, known as the principles of journalism. The traditional news media aim to
balance coverage of current events by providing objective and factual reporting
that avoids including personal views of reporters or editors. Objective journalism
includes being as accurate as possible, relying on original sources whenever
possible, being transparent about sources, and presenting multiple viewpoints.
While complete objectivity – reporting the news without bias – is impossible
because all individuals have biases that influence how they understand and
describe events, it remains a journalistic ideal.
o THE PROFIT MOTIVE: The media are sometimes referred to as the fourth
branch of government, providing a check on the power of government and
political leaders. But who checks or controls the media? In the United States the
media are not part of government and not subject to checks and balances like
Congress, the presidency, and the courts. Instead most media in the United
States are privately owned for-profit companies, like Verizon, the New York Times
Company, Amazon, Fox Corporation, or Apple. Public broadcasting refers to
television, radio, and digital media that receive partial funding from license fees
and government subsidies. In most other democratic countries public
broadcasting plays a major role in informing the public about politics and current
events. In contrast, public broadcasting in the United States – such as National
Public Radio (NPR) or the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) – plays a relatively
small role in the nation’s media system. Public broadcasting in the United States
has just 2% of the market share, compared to 35% in France, 40% in Germany,
and 65% in Denmark. According to evidence from cross-national surveys, U.S.
citizens have lower levels of political knowledge than those in European
democracies, who consume more public broadcasting. U.S. media companies
earn most of their revenue from advertising, although revenue from subscriptions
has been increasing. They are, therefore, motivated by what audiences want,
because higher ratings generate more advertising revenue. Because of the need
to reach wide audiences to sell advertisements, the U.S. media are more focused
on “soft news,” such as entertainment, sports, and celebrity news, than are
European media, which provide more “hard news” coverage of politics and
government. This may help explain why political knowledge is higher in some
European countries than in the United States. And when it comes to the political
news, American media tend to focus increasingly on more dramatic, highly
conflictual events and issues. Sensational stories of scandals, corruption, or
candidates’ attacks often generate more interest – and thus revenue – than the
stories of everyday governing and details of public policy. Nonetheless,
objectivity is still the goal, and standard practice is that news, opinion, and ads
should be separate and distinct; that is why the opinions of editors are reserved
for opinion pages. The profit motive of the news industry may have contributed
to Donald Trump’s unexpected victory in the 2016 election. Due to the novelty of
a television celebrity running for president without previous political experience,
