Media Society and Politics

Mass media organizations are not part of the American political structure. Voters do not elect journalists, nor do journalists hold any formal powers or privileges (aside from those stemming from the First Amendment right to a free press). Research also shows that the mass media does not exercise direct influence over people, either officials or voters. Neither endorsements, nor bias in news coverage will sway individuals into accepting the views of reporters or publishers. Nevertheless, media organizations (in particular the journalistic profession) practice various means of indirect influence over political decisions.

Journalists shape how Americans view candidates early in an election process by framing the terms of political debate. Because of the nature of the profession, they focus the attention of regular Americans on particular social problems, influencing which issues politicians consider worthy of attention. Members of the bureaucracy often use news articles as indirect means to communicate with each other or to learn what is going on in other parts of the government. For these reasons and others, the mass media serves as a critical player in the American political system.

Mass media fall into two types: the print media of newspapers and magazines and the broadcast media of radio and television. Although most Americans got their news from newspapers and magazines in the 19th and early 20th centuries, electronic journalism, particularly TV journalism, has become dominant in the last 50 years. Today, advances in technology are blurring the distinction between the print and broadcast media. The Internet makes information available that is also published in newspapers and magazines or presented over the radio and TV. It also provides political parties and their candidates, interest groups, and individuals an outlet for their own political content. This is where pundits come into play, people who offer mass media their opinion or commentary on a...