Media Power In Politics, 5th Edition

by Graber D

Students find it difficult to sort through the wealth of literature on media power and make sense of it all. Doris Graber selects the best of this rich and burgeoning literature to reflect the most thought provoking and recent scholarship about traditional and "new" media and analyze mass media effects on the American political system. Criteria for inclusion remains the same as in past trusted readings must be lively and readily understandable and must show how media influenced specific political situations. Thirty-six selections--twenty of them new to this edition and reflecting current developments--represent the work of well-known scholars and media professionals and mirror the interdisciplinary nature of the field. They are written by leading lights, like Robert Entman, Michael Schudson, Lance Bennett and Darrell West, and by rising new stars in the field, such as Bruce Bimber, Matthew Baum, Claes de Vreese, and Stephen Farnsworth. Among the hotbutton issues covered in this edition are the watchdog role of the press during wartime, battles over framing of political issues, the role of soft news and entertainment broadcasts as political information sources for disinterested citizens, and the role of non-traditional news sources, especially the Internet.

Readings are divided into six parts, each covering an important facet of American politics. Part I deals with mass media effects in general. Parts II through V explore the influence of mass media on political perceptions and opinions, on presidential and referendum elections, on participants within and outside the political power structure, and on the formation and implementation of domestic and foreign policies. Part VI examines private and public efforts in the United States and abroad to control the impact of mass media and to shape media offerings. Graber provides introductions to each part and headnotes for each selection.

Genres: Nonfiction, Politics

432 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 1993

Reviews

[CTEP]

As of late, several aspects of my day-to-day service have formed a nexus around the ideas of media and power. During Saint Paul Public School’s spring break two weeks ago we led KAYSC youth in a variety of workshops covering these topics while giving them the chance to message their perspectives by making short videos, and I am currently working with another group of middle schoolers around the topic of media messaging, as well. Finally, I’ve been having a lot of conversations with other KAYSC staff about the recent Travyon Martin case, the media response, and what it suggests about societal attitudes/concerns relating to racial violence. All of this prompted me to check out an underutilized book on my shelf for March’s book share: “Media Power in Politics” edited by Doris Graber to help tie some of these ideas to larger power structures in the American political system.

Media Power in Politics is a collection of essays on how the “fourth branch of the government” (U.S. media) shapes politics and impacts popular perceptions of reality. The essays are written by a variety of authors, ranging from Ph.D scholars to business professionals in media industries to journalists, and the utilization of this variety in perspective offers a balance between high-end theory and real life experience. It is a highly flexible collection of vantages that utilizes recent events as examples for larger arguments about the degree of power that media really has.

Graber splits the essays into 6 sections beginning with an overview of mass media effects, progressing through the relationship between public opinion and political agendas, the give and take between media forces, politicians, and policy, and finally ends with a look at how media is regulated and manipulated. While the book covers a vast expanse of topics, the most interesting essays were the ones that related to the power media has in influencing both the U.S. public and politicians. The unified theme across most of the essays suggests that yes, the American media forces are indeed a sort of “fourth branch” of the government, and are perhaps a highly underestimated one at that.

The book got me thinking more generally about how the American public’s vision is limited or focused by media. An individual’s microcosm can be very limited, and it is ultimately left up to the individual as to what information is prioritized on a daily basis. Even though it is more easier now than ever before (for many people) to keep a pulse on what is happening across our world on a daily basis, the sourcing of information still comes through relatively tight channels of control. More often than not, something becomes important to society because society is told that it is important. It can be rather implicit -- simply by covering a news story a media outlet is suggesting that it is worth your time and concern. When you compound the effect (for example: many media outlets from different levels of coverage all addressing the same news story), the effect is even stronger, and it is even clearer as to what news is “most important.”

Yet, ease of access to information does not mean that motivation to act comes any easier. This brought my thinking back to the Treyvon Martin case. The amount of media attention to this case has been uniquely unrelenting across many media channels, which has made me ask, why? Why this case, as opposed to countless other cases of racial violence? I am sure it has something to do with the exponential rate of media attention and the tragic and captivating nature of the case, but this is a question I have not yet been able to answer completely. It is an example that has me thinking hard about what moves people to connect the information they are given to their own opinions, and if moved hard enough, to a responsive action.

This book is a great overview of the relationship between media and power and will definitely continue to inform my teaching as I try to get some of my middle school youth to create their own visual media. I’d recommend it to anyone with an interest in the topic -- I’d be happy to lend it out!

[Fredrick Danysh · Rating 3 out of 5]

The media influences elections by the way it portrays candidates and issues. Examples include the Spanish American War, gun control, and President Obama to name a few. Most Americans are unaware that the media shapes the way they think.