Introduction : assumptions about media power The newsgathering process The newsmaking process Colonial America to 1830 : partisan leaders and the press Post-1830 : the penny press, yellow journalism, and political independence 1900 to the present : the rise of broadcasting, media conglomerates, and the new journalism Regulating the press The news media in other systems The presidency Congress The Supreme Court Covering public policy Covering foreign affairs National security policy The media and the mass public Effects on presidential campaigns Conclusion : the media's role in American democracy
Includes bibliographical references and index
This book analyses the power of the American print and electronic press in the political process. Davis argues that the press has greater autonomy than at any time in the more than 200 years of U.S. history, but as an intermediary between the government and the governed, its greatest power is to set agendas, not to dictate political opinions on the agenda items. Despite recent gains in autonomy, the electronic media still are less free of government influence than are print media. Part 1 characterizes the news gatherers and the newsmakers. Part 2 describes the evolution of the political role of the media through U.S. history. Part 3 describes how the press treats each of of the three branches of the Federal government. Part 4 deals with coverage of foreign affairs and public policy, and Part 5 with coverage of campaigns and elections. ISBN 0-8013-0153-X: $20.00
080130153X 9780801301537
90024754
Journalism--Political aspects--United States Journalism--History--United States--20th century Press and politics--United States Press--Influence--United States Public opinion--United States Journalism--Objectivity--United States