The press and American politics : the new mediator / Richard Davis

Table of Contents

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

Also issued online