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We have seen a big change in how he media and press has participated in the politics from the beginning of our democracy to the present.
First, define each of the four functions of the press — the signaling, common-carrier, watchdog, and partisan functions.
Second, How does each of these contribute to the public’s information needs.
Third, provide a specific examples of each on of these, for example, the press played a function of watchdog when it uncovered the recent Facebook and Cambridge Analytica data breach and alleged election manipulation. Do not give general answer like the partisan function is Fox News. You have to include a specific show because not all of any broadcast plays the partisan function one hundred percent of the time, but there are programs within a broadcast or channel that do.
Fourth, in your opinion, which if any, of these roles does the media play most prominently. Why do you believe this is the case?
Fifth, the author of our text mentions that at one time the government regulated broadcasting. The Federal Communications FCC imposed a restriction—the Fairness Doctrine—on broadcasters. The Fairness Doctrine required broadcasters to “afford reasonable opportunity for the discussion of conflicting views of public importance.” Broadcasters were prohibited from using their news coverage to promote one party or issue position at the expense of another. In effect, the objective-reporting model practiced voluntarily by the newspapers was imposed by law on broadcasters. What happened once the Fairness Doctrine was repealed? How did this contribute to our country’s current hyper-partisanship? Do you believe the Government should once again regulate the discussion of conflicting views of public importance? Why or why not?
Finally, what do you see for the future of media in politics in particular in how it is transmitted (television, radio, internet)? Will we continue to see an increase in partisan function of the media? Why or why not?
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I will define the four functions of the press with specific examples.
Signaling- the function of signaling is reporting the happening events as soon as they
occur such as livestreaming the event or social media posts. People used Facebook to
inform people of ICE detainments in a Dallas area so undocumented people would
avoid it.
Common-carrier- is the function usually of a leader such as the president delivering a
message to a multitude of people. The Corona virus outbreak is an example of how
every world leader took the stand to inform and alert their nation of the advances of the
disease and the preventive measure to be considered.
Watchdog function- is the responsibility of the media to protect the public from
unethical or corrupt publications and to inform of any wrong doings regardless of the
person acting in a dishonest manner, such as the Watergate scandal that led to
President Nixon resignation after reporters from the Washington post uncovered that he
was lying about the burglary at the National Committee headquarters.
Partisan functions- Are the efforts of media actors to persuade the public into sharing
their viewpoints, they serve as an advocate. Such as a news anchor who uses the
platform to persuade the viewers into favoring a particular political party. The Tucker
Carlson Show mainly focus is the reporting of political issues that are believed to be
what people care about the most to hear.
These contribute to the public’s information needs to keep them updated from current
events that are relevant, they protect them from misleading information that is of fake
nature, although not much can be done now that essentially everyone owns a phone
and have access to many social media platforms that connect them with anyone with
internet access.
I think that the signaling role is more prominent because of the abovementioned
information as well as because there is really no filter for this type of media, anything
can go and that is what makes it very dangerous. Twitter for example has been used to
report many fake news or misleading information such as that of Covid-19 which has
been proven fatal for a lot of people who believed for example that the vaccine was not
necessary or ineffective. Also, the constant flow of information so readily available
creates an overload that makes it difficult for individuals to concentrate on a topic and
who constantly seek novelty and gratification.
After the Fairness Doctrine was repealed, the radio station broadcasters did not have to
run programs of political nature and newscast which used to be required for them, so
they immediately dropped them. The elimination of the Fairness Doctrine led to the
creation of a lot of talk shows that were brought up with a more conservative view
which are the nature of the partisan shows which offered a more opinionated view of
politics rather than typical devoted beliefs. With such high audiences for such shows was
that CNN was created to mainly focus on newscast and partisan shows.
I think that the government should not try to regulate the discussion of conflicting views
of public importance because there is so much access to information aside from the
typical channels such as tv and radio, while they can try to regulate what goes in the U.S,
the communication means are more global than local or specific to a country. Apps have
changed this. I really don’t think is possible since a lot has changed and evolved from
what it used to be in the 80’s.
What I see for the future of media in politics and how it is transmitted is that the
internet will be a first choice and a dominating factor. Whatever goes on television is
also accessible on phones, tablets, or laptops. For example, now that there is conflict
between Russia and Ukraine, I check for updates on the news app on my phone. Will
there be an increase in partisan function on the media? I think so, they are still in very
high demand and sought after.
ST- Media has the power to influence a country’s democracy since most people rely on
news more than any other source. Media coverage affects how citizens perceive issues
of public interests such as politics and economics. In the US political system, media plays
a vital role in the democratic process. The functions include signaling, common-carrier,
watchdog, and partisan positions (Patterson, 2005). In the signaling function, the media
alerts the public about new developments as soon as they occur, thus allowing them to
evaluate and understand events and decisions made by policymakers. Television
networks, newspapers, and wire communication services perform the function. As media
signalers, they influence the public attention through agenda setting and providing
them with space and time in the public agenda (Patterson, 2005). They can also pressure
authorities to act as they wish. An example is when the media reported massive crimes
in the US, which was untrue (Bennett & Livingston, 2018). Congress put aside enormous
funds for prisons and urged strict enforcement of criminal laws. The effort was uncalled
since crime rates dropped, but the media exaggerated.
The second function, common-carrier, refers to the channel through which politicians
directly address the public. Here, politicians attempt to modify the news coverage to
attain their objectives. However, they cannot control the media commentators on what
to say about them. The media can frame a story to catch the attention of the public. An
example where media acted as a common carrier is during the 2020 US election, where
former president Donald Trump was banned from social media (Hamed, 2021). Apple
and Google also resolved to remove Parler from their play store as they gave President
Trump support sometimes against community rules. The Democrats argue that the
actions are justified considering Trump’s utterances of supporting violence at Capitol
Hill. The watchdog function involves the press exposing corrupt and incompetent
officials. Media helps to uncover those leaders who go against legally and ethically
acceptable standards (Butler, 2018). The media has not played the role due to skepticism
by some journalists, especially during the Vietnam War. However, the growing use of the
internet has expanded the capacity of media watchdog as citizens participate. An
example is the Watergate political scandal involving President Richard Nixon’s
administration between 1972 and 1974. Several media houses and magazines, including
Washington Post and CNN, reported the scam (Butler, 2018). The partisan function
involves acting in favor of a particular interest and is attributable to political leaders and
organizations.
Various media houses and newspapers advocate for particular political individuals. For
instance, according to Puglisi and Snyder (2011), the New York Times had prodemocratic partisanship when the president was a republican between 1946 and 1997.
Of the four functions, I believe that media plays the signaling function most
prominently. Through signaling, media becomes common carriers, watchdogs, and
partisan. Reporting the news as they occur allows media personalities to enable
politicians to address the public directly, expose incompetent officials by asking
questions that uncover unfit issues, and ask politicians questions that, when answered,
favor their preferred candidates. The fairness doctrine of 1949 required media
broadcasters to focus on controversial issues affecting the public (Witherill, 2012). The
doctrine faced opposition from the conservatives leading to its abolition in 1987 by FCC
as politicians began to use it as a political weapon and not a channel of allowing diverse
views regarding a given issue. After repealing the fairness doctrine, there was a notable
rise in the number of media channels, political radio talks and shows, and the hyperpartisan nature of media content (Wetherill, 2012. The opinionated nature of
broadcasting has been successful, and freedom of choice on the king of information
media. The doctrine’s abolishment led to increased partisanship in media due to
growing influence on people’s enforcing and polarizing opinions. For instance, partisan
selective exposure leads to more polarized attitudes and increased political involvement
and differences (Witherill, 2012). In my opinion, I feel the government should not
reintroduce the fairness doctrine due to various positive effects since its repeal. For
instance, most talk radio programs introduced after its dissolution allows for civic
engagement on matters affecting the public (Witherill, 2012). Their listeners have the
opportunity to participate in the talks irrespective of their social-economic backgrounds
and education level. Another reason is that people get more critical information about
real-world issues, including politics, wars, and economic developments, which are
beneficial in understanding the political process.
Media has the power to influence a country’s democracy since most people rely on
news more than any other source. Media coverage affects how citizens perceive issues
of public interests such as politics and economics. In the US political system, media plays
a vital role in the democratic process. The functions include signaling, common-carrier,
watchdog, and partisan positions (Patterson, 2005). In the signaling function, the media
alerts the public about new developments as soon as they occur, thus allowing them to
evaluate and understand events and decisions made by policymakers. Television
networks, newspapers, and wire communication services perform the function. As media
signalers, they influence the public attention through agenda setting and providing
them with space and time in the public agenda (Patterson, 2005). They can also pressure
authorities to act as they wish. An example is when the media reported massive crimes
in the US, which was untrue (Bennett & Livingston, 2018). Congress put aside enormous
funds for prisons and urged strict enforcement of criminal laws. The effort was uncalled
since crime rates dropped, but the media exaggerated. The second function, commoncarrier, refers to the channel through which politicians directly address the public. Here,
politicians attempt to modify the news coverage to attain their objectives. However, they
cannot control the media commentators on what to say about them. The media can
frame a story to catch the attention of the public. An example where media acted as a
common carrier is during the 2020 US election, where former president Donald Trump
was banned from social media (Hamed, 2021). Apple and Google also resolved to
remove Parler from their play store as they gave President Trump support sometimes
against community rules. The Democrats argue that the actions are justified considering
Trump’s utterances of supporting violence at Capitol Hill. The watchdog function
involves the press exposing corrupt and incompetent officials. Media helps to uncover
those leaders who go against legally and ethically acceptable standards (Butler, 2018).
The media has not played the role due to skepticism by some journalists, especially
during the Vietnam War. However, the growing use of the internet has expanded the
capacity of media watchdog as citizens participate. An example is the Watergate
political scandal involving President Richard Nixon’s administration between 1972 and
1974. Several media houses and magazines, including Washington Post and CNN,
reported the scam (Butler, 2018). The partisan function involves acting in favor of a
particular interest and is attributable to political leaders and organizations.
Various media houses and newspapers advocate for particular political individuals. For
instance, according to Puglisi and Snyder (2011), the New York Times had prodemocratic partisanship when the president was a republican between 1946 and 1997.
Of the four functions, I believe that media plays the signaling function most
prominently. Through signaling, media becomes common carriers, watchdogs, and
partisan. Reporting the news as they occur allows media personalities to enable
politicians to address the public directly, expose incompetent officials by asking
questions that uncover unfit issues, and ask politicians questions that, when answered,
favor their preferred candidates. The fairness doctrine of 1949 required media
broadcasters to focus on controversial issues affecting the public (Witherill, 2012). The
doctrine faced opposition from the conservatives leading to its abolition in 1987 by FCC
as politicians began to use it as a political weapon and not a channel of allowing diverse
views regarding a given issue. After repealing the fairness doctrine, there was a notable
rise in the number of media channels, political radio talks and shows, and the hyperpartisan nature of media content (Wetherill, 2012. The opinionated nature of
broadcasting has been successful, and freedom of choice on the king of information
media. The doctrine’s abolishment led to increased partisanship in media due to
growing influence on people’s enforcing and polarizing opinions. For instance, partisan
selective exposure leads to more polarized attitudes and increased political involvement
and differences (Witherill, 2012). In my opinion, I feel the government should not
reintroduce the fairness doctrine due to various positive effects since its repeal. For
instance, most talk radio programs introduced after its dissolution allows for civic
engagement on matters affecting the public (Witherill, 2012). Their listeners have the
opportunity to participate in the talks irrespective of their social-economic backgrounds
and education level. Another reason is that people get more critical information about
real-world issues, including politics, wars, and economic developments, which are
beneficial in understanding the political process.
Bennett, W. L., & Livingston, S. (2018). The disinformation order: Disruptive communication and the
decline of democratic institutions. European journal of communication, 33(2), 122-139.
Butler, P. (2018). A free press: Boisterous watchdog of democracy. SAIS Review of International
Affairs, 38(2), 15-22.
Hamed, D. M. (2021). Trump’s January 6 Address: Hate Speech or Freedom of Speech? A
Transdisciplinary Study. Journal of Humanities and Applied Social Sciences.
Patterson, T. E. (2005). The News Media: Communicating Political Images. The American Democracy.
Puglisi, R., & Snyder Jr, J. M. (2011). Newspaper coverage of political scandals. The journal of politics, 73(3),
931-950.
Witherill, J. R. (2012). War of the Words: Political Talk Radio, the Fairness Doctrine, and Political
Polarization in America.
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