After Broadcast News: Media Regimes, Democracy, and the New Information Environment (Communication, Society and Politics)

"The new media environment has challenged the role of professional journalists as the primary source of politically relevant information. After Broadcast News puts this challenge into historical context, arguing that it is the latest of several critical moments, driven by economic, political, cultural and technological changes, in which the relationship among citizens, political elites and the media has been contested. Out of these past moments, distinct 'media regimes' eventually emerged, each with its own seemingly natural rules and norms, and each the result of political struggle with clear winners and losers. The media regime in place for the latter half of the twentieth century has been dismantled, but a new regime has yet to emerge. Assuring this regime is a democratic one requires serious consideration of what was most beneficial and most problematic about past regimes and what is potentially most beneficial and most problematic about today's new information environment."-- Provided by publisher After Broadcast News 2 Communication, Society and Politics 4 Title 6 Copyright 7 Dedication 8 Contents 10 Acknowledgments 12 1 Is There a Difference Between Tina Fey and Katie Couric? Policing the Boundaries Between News and Entertainment 14 The Strange Media Odyssey of Sarah Palin 14 Changing Sources of Political Information 20 The Inherent Arbitrariness of the News-versus-Entertainment Distinction 23 Going Forward 27 2 Media Regimes and American Democracy 29 Media Regimes in the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Century: The Decline of the Party Press and the Rise of Realism 34 Who Is the Father of Our Country? Lessons from the Dark Ages of American Journalism 35 The Emergence of the Penny Press: Media as Public Conversation 40 Newspapers, Novels, and Poetry: Realism and the News 46 The Complex and Contested Nature of Objectivity 51 The Progressive Era and the Modern Common Sense about Political Communication: News, Journalism, Entertainment, and Citizenship 54 Walter Lippmann and the Model of the Modern Media Professional 58 Conclusion 62 3 And That's the Way It (Was) 64 The Emergence and Institutionalization of the Age of Broadcast News 68 News versus Entertainment 70 Fact versus Opinion 72 Democratic Elitism 72 The Rise of Television News 73 Gatekeeping and Agenda Setting in the Age of Broadcast News 76 The End of the Age of Broadcast News 79 A New World Order: From the Cold War to Culture Wars 79 Technological Developments and the Changing Discursive Environment 90 The Shifting Relationship among Media, Politics, and Everyday Life 104 Conclusion 115 4 Political Reality, Political Power, and Political Relevance in the Changing Media Environment 117 Making Sense of the New Media Environment: Hyperreality and Multiaxiality 129 Redefining Politically Relevant Media 134 Defining Who “We” Are in the New Discursive Environment 138 Conclusion 145 5 Politics in the Emerging New Media Age 148 Hyperreality: The Clinton Scandals as a Media Event 153 Politics in a Multiaxial Media Environment 160 Lessons from the Clinton Scandals 168 Conclusion: Media and Politics since the Clinton Scandals 175 The Transformation of Day-to-Day Politics 176 The Double-Edged Sword of the New Media Environment 177 The Political Uses of Scandal (and Rumor and Conspiracy) 179 Politics in the New Media Environment Is Unstable but Not Random 180 6 When the Media Really Matter 181 Journalists React: A Professions Own State of Fear 186 Unclear Truth Claims 187 Confidence in the Methods of Professional Journalists 188 Boundary Maintenance 190 Serious Media Addresses (or Not) a Serious Issue: How Well Does Mainstream Media Cover Environmental Issues? 191 Is Very Little Coverage Still Too Much? The Quality of Environmental Coverage during the Age of Broadcast News 195 Why Isn't the Environment News? 198 The Limits of Balance as a News Value 200 Beyond the “News” 206 Policing the Boundaries between News and Entertainment in Environmental Coverage 210 Potentials and Pitfalls of the New Media Environment 221 Paths toward Improving Coverage: Intertextuality, Social Practices, and Media Literacy 227 Conclusion 230 7 9/11 and Its Aftermath 235 Media Events in the New Information Environment 243 Is Watching and Reading More News Good for You? Change and Continuity in Coverage of 9/11 244 Assessing Mainstream News Coverage of the 9/11 Media Spectacle: What Went Wrong and Why It Always Goes Wrong 249 Hyperreality and Multiaxiality in Mainstream News Coverage of 9/11 258 Saying What We Want When We’re Supposed to Watch What We Say: The New Media Environment and Resistance to the Political Spectacle 260 Patterns of News Media Use in the Aftermath of 9/11 262 Beyond the News: Politics as Culture and Culture as Politics 267 Cultural Politics and the Foundations of Politically Relevant Discourse 269 The Intersection of News and Popular Culture in the Mainstream Media 275 Citizens in the New Media Environment: Internet Chat Rooms and Public Discussion of 9/11 276 Interactivity 279 The Availability and Use of Diverse Sources of Information 280 Critical and Collective Interrogation of Mainstream Media 280 The Insularity of Conversations 282 Civility 285 Conclusion 287 8 Shaping a New Media Regime 291 Past Media Regimes, the Current Media Environment, and Democratically Useful Media 295 Lessons from Past Media Regimes 297 Emergent Qualities of the New Information Environment 299 Defining Democratically Useful Media 299 Building Blocks for Constructing and Assessing a New Media Regime 300 Transparency 302 Pluralism 308 Verisimilitude 316 Practice 322 Creating a National Dialogue 331 Concluding Thoughts 337 References 340 Index 360 The New Media Environment Has Challenged The Role Of Professional Journalists As The Primary Source Of Politically Relevant Information. After Broadcast News Puts This Challenge Into Historical Context, Arguing That It Is The Latest Of Several Critical Moments In Which The Relationship Among Citizens, Political Elites, And The Media Has Been Contested-- Most People Assume That Professional Jounalists Are The Ligitimate Source For Political Information And The Role Of Good Citizens Is To Watch, Read Or Listen To The News. In After The News We Show That This Particular Model Is Only One Among Several That Have Existed In The United States; That While It Had Some Valuable Aspects, It Also Had Very Narrow Notions Of What Kind Of Information Was Politically Relevant And What The Role Of Citizen Should Be; And That The New Information Environment (from The Internet To The Daily Show) Make These Strengths And Limitations Clear-- Machine Generated Contents Note: Is There A Difference Between Tina Fey And Katie Couric?: Policing The Boundaries Between News And Entertainment -- Media Regimes And American Democracy -- And That's The Way It (was): The Rise And Fall Of The Age Of Broadcast News -- Political Reality, Political Power And Political Relevance In The Changing Media Environment -- Politics In The Emerging New Media Age: Hyperreality, Multiaxiality, And 'the Clinton Scandals' -- When The Media Really Matter: Coverage Of The Environment In A Changing Media Environment -- 9/11 And Its Aftermath: Constructing A Political Spectacle In The New Media Environment -- Shaping A New Media. Regime. Bruce A. Williams, Michael X. Delli Carpini. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. "Most people assume that professional journalists are the ligitimate source for political information and the role of "good" citizens is to watch, read or listen to the news. In After the News we show that this particular model is only one among several that have existed in the United States; that while it had some valuable aspects, it also had very narrow notions of what kind of information was politically relevant and what the role of citizen should be; and that the new information environment (from the internet to The Daily Show) make these strengths and limitations clear."-- Provided by publisher