This document includes the notes of ALL lectures, including several highlighted points which are important for the exam. Important terms and authors are easy to find with the use of different colors. Summaries of ALL articles from week 1-7 are included. This is everything you need for the exam!
Media, Society and Politics
Complete preparation
2023
Purple words: Important term
Name: Author you might need to remember
Word: Important
,Vakcode: S_MSP
Sascha van Haasteren
,Hoorcollege 1 - 31/10
Power of the media: watchdogs or lap dogs?
The nature of what we call the media may have changed considerably after the creation of
the internet, but the need to be heard remains a central part of the political game.
→ Politicians need the media
“If you don't exist in the media, you don't exist politically’. Use of media:
- Become known
- Mobilize supporters
- Influence public opinion
- Influence policy
5 principles in political communication
! Guaranteed in the exam !
1. Political power can usually be translated into power over all forms of media
2. When the powerful lose control over the political environment, they also lose control
over all forms of media
3. Every political story that appears in every form of media is biased
There is no such thing as objective journalism (nor can there be).
It can be balanced by showing multiple perspectives
4. All forms of media are dedicated more than anything else to telling good stories and
this can often have a major impact on the political processes
Not all stories are communicated
5. Many of the most important effects of the various forms of media on citizens tend to
be unintentional and unnoticed
Media and politics: Competitive symbiosis*
Mutual dependence: Publicity versus info
* The relationship between political antagonists/actors and the news media can be described
as a “competitive symbiosis” in which each side of the relationship attempts to exploit the
other while expending a minimum amount of cost. Each side has assets needed by the other
to succeed in its respective role.
Media depends on powerful people to talk to them. These people give them the
information they need to write. The powerful people thus decide the narrative that people
read. Both parties use each other
, Political power = media power
- Front door
The powerful are always relevant and thus get more/automatic media access and
positive media coverage
- Back door
Powerless have to work hard/make themselves relevant/interesting to get into the
media
- Side door
Civil disobedience
Example: people using glue to stick themselves to art or the road
Be aware: Media bias in favor of the powerful
Obsession with elites limit the range of political disclosure
State media vs free market media
What level of political control is there?
The political economy of mass media
Noam Chomsky & Edward S. Herman
- Developed the ‘propaganda model’ of media criticism arguing that “market forces,
internalized assumptions and self-censorship” motivate newspaper and television
networks to stifle dissent
- The US media is a business that sells a product
They say their product is news. But they write deliberately about things that will
interest the general public, not about all the actual news.
This goes against the naive liberal model
- US media fails to performs a democratic task and are basically akin to propaganda
systems in totalitarian states
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