Contains 12 contributions, including some original research, by scholars, journalists, and media executives at Harvard's Joan Shorenstein Center. Contributions focus on the influence of the press on the policy apparatus of government and the impact of economics and changes in communications technology on news reporting. The volume also includes perspectives on minorities and women as members of the news industry. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

"The book is well versed in the scholarly literature as well as pop-culture references found in contemporary television shows and movies. But what stands out in the volume’s research is its utilization of interviews conducted by the author that provide a range of perspectives on the media and politics from the vantage points of U.S. senators, journalists, critics, and activists." —Kirkus Reviews "Jane Hall has written a brilliant analysis that is educational, entertaining and important. Her comprehensive and timely book will be required reading for scholars, and will be invaluable for general readers and anyone interested in the relationship between politics and the media." - Kenneth T. Walsh, veteran White House correspondent, adjunct professorial lecturer in communication, and author of 10 books on the presidency including Presidential Leadership in Crisis. "Finally, as current a book as possible incorporating scholarly work on the media and politics and up-to-date examples and suggested exercises that are sure to rivet student interest. From its coverage of a tweeting President constantly assailing the media to trenchant analyses of coverage of the BLM movement, immigration and how the media treats women candidates this book is a must- adopt for Media and Politics classes. It is also an excellent add on for classes on American Politics and Campaigns and Elections." - Karen O’Connor, Jonathan N. Helfat Distinguished Professor of Politics, Founder Women and Politics Institute, American University. "The book is very timely and it has good case studies for students to discuss in class. It has chapters on race- and gender-related issues. You can use it as the main textbook, or you can assign it as supplementary reading material." —Ivy Shen, PhD. Southeast Missouri State University Politics and the Media: Intersections and New Directions examines how media and political institutions interact to shape public thinking and debates around social problems, cultural norms, and policies. From the roles of race and gender in American politics to the 2020 elections and the global coronavirus pandemic, this is an extraordinary moment for politicians, the news media, and democracy itself. Drawing from years of experience as an active political media analyst, an award-winning journalist and professor of politics and the media, Jane Hall explores how media technologies, practices, and formats shape political decision-making; how political forces influence media institutions; and how public opinion and media audiences are formed. Students will gain an understanding of these issues through a combination of scholarship, in-depth interviews, and contemporary case-studies that will help them develop their own views and learn to express them constructively.

From the opening decades of the republic when political parties sponsored newspapers to current governmental practices that actively subsidize the collection and dissemination of the news, the press and the government have been far from independent. Unlike those earlier days, however, the news is no longer produced by a diverse range of individual outlets but is instead the result of a collective institution that exercises collective power. In explaining how the news media of today operate as an intermediary political institution, akin to the party system and interest group system, Cook demonstrates how the differing media strategies used by governmental agencies and branches respond to the constitutional and structural weaknesses inherent in a separation-of-powers system. Cook examines the news media's capacity to perform the political tasks that they have inherited and points the way to a debate on policy solutions in order to hold the news media accountable without treading upon the freedom of the press.

Kuypers charts the potential effects the printed presses and broadcast media have upon the messages of political and social leaders when they discuss controversial issues. Examining over 800 press reports on race and homosexuality from 116 different newspapers, Kuypers meticulously documents a liberal political bias in mainstream news. This book asserts that such a bias hurts the democratic process by ignoring non-mainstream left positions and vilifying many moderate and most right-leaning positions, leaving only a narrow brand of liberal thought supported by the mainstream press. This book argues that the mainstream press in America is an anti-democratic institution. By comparatively analyzing press reports, as well as the events that occasioned the coverage, Kuypers paints a detailed picture of the politics of the American press. He advances four distinct reportorial practices that inject bias into reporting, offering perspectives of particular interest to scholars, students, and others involved with mass communication, journalism, and politics in the United States.

The links between distinctive political regimes and media systems are undeniable. As Siebert, Peterson and Schramm wrote (1956: 1) 60 years ago: ‘the press always takes on the form and coloration of the social and political structures within which it operates’. Nevertheless, today’s world and politics are completely different from the bipolar era that inspired the ground breaking Four Theories of the Press. What are the main changes and continuities that have driven the study of politics and the media in the last decades? How to approach this interaction in the light of the challenges that democracy is facing or the continuing technological revolution that at times hampers the media? This provocative book explores the main premises that have guided the study of politics and the media in the last decades. In so doing, it gives the reader key analytical tools to question the sustainability of past categorizations that no longer match up with current developments of both, political regimes and the media. In searching for clarification about current discrepancies between democracies and media’s distinctive structures or purposes, Four Theories of the Press: 60 Years and Counting puts forward an alternative premise: the political-media complex.

For courses on Media and Politics or Political Communication in departments of Political Science or Communications. This text explores all aspects of the relationship between the press and American politics. It takes a well-balanced stance portraying the role of the media as a new mediator in the political processes of American politics.

Conditional Press Influence in Politics theorizes about and tests the conditions under which the press acts as an independent political institution, and when it cedes its power to other actors or phenomena. Using substantive case studies, Adam J. Schiffer reviews the most politically consequential press routines, and illustrates 'true media influence'-the unique effect of press norms, constraints, and routines on the political world. By moving beyond news content to treat the organizations that produce the content as political actors, Conditional Press Influence in Politics gives a theoretical framework to aid scholars in understanding the news media's role in American politics.

Citizens rely upon mass media as their principal sources of information on government and politics, but who decides what is reported and how? The selection of stories to be covered on the nightly news or in the morning newspaper, along with the content and framing of those stories, are subject to daily struggles between journalists, politicians, and others who seek to influence public opinion and public policy. Written by a distinguished group of authors that includes Walter Cronkite, Kathleen Hall Jamieson, and Kathleen Frankovic, this book explores who should, and who does, influence press coverage of politics in democratic countries. It considers how the media operate as an intermediary for communications between governments and citizens, between various political actors, and even among citizens. The new is indispensable for students of politics and government and for every reader interested in learning more about how news is made, where the problems and tensions lie, and how they can be corrected.