Cornell Notes

Topic(s): Chapter 16- The Media

Big ideas, questions, main Notes, answers, details, answers, examples, sentences, pg.
ideas, vocab numbers
Early press First victory was in Peter Zenger's 1934 case: criticized royals
illegally, found not guilty because of truth defense, idea
enshrined in 1st amendment. Hamilton started "Gazette of the
US" and Jefferson started "National Gazette" to convey
federalist and dem-repub ideas respectively. GPO broke press
as linkage by directly publishing govt stuff.

Later Media Associated Press created by newspapers in 1848 to pool

resources to gather, share news then sell to each market
(standardized unbiased to appeal nationwide.) Investigative
reporting flourished in progressive era and led to reforms
(muckrakers.)

Radio and TV intro Radio became hugely popular after WWI and during WW2,
allowed for new mediums of storytelling and reporting.
Television grew in popularity during 40 and 50's. ABC, CBS, NBC
became the big 3 networks and started news groups as
watchdogs on govt.

Themes in the information:

Checks and Balances, Truth, Liberty, Personal Freedom

Other questions or inquiries:

How does the diverse ownership influence media biases? Lack of competition allows for
partisanship, but competition encourages partisan leanings, appeals to certain groups?

3 things learned:
1. Influence of consumer-driven media
2. Timeline of news channels (big three, fox, MSNBC, etc.)
3. Diverse ownership leads to

Relate one thing learned to your life:

Seeing the vastly different responses from MSNBC, CNN, Fox, etc. over events like the
insurrection, BLM protests, and the Chauvin verdict show how far they've each grown in their
partisan direction when compared to early 2000's. (I always remember my family complaining
about Fox, but it was nothing like it is today.)
 Notes Continued
Cable CNN was first cable network followed by MSNBC and Fox in
90's. Changed the narrative with hourly updates and round-
clock broadcast. Big three have had more viewership w/
combined 23-25 million for their 30-minute evening newses.
Local news less relied on for politics.

Internet Sources "born on the web" include Huffington and Politico.

"Legacy" sources are companies like NYT and WSJ with online
presence. Has led to speeding up of news cycles with more
desire for headlines and sloppy reporting.

Social Media Many sources use social media to their advantage with their
own accounts, gaining more direct line with consumers to move
stories faster and receive "citizen-journalism" like on-scene
vids.

Relationship w/ govt Politicians try to use press to their advantage with positive
stories, press may report on wrong-doings: creates love/hate
relationship. Sound bites and wording can ruin a reputation.

Political reporting Reporting on Congress is technical and harder to convey:

sources like The Hill, Roll Call, C-SPAN are focused on covering
Congress in floor happenings and committees. Presidential
coverage is often more flashy, adversarial though more
frequently communicates w/ Press Sect. than president. Press
can have reporters in court rooms, cameras not allowed at
federal level.

Political Commentary Some outlets have kept strong separation and kept opinions to
op-eds/editorial boards. Others choose not to keep that
separation or blur the lines so opinion is mistaken for factual
reporting. 2 major trends noticed: battle over identity
(conservatives- anthem protests, Seuss) and commentating on
large issues which cannot be addressed in policy. Some want
politics to be boring to limit inflammatory rhetoric.

Scorekeeping In elections, media will track opinion polls and talk about who's
ahead more. After, they follow approval ratings and other
opinions on leaders. Leads to criticism over bandwagon effect
and time wasted instead of discussing values and actual
function of govt.

Gatekeeping Editorial boards make decisions on what gets covered, impacts

 the narrative and how people respond to it (sexual harassment
addressed because of #MeToo coverage, people rally over
causes that are covered)

Investigative Journalism Media serves as a watchdog, checking government for truth.

Vietnam was first war with critical press: presented harsh
realities of war and contradicted govt. The Post covered
Watergate and helped bring down corrupt Nixon. Journalist
reported on torture at Abu Ghraib with vivid detail which
would've been ignored otherwise.
Bias
Fairness Doctrine was lifted and allowed for media to present
without any alternative viewpoints. Led to conservatives
entering the discussion and outlets becoming more partisan.
Ownership & Shifting
Landscape Fox entered the scene as an alternative source and allowed for
conservatives to have their own space, became most watched
news channel (some indications that this is only because liberals
are split between several options.) Uses culture and rails
against elites. Different owners has resulted in flashier
headlines, polarizing stories to gain more viewers for all sources
Bias
Media traditionally leaned left. Today with easy access and
ability to publish online, sources can be far more diverse and
result in less factual coverage.
Cyberpolarization
Occurrence of people entering echo chambers of biased news
sources. 4 factors. More media choices mean fewer watch
news, uneven distribution of political knowledge means uneven
debates. Ideologically oriented programming ensures
confirmation bias by matching the viewers belief's or slowly
moving them more to one side. Tech/consumer-driven media
has led more to news sources with limited competition
matching viewers' beliefs instead of reporting facts as it's better
for business. Credibility of sources has diminished in the
internet age as a minority of people go to actual news sources
and more get news through google, social media and friends,
often unable to recall the actual source.