Civics and Government - Unit 6Interest Groups, Public Opinion, and the Media

Interest Groups: An Overview1) Americans are much more likely to join political and social organizations than people in other countries.2) Although most political scientist agree that this unique trend has a positive impact on democracy, the political power wielded by these groups sometimes dominates the political process at the expense of individuals and society as a whole.3) Special interest groups have long been a feature of American political life.

a) Today Americans have organized to pressure all levels of government through interest groups.b) These groups spend much time and money in organized efforts to influence officeholders to support laws that the groups feel will be beneficial.

4) An interest group is a group of people who share common goals and organizations to influence government.5) Interest groups come in all shapes and sizes from very liberal to very conservative and everything in between.6) Lobbyists pursue nearly every imaginable goal from tax credits to fundamental revisions of American political culture.7) Federalist #10

a) Written by James Madison during the debate surrounding the ratification of the U.S. Constitution.b) Madison referred to “factions” as group of people who are united to promote special interest that were “adverse to the rights of other citizens, or to the permanent and aggregate interests of the community.”c) Madison explained that removing the causes of factions was not as acceptable as removing their effects.d) He believed that the U.S. Constitution would be a sufficient safeguard against the potential abuses of these interest groups.

A. Section One: Interest Group Organization1) Defining Interest Groups

a) They support candidates who favor their ideas, but they don not nominate candidates for office.b) They influence government officials to support certain policies.c) Usually concerned with only a few issues or specific problems.d) They don’t try to gain members with different points of views.e) Most are organized on the basis of common values, rather than geographic location.f) National interest groups unite people with common attitudes from every region of the country.

2) The Purpose of Interest Groupsa) Interest groups help bridge the gap between the citizens and the government.b) Through interest groups, citizens communicate their “wants” or policy goals to government leaders.c) When lawmakers begin to address the vital concerns of an interest group, its members swing into action.

3) Political Powera) Interest groups follow the principle of strength in numbers.b) By representing more than one individual, an interest group has a stronger bargaining position with leaders in the government, but only proportionally.

1) The small the unit of government the greater the impact.2) At the national level a group representing a few hundred individuals will not have the same impact with a group representing millions of individuals.

c) Organized and equipped with sufficient resources, an interest group can exert influence far beyond the power of its individual members.

4) Leadership and Membershipa) Interest group leaders strengthen the political power of the group by unifying members.

1) Through newsletters, mass mailings, and telephone calls.a) They act as speakers for the group and try to improve its image on the media.

2) Plan strategy, raising money to run the organization, and the oversee financial decisions of the group.

5) Why Do People Join Interest Groups?a) Usually, the first reason is to protect or promote their economic self-interest.

1) A labor union works for higher wages and better benefits.2) Businesses work to ensure favorable tax laws.

b) People join to get their beliefs translated into policy.c) Social reasons – socializing promotes a group unity that is vital to achieving political goals.d) Since political decisions are made primarily through competing interest groups, people who do not belong to an interest group are at a disadvantage.

5) Types of Interest Groupsa) Economic Interest Groups

1) Most common type of interest group.2) Seek some sort of economic advantage for their members.3) These groups are usually well funded because members willingly contribute money in the hopes of reaping greater political influence and profits.4) Economic groups work to win private goods (benefits that only the members of the group will enjoy).

5) If there is no private incentive, people might choose not to join (especially if there is a membership fee or dues).6) There are four main types of economic groups: business groups, labor groups, agriculture groups, and professional associations.7) Business Interest Groups

a) Business groups are the most common type of interest groups; more than half of all registered lobbyist work for business organization.b) Some business lobbyists work for a single corporation, lobbying solely for that company.c) Businesses also form associations with companies from the same industry to promote all of their interests.

1) The American Petroleum Institute works on behalf of oil companies.2) The U.S. Chamber of Commerce seeks pro-business policies in general, not just policies that might help one industry or one specific part of the economy.

d) Because they are usually well funded, business groups tend to be very influential.e) They work to promote the interests of private companies and corporations by seeking tax cuts, regulatory changes, and other pro-business benefits.

8) Labor Interest Groupsa) Labor groups represent unions, which work to increase wages and improve working conditions for both skilled and unskilled workers.b) Individual workers have very little power, but banded together, they can wield significant influence.c) Labor unions have been a significant part of American economic and political life since the late nineteenth century.d) The American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees; the United Food and Commercial Workers International; and the Service Employees International are among the largest and most influential labor unions.e) The AFL-CIO is an umbrella organization of labor unions that cooperate in order to expand their influence.f) Labor unions spend much of their time and energy dealing with employers, but they also play a political role.g) Unions mobilize voters and donate money to help candidates who they feel will benefit workers.

9) Agriculture Interest Groupsa) Represent the interest of farmers.b) Farmers have been organized for centuries to protect themselves against price fluctuations and other issues.c) The federal government spends large amounts of money supporting famers an influencing what crops are grown.d) Not all agriculture groups agree on the same policies.

1) The Farm Bureau – tends to work most closely with large agribusinesses.2) Farmers Unions and the Grange – tends to work to protect family farms.

e) 3 major groups represent almost 6 million American farmers.1) American Farm Bureau Federation-speaks for the larger, more successful farmers-closely associated with the federal Department of Agriculture.2) NFU-National Farmers’ Union-smaller farmers/favors higher price supports for crops and livestock and has supported laws protecting migrant farm workers3) Patrons of Husbandry (the Grange)

a) More of a social organization.b) Very outspoken in advocating price supports for crops.

4) Just as important are commodity associations representing groups such as dairy farmers and potato growers.

a) Congressional subcommittees dealing with agriculture are organized around commodity lines.

10) Professional Associationsa) Many professionals have formal organizations that set ground rules for the profession, regulate practices, and promote standards of conduct.b) Lobby the government on issues related to their profession.

1) The American Medical Association – fights against laws it feels undercut physicians’ autonomy.2) The National Education Association – lobbies for polices it feels will benefit teachers and students.

b) Non-economic Interest Groups1) Overview

a) Sometimes call Citizens’ Groups.b) Interest groups that fight for causes instead of working for material gain.

c) Seek Public Goods (also called Collective Goods) which benefit everyone in society, not just members of the groups.d) Focus on a variety of Selective Incentives:

1) Purposive Benefits – The emotional and psychological benefits members receive knowing they have contributed to a cause they feel is worthwhile.2) Solidarity Benefits – The benefits members receive after meeting new people and friends they worked with to promote the cause.3) Informational Benefits – The educational benefits members receive after having learned more about the issues that matter to them.

2) Four main types of non-economic groups.a) Public Interest Groups

1) Groups work for the good of the whole society, not just one part of it.2) Public interest groups often have very different ideas of how to improve society.3) Examples:

a) Greenpeace works to protect ecosystems around the world and to educate the public about environmental issues.b) Democracy 21 seeks to strengthen democracy by lobbying for election and campaign finance reform.

b) Single-Issue Groups1) Work solely on one specific issue.2) Tend to be strongly driven; composed of members who are passionately committed to a particular cause.3) The number of single-issue groups has grown greatly.4) Examples:

a) National Rifle Association (NRA) lobbies against gun legislation.b) Operation Rescue works to ban abortion.

c) Ideological Groups1) Have much broader aims than single-issue groups.2) Group aims are strongly rooted in a particular philosophy.3) Often work to change cultural norms, values, and prevailing stereotypes.4) Examples:

a) Conservative ideological groups include the Christian Coalition and the Traditional Values Coalition.b) Liberal ideological groups include NOW (National Organization for Women) and the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People).

d) Government Groups1) Represent the interests of other governments (state and local).2) Many cities and states employ lobbyists in Washington, D.C. to act in their interest.3) Most foreign governments also hire lobbyists to promote their interests in Congress and the White House.

c) Some Major Interest GroupsCategory Type of Group ExampleEconomic Business National Association of

ManufacturesLabor International Brotherhood of

TeamstersAgriculture American Farm Bureau

FederationProfessional Association American Bar Association

Non-Economic Public Interest The League of Women VotersSingle Issue The Environmental Defense

FundIdeological Christian Coalition

Government National League of Cities

B. Section Two: Affecting Public Policy (Strategies Used by Interest Groups)1) Overview

a) Organized groups are more effective than unorganized ones.b) A well-organized group can wage a coordinated campaign that incorporates many different tactics.c) A well-organized small group often has a bigger impact than a large, poorly organized one.d) To promote their causes, interest groups hire representatives called lobbyists to make direct contact with lawmakers.

1) Lobbyists employ a number of tactics and offer lawmakers a number of benefits to achieve their goals.

2) Some of these include persuasion, information, material incentives, economic leverage, disruption, and litigation.

e) Others means by which interest groups influence public policy.1) Interest groups employ television, radio, magazine, and newspaper advertising to create public support for their causes.2) They may also resort to court action or seek a constitutional amendment to achieve their goals.

2) The Inside Game: Lobbyinga) Interest groups influence government using variants on one of two strategies, the inside game and the outside game.b) Inside Game

1) Refers to attempts to persuade government officials through direct inside contact.2) Another term for the inside game is lobbying.3) Washington is filled with thousand of lobbyists, covering every imaginable issue and viewpoint.

3) The Work of Lobbyistsa) Most interest groups try to influence government policy by making direct contact with lawmakers and other government officials.b) This process or direct contact is called lobbying.c) The representatives of interest groups who do this kind of work are called lobbyists.d) Lobbying is one of the most widely used and effective techniques available to interest groups.e) Access

1) The key to lobbying is access: To influence an official, one must be able to speak to that official.2) Given how busy members of Congress and other government officials often are, getting access poses a major challenge.3) Sometimes a lobbyist can only get two or three minutes of the official’s time, so the lobbyist must be prepared to make the pitch very quickly.

f) Persuasion and Information (The number one activity of lobbyists).1) Lobbyists work to persuade government officials.2) Lobbyists offer arguments, evidence, and research to support their groups’ positions.3) Many government officials do not have the time to research issues themselves so they rely on information form trusted interest groups and lobbyists to keep them informed and up to date.4) One of the most important ways that lobbyists make their case is by providing a member of Congress with facts and data about the policy they want.5) The information lobbyists provide legislators comes in many forms – pamphlets, reports, and statistical and trend data.

g) Material Incentives1) Although persuasion is a key part of lobbying, interest groups also provide some material incentives to government officials.2) Laws limit government officials from taking gifts, but they can still be wined and dined.

a) In this process of lobbying legislators, a lobbyist might end up paying for lunch or giving the lawmaker something else of value.b) House and Senate rules place limitations on gifts.

1) Senators and their staff cannot accept any gift (including meals and entertainment) of more than $50 from a lobbyist.2) The Senate and the House also have $100 limits on gifts from any single source.

c) Lobbyists can hold informational seminars for officials, flying them to places such as the Florida Keys or a golf resort to educate them about issues.

4) Who are Lobbyists? (As defined by the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995)a) An advocate who is employed or retained by a clientb) An advocate who more than one contact for the clientc) An advocate that spends more than 20% of his/her time serving the client

5) Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995a) The goal of the Act was to make sure that all lobbyists were registered.b) The activities of the lobbyists could be monitored, thus preventing illegal influence (bribes and favors) given to members of the U.S. Congress.c) There has been a rapid growth in the number of lobbyists (approximately 37,000) with annual expenditure on lobbying activities of roughly $2.2 billion dollars.

6) Profile of Lobbyists.a) Many are former government officials who already have contacts in friends in government.b) Lobbying has proved to be an attractive second career for many members of Congress.

1) Former government officials, especially high-ranking ones, can often earn large salaries by working as lobbyists.2) These officials are often in great demand as lobbyists because they know many people in government and can get access easily.

c) Lobbyists are often lawyers or public relations experts.d) Understanding the government and how it works is vital for a lobbyist to be successful and effective.

7) Lobbying the Legislative Brancha) Legislators realize that lobbyists tend to be biased in presenting data / information.b) A lobbyist who grossly misrepresents the facts runs the risk of losing a legislator’s trust and permanently losing access to him or her.c) Lobbyists provide information in congressional testimony.

1) Usually when Congress is considering a bill, lobbyists are invited to testify because of their expertise.

d) Drafting Bills1) Besides providing information to lawmakers, lobbyists and interest groups might help write bills.2) Many well-organized interest groups have research staffs that help members of Congress draft proposed laws.3) Studies have shown that interest groups and their lobbyists draft parts of or entire bills for almost fifty percent of all legislation.

8) Lobbying the Executive Brancha) Although some lobbyists have direct access to the president, most have access only to the lower levels of the executive branch.b) Interest groups particularly target regulatory agencies that have the ability to set policy affecting commerce and trade throughout the country.c) Some scholars have claimed that lobbying of regulatory agencies has resulted in agency capture, effectively handling control of the agency over to the industry it was intended to regulate.

9) Lobbying the Judicial Brancha) Interest groups work to influence courts in a number of ways.

1) File amicus curiae (friend of the court) briefs – presenting an argument in favor of a particular issue being litigated.2) Sometimes interest groups file lawsuits against the government or other parties.3) The American Civil Liberties Union makes extensive use of the courts to advocate positions of

importance to them.10) The Outside Game: Public Pressure and Electoral Influence

a) Overview1) Interest groups run publicity campaigns to win public support for their policies and put pressure on public officials.2) Interest groups use a wide variety of technique in their effort to influence policy makers.3) Interest groups playing the outside game often rely on grassroots activism and electoral strategies to achieve their goals.

b) Grassroots Activism1) Consists of mobilizing large numbers of people to achieve the interest group’s goal.2) By mobilizing thousands (or millions) of voters, an interest group can demonstrate to government officials that the public strongly supports its particular cause.3) Most grassroots activists rely on a number of tactics to achieve their goals.

a) Rallies and marches: Bringing together thousands of people generates excitements and determination among supporters.b) Letter writing campaigns: Interest groups often encourage members to write to their senator or member of Congress, seeking to demonstrate their influence through the number of letters sent.c) Petitions: A group can also write a petition advocating a certain position on an issue and collect signatures.

4) Media Campaignsa) The use of mass media to create support for their views.b) TV commercials, ads in newspapers and magazines, Internet advertising, etc.

d) Economic Leverage1) Interest groups can use economic power as a weapon to get what they want.2) In most cases, economic power means money: Rich interest groups can contribute to campaigns, run advertisements, pay for research, and build a strong presence in Washington, D.C.

e) Disruptions1) Interest groups sometimes stage protests in order to disrupt activities, generate publicity, and apply pressure on those they oppose.2) Disruptions can include strikes, pickets, riots, and sit-ins.3) In the 1960s, student civil rights groups used sit-ins to peacefully protest the Jim Crow laws and institutions in the South.

f) Litigation1) In the U.S., interest groups often achieve their goals through litigation by suing group they oppose.2) Example – Civil Rights Movement.3) Many groups have used the courts to achieve their goals.

11) Limitationsa) The public tends to believe that interest groups are well financed and carry a great deal of weight with Congress.

b) Several factors limit the effectiveness of interest groups:1) Different interest groups compete for power and influence, keeping any single group from controlling lawmakers and other public officials.2) Larger interest groups made up of diverse peoples and interests might be unable to adopt broad policy goals.3) Smaller interest groups (usually with narrower aims) tend to be more effective in shaping policy.

12) Electoral Strategies of Interest Groupsa) Overview

1) Most elected officials want to be reelected, so they listen to people who can help or hinder that reelection.2) Interest groups take advantage of this situation by rallying voters to their cause and contributing money to reelection campaigns.

a) Most interest groups cannot legally encourage their members to vote for or against a particular candidate, but they can achieve the same effect by informing their members of candidates’ stances on issues.b) Groups issue voter guides that describe the candidates’ positions on issues that are particularly important to group members.c) Rating game – publishing the positions of all members of Congress on key issues with the hope of swaying voters.

3) In recent years the greatest concern about the power of interest groups has been their financial contributions to political campaigns.4) These groups also provide a large percentage of the funds used in candidate’s election campaigns.5) Politicians listen to people and groups who can donate lots of money.5) Most of these funds come from Political Action Committees (PACs).

a) Interest groups are not allowed to donate money to campaigns directly, but they can contribute money through their PAC.b) A PAC is an organization that is specifically designed to collect money and provide financial support for a political candidate.c) A PAC is theoretically independent of interest groups; PACs can solicit donations from group members and then give that money to candidates they support.

b) Political Action Committees (PACs)1) How PACs Began

a) Before 1974, wealthy individuals gave large sums to finance political campaigns.b) After 1974 laws limited the amounts that individuals could contribute to federal candidates.c) While federal law prevented corporations and labor unions from making direct contributions to any federal candidate, the law permitted their political action committee to do so.

2) Laws Governing PACsa) Main law – the Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA) of 1971.

1) A PAC must register with the government six months before an election.2) It must raise money from at least 50 contributors and give to at least five candidates in a federal election.3) PACs also must follow strict accounting rules.

b) Money and PACs1) PACs can give $5,000.00 directly to each candidate per election.2) The government has not limited the total amount a PAC can spend on a candidate’s campaign as long as the PAC does not work directly with the

candidate (example - independent advertising).3) There are no limitations on the number of PACs that can be created.4) In 1976 the Supreme Court ruled that any independent group can give money to a political candidate as long as the group is not legally tied to that candidate.

c) Federal Election Commission (FEC)1) Issues regulations and advisory opinions that control PAC activities.

c) PACs and the Groups They Serve1) PACs can be classified into two categories according to the groups they serve – affiliated or independent.

a) Affiliated PACs1) PACs tied to corporations, labor unions, trade groups, or health organizations.2) Comprise about 70 percent of all PACs.3) Raise contributions from corporate executives, union officials, workers, and stockholders.

4) Examples of affiliated PACs include: Sun Oil Corporation’s SunPAC, the Realtors’ Political Action Committee, and the Cattlemen’s Action Legislative Fund (CALF).

b) Independent PACs1) Groups interested in a particular cause can set up PACs that are not connected to any existing interest groups.2) Independent PACs make up about 25 percent of all PACs.3) Non-connected PACs raise money largely through direct mail appeals.

a) Normally more successful and usually raise more money than business or labor PACs.b) Much of the money raised goes for postage, staff workers, and to purchase mailing lists.

c) 527 Organizations1) Named for the part of the tax code that gives an exemption to certain groups.2) A group that does not directly urge citizens to vote for a specific candidate.3) Focus on advocating an issue.4) 527s primarily smear the reputation of candidates that they are opposed to while not advocating for the other candidate.

13) Strategies for Influencea) Two general strategies to influence public policy:

1) They use their money to gain access to lawmakers.2) Influence election outcomes directly

b) The promise / threat of financial support.1) Interest groups can promise campaign support for legislators who favor their policies or they can threaten to withhold their support (The National Rifle Association – NRA – is famous for this tactic concerning gun related legislation).2) Loss of a sizable contribution can affect a candidate’s chances of winning.3) Interest groups realize that making a campaign contribution does not guarantee that a candidate, if elected, will always vote the way they wish.

a) Lawmakers are more apt to set aside time to meet with a group that has donated money.b) As a result, PACs may give money to all candidates from all parties to ensure access to the legislative process.

4) Most PAC money goes to incumbents in both the House and Senate.a) As a result, incumbents always have a huge advantage over challengers and seldom lose their congressional races.b) Even when a challenger does not exist, contributions from PACs ensure access to the legislator.

14) The Pros and Cons of Interest Groupsa) Overview

1) Interest groups generate a great deal of controversy.2) Some critics blame interest groups for many of the problems and divisiveness in America.3) Others view interest groups as a vital component of the American democratic system.

b) Pluralism1) The idea that democratic parties consists of various interest groups working against each other.2) These factions balance each other out so that the common good is achieved.3) James Madison articulated this argument in Federalist #10 (1787).

a) It is impossible to extinguish factions without destroying liberty and democracy too.b) Competing interest groups are necessary to good government because they not only give people a means of contributing to the democratic process but also prevent any one minority from imposing its will on the majority.

c) Flaws in Pluralism1) Critics of pluralism content that there is no such thing as the common good because there are some any conflicting interest in society; what is good for one person is often bad for others.2) Interest groups interfere with democracy because they seek benefits for a minority of people rather than the greater good of the majority.

a) Example – The National Rifle Association (NRA) has repeatedly blocked new gun control legislation despite the fact that a majority of Americans actually want stricter gun control laws.

3) The interest group system is really effective only to economic interest groups that have greater financial resources at their disposal.

a) Nearly two-thirds of lobbyists in Washington, D.C. represent economic groups and their agendas.b) Interest groups tend to ignore the interest of the poor in favor of middle and upper class Americans who have more time and money to contribute.

d) Hyper-pluralism1) A political system that caters to interest groups and not the people.

2) Critics contend that the U.S. government cannot make serious changes, even if those changes are needed, because competing interest groups stymie the government from governing the country.

Public Opinion: An Overview1) It is difficult to speak of “public opinion” in the United States partly because there are many publics, with many different opinions.2) It is also partly because opinion on all but relatively simple matters tends to be uninformed, unstable, and sensitive to different ways of asking poll questions.3) The chief sources of political opinion are the family, religion, information media, and schooling.4) Once occupation (or income) was a central determinant of opinion, but with the spread of higher education, the connection between occupational status (or income) and opinion is no longer quite as close.5) The chief source of differences in opinion are race and ethnicity, class (in which schooling is an important component), and region.6) Americans are divided by their political ideologies but not along a single liberal-conservative dimension.

a) There are several kinds of issues on which people may take “liberal” or “conservative” positions, and they often do not take the same position on all issues.b) Just using two kinds of issues—economic and social—it is possible to define four kinds of ideologies: pure liberal, pure conservative, libertarian, and populist.

7) To a great extent, the media both reflects and directs what Americans are thinking about.8) Public officials rely on the media for clues to what the public is thinking.9) With television, radio, and the Internet easily accessible, public officials can gain perspectives into the opinions of ordinary citizens quickly and efficiently.

A. Section Three: Shaping of Public Opinion1) Americans have opinions or preferences about many matters that affect their lives but few such opinions have much effect on government.2) One form of opinion, public opinion, has an enormous influence on government.3) Public Opinion

a) Includes the ideas and attitudes that a significant number of Americans hold about government and political issues.b) Three factors characterize the nature of public opinion:

1) Diversitya) Public opinion is varied; it is unlikely that Americans can think the same way about a host of topics or issues.b) Because of the diversity of American society, different groups of people hold different opinions on almost every issue.

2) Communicationa) People’s ideas and attitudes must in some way be expressed and communicated to government.b) Unless Americans make their opinions on important issues clear, public officials will not know what people are thinking.c) Interest groups communicate the opinions of many individuals on specific issues.d) Officials also rely on opinion polls and private letters and e-mails to know what people are thinking.

3) Significant Numbersa) The phrase “a significant number of Americans” in the definition of public opinion means that enough people must hold a particular opinion to make government officials listen to them.

(*Special Note: The information about Political Socialization in this section is covered in depth in the Civics and Government Electoral Process Unit. It is not included here as part of this outline because of redundancy).

B. Section Four: Measuring Public Opinion1) Overview

a) Americans express their opinions at the ballot box.b) Between elections, public officials what to know what the public is thinking.c) As a result, a number of methods and techniques have been developed to gauge public opinion on a wide variety of topics and issues.

2) Non-scientific Methodsa) Elected officials use a number of sources or channels to stay abreast of public opinion:

1) Political parties and interest groups,2) Mass media,3) Letters, emails, or faxes,4) Straw polls, and5) Political websites and blogs.

b) Political Parties / Organizations1) Parties have long been a reliable source of information about public opinion.2) Party officials were in close touch with voters in their hometowns, cities, counties, and states.3) National leaders, in turn, communicated regularly with party bosses in cities and states.

4) Due to political reforms of the early 1900s, many of the party “machines” were weakened and their ability to provide information on voters’ attitudes declined.

c) Interest Groups1) Provide elected officials with an easy way to find out about the opinions of interested citizens.2) Interest groups often represent the attitudes of a vocal minority that is concerned with specific issues.3) Interest groups are not a good measure of broader public opinion.

d) Mass Media1) The mass media often measures public attitudes fairly well because they speak to a broad audience.2) Newspapers, magazines, television, and radio programs reflect the interest of the public.3) To know what the public is thinking about, politicians keep an eye on newspaper headlines, magazine cover stories, editorials, radio talk shows, and television newscasts.4) Shortcomings of relying on the mass media.

a) The mass media may give a distorted view of public opinion.b) The mass media’s focus on news and events that have visual appeal or shock value versus substance.c) People who watch television news as their only source of news tend to be more pessimistic about the nation than those who also use other sources of information.

e) Letter Writing / Emails1) One time honored form of expressing opinion in a democracy is to write letters to elected officials.2) Letter writing increases in times of national crisis or major government decisions.3) Today interest groups often stage massive letter-writing campaigns using mass e-mails chains.4) Today citizens are more likely to contact legislators by e-mail or fax.

f) The Straw Poll1) Informal polling that involves publishing a questions and asking for a response from viewers / readers.2) Members of Congress often send their constituents questionnaires.3) Shortcomings of straw polls.

a) Straw polls do not use scientific procedures to choose the respondents.b) People who respond to a straw poll have chosen to respond voluntarily.c) The self-selected mechanism means that straw polls are always a biased sample of the population.

g) Websites and Blogs1) Elected officials and their staff keep track of opinions about current issues express on political web sites and blogs.2) These places are rapidly becoming major forums for political expression.3) Reviewing the discussions on such sites helps officials gauge what important segment of the public thinks about issues and can alert leaders to emerging problems that have yet to be covered by the traditional mass media.

2) Scientific Pollinga) Overview

1) Almost everyone involved in politics today uses scientific polls to measure public opinion.2) Scientific polling involves three basic steps:

a) Selecting a sample of the group to be questioned.b) Presenting carefully worded questions to the individuals in the sample.c) Interpreting the results.

b) Sample Populations1) In conducting polls, the group of people that is to be studied is called the universe.

a) Examples – A group of high school seniors, the population of Pennsylvania, female members of the armed forces, ect.b) There could be millions of people that make up a universe.

2) Since it is impossible to poll all the people in a given universe, pollsters question a representative sample, or a small group of people who are typical of that universe.3) Most pollsters are able to use samples of only 1,200 to 1,500 adults to accurately measure the opinions of all adults in the United States.4) Such a small group is a representative sample because pollsters use random sampling, a technique in which everyone in that universe has an equal chance of being selected.

c) Sampling Error1) A measurement of how much the sample results might differ from the sample universe.

a) Sampling error decreases as the sample size becomes larger.b) Most national polls use 1,200 to 1,500 people; this number represents the characteristics of any size population, with an error of only plus or minus 3 percent.c) When interpreting a poll, it is important to know the sampling error.

d) Sampling Procedures1) A random sample of the entire population can be drawn in a number of ways.

a) Cluster Sample1) Organizes, or clusters, people by geographic divisions.2) A cluster may be counties, congressional districts, or census tracts.

2) At times, pollsters adjust or weight the results of a poll to overcome defects in sampling.a) Pollsters may adjust a poll to take into account variations in race, gender, age, or education.b) For example, if pollsters found that not enough Americans over the age of 65 were interviewed, they might give extra weight to the opinions of the senior citizens who were interviewed.

e) Poll Questions1) The way a question is phrased can greatly influence people’s responses and, in turn, poll results.

f) Mail and Phone Polls1) In recent years, many public opinion polls have been conducted by mail or by telephone.2) Mail Polls

a) Cheaper than face-to-face interviews.b) Disadvantages of mail polling:

1) Only ten to fifteen percent of the questionnaires are usually returned.2) Pollsters cannot control respondents’ careless or confusing replies.

3) Telephone Pollsa) To create a reliable telephone poll, pollsters use random digit dialing.b) Drawbacks of telephone polling:

1) Pollsters might fail to reach the person being called.2) People might refuse to answer the questions.3) The rapid growing use of cell phones has complicated these procedures and according to some experts, has made such polls less reliable.

g) Interpreting Results1) Polling is never completely accurate.

a) Pollsters can never be sure that the people they are interviewing are being honest.2) Despite these limitations, major polling organizations have learned how to conduct polls that are usually reliable with a few percentage points.

C. Public Opinion and Democracy1) The Framers of the Constitution sought to create a representative democracy that would meet two goals:

a) To provide for popular rule (to give the people an active voice in government).b) Insulate government from the shifting whims of an ill-informed public.

2) The system the Framers created has worked well – research has shown that government is responsive to public opinion.3) Public opinion is not the only influence on public policy; the following also help shape public policy:

a) Interest groups.b) Political parties.c) Mass media.d) Other institutions of government.e) Ideas of activists and public officials.

Mass Media and the Internet: An Overview1) The United States probably has one of the most varied and expansive news media industries in the world.

a) Americans have hundreds of cable channels to choose from, thousands of newspapers and magazines, many radio shows, and countless websites and news blogs.b) With the rise of the twenty-four hour news cycle, most Americans have access to the latest news almost immediately.c) The media reports the news, serves as an intermediary between the government and the people, helps determine which issues should be discussed, and keep people actively involved in society and politics.

2) Because the vast majority of people rely on the media to keep them up to date, the media wields significant power.a) It decides what is newsworthy and runs or publishes stories accordingly.b) Because of the twenty-four hour news cycle (and the need to fill programming with news during uneventful days), many trivial and local stories have been elevated to the national stage. c) Quantity has replaced quality in news reporting.

3) For these and other reasons, the media is a significant facet of American government.4) Many people lament media bias, although these same people disagree about which way the bias runs.5) To understand American politics fully, we must therefore seek to understand the role of the media.

A. Section One – How Media Impacts Government1) The Mass Media includes all the means for communicating information to the general public.2) Three basic types:

a) Printed Media – daily newspapers and popular magazines.b) Broadcast Media – Radio and television.c) Electronic / Interactive Media – Internet and Blogs.

3) The relationship between the media and U.S. government officials is complex.

a) Need to work together, but their jobs often place them in adversarial positions.b) Politicians want to use the mass media to help them reach their goals, such as getting reelected and convincing the pubic that their polices are worthwhile.c) The job of the news media is to provide unbiased information about government that may sometimes cast government or government officials in an unfavorable light.

4) Media Biasa) Politicians often complain of bias in the media, usually a liberal bias against the views of conservative politicians.b) They complain that the media’s ability to decide which stories to report often reflects its partisanship.c) Although this is true to some extent, most major newspapers and television news stations report the same stories more or less objectively.d) Bias is often restricted to the media outlet’s commentary and opinion pages.

5) Types of Reportinga) For much of American history (until the early 20th century) most news media were clearly and openly

biased.1) Many newspapers were simply the voices of political parties.2) Partisan Journalism – Reporting is such a way as to favor one political party or position.3) Yellow Journalism – Reporting shocking and sordid stories in order to attract readers and sell more papers.

b) Objective Reporting did not appear until the early 20th century.1) Simply reporting the facts and withholding opinions.2) Most journalists still practice this today.

c) Interpretive Reporting1) Today some journalists and media outlets are beginning to analyze and interpret the material they present.2) Examples – MSNBC and FOX News

6) The Positive and Negative Roles of the Mass Mediaa) Being the Common Carrier

1) The media plays a common-carrier role by providing a line of communication between the government and the people.2) This communication goes both ways: The people learn about what the government is doing, and the government learns from the media what the public is thinking.

b) Setting the Agenda1) Journalists cannot report on an infinite number of stories, so they must choose which are the most newsworthy.2) By choosing which stories to present to the public, the news media helps determine the most important issue.3) Agenda-setting is crucial because it shape which issues will be debated in public.4) Sometimes political scientists refer to agenda setting as signaling because the media signals which stories are the most important when they decide what to report.

c) Pack Journalism1) Critics allege that journalists often copy one another without doing their own investigating.2) When one newspaper runs a story many others will run similar stories.

d) Acting as the Public Representative1) Holding government officials accountable on behalf of the people.2) Many people argue that the media is ill equipped to play this role because the media does not face the same type of accountability that politicians face.3) Serving as the representatives of the public, moreover, could undermine the media’s objectivity because the act of representing the people might require reporters to take a position on an issue.

e) Attack Journalism1) Since the Watergate scandal, investigative journalism has become more prestigious.2) Many reporters try to make a career around uncovering scandals.3) Journalists only care about bring down a prominent person, not about the truth or the common good.4) The rise of attack journalism has brought to light questions about the proper role of journalism.

f) Socializing People1) In the U.S., the media plays a big role in socializing people to American society, culture, and politics.2) Much of what young people and immigrants learn about American culture and politics comes from magazines, radio shows, and television.

g) Providing a Political Forum1) The media provides a public forum for debates between political leaders.2) The news media allows elected officials to explain their actions via news stories and interviews.

4) The President and the Mediaa) Overview

1) The president and the mass media, especially television, have a mutually beneficial relationship.

2) Almost eighty percent of all U.S. television coverage of government officials focuses on the president.3) The mass media offer presidents the best way to “sell” their ideas and policies to the public.4) President Franklin D. Roosevelt was the first president to master the use of broadcast media (“fireside chats”).5) The dawn of televised politics began with the 1960 presidential debate between Kennedy and Nixon.6) Quote from Senator J. William Fulbright in 1970: “Television has done as much to expand the President as would a constitutional amendment formally abolishing the co-equality of the three branches of government.”7) The White House media staff media advisers try to manage relations with the mass media by controlling the daily flow of information about the president.

b) News Releases and Briefings1) News Release

a) A ready-made story prepared by officials for members of the press.b) It can be printed or broadcast word-for-word or used as background information.

2) News Briefinga) A government official makes an announcement or explains a policy, a decision, or an action.b) Briefings give reporters the chance to ask officials about news releases.

3) Presidential Press Secretarya) Meets daily with the press.b) Answers questions and provides information about the president’s activities.

c) Press Conference1) Involves the news media’s questioning of a higher-level government official.2) Presidents have held press conferences since the days of Theodore Roosevelt.3) Tend to be very carefully planned events.4) In preparation for a press conference, the president often studies briefing books that identity potential questions.5) The White House can limit questions to certain topics and aides may have friendly reporters ask specific questions that they want the president to address.

d) Other Means of Sharing Information1) Speaking on Background

a) When government officials provide information to reporters without identifying the source.b) Reporters can use the information in a story but they cannot reveal their source.c) Backgrounders give government officials the opportunity to test new ideas or to send unofficial messages to other policy makers or even foreign governments.d) The media, in this manner, makes information public without making it official.

2) Off-the-recorda) Officials give the media information that is totally off the record (reporters cannot print or broadcast the information).b) Off-the-record meeting are valuable – officials often establish connections with newspapers in this way, and journalists might receive some tips to assist during their news coverage.

3) Leaksa) Another way top officials might try to influence the flow of information to the press.b) The release of secret information to the media by anonymous government officials.c) Sometimes low-level officials leak information to expose corruption or to get top officials to pay attention to a problem.

4) Media Eventa) A staged, visually interesting event designed to reinforce the president’s position on some issue.b) Example – A president who takes a strong stand against pollution might make the speech at a national park or recycling plant.

5) The Media and Presidential Campaignsa) Overview

1) Television impacts presidential campaigns.2) Television has greatly influenced who runs for office, how candidates are nominated, how election campaigns are conducted, and how political parties fit into the election process.

b) Identifying Candidates1) Television has influenced the types of candidates who run for office in several ways:

a) Candidates must be telegenic (must project a pleasing appearance).b) Television has made it much easier for people who are political unknowns to gain exposure and quickly become serious candidates for major offices.c) Television has encouraged celebrities for a wide variety of fields to enter politics.

c) Presidential Nominating Process

1) The mass media have fundamentally changed the nomination process for president through the nomination process for president through horse-race coverage of elections, especially primaries.2) Focus on winners and losers rather than on issues and policy positions.3) The media declares a candidate who wins an early primary as the front-runner.

a) The press largely determines the weight attached to being a front-runner.b) Significance – it is much easier for front-runners to attract the millions of dollars in loans, contributions, and volunteers needed to win a long, grueling nominating process.

d) Campaign Advertising1) Television has affected how candidates communicate with voters.2) Spot Advertising

a) The same basic technique that television uses to sell other products.b) Brief advertisements that are frequent, positive descriptions of the candidate or the candidate’s major platform points or negative images of the opposing candidates.

e) Financing TV Advertising1) TV advertising is expensive.2) Candidates rely on extensive fund-raising efforts to afford the huge fees needed to pay for sophisticated television advertising campaigns.

f) Political Parties1) Television has weakened the role of political parties as the key link between politicians and the voters in national politics.2) It has made candidates less dependent on their political party organization.3) Today television, rather than political parties, that provide most of the political news for people.4) Television allows candidates to appeal directly to the people, bypassing party leadership.5) Television advertising requires so much money that candidates cannot depend solely on their party to provide needed campaign funds.

6) Congress and the Mediaa) Overview

1) Most congressional coverage focuses on individual lawmakers and is published mainly in their home states.2) Nearly every member of Congress has a press secretary to prepare press releases, arrange interviews, and give out television tapes.3) Congress gets less media coverage than the president because of the nature of its work.4) Congress’s slow, complicated work rarely meets television’s requirements for dramatic, entertaining news.5) When Congress is in the news, newspapers and television reporters tend to focus on a controversial issue such as confirmation hearings, oversight activities, or the personal lives of members.

b) Congressional Hearings1) The U.S. Constitution requires Congress to confirm presidential appointments to high government posts.2) The most controversial hearings attract wide media coverage.

c) Oversight Activities1) In its oversight role, Congress has the power to review how the executive branch enforces laws and carries out programs.2) Oversight is handled through routine hearings, but sometimes lawmakers uncover a major scandal.3) Such investigations have become some of the biggest stories in American politics.

d) Personal Business1) The media looks for scandals in the personal lives of members of Congress.

e) C-SPAN (Congressional television)1) In 1979 the House of Representatives began allowing closed-circuit television coverage of floor debates; the Senate began allowing coverage in 1986.2) Today, floor proceedings of the House and Senate are now regularly broadcast to lawmakers’ offices and to cable television subscribers.

7) The Court and the Mediaa) Overview

1) Most Americans depend upon the mass media to learn about Supreme Court decisions.2) The judicial branch get less coverage because of the remoteness of judges and the technical nature of the issues with which the Court deals.3) No broadcast cameras or microphones are allowed inside the Supreme Court, the broadcast media are unable to obtain images and footage of proceedings to show their audience.

b) Remoteness of Judges1) Since they are appointed officials, Supreme Court justices and other federal judges do not need publicity like elected politicians.2) Judges must remain unbiased, and publicity might interfere with their objectivity.3) They rarely appear on radio or television.

c) Technical Issues1) The Supreme Court handles issues that are complex and abstract which means that many of the issues interest only a small minority of citizens.2) The Court also has a tradition that its judicial opinions must speak for themselves.3) Justices do not hold news conferences to explain their rulings and answer questions.

8) Setting the Public Agendaa) Overview

1) The mass media plays an important role in setting public agenda (a list of societal problems that both political leaders and citizens agree need government attention.2) The media’s role in setting the public agenda is not to determine how these social problems will be solved but to bring these issues to the attention of the public and the government.3) The media highlights the importance of some problems over others.4) In this way, the media helps determine which political issues the American people and their leaders will be discussing.

b) Networks and the Issues1) Each network competes to attract the biggest audience in a viewing market since a larger audience allows it to charge higher advertising rates.2) A network will cover a high-profile political scandal instead of the federal budget because they know most people will quickly switch to another channel if they report on budget details at length.3) The extent of media coverage will influence how the public ranks the importance of an issue to the nation.

c) Attitudes and Values1) The media has a basic effect on political attitudes and values:

a) They play a role in political socialization.b) Media reporting is usually on negative events like political corruption or party wrangling; viewers tend to get a negative view of politics.

B. Section Two – Regulating Print and Broadcast Media1) Overview

a) Despite the regulatory powers of the federal government, the mass media in the U.S. has much more freedom than anywhere else in the world.b) Such freedom has given rise to many diverse avenues of expression.c) The goal of government regulations is to provide order, fairness, and access to the mass media.d) Print media are largely unregulated, and newspapers and magazines can print nearly anything they want as long as they don’t slander anyone.e) The Internet has gone largely unregulated despite congressional efforts to restrict some controversial content.f) Broadcast media are subject to the most government regulations.

2) Protecting the Mediaa) First Amendment – “Congress shall make no law . . . abridging the freedom . . . of the press.”b) Thomas Jefferson quote from 1787 –

“The people are the only censors of their governors . . . The only safeguard of the public liberty . . . is to give them full information of their affairs [through] the channel of the public papers, & to contrive that those papers should penetrate the whole mass of the people.”

c) Free Press Guaranteed1) The First Amendment means that print media are free from prior restrain (government censorship of information before it is published).2) The Supreme Court has struck down attempts to give government prior restraint powers.3) These decisions mean that editors and reporters have freedom to decide what goes in or stays out of their publications.

d) Libel1) Freedom of the press is not an absolute right.2) Libel

a) Falsely written statements intended to damage a person’s reputation.b) A person can sue if they believe a false statement was written with malice.

3) The Right to Gather Informationa) Overview

1) Freedom for the media to publish whatever they want means little if they cannot collect information about government actions and decisions.2) If government officials tell lies, hold secret meetings, or try to limit reporters’ access to information in other ways, the media may not be able to provide the information citizens need.

b) The Right of Access1) The press has gone to court many times to fight for its right of access to information on the decisions of government – the results have been mixed.2) Generally the Supreme Court has rejected the idea that the media have special rights of access.

a) Zemel v. Rusk (1965) – The Supreme Court ruled “the right to speak and publish does not carry with it the unrestrained right to gather information.”

b) Branzburg v. Hayes (1972) – The Supreme Court decided that the First Amendment does not guarantee the press a constitutional right of special access to information not available to the public generally.”c) Authorities do not have to give the media special right of access to crime or disaster sites if the general public is excluded, although they usually do.d) Reporters may be kept out of legislative sessions that are closed to the general public.e) Reporters do not have special access to grand jury proceedings.

c) Protection of Sources1) Reporters often need secret informants when investigating government officials, political radicals, or criminals.2) The press and the U.S. government have fought many battles over the media’s right to keep sources secret.3) Shield Laws

a) Enacted in over half of all states.b) Protects reporters from having to reveal their sources.c) No federal shield law exists.

4) Regulating Broadcast Mediaa) Overview

1) In the U.S., most of the mass media is made up of private, money making businesses.2) The federal government has more power to regulate the broadcast media than the print media largely because broadcast media must share public airwaves.

b) The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) 1) The government agency with authority to regulate interstate and international communications by radio, television, telephone, telegraph, cable, and satellite.2) The FCC has five commissioners appointed by the president with Senate approval.3) The FCC has broad powers to make rules that require stations to operate in the public interest.4) The most important power of the FCC is the power to grant licenses to all radio and television stations in the country.5) Two major regulatory activities of the FCC: deal with the content of broadcasts and with ownership of the media.

c) Content Regulation1) The FCC cannot censor broadcasts.2) It can, however, influence the content of broadcasts by fining stations that violate rules and by threatening not to renew a station’s license.3) Fairness Doctrine

a) Most controversial change to broadcasting law (made under President Reagan).b) It had required broadcasters to provide airtime to both sides of a controversial issue.c) The doctrine was supposed to discourage one-sided coverage of issues and encourage states to present a range of views.

4) Equal Time Rule – Broadcasters must provide equal broadcast time to all candidates for a particular office.5) Right of Rebuttal

a) Requires broadcasters to provide an opportunity for candidates to respond to criticisms made against them.b) A station cannot air an attack on a candidate and fail to give the target of the attack a chance to respond.

d) Cable Exceptionalism1) It is not clear if the FCC has the authority to regulate cable television.2) The FCC is entitled to regulate those who broadcast over the airwaves because the people (not the broadcasters) own the airwaves.3) Cable TV does not use airwaves; it is an unresolved issue.

e) Ownership Regulation / Media Consolidation1) Given the power of the press, the federal government is also concerned with who owns media outlets.

a) Owners can influence the message their media present.b) The ownership issue is especially important for television, radio, and newspapers.

2) Telecommunications Act of 1996a) Law that ended or relaxed many FCC limits on media ownership.

1) Removed any national limits on radio station ownership.2) Removed limits on how many television stations a company could own as long as the company controlled no more than 35 percent of the national market.3) Allowed cross-ownership of cable and broadcast stations and dropped some of the rate regulations for cable systems.

b) One of the key objectives of the law was to increase competition, yet it led to an even greater concentration of media ownership in the hands of the few.

1) Media concentration was greatest in radio.

2) Today, four companies claim two-thirds of all the listeners of news radio stations.

c) Another goal of the law was to combat the growth of violent and obscene content in the mass media.

1) Mandate the installation of the V-chip to allow parental control over program viewing.

3) Critics of Media Consolidationa) Limits consumers’ choices because a small number of companies own all the media outlets.b) Consolidation is not competitive and that corporate owners might restrict or manipulate news coverage.

5) Media and National Security1) Tensions often arises between the government’s need for secrecy in national security matters and the citizens’ need for information.2) The government controls this information by classifying some information as secret.3) Government restriction on media coverage during wartime has varied.

C. Section Three – The Internet and Democracy1) Key Features of the Internet (Distinctive benefits)

a) Widespread Audience.b) Interactivity

1) The Internet supports interactive communications.2) This allows activists or anyone else to find people with similar interests and views easily.3) These groups, in turn, can quickly mobilize to organize a campaign or to contact government officials.

c) Global Scope1) The Internet is a worldwide collection of Web sites and computer servers that is accessible to people all around the world.2) The Internet’s global nature ensures that this medium represents a wide range of content and opinions; diversity is one of the Internet’s major strengths.

2) Gathering Informationa) Political Websites

1) There are thousands of Internet websites dedicated to politics.2) Many of these websites are opinionated and promote a particular worldview.

b) Tracking Legislation1) The Library of Congress’s THOMAS (www.thomas.loc.gov) allows citizens to track versions of House and Senate bill by either bill number or key word.

c) Electronic Mailing Lists1) These are automated e-mail notifications that provide subscribers with current information on a topic.2) Mailing list owners or operators conduct research on the issue upon which their list focuses, such as gun control, civil liberties, or copyright laws.

d) E-Government1) All levels of government now provide services and information over the Internet.2) Official federal government website – www.usa.gov

3) Impact of Citizen Participationa) Communicating with Officials

1) Telling legislators and other government officials what you think is one of the most basic ways individual citizens can participate in a representative democracy.2) E-mail has become the most widely used Internet tool for contacting officials.

b) Action Alerts and Petitions1) Action Alert

a) A message from an interest group to its members that calls upon each member to respond immediately by telephone, fax, or e-mail to a specific lawmaker, group of lawmakers, or other officials.b) Action alerts usually give background on the issue, a date by which you must send your message, and clear instruction on what to ask for.

2) Electronic Petitiona) A message that ask you, along with many other people, to “sign” your name electronically to a request that is going to an official.b) The goal of an electronic petition drive is to show lawmakers that a large number of people agree on how an issue should be decided.

c) Grassroots Web Sites1) Personal websites.2) Creating such sites give citizens an opportunity to become involved in election politics at many levels of government without ever leaving home.3) Independent websites, while promoting candidates, can also cause candidates problems.

a) Some sites offer misleading information about a candidate.b) May link a candidate to an extremist group.c) It can be difficult for visitors to these sites to distinguish between an official candidate’s website and an unofficial (unsanctioned) website.

d) Volunteering1) Websites may streamline the process that allows individuals to volunteer to help a political campaign.2) “Cyber-volunteering”

a) This process involves volunteer activities that can be done only on the Internet.b) Sending electronic post cards; creating electronic advertising.

e) Political Blogs1) Online personal journal.2) Anyone can create a blog and publish material about politics for millions of others to read and comment upon.3) People express their opinions about candidates and issues, they evaluate government performance, and they uncover stories that were missed by the major media.4) Blogging has the potential to give nearly every American, regardless of his or her status, a voice in American political life.5) Downside of blogging – there is nothing to prevent bloggers from publishing inaccurate information or even lies.