Media Politics: A Citizen's Guide
Media Politics: A Citizen's Guide
NY: W. W. Norton, November, 2006- Book Highlights and Ordering Information
- Excerpt – Advertising Strategies (with embedded video)
- Table of Contents
- Ch. 1: Image is Everything (with video)
- List of Media Inserts
- Ch. 1: Image is Everything (text-only)
In American politics, image is everything. Candidates win elections not because they demonstrate substantive expertise on policy matters, but because of their tactical expertise in handling the media. Once elected, incumbents continue to focus on promoting their media profiles at the expense of in-depth policy analysis. A vicious cycle ensues; problems worsen while politicians enact band-aid solutions in place of meaningful reforms.
This book provides the first comprehensive account of the causes and consequences of image-based politics. The authors show that the increasing use and manipulation of the mass media during political campaigns has spread to the process of policy making. During legislative debates, spokespersons for both sides appear regularly on television news and talk show programs to cast their individual spin on the problem in question. Media campaigns are continuous.
On the surface at least, media-based politics has increased the responsiveness of elected officials to public opinion. On issues where the public has a clear preference, policy makers must enact laws that are consistent with majority sentiment. That is why there is bipartisan elite consensus on the merits of "three strikes" legislation. Unfortunately, public opinion is generally driven more by prejudice and sensationalized news coverage than by informed analysis of available policy options. As a result, even when it is clear that popular policies are ineffective, elected officials fear to raise the necessary questions and call for fresh debate. Ultimately, one of the major effects of media politics is to discourage public officials from exercising leadership.
The absence of political leadership has contributed to the worsening of any number of social and economic problems – a minimum wage that does not permit working families to climb out of poverty; continuing racial disparities in the criminal justice process; declining standards in public education; and the lack of health insurance for one-third of the population. These structural problems cannot be treated without incurring short-term political costs (e.g., increasing taxes or crossing swords with entrenched interests). Under media politics, elected officials cannot afford to bear these costs; therefore, they propose cosmetic solutions rather than carefully developed programs.
This is the first book to reveal the full range of media strategies used for political gain. The authors demonstrate how media-based politics operates to advance the private interests of politicians and their consultants, and the aspirations of journalists and commentators, but at the expense of thoughtful development of public policy, and suggest what might be done to make better use of media channels in all aspects of public life
For prospective voters, the book provides a convenient guide for deconstructing the media spectacle that is the modern electoral campaign. For consumers of the news, the book explains why American news organizations fail to raise critical questions of government officials and to inform the public about the issues. And for political junkies, the book provides a wealth of historic multimedia, including news footage of wars from Vietnam to Iraq, campaign commercials, and excerpts from presidential debates.