Hi--
I just wanted to post a final note saying that it's been a pleasure having you in class this summer.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading your blog entries and I hope that you've gotten something useful from the class.
You'll get my comments regarding your projects and any other missing grades you have by tomorrow (Monday).
Peace,
Jack
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Any questions as we head down the home stretch?
If you have any questions or would like for me to check in on your projects, let me know by posting a comment here or sending me an email...
Jack
Jack
Monday, June 22, 2009
Blog Entry #8 (Law and Social Effects): Due Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Greetings,
For your final blog entry, write a reaction (based on the reading, the notes posted, and your own experiences/observations) on the following:
Media Law and Social Effects
As you know, the First Amendment is especially important to our society-- particularly to our political system. The problem is that the Constitution also affords other "rights" such as the right we have to protect the citizenry.
Sometimes, a battle of rights ensues.
Suppose, for example, that I am a television producer and I create a show-- a gritty cop show-- that is filled with extreme violence and lots of "f" bombs. As a proponent of the First Amendment, I believe I have the right to tell my story the way I see fit and that no one has the right to tell me what I can or can't include.
Then again, as a society, do we not also have the right to protect our children from material that may affect them negatively (we know that exposure to extreme violence can influence kids, for example)?
Who should win such a battle-- an individual's First Amendment's right, or a a society's right to protect its children?
Why?
Post your reactions as comments here. The blog is due Wednesday, by midnight.
Peace,
Jack
For your final blog entry, write a reaction (based on the reading, the notes posted, and your own experiences/observations) on the following:
Media Law and Social Effects
As you know, the First Amendment is especially important to our society-- particularly to our political system. The problem is that the Constitution also affords other "rights" such as the right we have to protect the citizenry.
Sometimes, a battle of rights ensues.
Suppose, for example, that I am a television producer and I create a show-- a gritty cop show-- that is filled with extreme violence and lots of "f" bombs. As a proponent of the First Amendment, I believe I have the right to tell my story the way I see fit and that no one has the right to tell me what I can or can't include.
Then again, as a society, do we not also have the right to protect our children from material that may affect them negatively (we know that exposure to extreme violence can influence kids, for example)?
Who should win such a battle-- an individual's First Amendment's right, or a a society's right to protect its children?
Why?
Post your reactions as comments here. The blog is due Wednesday, by midnight.
Peace,
Jack
Overview: Social Effects of Mass Media
Social Effects of Mass Communication
INVESTIGATING MASS COMMUNICATION EFFECTS
Although you can look at mass media’s effects on individuals and society in a number of ways, we’ve chosen to use the scientific method which employs two primary methods to gather information:
1. Survey The survey consists of a large group of people who answer questions put to them via a questionnaire. Although surveys can’t establish proof of cause and effect, they do help establish associations. One survey type, the panel study, sheds light on patterns of cause and effect. This study type collects data from the same people at two or more different points in time. It controls the effects of other variables to see if viewing TV violence at an early age, for example, is related to aggressive behavior later.
2. Experiment An experiment is performed in a laboratory setting and usually consists of the
controlled manipulation of a single factor to determine its impact on another factor. A variation, the field experiment, is conducted in a real-life setting. Experiments are useful because they can help establish causality.
EFFECTS ON KNOWLEDGE AND ATTITUDES
Media and Socialization
Socialization includes the ways in which an individual comes to adopt the behavior and values of the group; it is a complex process, extending over a number of years and involving various people and organizations. These groups, called agencies of socialization, contribute to the socialization process.
The Media as a Primary Source of Information
Learning is an important part of the socialization process, and the media (primarily TV) serves as an important source of information, if not the primary one, for a wide range of topics such as politics, crime, occupations, environment, and minorities. Entertainment media also serves as a source of information about such topics as occupations, crime, relationships, minorities, alcohol and drug abuse, morals, values, and law enforcement.
Shaping Attitudes, Perceptions, and Beliefs
The mass media also plays an important role in the transmission of attitudes, perceptions, and beliefs. In specific, TV can be an influential force with young people when:
. the same stereotyped ideas, people, or behaviors recur consistently in TV programs
. a child is heavily exposed to TV content
. a child has limited interaction with parents or other socializing agents and lacks an
alternative set of beliefs to serve as a standard against which to assess media portrayals
All this means is that under certain conditions, TV will be an influential force in shaping what children think about certain topics.
Creating Stereotypes: The TV world often presents images of people and lifestyles that are at odds with reality. There are many areas of reality that are stereotyped by TV such as crime and law enforcement, sex-role portrayals, the depiction of occupations, the methods of problem solving, the portrayals of scientists, and the depiction of mental illness.
The Effects of Heavy Viewing: Research assumes, but does not necessarily prove, that the mass media plays a significant part in creating either negative or prosocial attitudes among children who are “heavy” TV viewers. Although some evidence points to the media as the cause of certain attitudes, we can’t entirely rule out other explanations. Nevertheless, it’s likely that the link between media exposure and certain attitudes demonstrates reciprocal causation.
The Absence of Alternative Information: Although the evidence is less consistent here than in other areas, experiments suggest that under some circumstances TV can affect young people’s attitudes about matters for which their environment failed to provide first-hand experience or alternative sources of information. Where media influence is indirect, it is difficult to pinpoint a cause and effect relationship. This is particularly true when the media operates simultaneously with other agencies of socialization and when interpersonal channels outweigh media channels in forming attitudes and opinions.
Cultivation Analysis
Cultivation analysis suggests that heavy TV viewing “cultivates” perceptions of reality consistent with the view of the world presented in TV programs. Cultivation analysis concentrates on the long-term effects of exposure rather than the short-term impact on attitudes and opinions.
Methodology: The first stage is a careful study of TV content to identify predominant themes and messages. Not surprisingly, TV portrays a rather idiosyncratic world that is unlike reality in many dimensions. Step two examines what, if anything, viewers absorb from heavy exposure to the world of television. Study respondents are given questionnaires about our society where each question has two answers: the real world answer and the TV world answer. If heavy viewers show a tendency to choose TV answers, we might have evidence that a cultivation effect is occurring.
Research Findings: How strong is the evidence? Most findings suggest that among some people, TV cultivated distorted perceptions of the real world. Other studies show that cultivation isn’t limited just to children, and other studies show that content other than crime and violence might also evoke a cultivation effect. Although the results of cultivation-analysis studies are intriguing, its conclusions can be clouded by three problems:
1. It’s difficult to determine cause and effect.
2. People differ in ways other than in their TV habits: as such, factors other than TV watching
might affect the differences in perceptions and attitudes between heavy and light viewers.
Two other observations come out of this area: (a) a phenomena called mainstreaming,
whereby differences apparently due to cultural and social factors tend to diminish among
heavy TV watchers; and (b) resonance, a situation in which a respondent’s real life
experiences parallel those of the TV world, thereby leading to a greater cultivation effect.
3. Technical decisions about the way TV viewing and attitudes are measured can have a
significant impact on findings, such as the precise wording of the questions.
Recent research suggests that (a) the cultivation effect is stronger when a particular kind type of TV viewing is measured (e.g., soap operas and adventure series) as opposed to overall TV viewing, and (b) you must take into account the context of the TV portrayals viewed. In 1997 media scholars reviewed more than 5,600 cultivation analysis studies and findings collected over two decades. In it, they reported that the cultivation effect is indeed real for many people.
Children and Television Advertising
A typical child sees about 20,000 TV commercials every year, mostly for toys, cereals, candies, and fast-food restaurants. So it’s not surprising that by the early 1980s, most people accepted the idea that children deserve special consideration from advertisers for the following reasons:
. Children are a vulnerable audience and should not be exploited by TV advertising
. Children, especially young ones, might be easily deceived by TV advertising techniques
. Long-term effects of exposure to TV ads might have a negative effect on a child’s
socialization as a future consumer
A Vulnerable Audience: Research hints that younger children (5 to 8 years old) are able to identify commercials, but they have difficulty separating ads from the rest of the program and have little idea as to the purpose behind them. Older children (9 to 12 years old) are better able to differentiate the ads from the rest of the program and have little trouble distinguishing between the purpose of the ad and a program. In 1974, partly as a result of these findings, broadcasters started using a separation device between the programs, typically a message five to ten seconds long. As before, younger children under five still had trouble distinguishing ad from program content.
Effects of Special Selling Techniques: It’s obvious that toys and other products designed for children can be made to look more appealing through the use of special camera angles, lenses, advertising copy, sound effects, animation, and special lighting techniques. However, the effects of these techniques on children is unclear. In short, exaggerated claims lead to exaggerated expectations and almost always end with exaggerated disappointments. As such, guidelines for toy ads now state that audio and video techniques should not misrepresent the appearance and performance of toys and that disclaimers should be used when batteries are needed, assembly is necessary, or accessory items show in the ad are not included.
Consumer Socialization: Consumer socialization includes all those processes by which children learn behaviors and attitudes relevant to their future behavior as consumers. For example, we do know:
1. as kids get older, they tend to distrust commercials and even become cynical about them
2. exposure to TV commercials is not related to consumer skills, such as price or product value comparisons
3. some studies suggest a link between heavy exposure to ads and the personal endorsement of materialistic values, equating money and possessions as being necessary for happiness
Agenda Setting
By saying the media has an impact on agenda setting, we mean that they have the ability to choose and emphasize certain topics, which can cause the public to perceive these issues as important. Or, as one author put it, “the media may not always be successful in telling people what to think, but they usually are successful in telling people what to think about.” Generally most agenda-setting studies examine information-based media, with much of the research revolving around political campaigns and issues. The research to date suggests:
. cause and effect relationships are still unclear
. the results can hinge on the medium being studied
. topic covered can influence agenda setting (concrete topics do better than abstract ones)
. a person’s experience with the topic will influence the results
The agenda-setting effect can also be influenced by other factors, such as a person’s interest in the topic, experience with the topic, age, education, and political involvement.
Agenda-setting research, now over 30 years old, has two general fields of study:
. framing the way a news topic is treated by the media. This research posits that
not only do the media tell us what to think about, they also tell us how to think about it by the way the story is framed
. agenda building examines how the media build their agenda of newsworthy items. Some
factors that seem to have an impact include presidential press conferences, congressional hearings, and special-interest PR efforts
Television and Cognitive Skills
Studies on what, if anything, heavy TV viewing does to a child’s IQ level are so far inconclusive. Some of the research done on the relationship between reading and TV viewing suggests that the relationship was influenced by such factors as age, the type of TV content watched, social class, and parental attitudes toward reading. Although TV has been linked to decreased intellectual performance, its effects are complicated and its impact is relatively light. On the other hand, the hours that youngsters invest in watching TV don’t seem to pay off in better academic skills.
MEDIA EFFECTS ON BEHAVIOR: A SHORT HISTORY
In 1929, films became the first target of scholarly research into the possible effects of media on the morals and actions of children. The results, as might be expected by now, were inconclusive.
Growing Public Concern
In the 1940s, researchers turned their attention to the potential effects that radio might have on politics. Louisiana Governor Huey Long’s firebrand radio speeches and President Roosevelt’s fireside chats helped jump start the curiosity. The results suggested that the media actually had little direct effect on political decision-making. Instead, personal influence was more important, and individuals called “opinion leaders” were thought to be more important in the decision-making process.
In the 1950s, the research spotlight turned to the potentially negative effects that heavy TV viewing might have on children. A British study concluded that TV did have an impact on children’s values and perceptions of the world, while a US study found that as children got older, heavy TV viewing was associated with lower IQ scores and unsatisfactory social relationships.
During the 1960s, a congressional subcommittee investigating the causes and prevention of violence concluded that constant viewing of violent behavior on TV might cause antisocial behavior among young people. A study ordered by President Johnson concluded that (a) more definitive research in this area was needed, and (b) that a “constant diet of violent behavior on television had an adverse effect on human character and attitudes.” During the same period, a presidential commission studying obscenity and its effects concluded that all laws prohibiting the distribution of pornographic materials be repealed.
TV Violence
In 1972, and again in 1982, federally funded research projects determined that exposure to TV violence could increase the probability of antisocial behavior and that there was a causal link between TV violence viewing and real-life aggressive behavior.
The 1990s saw the start of program advisories, which warned TV viewers of upcoming programs that featured strong language, violence, or sexual content. The Telecommunication Act of 1996 also took on the TV violence problem with the introduction of the V-Chip, a device that could electronically block out programs that were unsuitable for younger viewers. The success of this new technology depended on creating a new program rating system, and the TV and cable industries responded (after a failed first attempt) with a detailed content warning system patterned after the MPAA film ratings.
THE IMPACT OF TELEVISED VIOLENCE
Survey Results: Though it is difficult to summarize decades of surveys, this conclusion may come closest to being the most representative, “the evidence to date indicates that there is a significant correlation between the viewing of violent television programs and aggressive behavior in day-to-day life.” Nevertheless, a relationship is not necessarily evidence of a cause and effect.
In 1986, a five-country panel study came to varying conclusions about the effects on children of viewing TV violence and their later aggressive behavioral tendencies. The panel did, however, agree on two major areas:
. the relationship between the viewing of violence and aggressive behavior tends to be weak
. there was a pattern of circularity in causation. Viewing violent TV caused some children to become more aggressive, and being aggressive caused them to watch more violent TV
Experimental Results: The Catharsis vs. Stimulation Debate
Two mainstream avenues to explore the impact of media violence on audiences have been attempted. The first is from the Aristotelian theory of catharsis. This theory holds that viewing scenes of aggression can actually purge the viewer’s own aggressive feelings. The second approach, stimulation theory, holds just the opposite view and suggests that seeing scenes of violence will actually stimulate an individual to behave more violently afterward. The results of numerous studies in these areas conclude that watching media violence does tend to stimulate aggressive behavior, while on the other hand, there is little empirical evidence for catharsis.
Bandura’s Experiment
A series of experiments conducted by psychologist Albert Bandura in the 1960s indicated that, in fact, film and TV just might teach aggressive behavior in children. Bandura’s research team found that children who had just finished watching violent content on TV or film were much more likely to be aggressive in follow up situations than were children who had not been exposed to TV violence.
Complicating Factors
As “conclusive” as reports from laboratory experiments may sound, there are many complicating factors that could be influencing the outcome; these factors could include the experimental setting itself, participant age and sex, length and type of violent media content, who the subject watches the film with and what their reactions are, social class, family history, economic background and so on. Finally, the reactions of other people to the same media exposure can directly influence a viewer’s the potential for aggressive behavior.
Field Experiments: Although people in field experiments are studied in their natural environments, and thus react more naturally than in a lab setting, they’re also exposed to new, outside influences that may affect results.
Though results vary, surveys, panel studies, lab research studies, and field experiments all tend to support the notion that violent TV viewing may foster aggressive behavior in some viewers.
What Can We Conclude?
Though no one study or group of studies can make any definitive conclusion, a consistent thread seems to run through most experiments about watching TV violence and aggressive behavior. Taken as a whole, these results encourage a tentative acceptance of the proposition that watching violence on television increases aggressiveness on the part of at least some viewers. Yet while the effects might be small, they are not necessarily trivial.
ENCOURAGING PROSOCIAL BEHAVIOR
While most media research has concentrated on investigating the potential negative effects of media consumption by some people, some scholars began examining the positive effects the media might have on people. These effects, called prosocial behavior, can include actions such as cooperation, sharing, self-control, and helping.
Developing Self-control
Lab experiments have shown that films and TV programs can affect a young child’s self-control.
Cooperation, Sharing, and Helping
Experiments here show that children are willing to imitate cooperative, generous, and helping behavior, which they’ve seen portrayed in a film or on television programs.
Survey Data
Though survey data on prosocial media effects are scarce, what there is suggests that children do perceive prosocial messages incorporated into a film or television program. However, two survey studies have found little relationship between viewing prosocial messages and actually transferring those actions into everyday behavior.
OTHER BEHAVIORAL EFFECTS
Political Behavior
Studies of Voter Turnout: Voter turnout has dropped continually since 1964, but there is little, if any, conclusive data to link that fact with the media. But some relationships are notable; for example, data from presidential elections from 1960-1976 indicate that the frequency of reading a newspaper was strongly related to voter turnout, but radio and television exposure were not.
Negative political advertising does not seem to have much of an effect on voters above reinforcing already polarized views on candidates and issues.
Effects of the Mass Media on Voter Choice: When it comes to choosing a candidate to vote for, the mass media functions along with many other factors, both social and psychological, to affect a person’s choice. Some generalizations can, however, be put forward. First, conversion, switching your vote from one political party to another, is unlikely to result from simple media exposure since it’s difficult for the media to persuade someone whose mind is already made up, and roughly 2/3 of voters have made up their minds before the campaigns even begin. Far more common are two effects that have a direct bearing on voter choice:
. reinforcement strengthening or support of existing attitudes and opinions
. crystallization sharpening and elaboration of vaguely held attitudes or predispositions
If a person approaches a campaign undecided or neutral, then crystallization is likely to occur. If the person has already made up his or her mind, then reinforcement will probably take place.
A key factor in winning any election is to keep the party faithful loyal (reinforcement) and to persuade enough of the undecided people to vote for your side (crystallization) in order to win.
Thus, even though widespread conversion is not usually seen, the media is still influential. Yet
these effects are generally attributable to national and perhaps even state wide elections; other studies indicate, however, that newspapers may heavily influence the outcome of local elections.
The Debates: Research into the effects of presidential debates suggests that they’ve actually had little effect other than reinforcing previously held opinions on the candidates. That said, debates may affect the choice of previously undecided or neutral voters; though the numbers may be small, it’s worth remembering that the 1960 Kennedy-Nixon election was one by less than 1/10 of one percent of the total vote. The principal effect of presidential debates is to reinforce rather than shift voter attitudes. TV debates crystallize opinion far more often than they convert.
Television and the Political Behavior of Politicians: TV has clearly affected the political behavior of politicians and political campaigns. Look at the changes politicians have adopted since the advent of TV into the political arena:
. nominating conventions are scheduled to suit TV prime time, and thereby hopefully get
viewers and gain favorable public opinion
. television has dramatically increased the cost of campaigning
. television has become the medium around which most campaigns are organized
. campaign staffs now routinely include TV consultants and image makers
Effects of Obscenity and Pornography
This area of media content has had far fewer research studies than that of the media’s effects on children or politics. In the 1960s, a presidential committee suggested:
. most pornography consumers were middle class, middle-age men
. no evidence that viewing pornography was related to antisocial or deviant behavior
. that pornographic material served a positive function in some healthy, sexual relationships
. that all laws against distributing pornography be repealed
In 1970, the Nixon administration repudiated their findings, and now that study has largely since been ignored.
In 1984, a new commission began re-examining the effects pornography might have on the public. Two years later, and surrounded by political considerations, the commission concluded that pornography, particularly violent pornography, was harmful and that its distribution should be curtailed. More recent studies have found that sexual arousal might be linked to subsequent aggressive behavior if other outlets for release are not available. In addition, other studies found a disturbing link between exposure to pornography and feelings of callousness toward women.
RESEARCH ON THE SOCIAL EFFECTS OF THE INTERNET
Obviously, studies about the effect of the Internet on the public have only recently begun; that said, three major areas of study have already developed:
The impact of Internet use on other media
Early studies are confident that an increased use of the Internet generally comes at the expense of decreased television viewing; a lessening involvement with other media doesn’t seem to be generally affected.
The relationship between Internet use and social involvement
Several early studies have given contradictory results. As such, it’s too early to conclude how, or even if, heavy Internet usage affects one’s involvement with personal or social relationships.
Internet addiction
As above, little definitive research yet exists. However, psychologists have identified three characteristics of any addiction: increased tolerance, loss of control, and withdrawal. In one recent study of heavy recreational-Internet users, most exhibited some or all of all three symptoms.
COMMUNICATION IN THE FUTURE: SOCIAL IMPACT
Privacy
While the advent of new communication technology and the explosion of harvesting personal information about us have obviously contributed to our own benefit as well as society’s, there are just as many troubling issues all that information exchange raises. One of the biggest issues is our increasing loss of privacy in the area of e-mails, cellular phones, medical records, shopping habits, financial information, and so on. Information is getting to be uncomfortably easy to find and access through centralized computer databases.
Fragmentation and Isolation
Mass media are increasingly serving the needs of more specialized audiences, thus directing individuals toward more selective content exposure. If this trend continues, it could result into smaller and smaller interest groups with little in common with the rest of society. This phenomena has been labeled the cocoon effect by sociologists. This effect suggests that people surround themselves with only the political and social information that they find comforting, appealing, or acceptable. Moreover, as telecommuting becomes more popular, more people will stay at home. Already the computer allows consumers to work, bank, shop, and be entertained without leaving the confines of your family room. What might happen if people begin to overly distance themselves from the reality of the outside world?
Overload in the Information Society
One of the central problems for 21st Century citizens may well be how they manage the vastly increasing flood of news, information, and entertainment available to them. It’s likely that those who succeed in the future will be the ones who can maximize the efficiency of their information-seeking behavior.
Escape
The possibility of people immersing themselves in the world of mass media and tuning out of the real world has always been a concern, but it just didn’t happen that often or with any significant numbers of people. Today, however, with the advent and advances in the areas of HDTV, the Internet, virtual reality, and role playing games, those fears have again resurfaced, and this time perhaps, with considerably more likelihood of those fears becoming realized.
INVESTIGATING MASS COMMUNICATION EFFECTS
Although you can look at mass media’s effects on individuals and society in a number of ways, we’ve chosen to use the scientific method which employs two primary methods to gather information:
1. Survey The survey consists of a large group of people who answer questions put to them via a questionnaire. Although surveys can’t establish proof of cause and effect, they do help establish associations. One survey type, the panel study, sheds light on patterns of cause and effect. This study type collects data from the same people at two or more different points in time. It controls the effects of other variables to see if viewing TV violence at an early age, for example, is related to aggressive behavior later.
2. Experiment An experiment is performed in a laboratory setting and usually consists of the
controlled manipulation of a single factor to determine its impact on another factor. A variation, the field experiment, is conducted in a real-life setting. Experiments are useful because they can help establish causality.
EFFECTS ON KNOWLEDGE AND ATTITUDES
Media and Socialization
Socialization includes the ways in which an individual comes to adopt the behavior and values of the group; it is a complex process, extending over a number of years and involving various people and organizations. These groups, called agencies of socialization, contribute to the socialization process.
The Media as a Primary Source of Information
Learning is an important part of the socialization process, and the media (primarily TV) serves as an important source of information, if not the primary one, for a wide range of topics such as politics, crime, occupations, environment, and minorities. Entertainment media also serves as a source of information about such topics as occupations, crime, relationships, minorities, alcohol and drug abuse, morals, values, and law enforcement.
Shaping Attitudes, Perceptions, and Beliefs
The mass media also plays an important role in the transmission of attitudes, perceptions, and beliefs. In specific, TV can be an influential force with young people when:
. the same stereotyped ideas, people, or behaviors recur consistently in TV programs
. a child is heavily exposed to TV content
. a child has limited interaction with parents or other socializing agents and lacks an
alternative set of beliefs to serve as a standard against which to assess media portrayals
All this means is that under certain conditions, TV will be an influential force in shaping what children think about certain topics.
Creating Stereotypes: The TV world often presents images of people and lifestyles that are at odds with reality. There are many areas of reality that are stereotyped by TV such as crime and law enforcement, sex-role portrayals, the depiction of occupations, the methods of problem solving, the portrayals of scientists, and the depiction of mental illness.
The Effects of Heavy Viewing: Research assumes, but does not necessarily prove, that the mass media plays a significant part in creating either negative or prosocial attitudes among children who are “heavy” TV viewers. Although some evidence points to the media as the cause of certain attitudes, we can’t entirely rule out other explanations. Nevertheless, it’s likely that the link between media exposure and certain attitudes demonstrates reciprocal causation.
The Absence of Alternative Information: Although the evidence is less consistent here than in other areas, experiments suggest that under some circumstances TV can affect young people’s attitudes about matters for which their environment failed to provide first-hand experience or alternative sources of information. Where media influence is indirect, it is difficult to pinpoint a cause and effect relationship. This is particularly true when the media operates simultaneously with other agencies of socialization and when interpersonal channels outweigh media channels in forming attitudes and opinions.
Cultivation Analysis
Cultivation analysis suggests that heavy TV viewing “cultivates” perceptions of reality consistent with the view of the world presented in TV programs. Cultivation analysis concentrates on the long-term effects of exposure rather than the short-term impact on attitudes and opinions.
Methodology: The first stage is a careful study of TV content to identify predominant themes and messages. Not surprisingly, TV portrays a rather idiosyncratic world that is unlike reality in many dimensions. Step two examines what, if anything, viewers absorb from heavy exposure to the world of television. Study respondents are given questionnaires about our society where each question has two answers: the real world answer and the TV world answer. If heavy viewers show a tendency to choose TV answers, we might have evidence that a cultivation effect is occurring.
Research Findings: How strong is the evidence? Most findings suggest that among some people, TV cultivated distorted perceptions of the real world. Other studies show that cultivation isn’t limited just to children, and other studies show that content other than crime and violence might also evoke a cultivation effect. Although the results of cultivation-analysis studies are intriguing, its conclusions can be clouded by three problems:
1. It’s difficult to determine cause and effect.
2. People differ in ways other than in their TV habits: as such, factors other than TV watching
might affect the differences in perceptions and attitudes between heavy and light viewers.
Two other observations come out of this area: (a) a phenomena called mainstreaming,
whereby differences apparently due to cultural and social factors tend to diminish among
heavy TV watchers; and (b) resonance, a situation in which a respondent’s real life
experiences parallel those of the TV world, thereby leading to a greater cultivation effect.
3. Technical decisions about the way TV viewing and attitudes are measured can have a
significant impact on findings, such as the precise wording of the questions.
Recent research suggests that (a) the cultivation effect is stronger when a particular kind type of TV viewing is measured (e.g., soap operas and adventure series) as opposed to overall TV viewing, and (b) you must take into account the context of the TV portrayals viewed. In 1997 media scholars reviewed more than 5,600 cultivation analysis studies and findings collected over two decades. In it, they reported that the cultivation effect is indeed real for many people.
Children and Television Advertising
A typical child sees about 20,000 TV commercials every year, mostly for toys, cereals, candies, and fast-food restaurants. So it’s not surprising that by the early 1980s, most people accepted the idea that children deserve special consideration from advertisers for the following reasons:
. Children are a vulnerable audience and should not be exploited by TV advertising
. Children, especially young ones, might be easily deceived by TV advertising techniques
. Long-term effects of exposure to TV ads might have a negative effect on a child’s
socialization as a future consumer
A Vulnerable Audience: Research hints that younger children (5 to 8 years old) are able to identify commercials, but they have difficulty separating ads from the rest of the program and have little idea as to the purpose behind them. Older children (9 to 12 years old) are better able to differentiate the ads from the rest of the program and have little trouble distinguishing between the purpose of the ad and a program. In 1974, partly as a result of these findings, broadcasters started using a separation device between the programs, typically a message five to ten seconds long. As before, younger children under five still had trouble distinguishing ad from program content.
Effects of Special Selling Techniques: It’s obvious that toys and other products designed for children can be made to look more appealing through the use of special camera angles, lenses, advertising copy, sound effects, animation, and special lighting techniques. However, the effects of these techniques on children is unclear. In short, exaggerated claims lead to exaggerated expectations and almost always end with exaggerated disappointments. As such, guidelines for toy ads now state that audio and video techniques should not misrepresent the appearance and performance of toys and that disclaimers should be used when batteries are needed, assembly is necessary, or accessory items show in the ad are not included.
Consumer Socialization: Consumer socialization includes all those processes by which children learn behaviors and attitudes relevant to their future behavior as consumers. For example, we do know:
1. as kids get older, they tend to distrust commercials and even become cynical about them
2. exposure to TV commercials is not related to consumer skills, such as price or product value comparisons
3. some studies suggest a link between heavy exposure to ads and the personal endorsement of materialistic values, equating money and possessions as being necessary for happiness
Agenda Setting
By saying the media has an impact on agenda setting, we mean that they have the ability to choose and emphasize certain topics, which can cause the public to perceive these issues as important. Or, as one author put it, “the media may not always be successful in telling people what to think, but they usually are successful in telling people what to think about.” Generally most agenda-setting studies examine information-based media, with much of the research revolving around political campaigns and issues. The research to date suggests:
. cause and effect relationships are still unclear
. the results can hinge on the medium being studied
. topic covered can influence agenda setting (concrete topics do better than abstract ones)
. a person’s experience with the topic will influence the results
The agenda-setting effect can also be influenced by other factors, such as a person’s interest in the topic, experience with the topic, age, education, and political involvement.
Agenda-setting research, now over 30 years old, has two general fields of study:
. framing the way a news topic is treated by the media. This research posits that
not only do the media tell us what to think about, they also tell us how to think about it by the way the story is framed
. agenda building examines how the media build their agenda of newsworthy items. Some
factors that seem to have an impact include presidential press conferences, congressional hearings, and special-interest PR efforts
Television and Cognitive Skills
Studies on what, if anything, heavy TV viewing does to a child’s IQ level are so far inconclusive. Some of the research done on the relationship between reading and TV viewing suggests that the relationship was influenced by such factors as age, the type of TV content watched, social class, and parental attitudes toward reading. Although TV has been linked to decreased intellectual performance, its effects are complicated and its impact is relatively light. On the other hand, the hours that youngsters invest in watching TV don’t seem to pay off in better academic skills.
MEDIA EFFECTS ON BEHAVIOR: A SHORT HISTORY
In 1929, films became the first target of scholarly research into the possible effects of media on the morals and actions of children. The results, as might be expected by now, were inconclusive.
Growing Public Concern
In the 1940s, researchers turned their attention to the potential effects that radio might have on politics. Louisiana Governor Huey Long’s firebrand radio speeches and President Roosevelt’s fireside chats helped jump start the curiosity. The results suggested that the media actually had little direct effect on political decision-making. Instead, personal influence was more important, and individuals called “opinion leaders” were thought to be more important in the decision-making process.
In the 1950s, the research spotlight turned to the potentially negative effects that heavy TV viewing might have on children. A British study concluded that TV did have an impact on children’s values and perceptions of the world, while a US study found that as children got older, heavy TV viewing was associated with lower IQ scores and unsatisfactory social relationships.
During the 1960s, a congressional subcommittee investigating the causes and prevention of violence concluded that constant viewing of violent behavior on TV might cause antisocial behavior among young people. A study ordered by President Johnson concluded that (a) more definitive research in this area was needed, and (b) that a “constant diet of violent behavior on television had an adverse effect on human character and attitudes.” During the same period, a presidential commission studying obscenity and its effects concluded that all laws prohibiting the distribution of pornographic materials be repealed.
TV Violence
In 1972, and again in 1982, federally funded research projects determined that exposure to TV violence could increase the probability of antisocial behavior and that there was a causal link between TV violence viewing and real-life aggressive behavior.
The 1990s saw the start of program advisories, which warned TV viewers of upcoming programs that featured strong language, violence, or sexual content. The Telecommunication Act of 1996 also took on the TV violence problem with the introduction of the V-Chip, a device that could electronically block out programs that were unsuitable for younger viewers. The success of this new technology depended on creating a new program rating system, and the TV and cable industries responded (after a failed first attempt) with a detailed content warning system patterned after the MPAA film ratings.
THE IMPACT OF TELEVISED VIOLENCE
Survey Results: Though it is difficult to summarize decades of surveys, this conclusion may come closest to being the most representative, “the evidence to date indicates that there is a significant correlation between the viewing of violent television programs and aggressive behavior in day-to-day life.” Nevertheless, a relationship is not necessarily evidence of a cause and effect.
In 1986, a five-country panel study came to varying conclusions about the effects on children of viewing TV violence and their later aggressive behavioral tendencies. The panel did, however, agree on two major areas:
. the relationship between the viewing of violence and aggressive behavior tends to be weak
. there was a pattern of circularity in causation. Viewing violent TV caused some children to become more aggressive, and being aggressive caused them to watch more violent TV
Experimental Results: The Catharsis vs. Stimulation Debate
Two mainstream avenues to explore the impact of media violence on audiences have been attempted. The first is from the Aristotelian theory of catharsis. This theory holds that viewing scenes of aggression can actually purge the viewer’s own aggressive feelings. The second approach, stimulation theory, holds just the opposite view and suggests that seeing scenes of violence will actually stimulate an individual to behave more violently afterward. The results of numerous studies in these areas conclude that watching media violence does tend to stimulate aggressive behavior, while on the other hand, there is little empirical evidence for catharsis.
Bandura’s Experiment
A series of experiments conducted by psychologist Albert Bandura in the 1960s indicated that, in fact, film and TV just might teach aggressive behavior in children. Bandura’s research team found that children who had just finished watching violent content on TV or film were much more likely to be aggressive in follow up situations than were children who had not been exposed to TV violence.
Complicating Factors
As “conclusive” as reports from laboratory experiments may sound, there are many complicating factors that could be influencing the outcome; these factors could include the experimental setting itself, participant age and sex, length and type of violent media content, who the subject watches the film with and what their reactions are, social class, family history, economic background and so on. Finally, the reactions of other people to the same media exposure can directly influence a viewer’s the potential for aggressive behavior.
Field Experiments: Although people in field experiments are studied in their natural environments, and thus react more naturally than in a lab setting, they’re also exposed to new, outside influences that may affect results.
Though results vary, surveys, panel studies, lab research studies, and field experiments all tend to support the notion that violent TV viewing may foster aggressive behavior in some viewers.
What Can We Conclude?
Though no one study or group of studies can make any definitive conclusion, a consistent thread seems to run through most experiments about watching TV violence and aggressive behavior. Taken as a whole, these results encourage a tentative acceptance of the proposition that watching violence on television increases aggressiveness on the part of at least some viewers. Yet while the effects might be small, they are not necessarily trivial.
ENCOURAGING PROSOCIAL BEHAVIOR
While most media research has concentrated on investigating the potential negative effects of media consumption by some people, some scholars began examining the positive effects the media might have on people. These effects, called prosocial behavior, can include actions such as cooperation, sharing, self-control, and helping.
Developing Self-control
Lab experiments have shown that films and TV programs can affect a young child’s self-control.
Cooperation, Sharing, and Helping
Experiments here show that children are willing to imitate cooperative, generous, and helping behavior, which they’ve seen portrayed in a film or on television programs.
Survey Data
Though survey data on prosocial media effects are scarce, what there is suggests that children do perceive prosocial messages incorporated into a film or television program. However, two survey studies have found little relationship between viewing prosocial messages and actually transferring those actions into everyday behavior.
OTHER BEHAVIORAL EFFECTS
Political Behavior
Studies of Voter Turnout: Voter turnout has dropped continually since 1964, but there is little, if any, conclusive data to link that fact with the media. But some relationships are notable; for example, data from presidential elections from 1960-1976 indicate that the frequency of reading a newspaper was strongly related to voter turnout, but radio and television exposure were not.
Negative political advertising does not seem to have much of an effect on voters above reinforcing already polarized views on candidates and issues.
Effects of the Mass Media on Voter Choice: When it comes to choosing a candidate to vote for, the mass media functions along with many other factors, both social and psychological, to affect a person’s choice. Some generalizations can, however, be put forward. First, conversion, switching your vote from one political party to another, is unlikely to result from simple media exposure since it’s difficult for the media to persuade someone whose mind is already made up, and roughly 2/3 of voters have made up their minds before the campaigns even begin. Far more common are two effects that have a direct bearing on voter choice:
. reinforcement strengthening or support of existing attitudes and opinions
. crystallization sharpening and elaboration of vaguely held attitudes or predispositions
If a person approaches a campaign undecided or neutral, then crystallization is likely to occur. If the person has already made up his or her mind, then reinforcement will probably take place.
A key factor in winning any election is to keep the party faithful loyal (reinforcement) and to persuade enough of the undecided people to vote for your side (crystallization) in order to win.
Thus, even though widespread conversion is not usually seen, the media is still influential. Yet
these effects are generally attributable to national and perhaps even state wide elections; other studies indicate, however, that newspapers may heavily influence the outcome of local elections.
The Debates: Research into the effects of presidential debates suggests that they’ve actually had little effect other than reinforcing previously held opinions on the candidates. That said, debates may affect the choice of previously undecided or neutral voters; though the numbers may be small, it’s worth remembering that the 1960 Kennedy-Nixon election was one by less than 1/10 of one percent of the total vote. The principal effect of presidential debates is to reinforce rather than shift voter attitudes. TV debates crystallize opinion far more often than they convert.
Television and the Political Behavior of Politicians: TV has clearly affected the political behavior of politicians and political campaigns. Look at the changes politicians have adopted since the advent of TV into the political arena:
. nominating conventions are scheduled to suit TV prime time, and thereby hopefully get
viewers and gain favorable public opinion
. television has dramatically increased the cost of campaigning
. television has become the medium around which most campaigns are organized
. campaign staffs now routinely include TV consultants and image makers
Effects of Obscenity and Pornography
This area of media content has had far fewer research studies than that of the media’s effects on children or politics. In the 1960s, a presidential committee suggested:
. most pornography consumers were middle class, middle-age men
. no evidence that viewing pornography was related to antisocial or deviant behavior
. that pornographic material served a positive function in some healthy, sexual relationships
. that all laws against distributing pornography be repealed
In 1970, the Nixon administration repudiated their findings, and now that study has largely since been ignored.
In 1984, a new commission began re-examining the effects pornography might have on the public. Two years later, and surrounded by political considerations, the commission concluded that pornography, particularly violent pornography, was harmful and that its distribution should be curtailed. More recent studies have found that sexual arousal might be linked to subsequent aggressive behavior if other outlets for release are not available. In addition, other studies found a disturbing link between exposure to pornography and feelings of callousness toward women.
RESEARCH ON THE SOCIAL EFFECTS OF THE INTERNET
Obviously, studies about the effect of the Internet on the public have only recently begun; that said, three major areas of study have already developed:
The impact of Internet use on other media
Early studies are confident that an increased use of the Internet generally comes at the expense of decreased television viewing; a lessening involvement with other media doesn’t seem to be generally affected.
The relationship between Internet use and social involvement
Several early studies have given contradictory results. As such, it’s too early to conclude how, or even if, heavy Internet usage affects one’s involvement with personal or social relationships.
Internet addiction
As above, little definitive research yet exists. However, psychologists have identified three characteristics of any addiction: increased tolerance, loss of control, and withdrawal. In one recent study of heavy recreational-Internet users, most exhibited some or all of all three symptoms.
COMMUNICATION IN THE FUTURE: SOCIAL IMPACT
Privacy
While the advent of new communication technology and the explosion of harvesting personal information about us have obviously contributed to our own benefit as well as society’s, there are just as many troubling issues all that information exchange raises. One of the biggest issues is our increasing loss of privacy in the area of e-mails, cellular phones, medical records, shopping habits, financial information, and so on. Information is getting to be uncomfortably easy to find and access through centralized computer databases.
Fragmentation and Isolation
Mass media are increasingly serving the needs of more specialized audiences, thus directing individuals toward more selective content exposure. If this trend continues, it could result into smaller and smaller interest groups with little in common with the rest of society. This phenomena has been labeled the cocoon effect by sociologists. This effect suggests that people surround themselves with only the political and social information that they find comforting, appealing, or acceptable. Moreover, as telecommuting becomes more popular, more people will stay at home. Already the computer allows consumers to work, bank, shop, and be entertained without leaving the confines of your family room. What might happen if people begin to overly distance themselves from the reality of the outside world?
Overload in the Information Society
One of the central problems for 21st Century citizens may well be how they manage the vastly increasing flood of news, information, and entertainment available to them. It’s likely that those who succeed in the future will be the ones who can maximize the efficiency of their information-seeking behavior.
Escape
The possibility of people immersing themselves in the world of mass media and tuning out of the real world has always been a concern, but it just didn’t happen that often or with any significant numbers of people. Today, however, with the advent and advances in the areas of HDTV, the Internet, virtual reality, and role playing games, those fears have again resurfaced, and this time perhaps, with considerably more likelihood of those fears becoming realized.
Overview: Media Law
THE PRESS, THE LAW, AND THE COURTS
A Free Press
Partially as a result of their colonial experiences, but also as a hedge against potential future abuses, the Constitution's framers enacted a specific Bill of Rights. In it, the First Amendment says in part, "Congress shall make no law . . . abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press." As simple and straightforward as that may sound, people and the courts have been arguing over its interpretation for over 200 years.
Prior Restraint
When the government attempts to censor the press by restraining the media before something is printed or broadcast, that's called prior restraint. Though attempts to do so have been rare, the courts have held that the First Amendment is not absolute; the government can, under certain cir-cumstances, restrain speech and the press, but the task of proving the necessity to do so is ex-tremely difficult. In most cases, the Supreme Court has sided firmly with the press.
The Near Case In the 1920s, the Minnesota legislature passed a law under which newspapers that were considered public nuisances could be curtailed by means of an injunction (an order from a court that requires somebody to do something or refrain from doing something). Even though the Minnesota law was designed, in part, to prevent press abuses against minorities, the Supreme Court held that good intentions did not supercede the greater danger of prior restraint.
The Pentagon Papers In the early 1970s the Nixon administration attempted to suppress a story set to run in the New York Times. The nine-part series, illegally leaked to the press, described a top secret Defense Department study which had been commissioned to research the roots of the Vietnam conflict. Citing that the report would "cause irreparable injury to [our] defense inter-ests," the Nixon administration successfully received an injunction against the Times to tempo-rarily prohibit publishing that story. For the first time in history, a U.S. newspaper had been or-dered to suppress a news story. Other papers (who by now also had copies of the report) began publishing the series; the administration countered with more injunctions, but very quickly the number of papers out paced the administration's ability to keep up with injunction orders.
The Supreme Court, with unprecedented haste, heard the case only 17 days after the initial story appeared in the Times. In a 9-0 vote, the Court said the government had not proven a sufficient and significant danger to national security that would justify the need for prior restraint. On the other hand, the Court didn't rule that prior restraint could never be applied, simply that this time the government had not shown sufficient cause to merit that action.
Subsequent cases involving the CIA successfully getting parts of a book deleted because it con-tained classified information, restrictions on news coverage during the Gulf War, and an attempt to ban a Business Week article because the material for that article came from sealed court docu-ments, have collectively shown the gray issue areas surrounding the First Amendment. Although there is a strong constitutional case against prior restraint of the press, significant unclear issues still exist wherein censorship might still be considered legal.
PROTECTING NEWS SOURCES
The press argues that if they are forced to disclose confidential sources, those sources will dry up and the public's right to know will be adversely affected. Government counters by citing it has a greater need to administer justice and to protect the rights of an individual to a fair trial.
The Reporter's Privilege
In the early 1970s the Supreme Court ruled that the First Amendment did not necessarily protect reporters from their obligation to testify before grand juries and to answer questions concerning a criminal investigation. The Court said that there were instances in which a reporter's claim to privilege could be valid. They also suggested that the states further define reporter rights by passing shield laws (legislation protecting a reporter from revealing his or her news sources). So far, 31 states have passed shield laws, but the differences between them and the variations in their interpretations have left these issues clouded and confused.
Search and Seizure
The ability to protect a reporter's notes and a newsroom's records from revealing a news source is also in a legal limbo. Here, the courts have offered even less protection. In response to the wide "fishing" net of a search warrant, Congress passed legislation in 1980 that required government to obtain a subpoena (an order to appear or present evidence) in order to obtain press records. A subpoena is more limited in focus than a warrant, and, more importantly, it can be challenged in the courts before being executed. These challenges suggest that reporters need to carefully con-sider potential problems before promising confidentiality to a news source.
COVERING THE COURTS
The Sixth Amendment guarantees a defendant the right to a trial before an impartial jury; on the other hand, the First Amendment guarantees freedom of the press. Trial judges are responsible for the administration of justice while reporters are responsible for informing the public about the workings of the legal system. Sometimes these responsibilities clash.
Publicity before and during a Trial
If a potential jury member has read, seen, or heard stories in the news media about a defendant that appears to indicate that person's guilt, it is possible that the defendant will not receive a fair trial. That's called pretrial publicity. In an effort to soften the conflict between the First and Sixth Amendment rights (sometimes called the Free Press/Fair Trial issue), the Supreme Court outlined safeguards which judges could use to protect a defendant's rights. Among them:
. sequestering the jury (physically isolating them from the public outside the courtroom)
. change of venue (moving the trial to another, presumably more objective, location)
. injunctions (prohibitions against making any potentially damaging statements made by
trial participants)
Gag Rules
Some judges have invoked restrictive orders, or gag orders, which restrain trial participants from giving out information to the media or restrain media coverage of events that occur in court. Press access to pre-trial proceedings, pre-trial evidence, jury selection, and even the ac-tual trial proceedings themselves has had a see-saw history of restriction and openness. In the 1980s, the Supreme Court reaffirmed the press’ right to open court access, but the Court also ruled that that judges theoretically could--using strict guidelines laid down by the Court--restrict press access if the situation warranted it.
Cameras and Microphones in the Courtroom
Still cameras, newsreel film, and radios first invaded the courts in the 1930s. Due in various part to the clumsiness and size of the equipment, the zeal of the reporters, and the inexperience of both the courts and the press with these communication systems, film and broadcast coverage became reminiscent of a circus. As a result, the American Bar Association adopted Canon 35 of its Canons of Professional Ethics, which suggested that courts bar film and broadcast in covering court proceedings. Soon after, most states did just that. Later, other court cases objected to the potential prejudice that TV coverage might produce, and it too became a court outcast.
Slowly, however, state-by-state, courtroom restrictions of AV materials have relaxed. By 1970, advances in technology and greater media experience re-opened the doors to the possibility of allowing video and audio court coverage. By 2000, only two states still prohibit film or broad-cast coverage under any circumstances. Broadcast coverage is, however, still prohibited in all federal criminal courts and in the Supreme Court of the United States.
REPORTER'S ACCESS TO INFORMATION
Government Information
After World War II, members of the press complained that government secrecy was becoming a major problem. Reporters were being restricted from official meetings, and access to govern-ment documents was often difficult to obtain. In response, Congress passed the 1966 Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), which gave the public the right--with some restrictions--to find out what the federal government was up to.
The law states that every federal executive-branch agency must publish instructions on what methods a member of the public should follow to get information. If information is improperly withheld, a court can force the agency to disclose what is sought. There are nine areas of ex-empted material such as trade secrets, criminal investigations, oil well maps, and IRS files.
In 1996, the Electronic Freedom of Information Act (EFOIA) was also passed to make more government information available on the Internet, although agencies have been slow to imple-ment all the requirements of the EFOIA.
Journalists, however, have not made extensive use of this law since getting the information is often a cumbersome and time-consuming process. But the FOIA has been used effectively in some investigative series where time wasn't an issue. Sunshine Acts, allowing press access to most government meetings--again, with some restrictions--have also helped further public access to government proceedings. As is usually the case, most states have adopted similar FOIA and Sunshine Acts to cover state and local government proceedings.
Access to News Scenes
A reporter's right to access a news scene, above and beyond the public's right to the same access, is still in the evolutionary stage of definitive court decisions. The Supreme Court has suggested the press has no more of an inherent right to news scenes or public facilities than does the public at large, or to put in another way, when the public is not admitted, neither is the press. State laws themselves vary widely in the interpretation of what are a reporter’s access limits.
DEFAMATION
The right of free speech and the rights of a free press sometimes come into conflict with the right of an individual to protect his or her reputation. These conflicts are dealt with under defamation law, which can be broken down into several areas:
. libel written defamation that tends to injure a person's reputation or good
name or that diminishes the esteem, respect, or goodwill due a person
. slander spoken defamation; broadcast defamation is often considered libelous
because the defamation usually has broader impact than a typical slander
case; libel is also considered a more serious offense than slander
. libel per se some words are always libelous; falsely written accusations, such as
labeling a person a "thief" or a "swindler" automatically constitutes libel
. libel per quod normally innocent words could be libelous under certain circumstances
Though each state has its own defamation definitions, the same general rules apply. For example, in order for someone to win a libel suit against the media, that person must prove five things:
1. that he or she has actually been defamed and harmed by the statements
2. that he or she has been identified (although not necessarily by name)
3. that the defamatory statements have been published
4. that the media were at fault
5. in most instances, that what was published or broadcast was false
In proving that the media is at fault, people suing for libel must generally also prove that the pur-ported defamatory statement is indeed false, so that virtually anyone who brings a libel suit must show the wrongfulness of what was published. But the media are responsible for whatever they report, and thus can’t hide behind the fact that they were only repeating what someone else said.
Defenses against Libel Suits
1. truth If what's been reported is true, defamation, by definition, has not occurred.
2. privilege The courts have held that in some situations, the public's right to know takes
precedence over a person's right to preserve a reputation. In common cases, like government or public proceedings, the press is protected as long as the reporter gives a fair and accurate report of those events, even if what’s reported contains a libelous statement.
3. fair comment Any person who voluntarily puts himself into the public eye or is at the
and criticism center of public attention is open to fair criticism. This applies only to fair
criticism, not misrepresentations of fact.
In 1964, the Supreme Court significantly loosened the potential restrictions on comments con-cerning public officials or public figures in the New York Times vs. Sullivan case. A civil rights group published an ad in the Times concerning a protest in Montgomery that Sullivan, an Ala-bama police official, claimed libeled him. Evidence revealed that several statements in the ad were indeed false. An Alabama court found in favor of Sullivan and awarded him $500,000; shortly thereafter, however, the Supreme Court overturned the decision and enumerated three major principles that would affect all future defamation decisions:
1. Editorial advertising is protected by the First Amendment.
2. Even false statements might qualify for First Amendment protection if they concern a
public official’s public conduct.
3. Public officials must prove that defamatory statements were made with actual malice.
Actual malice means publishing a statement with the knowledge that it was false or publishing a statement in "reckless disregard" of whether it was false or not. The Court noted the fact that being involved in a newsworthy event doesn't necessarily make a person a public figure. Private citizens however still need to show some degree of fault or negligence by the media. In many states this simply means showing that the media did not exercise ordinary care in carrying a story. People suing for defamation collect awards in one or both of two forms: actual damages (dollar damages the defamation actually cost them), and/or punitive damages, in which juries tend to award big fines with the intent of punishing media performance. With punitive damages, however, even a private citizen must show the media acted with actual malice.
Defamation and the Internet
A whole new medium often brings whole new problems. For example, should defamation on the Internet be treated as libel or slander? If someone sues you for defamation, should your ISP also be held liable for carrying your message? The answer to the first question rests largely on your own state’s laws; the answer to the second is leaning towards “no,” at least not if your ISP does not routinely and strictly monitor the posting areas it makes available to you.
INVASION OF PRIVACY
The Right to Privacy
A single defamation publication might often prompt two suits: libel and invasion of privacy. The difference between the two is that while libel protects a person's reputation, the right of privacy protects a person's peace of mind and feelings. Second, libel involves publication of false mate-rial; invasion of privacy might be triggered by disclosing the truth. There are four ways the me-dia can invade someone's privacy:
1. intruding upon a person's solitude or seclusion
2. unauthorized release of private information
3. publicizing people in a false light or creating a false impression of them
4. appropriation of a person's name or likeness for commercial purposes
Trespass
Trespassing is unauthorized entry onto somebody else's territory. If the question is, “Do jour-nalists have a special First Amendment privilege to break the law in pursuit of a legitimate news story that will advance the public interest?” recent court rulings suggest that the answer is “no.” In respect to the media, this area of the law has usually focused on the tactics of some reporters to gain entry onto private property using fraudulent methods, e.g., going undercover and pretend-ing to be somebody they really weren't in order to get pictures or story background. The Food Lion vs. ABC case in 1996 is a classic example.
COPYRIGHT
Copyright laws protect authors against unfair appropriation of their work. First enacted in 1909, the copyright laws were fundamentally amended in 1976 in response to emerging communica-tion technologies. The new laws protect such things as literary and dramatic manuscripts, music works, sound recordings, motion pictures, and TV programs. The law also specifies what is not covered, such as ideas, news, a discovery, or a procedure. For works created after January 1978, copyrights last for the life of the author plus 70 years; works created before then are protected for a period of 95 years. Copyright protection extends only to copying the work in question; works that are similar, though not copied or based on the original, are not copyright infringements.
Someone can, however, use portions of a copyrighted work under the law's fair use provisions; such uses might include teaching purposes, research, news reporting, and critical reviews. To qualify for protection under fair use laws, these four factors are considered:
1. the purpose of the use (profit vs. non-profit)
2. the nature of the copyrighted work
3. the amount reproduced in proportion to the copyrighted work as a whole
4. the effect of the use on the potential market value of the copyrighted work
In the famous Betamax case, the Supreme Court ruled that viewers who owned VCRs could copy programs off the air for later viewing (timeshifting) since it constituted fair use of the material.
Copyright law does apply to the Internet, a 1995 presidential task force concluding that copying materials from the Internet is a form of reproduction that is protected by current copyright laws.
OBSCENITY AND PORNOGRAPHY
This area of the law revolves around the rights of free speech under the First Amendment when they come into conflict with the right of society to protect itself from what it considers harmful messages. Although obscenity is clearly not protected by the law, the courts have been unable to adequately define what actually constitutes obscenity.
Obscenity laws began with the 1860’s Hicklin Rule, in which its guidelines judged a book to be obscene by whether isolated passages had a tendency to deprave or corrupt the mind of the most susceptible person.
In 1957 the Supreme Court attempted to redefine the definition of obscenity in its Roth v. United States ruling. Those guidelines mandated that something was obscene if, “to the average person, applying contemporary standards, the dominate theme of the material taken as a whole appeals to prurient interests.” Later, other decisions added refinements by saying that the material had to be “patently offensive” and “utterly without redeeming social value” to be obscene. A 1969 ruling came up with the concept of variable obscenity when it stated that certain magazines were ob-scene when sold to minors but not obscene when sold to adults.
In 1973 the Court tried to close up the obscenity loophole when it adjudicated the Miller v. Cali-fornia case. The new test added these new principles:
1. whether the average person, applying contemporary community standards, would find that
the work as a whole appeals to prurient interest
2. whether the work depicts or describes in a patently offensive way certain sexual conduct
that is specifically spelled out by state law
3. whether the work as a whole lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value.
Despite the attempts at clarification, and the indirect suggestion that obscenity problems be han-dled on a local level, the problem of defining pornography to everyone’s satisfaction continues. The Internet, of course, brings on a whole new set of legal issues in terms of creating, defining, and distributing pornographic materials. While the Court agrees that child pornography is not something protected under the First Amendment, it’s also ruled that the Internet should be given the highest level of first Amendment protection, similar to that given to books and newspapers, rather than the more limited rights of broadcasting and cable where regulation is more common.
REGULATING BROADCASTS
Because the public owns the airwaves, the government decides who gets a license to broadcast over certain frequencies on behalf of the public interest, and whether or not, after a time, they can renew that license. The broadcast media, therefore, are subject to more regulations than the print media.
The Federal Communication Commission
The governing body, the FCC, does not make the laws but rather interprets them. One of its big-gest jobs is to continually interpret the concept of “operating within the public interest.” One of its responsibilities is to examine programming and determine whether public interest is being served, not just from a technical standpoint, but also from perspective of a well-rounded program lineup. The Federal Radio Commission, forerunner to the FCC, ruled in its 1929 Great Lakes decision that the broadcasting of programs that tended to injure the public--fraudulent advertis-ing, attacks on ethnic groups, attacks on religion--would not be considered in the public interest.
A 1960 FCC policy introduced the idea of localism, contending that programs featuring local talent and aimed at local self-expression are necessary elements in serving the public interest.
In regulating stations, the FCC can make its influence felt in a number of ways. From the mild-est to the most severe levels it can, for example:
. fine a station up to $250,000
. put a license renewal on probation, usually a year
. revoke or fail to renew a license
The last step is rarely taken; from 1934 to 1978, only 142 licenses were revoked. Some 99.8 percent of all licenses are renewed.
While rules relaxed during the deregulatory period of the 1980s, regulations began to increase in the 1990s. For example, Congress recently passed the Children’s Television Act, which among other things limits the amount of commercial time for children’s programs and also man-dates that TV stations devote at least three hours of informational and educational programming for children each week.
Indecent Content
Congress, the courts, and the FCC have had a difficult time trying to find a compromise between protecting the principles of the First Amendment while also protecting children from accidental exposure to indecent content aired on radio and television. Several time periods that banned in-decent content were tried, but the one that stuck is the one that now bans broadcasters from air-ing potentially indecent content between 6 a.m. to 10 p.m.
The Equal Opportunities Rule
The Equal Opportunities rule states that if a station permits one candidate for a specific office to appear on the air, it must offer the same opportunity to all other candidates for that office. If a station gives one person or party free time, other qualifying persons or parties must also get the same amount of free time. The single exception, which creates the loophole for presidential de-bates, is that networks can cover debates limited to leading candidates because it’s defined as a “news” event.
The Fairness Doctrine
Now void, the Fairness Doctrine nonetheless continues to pop up for serious reinstatement con-sideration from time to time. When it was in effect, it said that broadcasters had to seek out, and make a good faith effort at presenting, opposing viewpoints on matters of public importance.
REGULATING CABLE TV
Congress and a few presidential administrations have demanded on-again, off-again regulations to govern the TV cable industry. The latest regulations arose because of widespread consumer complaints against rising fees and poor service; in response, Congress passed the Cable TVAct of 1992, which re-instated the FCC’s power to regulate cable fees and services. Two provisions of this act had important consequences.
First, most consumers saw their monthly cable rates go down. The second effect was in response to an industry challenge to overturn the rule that required it to carry the signals of local broadcast stations. The Supreme Court held that Congress could pass laws which guaranteed that the free flow of information not be restricted by a private firm that controlled the means of transmission.
THE TELECOMMUNICATIONS ACT OF 1996
The Telecommunications Act of 1996 was the first major overhaul of communication laws in more than 60 years, and it affected every industry regulated by the FCC. Some of the law’s key provisions are:
. no limit on total number of radio or TV stations that can be owned by one person or com-pany, provided that no more than eight stations may be owned in a single market
. no limit on the number of TV stations that can be owned as long as that number doesn’t
reach more than 35 percent of the nation’s TV households
. extended the term of broadcast licenses to eight years
. allowed telephone companies to enter the cable field
. allowed cable companies to enter the telephone business
. deregulated the rates of many cable systems
. mandated that new TV sets come with the ability to block programs with strong sexual or
violent content (the so-called V-Chip)
. mandated that the TV industry to come up with a voluntary system to rate programs with
violent, sexual, or indecent content
Though the TV and cable industries created a rating system, and then amended it later because of public pressure, the new system is confusing and applied sporadically, if at all.
REGULATING ADVERTISING
When the Federal Trade Commission was started in 1914, its first mission was to curtail ques-tionable business practices such as bribery, false advertising, and product mislabeling. Protect-ing consumer rights came later in 1938 with the passage of the Wheeler-Lea Act which gave the FTC the power to prevent deceptive advertising that harmed the public, reversing the long-held market place concept of caveat emptor, or “let the buyer beware”.
The FTC can issue trade regulations, which outline guidelines for an industry to follow. It can also use consent orders, in which the advertiser agrees to halt a certain advertising practice, al-though without admitting any violation of the law. Somewhat stronger, a cease-and-desist order arises from a formal FTC hearing in which it’s determined that a particular advertising practice does indeed violate the law. Failing to stop that practice can lead to FTC imposed fines.
The FTC has also occasionally required companies to issue corrective advertising, in which po-tentially misleading claims need to be clarified. The FTC also stopped advertisements that tar-geted children when the products advertised were deemed harmful to children, the R. J. Rey-nolds’ “Joe Camel” campaign being one of the more recent examples.
Commercial Free Speech Under the First Amendment
For many years the Supreme Court did not view advertising (a.k.a. commercial speech) as hav-ing any First Amendment protection. The 1964 New York Times vs. Sullivan case extended a new protection, however, to advertising that dealt with important social matters. More recent cases suggest that in many instances commercial speech falls under the constitutional protection, and in 1980 the Court outlined a four-part test for determining that protection:
1. Not protected is any commercial speech that involves an unlawful activity or advertising that is false or misleading.
2. The government must have a substantial interest in regulating the commercial speech.
3. The government’s regulation must actually advance the involved interests of the state.
4. The state’s regulations may be only as broad as necessary to promote the state’s interests.
A Free Press
Partially as a result of their colonial experiences, but also as a hedge against potential future abuses, the Constitution's framers enacted a specific Bill of Rights. In it, the First Amendment says in part, "Congress shall make no law . . . abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press." As simple and straightforward as that may sound, people and the courts have been arguing over its interpretation for over 200 years.
Prior Restraint
When the government attempts to censor the press by restraining the media before something is printed or broadcast, that's called prior restraint. Though attempts to do so have been rare, the courts have held that the First Amendment is not absolute; the government can, under certain cir-cumstances, restrain speech and the press, but the task of proving the necessity to do so is ex-tremely difficult. In most cases, the Supreme Court has sided firmly with the press.
The Near Case In the 1920s, the Minnesota legislature passed a law under which newspapers that were considered public nuisances could be curtailed by means of an injunction (an order from a court that requires somebody to do something or refrain from doing something). Even though the Minnesota law was designed, in part, to prevent press abuses against minorities, the Supreme Court held that good intentions did not supercede the greater danger of prior restraint.
The Pentagon Papers In the early 1970s the Nixon administration attempted to suppress a story set to run in the New York Times. The nine-part series, illegally leaked to the press, described a top secret Defense Department study which had been commissioned to research the roots of the Vietnam conflict. Citing that the report would "cause irreparable injury to [our] defense inter-ests," the Nixon administration successfully received an injunction against the Times to tempo-rarily prohibit publishing that story. For the first time in history, a U.S. newspaper had been or-dered to suppress a news story. Other papers (who by now also had copies of the report) began publishing the series; the administration countered with more injunctions, but very quickly the number of papers out paced the administration's ability to keep up with injunction orders.
The Supreme Court, with unprecedented haste, heard the case only 17 days after the initial story appeared in the Times. In a 9-0 vote, the Court said the government had not proven a sufficient and significant danger to national security that would justify the need for prior restraint. On the other hand, the Court didn't rule that prior restraint could never be applied, simply that this time the government had not shown sufficient cause to merit that action.
Subsequent cases involving the CIA successfully getting parts of a book deleted because it con-tained classified information, restrictions on news coverage during the Gulf War, and an attempt to ban a Business Week article because the material for that article came from sealed court docu-ments, have collectively shown the gray issue areas surrounding the First Amendment. Although there is a strong constitutional case against prior restraint of the press, significant unclear issues still exist wherein censorship might still be considered legal.
PROTECTING NEWS SOURCES
The press argues that if they are forced to disclose confidential sources, those sources will dry up and the public's right to know will be adversely affected. Government counters by citing it has a greater need to administer justice and to protect the rights of an individual to a fair trial.
The Reporter's Privilege
In the early 1970s the Supreme Court ruled that the First Amendment did not necessarily protect reporters from their obligation to testify before grand juries and to answer questions concerning a criminal investigation. The Court said that there were instances in which a reporter's claim to privilege could be valid. They also suggested that the states further define reporter rights by passing shield laws (legislation protecting a reporter from revealing his or her news sources). So far, 31 states have passed shield laws, but the differences between them and the variations in their interpretations have left these issues clouded and confused.
Search and Seizure
The ability to protect a reporter's notes and a newsroom's records from revealing a news source is also in a legal limbo. Here, the courts have offered even less protection. In response to the wide "fishing" net of a search warrant, Congress passed legislation in 1980 that required government to obtain a subpoena (an order to appear or present evidence) in order to obtain press records. A subpoena is more limited in focus than a warrant, and, more importantly, it can be challenged in the courts before being executed. These challenges suggest that reporters need to carefully con-sider potential problems before promising confidentiality to a news source.
COVERING THE COURTS
The Sixth Amendment guarantees a defendant the right to a trial before an impartial jury; on the other hand, the First Amendment guarantees freedom of the press. Trial judges are responsible for the administration of justice while reporters are responsible for informing the public about the workings of the legal system. Sometimes these responsibilities clash.
Publicity before and during a Trial
If a potential jury member has read, seen, or heard stories in the news media about a defendant that appears to indicate that person's guilt, it is possible that the defendant will not receive a fair trial. That's called pretrial publicity. In an effort to soften the conflict between the First and Sixth Amendment rights (sometimes called the Free Press/Fair Trial issue), the Supreme Court outlined safeguards which judges could use to protect a defendant's rights. Among them:
. sequestering the jury (physically isolating them from the public outside the courtroom)
. change of venue (moving the trial to another, presumably more objective, location)
. injunctions (prohibitions against making any potentially damaging statements made by
trial participants)
Gag Rules
Some judges have invoked restrictive orders, or gag orders, which restrain trial participants from giving out information to the media or restrain media coverage of events that occur in court. Press access to pre-trial proceedings, pre-trial evidence, jury selection, and even the ac-tual trial proceedings themselves has had a see-saw history of restriction and openness. In the 1980s, the Supreme Court reaffirmed the press’ right to open court access, but the Court also ruled that that judges theoretically could--using strict guidelines laid down by the Court--restrict press access if the situation warranted it.
Cameras and Microphones in the Courtroom
Still cameras, newsreel film, and radios first invaded the courts in the 1930s. Due in various part to the clumsiness and size of the equipment, the zeal of the reporters, and the inexperience of both the courts and the press with these communication systems, film and broadcast coverage became reminiscent of a circus. As a result, the American Bar Association adopted Canon 35 of its Canons of Professional Ethics, which suggested that courts bar film and broadcast in covering court proceedings. Soon after, most states did just that. Later, other court cases objected to the potential prejudice that TV coverage might produce, and it too became a court outcast.
Slowly, however, state-by-state, courtroom restrictions of AV materials have relaxed. By 1970, advances in technology and greater media experience re-opened the doors to the possibility of allowing video and audio court coverage. By 2000, only two states still prohibit film or broad-cast coverage under any circumstances. Broadcast coverage is, however, still prohibited in all federal criminal courts and in the Supreme Court of the United States.
REPORTER'S ACCESS TO INFORMATION
Government Information
After World War II, members of the press complained that government secrecy was becoming a major problem. Reporters were being restricted from official meetings, and access to govern-ment documents was often difficult to obtain. In response, Congress passed the 1966 Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), which gave the public the right--with some restrictions--to find out what the federal government was up to.
The law states that every federal executive-branch agency must publish instructions on what methods a member of the public should follow to get information. If information is improperly withheld, a court can force the agency to disclose what is sought. There are nine areas of ex-empted material such as trade secrets, criminal investigations, oil well maps, and IRS files.
In 1996, the Electronic Freedom of Information Act (EFOIA) was also passed to make more government information available on the Internet, although agencies have been slow to imple-ment all the requirements of the EFOIA.
Journalists, however, have not made extensive use of this law since getting the information is often a cumbersome and time-consuming process. But the FOIA has been used effectively in some investigative series where time wasn't an issue. Sunshine Acts, allowing press access to most government meetings--again, with some restrictions--have also helped further public access to government proceedings. As is usually the case, most states have adopted similar FOIA and Sunshine Acts to cover state and local government proceedings.
Access to News Scenes
A reporter's right to access a news scene, above and beyond the public's right to the same access, is still in the evolutionary stage of definitive court decisions. The Supreme Court has suggested the press has no more of an inherent right to news scenes or public facilities than does the public at large, or to put in another way, when the public is not admitted, neither is the press. State laws themselves vary widely in the interpretation of what are a reporter’s access limits.
DEFAMATION
The right of free speech and the rights of a free press sometimes come into conflict with the right of an individual to protect his or her reputation. These conflicts are dealt with under defamation law, which can be broken down into several areas:
. libel written defamation that tends to injure a person's reputation or good
name or that diminishes the esteem, respect, or goodwill due a person
. slander spoken defamation; broadcast defamation is often considered libelous
because the defamation usually has broader impact than a typical slander
case; libel is also considered a more serious offense than slander
. libel per se some words are always libelous; falsely written accusations, such as
labeling a person a "thief" or a "swindler" automatically constitutes libel
. libel per quod normally innocent words could be libelous under certain circumstances
Though each state has its own defamation definitions, the same general rules apply. For example, in order for someone to win a libel suit against the media, that person must prove five things:
1. that he or she has actually been defamed and harmed by the statements
2. that he or she has been identified (although not necessarily by name)
3. that the defamatory statements have been published
4. that the media were at fault
5. in most instances, that what was published or broadcast was false
In proving that the media is at fault, people suing for libel must generally also prove that the pur-ported defamatory statement is indeed false, so that virtually anyone who brings a libel suit must show the wrongfulness of what was published. But the media are responsible for whatever they report, and thus can’t hide behind the fact that they were only repeating what someone else said.
Defenses against Libel Suits
1. truth If what's been reported is true, defamation, by definition, has not occurred.
2. privilege The courts have held that in some situations, the public's right to know takes
precedence over a person's right to preserve a reputation. In common cases, like government or public proceedings, the press is protected as long as the reporter gives a fair and accurate report of those events, even if what’s reported contains a libelous statement.
3. fair comment Any person who voluntarily puts himself into the public eye or is at the
and criticism center of public attention is open to fair criticism. This applies only to fair
criticism, not misrepresentations of fact.
In 1964, the Supreme Court significantly loosened the potential restrictions on comments con-cerning public officials or public figures in the New York Times vs. Sullivan case. A civil rights group published an ad in the Times concerning a protest in Montgomery that Sullivan, an Ala-bama police official, claimed libeled him. Evidence revealed that several statements in the ad were indeed false. An Alabama court found in favor of Sullivan and awarded him $500,000; shortly thereafter, however, the Supreme Court overturned the decision and enumerated three major principles that would affect all future defamation decisions:
1. Editorial advertising is protected by the First Amendment.
2. Even false statements might qualify for First Amendment protection if they concern a
public official’s public conduct.
3. Public officials must prove that defamatory statements were made with actual malice.
Actual malice means publishing a statement with the knowledge that it was false or publishing a statement in "reckless disregard" of whether it was false or not. The Court noted the fact that being involved in a newsworthy event doesn't necessarily make a person a public figure. Private citizens however still need to show some degree of fault or negligence by the media. In many states this simply means showing that the media did not exercise ordinary care in carrying a story. People suing for defamation collect awards in one or both of two forms: actual damages (dollar damages the defamation actually cost them), and/or punitive damages, in which juries tend to award big fines with the intent of punishing media performance. With punitive damages, however, even a private citizen must show the media acted with actual malice.
Defamation and the Internet
A whole new medium often brings whole new problems. For example, should defamation on the Internet be treated as libel or slander? If someone sues you for defamation, should your ISP also be held liable for carrying your message? The answer to the first question rests largely on your own state’s laws; the answer to the second is leaning towards “no,” at least not if your ISP does not routinely and strictly monitor the posting areas it makes available to you.
INVASION OF PRIVACY
The Right to Privacy
A single defamation publication might often prompt two suits: libel and invasion of privacy. The difference between the two is that while libel protects a person's reputation, the right of privacy protects a person's peace of mind and feelings. Second, libel involves publication of false mate-rial; invasion of privacy might be triggered by disclosing the truth. There are four ways the me-dia can invade someone's privacy:
1. intruding upon a person's solitude or seclusion
2. unauthorized release of private information
3. publicizing people in a false light or creating a false impression of them
4. appropriation of a person's name or likeness for commercial purposes
Trespass
Trespassing is unauthorized entry onto somebody else's territory. If the question is, “Do jour-nalists have a special First Amendment privilege to break the law in pursuit of a legitimate news story that will advance the public interest?” recent court rulings suggest that the answer is “no.” In respect to the media, this area of the law has usually focused on the tactics of some reporters to gain entry onto private property using fraudulent methods, e.g., going undercover and pretend-ing to be somebody they really weren't in order to get pictures or story background. The Food Lion vs. ABC case in 1996 is a classic example.
COPYRIGHT
Copyright laws protect authors against unfair appropriation of their work. First enacted in 1909, the copyright laws were fundamentally amended in 1976 in response to emerging communica-tion technologies. The new laws protect such things as literary and dramatic manuscripts, music works, sound recordings, motion pictures, and TV programs. The law also specifies what is not covered, such as ideas, news, a discovery, or a procedure. For works created after January 1978, copyrights last for the life of the author plus 70 years; works created before then are protected for a period of 95 years. Copyright protection extends only to copying the work in question; works that are similar, though not copied or based on the original, are not copyright infringements.
Someone can, however, use portions of a copyrighted work under the law's fair use provisions; such uses might include teaching purposes, research, news reporting, and critical reviews. To qualify for protection under fair use laws, these four factors are considered:
1. the purpose of the use (profit vs. non-profit)
2. the nature of the copyrighted work
3. the amount reproduced in proportion to the copyrighted work as a whole
4. the effect of the use on the potential market value of the copyrighted work
In the famous Betamax case, the Supreme Court ruled that viewers who owned VCRs could copy programs off the air for later viewing (timeshifting) since it constituted fair use of the material.
Copyright law does apply to the Internet, a 1995 presidential task force concluding that copying materials from the Internet is a form of reproduction that is protected by current copyright laws.
OBSCENITY AND PORNOGRAPHY
This area of the law revolves around the rights of free speech under the First Amendment when they come into conflict with the right of society to protect itself from what it considers harmful messages. Although obscenity is clearly not protected by the law, the courts have been unable to adequately define what actually constitutes obscenity.
Obscenity laws began with the 1860’s Hicklin Rule, in which its guidelines judged a book to be obscene by whether isolated passages had a tendency to deprave or corrupt the mind of the most susceptible person.
In 1957 the Supreme Court attempted to redefine the definition of obscenity in its Roth v. United States ruling. Those guidelines mandated that something was obscene if, “to the average person, applying contemporary standards, the dominate theme of the material taken as a whole appeals to prurient interests.” Later, other decisions added refinements by saying that the material had to be “patently offensive” and “utterly without redeeming social value” to be obscene. A 1969 ruling came up with the concept of variable obscenity when it stated that certain magazines were ob-scene when sold to minors but not obscene when sold to adults.
In 1973 the Court tried to close up the obscenity loophole when it adjudicated the Miller v. Cali-fornia case. The new test added these new principles:
1. whether the average person, applying contemporary community standards, would find that
the work as a whole appeals to prurient interest
2. whether the work depicts or describes in a patently offensive way certain sexual conduct
that is specifically spelled out by state law
3. whether the work as a whole lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value.
Despite the attempts at clarification, and the indirect suggestion that obscenity problems be han-dled on a local level, the problem of defining pornography to everyone’s satisfaction continues. The Internet, of course, brings on a whole new set of legal issues in terms of creating, defining, and distributing pornographic materials. While the Court agrees that child pornography is not something protected under the First Amendment, it’s also ruled that the Internet should be given the highest level of first Amendment protection, similar to that given to books and newspapers, rather than the more limited rights of broadcasting and cable where regulation is more common.
REGULATING BROADCASTS
Because the public owns the airwaves, the government decides who gets a license to broadcast over certain frequencies on behalf of the public interest, and whether or not, after a time, they can renew that license. The broadcast media, therefore, are subject to more regulations than the print media.
The Federal Communication Commission
The governing body, the FCC, does not make the laws but rather interprets them. One of its big-gest jobs is to continually interpret the concept of “operating within the public interest.” One of its responsibilities is to examine programming and determine whether public interest is being served, not just from a technical standpoint, but also from perspective of a well-rounded program lineup. The Federal Radio Commission, forerunner to the FCC, ruled in its 1929 Great Lakes decision that the broadcasting of programs that tended to injure the public--fraudulent advertis-ing, attacks on ethnic groups, attacks on religion--would not be considered in the public interest.
A 1960 FCC policy introduced the idea of localism, contending that programs featuring local talent and aimed at local self-expression are necessary elements in serving the public interest.
In regulating stations, the FCC can make its influence felt in a number of ways. From the mild-est to the most severe levels it can, for example:
. fine a station up to $250,000
. put a license renewal on probation, usually a year
. revoke or fail to renew a license
The last step is rarely taken; from 1934 to 1978, only 142 licenses were revoked. Some 99.8 percent of all licenses are renewed.
While rules relaxed during the deregulatory period of the 1980s, regulations began to increase in the 1990s. For example, Congress recently passed the Children’s Television Act, which among other things limits the amount of commercial time for children’s programs and also man-dates that TV stations devote at least three hours of informational and educational programming for children each week.
Indecent Content
Congress, the courts, and the FCC have had a difficult time trying to find a compromise between protecting the principles of the First Amendment while also protecting children from accidental exposure to indecent content aired on radio and television. Several time periods that banned in-decent content were tried, but the one that stuck is the one that now bans broadcasters from air-ing potentially indecent content between 6 a.m. to 10 p.m.
The Equal Opportunities Rule
The Equal Opportunities rule states that if a station permits one candidate for a specific office to appear on the air, it must offer the same opportunity to all other candidates for that office. If a station gives one person or party free time, other qualifying persons or parties must also get the same amount of free time. The single exception, which creates the loophole for presidential de-bates, is that networks can cover debates limited to leading candidates because it’s defined as a “news” event.
The Fairness Doctrine
Now void, the Fairness Doctrine nonetheless continues to pop up for serious reinstatement con-sideration from time to time. When it was in effect, it said that broadcasters had to seek out, and make a good faith effort at presenting, opposing viewpoints on matters of public importance.
REGULATING CABLE TV
Congress and a few presidential administrations have demanded on-again, off-again regulations to govern the TV cable industry. The latest regulations arose because of widespread consumer complaints against rising fees and poor service; in response, Congress passed the Cable TVAct of 1992, which re-instated the FCC’s power to regulate cable fees and services. Two provisions of this act had important consequences.
First, most consumers saw their monthly cable rates go down. The second effect was in response to an industry challenge to overturn the rule that required it to carry the signals of local broadcast stations. The Supreme Court held that Congress could pass laws which guaranteed that the free flow of information not be restricted by a private firm that controlled the means of transmission.
THE TELECOMMUNICATIONS ACT OF 1996
The Telecommunications Act of 1996 was the first major overhaul of communication laws in more than 60 years, and it affected every industry regulated by the FCC. Some of the law’s key provisions are:
. no limit on total number of radio or TV stations that can be owned by one person or com-pany, provided that no more than eight stations may be owned in a single market
. no limit on the number of TV stations that can be owned as long as that number doesn’t
reach more than 35 percent of the nation’s TV households
. extended the term of broadcast licenses to eight years
. allowed telephone companies to enter the cable field
. allowed cable companies to enter the telephone business
. deregulated the rates of many cable systems
. mandated that new TV sets come with the ability to block programs with strong sexual or
violent content (the so-called V-Chip)
. mandated that the TV industry to come up with a voluntary system to rate programs with
violent, sexual, or indecent content
Though the TV and cable industries created a rating system, and then amended it later because of public pressure, the new system is confusing and applied sporadically, if at all.
REGULATING ADVERTISING
When the Federal Trade Commission was started in 1914, its first mission was to curtail ques-tionable business practices such as bribery, false advertising, and product mislabeling. Protect-ing consumer rights came later in 1938 with the passage of the Wheeler-Lea Act which gave the FTC the power to prevent deceptive advertising that harmed the public, reversing the long-held market place concept of caveat emptor, or “let the buyer beware”.
The FTC can issue trade regulations, which outline guidelines for an industry to follow. It can also use consent orders, in which the advertiser agrees to halt a certain advertising practice, al-though without admitting any violation of the law. Somewhat stronger, a cease-and-desist order arises from a formal FTC hearing in which it’s determined that a particular advertising practice does indeed violate the law. Failing to stop that practice can lead to FTC imposed fines.
The FTC has also occasionally required companies to issue corrective advertising, in which po-tentially misleading claims need to be clarified. The FTC also stopped advertisements that tar-geted children when the products advertised were deemed harmful to children, the R. J. Rey-nolds’ “Joe Camel” campaign being one of the more recent examples.
Commercial Free Speech Under the First Amendment
For many years the Supreme Court did not view advertising (a.k.a. commercial speech) as hav-ing any First Amendment protection. The 1964 New York Times vs. Sullivan case extended a new protection, however, to advertising that dealt with important social matters. More recent cases suggest that in many instances commercial speech falls under the constitutional protection, and in 1980 the Court outlined a four-part test for determining that protection:
1. Not protected is any commercial speech that involves an unlawful activity or advertising that is false or misleading.
2. The government must have a substantial interest in regulating the commercial speech.
3. The government’s regulation must actually advance the involved interests of the state.
4. The state’s regulations may be only as broad as necessary to promote the state’s interests.
Won't be online 'til later this afternoon...
Greetings,
I have a school function that I need to attend (my kids don't get out of school until this Friday).
Consequently, I won't be online until later this afternoon.
Just wanted to let you know...
Jack
I have a school function that I need to attend (my kids don't get out of school until this Friday).
Consequently, I won't be online until later this afternoon.
Just wanted to let you know...
Jack
Friday, June 19, 2009
Reminder about projects...
Hi,
If you're creating a blog for your project, please remember to invite me to read it using my gmail address (jackpowers2@gmail.com).
If you're completing a video project, just post it to YouTube (or email it to me if you know how to compress it so that it's small enough to be emailed).
I believe that covers all the projects. If yours doesn't fit into one of those two groups, send me an email and we'll make arrangements.
Peace,
Jack
If you're creating a blog for your project, please remember to invite me to read it using my gmail address (jackpowers2@gmail.com).
If you're completing a video project, just post it to YouTube (or email it to me if you know how to compress it so that it's small enough to be emailed).
I believe that covers all the projects. If yours doesn't fit into one of those two groups, send me an email and we'll make arrangements.
Peace,
Jack
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Blog Entry #7 (PR and Adv.)
For your 7th blog entry, briefly outline the steps to both a typical advertising campaign and a PR campaign.
Then, and this is the fun part, pick one of the two (PR or advertising) and briefly write up what you would do if you were the director in charge of a new campaign for Diet-Pepsi (advertising), or Exxon-Mobil (PR).
In other words, step-by-step, indicate what you would do...
Post your blog reactions as comments here.
Jack
Then, and this is the fun part, pick one of the two (PR or advertising) and briefly write up what you would do if you were the director in charge of a new campaign for Diet-Pepsi (advertising), or Exxon-Mobil (PR).
In other words, step-by-step, indicate what you would do...
Post your blog reactions as comments here.
Jack
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
A word about the projects...
Hi--
If you're writing any kind of investigative report (journalistic) for your final project (and I know that at least three of you are), here's what you need to know:
-- You have an option of writing either 1) an extended 1000-1250-word piece, or 2) 2-4 smaller pieces that collectively add up to about 1000-1250 words. (Most magazine pieces are 750-1500 words-- that's why we're going with that length).
-- Also, the piece needs to be something for the online environment, so I'd like for you to create a blog for the project. Feel free to play around with the tools available at blogspot.com to make it aesthetically pleasing (include graphics, photos, perhaps embed a YouTube clip, if appropriate, and so on). Make sure you set up the blog so that it is NOT searchable and NOT listed in the list of available blogs. After it's completed and set up, then we can let it "go live."
-- Under the "permissions" tab, set up your blog so that only invited readers can read it. Then invite me using my gmail address (jackpowers2@gmail.com).
-- When putting together the piece, examine the info posted (or in your text) about news values. Make sure that your story fits at least one of those values. You'll need to identify the values most appropriate for your story (or stories) in an abstract included at the top of your blog (not actually part of your story). That abstract will also briefly explain why you chose the topic you did, who your potential audience is, and the steps you took to write the piece.
-- Your piece will need to have at least five sources. These can be authoritarian (officials, experts, etc.), references to other published works ("according to a report by The Kaiser Foundation..."), and individuals involved (college students, person-on-the-street, those with a compelling story, and so on). You need to have at least one type of each source (so you can't have just 5 college students, for example).
Let me know if you have any specific questions!
Peace,
Jack
If you're writing any kind of investigative report (journalistic) for your final project (and I know that at least three of you are), here's what you need to know:
-- You have an option of writing either 1) an extended 1000-1250-word piece, or 2) 2-4 smaller pieces that collectively add up to about 1000-1250 words. (Most magazine pieces are 750-1500 words-- that's why we're going with that length).
-- Also, the piece needs to be something for the online environment, so I'd like for you to create a blog for the project. Feel free to play around with the tools available at blogspot.com to make it aesthetically pleasing (include graphics, photos, perhaps embed a YouTube clip, if appropriate, and so on). Make sure you set up the blog so that it is NOT searchable and NOT listed in the list of available blogs. After it's completed and set up, then we can let it "go live."
-- Under the "permissions" tab, set up your blog so that only invited readers can read it. Then invite me using my gmail address (jackpowers2@gmail.com).
-- When putting together the piece, examine the info posted (or in your text) about news values. Make sure that your story fits at least one of those values. You'll need to identify the values most appropriate for your story (or stories) in an abstract included at the top of your blog (not actually part of your story). That abstract will also briefly explain why you chose the topic you did, who your potential audience is, and the steps you took to write the piece.
-- Your piece will need to have at least five sources. These can be authoritarian (officials, experts, etc.), references to other published works ("according to a report by The Kaiser Foundation..."), and individuals involved (college students, person-on-the-street, those with a compelling story, and so on). You need to have at least one type of each source (so you can't have just 5 college students, for example).
Let me know if you have any specific questions!
Peace,
Jack
Monday, June 15, 2009
Posted the video in the wrong order...
Lol.
Obviously, you'll need to watch the video in order...
Start with the first, then go to 2 of 5, 3 of 5, and so on...
Sorry that you have to work backwards...
For the blog entry (due Wednesday), I want you to watch the video and write a reaction to it. Do you agree with the thesis that whether or not you play video games, they are changing our lives? Why or why not?
What video games do you play now? How 'bout as a child? Where do you think the future of video games is headed?
Can you imagine a future where the lines between fictional programming and video game playing are blurred? Why or why not?
Peace,
Jack
Obviously, you'll need to watch the video in order...
Start with the first, then go to 2 of 5, 3 of 5, and so on...
Sorry that you have to work backwards...
For the blog entry (due Wednesday), I want you to watch the video and write a reaction to it. Do you agree with the thesis that whether or not you play video games, they are changing our lives? Why or why not?
What video games do you play now? How 'bout as a child? Where do you think the future of video games is headed?
Can you imagine a future where the lines between fictional programming and video game playing are blurred? Why or why not?
Peace,
Jack
"Gamer Generation" Video
For your next blog entry, I'd like you to watch the opening episode of the Discovery Channel's "Gamer Generation."
I've embedded the YouTube links here:
I've embedded the YouTube links here:
Advertising Overview
Advertising Overview
__________________________________________________________________
DEFINING ADVERTISING
Simply defined, advertising is any form of non-personal presentation and promotion of ideas, goods, and services usually paid for by an identified sponsor. Note the key words in italics.
Functions of Advertising
Advertising fulfills four basic functions in society:
. serves as a marketing function (helps companies sell products or services)
. advertising is educational (people learn about new or improved products or services)
. advertising plays an economic role (encourages new competition and lower prices)
. it performs a social function (helps increase productivity and raises the standard of living)
Types of Advertising
Advertising can be classified in several ways:
. target audience the specific audience for whom a product or service has an appeal
. consumer advertising targeted at the people who buy goods and services for personal use
. business-to-business aimed at people who buy products for business use
. geographic focus targets international, national, regional, or local audiences
. purpose advertising designed to accomplish a distinct goal
. primary demand promotes product category rather than a specific brand
. selective demand used to promote a particular product or service brand
. direct action ad promotes direct, short-term feedback (phone number, coupon, etc.)
. indirect action ad promotes long-term brand recognition and consumer awareness
Advertising is part of the overall marketing process. Broadly defined, marketing consists of the development, pricing, distribution, and promotion of ideas, goods and services. Advertising is only part of the general promotion process
A BRIEF HISTORY OF ADVERTISING
Advertising roots disappear in the mist of history, although we can recognize the first serious and repeated attempts at advertising shortly after Gutenberg’s invention of moveable type. The first examples came in the forms of posters, handbills, and newspaper ads. Most early newspaper ads, regardless of the product or service being promoted, looked somewhat like today’s classified ads.
With the advent of mass production in the 1800s came the parallel needs for mass consumption and mass markets. This consumer evolution became most apparent immediately following the Civil War. In little more than three decades:
. the railroad linked all parts of the country together (and manufacturers with consumers)
. the US population doubled between 1870-1900 (more consumers)
. the advent of new communication media (telephone, typewriter, high-speed printing press,
motion pictures, national magazines, photography, and rural mail delivery)
. in an age of prosperity, people had more disposable income to spend on new products
Demand for advertising soon gave rise to the advent of the advertising agency, an organization that specializes in providing advertising services to its clients. During the 1920s radio quickly became an attractive vehicle for national advertisers, and advertising sponsors quickly began supplying popular programs. For obvious reasons, both the Great Depression and WW II somewhat curtailed a more aggressive growth in the advertising industry.
From that point on, advertising’s fortunes more or less paralleled the social mood of the decades within which it existed. The Cold War of the 1950s fostered of fears aimed at advertising’s motivations and techniques, especially subliminal advertising. The 60s reflected a new creative spirit, the 70s a conservative pause and return to basics, the 80s and 90s saw an ad industry coming trying to come to grips with changing national demographics, the introduction of new mass media forms, and an emerging global market economy.
In the past decade, advertising has had to learn how to use and cope with specialized cable networks, infomercials, home shopping channels, an increasingly diverse marketplace, shifting consumer attitudes, and, of course, the recent challenge of the Internet.
ORGANIZATION OF THE
CONSUMER ADVERTISING INDUSTRY
There are three main components of the advertising industry:
Advertisers
. national emphasis on brand names, image, product, service
. local retail emphasis on local prices, sales, location, particular stores, and promotions
Anyone in charge of advertising, whether it be a large or small store, must attend to several basic ad functions:
. planning the ads, deciding how and where they will appear
. budgeting appropriate funds for advertising
. coordinating advertisements with various departments within the organization
. if necessary, supervise any outside agency handling the advertising account
Agencies
An agency is an independent business organization composed of creative people and business people who develop, prepare, and place advertising for sellers seeking to find customers for their goods or services. Once located only in big cities, creative ad agencies are now scattered all over the country thanks to the accessibility created by new forms of mass communications.
Big-city agencies, however, many of who have merged into global-mega-agencies, still dominate the industry.
Agencies can be classified by the range of services they provide:
. full-service agencies handles all phases of the advertising process plus promotions
. media buying services buys, resells, and monitors radio and TV time slots
. creative boutiques specializes in creating imaginative and creative ad campaigns
A full-service agency starts by studying the product or service and determining its marketable characteristics and how it relates to the competition. The agency then studies the potential market, possible distribution plans, and likely advertising media. The agency presents then presents a formal presentation to the client, and if the client agrees with the plan the agency goes on to launch the execution phase (writing and producing the ads, buying ad space or time, and then verifying the ads appeared as planned).
Media
The media serves as the connection between a company and its customers, with advertisers using both obvious media (TV, radio, newspapers) and auxiliary media (billboards, direct mail, point-of-purchase ads, etc.). To make sure that the right audience sees the ad message, ad media planners help advertisers place and schedule their ads by evaluating media along four dimensions:
. reach How many people can get the message?
. frequency How often will the message be received?
. selectivity Does the medium actually reach the intended potential customers?
. efficiency How much does it cost to reach a certain number of people (usually expressed
in terms of cost per thousand people)?
Characteristics Papers Magazines Radio TV Internet
Direct Mail
Reach High Low High High Medium High
Frequency High Low High High Medium Medium
Selectivity Low High High Medium High High
Cost Medium Medium Low High Medium High
In addition, advertisers must take into account the inherent characteristics of each medium. For example, TV offers sight, sound and motion, but the ad is also short lived and ill-suited to give product details; magazines, by contrast, can offer color and details but not sound and motion).
ADVERTISING ONLINE
Since online advertising first began appearing in 1994, a whole new industry has grown up consisting of companies that sell ads, create ads, and measure how many people see ads online. Most large companies now treat web advertising as part of their normal ad media mix. But more than 70 percent of advertising online comes from other Internet companies.
While the increasing importance of online advertising is not in doubt, the current efficacy of web-based ads and their prices are in question. As a result, many companies are currently taking a more conservative and cost-conscious approach to investing in online advertising.
Categories of Internet Advertising
There are several types of Internet advertising.
Banner ads, the 1x7-inch banners that appear anywhere on a web page, are the most common. Catchy phrases, pictures, or animations help lure the curious to “click-through,” Internet jargon for mouse clicking on a banner ad, to find out what the ad is all about. Some advertisers pay web sites that carry their banners according to the number of click-throughs they generate, although the percentage of people who actually click on these banners is very low.
Free-link exchange ads work when two firms agree to place hyperlinks to the other’s web site.
Sponsored chat rooms or bulletin boards can be created via banner ads to enable consumers to discuss or question about an advertiser’s related products or services.
E-mail campaigns, the Internet equivalent of direct mail, are increasingly seen as in expensive marketing tool, although e-mail recipients often react negatively to what they view as spam mail.
Devoted web sites to highlighting a product or service have grown increasingly popular, more sophisticated, and generally highly interactive in recent years. Some company web sites essentially try to recreate the retail store experience online, giving consumers the chance to browse products, customize items, and place their order online.
PRODUCING ADVERTISING
Typically there are four major departments within an ad department or ad agency:
. creative services people who create the ad concept, write the ad text (copy), and pro-
duce the final product
. account services responsible for the relationship between the agency and the client; an
ad agency’s account executive (AE) acts as the liaison
. marketing services recommends appropriate media for the client’s message, making use
of audience measurement data from firms like the Audit Bureau of Circulation, Arbitron, Nielsen, and MediaMetrix. Marketing Services would also handle parallel ad campaign promotions
. administration responsible for day-to-day business aspects of the agency
The Advertising Campaign
A campaign consists of a large number of ads all stressing the same major theme or appeal that appear in a number of media over a specified time. In simple form, here are six typical phases:
1. choosing the marketing agency
2. selecting the main appeal or theme
3. translating the theme into the various media
4. producing the ads
5. buying space and time
6. executing and evaluating the campaign
During the initial phase, much research is done to determine the target audience, the marketing objective, the appropriate price for the product or service, and the ad budget. Positioning the product or service also comes into play at this point: positioning means fitting a product into the quality and price range of its competition--in a sense, setting it apart from the competition. Then a coordinated overall campaign theme needs to be developed.
The next step is to translate the concept into an actual media format, attempting concept variation between media without compromising the ad campaign’s central theme. For print media, artists create a rough layout to experiment with positioning ad elements; then a comprehensive layout (the final draft) is executed.
Radio ads are often created in ways similar to a dramatic program, with scripts, sound effects, music, and professional voice talent. Television ad production starts with a storyboard, a series of drawings depicting key scenes of the planned ad; because of the costs involved, storyboards are usually shown to the client before any actual production begins. Television ads are the most expensive ads to produce, a 30-second commercial easily costing $250,000. During the production stage, the marketing department is buying time in the media mix they deemed to be the most cost effective for their target audience. The final stage has the agency doing test research both during the ads and after the run is finished to see if the ads really had the desired effect on sales.
Advertising Research
Ad research goes on during all phases of the campaign and helps agencies and their clients make informed decisions about their strategies and tactics.
. Formative research done before campaign starts to help guide creative efforts
. audience defining identifies physical demographics of target audience
. audience profiling seeks to identify attitudes, motivation, beliefs, lifestyles
. Message research
. Stage 1 pre-testing campaign messages for clarity and understanding
. Stage 2 screening print and broadcast ad prototypes; consumers tested
to recall main points, changing attitudes toward product, and
which prototype ads have best effects. Advertisers often try a split-run ad test, showing two similar audiences two different ads that carry the same message to see which ad works best.
. Tracking studies examine how ads perform during and after campaign; checks to
see if the ads changed consumer attitudes or buying behaviors
ECONOMICS
Advertising Volume in Various Media
About $215 billion was spent on advertising in the United States in 1999. TV and newspapers accounted for almost half the total amount spent.
Agency Compensation
There are three common ways ad agencies bill their clients:
1. Commissions historically, the media have given ad agencies a 15% commission on
any time and space they bought from the media; recently, however,
companies have negotiated the percentage charge, often tying the
final figure to ad performance as it affects sales
2. Agency charges represent out-of-pocket expenses linked with production of the ads
3. Fees covers services such as research, focus groups, market analysis--types
of services not traditionally treated as commissionable items
BUSINESS-TO-BUSINESS ADVERTISING
Low profile though it is, the business-to-business advertising industry rang up more than $150 billion in sales in 2000. Advertising directed at the business buyer rather than the general consumer, business advertising consists of four main categories:
. Trade advertises goods and services to wholesalers and retailers
. Industrial advertises items used in the production of goods and services
. Professional advertises services aimed at doctors, architects, nurses, teachers, etc.
. Agricultural advertises goods and services aimed at farmers
Consumer versus Business-to-Business
1. The target audience in business advertising is much smaller.
2. Most advertised business products tend to be technical, complicated, and high priced.
3. Buyers will be professional purchasing agents, basing purchases on reason and research.
4. Personal selling plays a much greater role in the business sector.
Media
Since the target audience for business advertising is smaller than the consumer market, a mix of highly selective media works best; buying trade magazine space, for example, counted upwards of 60 percent of all business advertising dollars spent. Trade magazines come in two formats:
. horizontal deals with a particular job function without regard to the industry
. vertical covers all interests within an entire single industry
Other selective channels with good effect include direct mail, trade catalogs, well-placed spots in traditional consumer media outlets, and web pages.
Appeals
Business ad copy tends to be long, fact filled, detailed, technical, accurate, and complete, with little, if any, emotional appeal, yet buyers pay close attention to these ads and place a premium on data accuracy and completeness. Some of the most common business ad formats are testimonials, case histories, new-product news, and demonstrations.
__________________________________________________________________
DEFINING ADVERTISING
Simply defined, advertising is any form of non-personal presentation and promotion of ideas, goods, and services usually paid for by an identified sponsor. Note the key words in italics.
Functions of Advertising
Advertising fulfills four basic functions in society:
. serves as a marketing function (helps companies sell products or services)
. advertising is educational (people learn about new or improved products or services)
. advertising plays an economic role (encourages new competition and lower prices)
. it performs a social function (helps increase productivity and raises the standard of living)
Types of Advertising
Advertising can be classified in several ways:
. target audience the specific audience for whom a product or service has an appeal
. consumer advertising targeted at the people who buy goods and services for personal use
. business-to-business aimed at people who buy products for business use
. geographic focus targets international, national, regional, or local audiences
. purpose advertising designed to accomplish a distinct goal
. primary demand promotes product category rather than a specific brand
. selective demand used to promote a particular product or service brand
. direct action ad promotes direct, short-term feedback (phone number, coupon, etc.)
. indirect action ad promotes long-term brand recognition and consumer awareness
Advertising is part of the overall marketing process. Broadly defined, marketing consists of the development, pricing, distribution, and promotion of ideas, goods and services. Advertising is only part of the general promotion process
A BRIEF HISTORY OF ADVERTISING
Advertising roots disappear in the mist of history, although we can recognize the first serious and repeated attempts at advertising shortly after Gutenberg’s invention of moveable type. The first examples came in the forms of posters, handbills, and newspaper ads. Most early newspaper ads, regardless of the product or service being promoted, looked somewhat like today’s classified ads.
With the advent of mass production in the 1800s came the parallel needs for mass consumption and mass markets. This consumer evolution became most apparent immediately following the Civil War. In little more than three decades:
. the railroad linked all parts of the country together (and manufacturers with consumers)
. the US population doubled between 1870-1900 (more consumers)
. the advent of new communication media (telephone, typewriter, high-speed printing press,
motion pictures, national magazines, photography, and rural mail delivery)
. in an age of prosperity, people had more disposable income to spend on new products
Demand for advertising soon gave rise to the advent of the advertising agency, an organization that specializes in providing advertising services to its clients. During the 1920s radio quickly became an attractive vehicle for national advertisers, and advertising sponsors quickly began supplying popular programs. For obvious reasons, both the Great Depression and WW II somewhat curtailed a more aggressive growth in the advertising industry.
From that point on, advertising’s fortunes more or less paralleled the social mood of the decades within which it existed. The Cold War of the 1950s fostered of fears aimed at advertising’s motivations and techniques, especially subliminal advertising. The 60s reflected a new creative spirit, the 70s a conservative pause and return to basics, the 80s and 90s saw an ad industry coming trying to come to grips with changing national demographics, the introduction of new mass media forms, and an emerging global market economy.
In the past decade, advertising has had to learn how to use and cope with specialized cable networks, infomercials, home shopping channels, an increasingly diverse marketplace, shifting consumer attitudes, and, of course, the recent challenge of the Internet.
ORGANIZATION OF THE
CONSUMER ADVERTISING INDUSTRY
There are three main components of the advertising industry:
Advertisers
. national emphasis on brand names, image, product, service
. local retail emphasis on local prices, sales, location, particular stores, and promotions
Anyone in charge of advertising, whether it be a large or small store, must attend to several basic ad functions:
. planning the ads, deciding how and where they will appear
. budgeting appropriate funds for advertising
. coordinating advertisements with various departments within the organization
. if necessary, supervise any outside agency handling the advertising account
Agencies
An agency is an independent business organization composed of creative people and business people who develop, prepare, and place advertising for sellers seeking to find customers for their goods or services. Once located only in big cities, creative ad agencies are now scattered all over the country thanks to the accessibility created by new forms of mass communications.
Big-city agencies, however, many of who have merged into global-mega-agencies, still dominate the industry.
Agencies can be classified by the range of services they provide:
. full-service agencies handles all phases of the advertising process plus promotions
. media buying services buys, resells, and monitors radio and TV time slots
. creative boutiques specializes in creating imaginative and creative ad campaigns
A full-service agency starts by studying the product or service and determining its marketable characteristics and how it relates to the competition. The agency then studies the potential market, possible distribution plans, and likely advertising media. The agency presents then presents a formal presentation to the client, and if the client agrees with the plan the agency goes on to launch the execution phase (writing and producing the ads, buying ad space or time, and then verifying the ads appeared as planned).
Media
The media serves as the connection between a company and its customers, with advertisers using both obvious media (TV, radio, newspapers) and auxiliary media (billboards, direct mail, point-of-purchase ads, etc.). To make sure that the right audience sees the ad message, ad media planners help advertisers place and schedule their ads by evaluating media along four dimensions:
. reach How many people can get the message?
. frequency How often will the message be received?
. selectivity Does the medium actually reach the intended potential customers?
. efficiency How much does it cost to reach a certain number of people (usually expressed
in terms of cost per thousand people)?
Characteristics Papers Magazines Radio TV Internet
Direct Mail
Reach High Low High High Medium High
Frequency High Low High High Medium Medium
Selectivity Low High High Medium High High
Cost Medium Medium Low High Medium High
In addition, advertisers must take into account the inherent characteristics of each medium. For example, TV offers sight, sound and motion, but the ad is also short lived and ill-suited to give product details; magazines, by contrast, can offer color and details but not sound and motion).
ADVERTISING ONLINE
Since online advertising first began appearing in 1994, a whole new industry has grown up consisting of companies that sell ads, create ads, and measure how many people see ads online. Most large companies now treat web advertising as part of their normal ad media mix. But more than 70 percent of advertising online comes from other Internet companies.
While the increasing importance of online advertising is not in doubt, the current efficacy of web-based ads and their prices are in question. As a result, many companies are currently taking a more conservative and cost-conscious approach to investing in online advertising.
Categories of Internet Advertising
There are several types of Internet advertising.
Banner ads, the 1x7-inch banners that appear anywhere on a web page, are the most common. Catchy phrases, pictures, or animations help lure the curious to “click-through,” Internet jargon for mouse clicking on a banner ad, to find out what the ad is all about. Some advertisers pay web sites that carry their banners according to the number of click-throughs they generate, although the percentage of people who actually click on these banners is very low.
Free-link exchange ads work when two firms agree to place hyperlinks to the other’s web site.
Sponsored chat rooms or bulletin boards can be created via banner ads to enable consumers to discuss or question about an advertiser’s related products or services.
E-mail campaigns, the Internet equivalent of direct mail, are increasingly seen as in expensive marketing tool, although e-mail recipients often react negatively to what they view as spam mail.
Devoted web sites to highlighting a product or service have grown increasingly popular, more sophisticated, and generally highly interactive in recent years. Some company web sites essentially try to recreate the retail store experience online, giving consumers the chance to browse products, customize items, and place their order online.
PRODUCING ADVERTISING
Typically there are four major departments within an ad department or ad agency:
. creative services people who create the ad concept, write the ad text (copy), and pro-
duce the final product
. account services responsible for the relationship between the agency and the client; an
ad agency’s account executive (AE) acts as the liaison
. marketing services recommends appropriate media for the client’s message, making use
of audience measurement data from firms like the Audit Bureau of Circulation, Arbitron, Nielsen, and MediaMetrix. Marketing Services would also handle parallel ad campaign promotions
. administration responsible for day-to-day business aspects of the agency
The Advertising Campaign
A campaign consists of a large number of ads all stressing the same major theme or appeal that appear in a number of media over a specified time. In simple form, here are six typical phases:
1. choosing the marketing agency
2. selecting the main appeal or theme
3. translating the theme into the various media
4. producing the ads
5. buying space and time
6. executing and evaluating the campaign
During the initial phase, much research is done to determine the target audience, the marketing objective, the appropriate price for the product or service, and the ad budget. Positioning the product or service also comes into play at this point: positioning means fitting a product into the quality and price range of its competition--in a sense, setting it apart from the competition. Then a coordinated overall campaign theme needs to be developed.
The next step is to translate the concept into an actual media format, attempting concept variation between media without compromising the ad campaign’s central theme. For print media, artists create a rough layout to experiment with positioning ad elements; then a comprehensive layout (the final draft) is executed.
Radio ads are often created in ways similar to a dramatic program, with scripts, sound effects, music, and professional voice talent. Television ad production starts with a storyboard, a series of drawings depicting key scenes of the planned ad; because of the costs involved, storyboards are usually shown to the client before any actual production begins. Television ads are the most expensive ads to produce, a 30-second commercial easily costing $250,000. During the production stage, the marketing department is buying time in the media mix they deemed to be the most cost effective for their target audience. The final stage has the agency doing test research both during the ads and after the run is finished to see if the ads really had the desired effect on sales.
Advertising Research
Ad research goes on during all phases of the campaign and helps agencies and their clients make informed decisions about their strategies and tactics.
. Formative research done before campaign starts to help guide creative efforts
. audience defining identifies physical demographics of target audience
. audience profiling seeks to identify attitudes, motivation, beliefs, lifestyles
. Message research
. Stage 1 pre-testing campaign messages for clarity and understanding
. Stage 2 screening print and broadcast ad prototypes; consumers tested
to recall main points, changing attitudes toward product, and
which prototype ads have best effects. Advertisers often try a split-run ad test, showing two similar audiences two different ads that carry the same message to see which ad works best.
. Tracking studies examine how ads perform during and after campaign; checks to
see if the ads changed consumer attitudes or buying behaviors
ECONOMICS
Advertising Volume in Various Media
About $215 billion was spent on advertising in the United States in 1999. TV and newspapers accounted for almost half the total amount spent.
Agency Compensation
There are three common ways ad agencies bill their clients:
1. Commissions historically, the media have given ad agencies a 15% commission on
any time and space they bought from the media; recently, however,
companies have negotiated the percentage charge, often tying the
final figure to ad performance as it affects sales
2. Agency charges represent out-of-pocket expenses linked with production of the ads
3. Fees covers services such as research, focus groups, market analysis--types
of services not traditionally treated as commissionable items
BUSINESS-TO-BUSINESS ADVERTISING
Low profile though it is, the business-to-business advertising industry rang up more than $150 billion in sales in 2000. Advertising directed at the business buyer rather than the general consumer, business advertising consists of four main categories:
. Trade advertises goods and services to wholesalers and retailers
. Industrial advertises items used in the production of goods and services
. Professional advertises services aimed at doctors, architects, nurses, teachers, etc.
. Agricultural advertises goods and services aimed at farmers
Consumer versus Business-to-Business
1. The target audience in business advertising is much smaller.
2. Most advertised business products tend to be technical, complicated, and high priced.
3. Buyers will be professional purchasing agents, basing purchases on reason and research.
4. Personal selling plays a much greater role in the business sector.
Media
Since the target audience for business advertising is smaller than the consumer market, a mix of highly selective media works best; buying trade magazine space, for example, counted upwards of 60 percent of all business advertising dollars spent. Trade magazines come in two formats:
. horizontal deals with a particular job function without regard to the industry
. vertical covers all interests within an entire single industry
Other selective channels with good effect include direct mail, trade catalogs, well-placed spots in traditional consumer media outlets, and web pages.
Appeals
Business ad copy tends to be long, fact filled, detailed, technical, accurate, and complete, with little, if any, emotional appeal, yet buyers pay close attention to these ads and place a premium on data accuracy and completeness. Some of the most common business ad formats are testimonials, case histories, new-product news, and demonstrations.
PR Overview
PR Overview
DEFINING PUBLIC RELATIONS
Though there are some similarities between public relations and advertising (they both try to persuade), their essential difference is that public relations is a function of management while advertising is a marketing function. Second, advertising uses all communication methods except for interpersonal communications; public relations, on the other hand, uses all forms of communication. Last, advertising is sponsored (paid for), whereas PR communications are not. In many instances, advertising, especially corporate advertising, is used to help further the public relations agenda.
Press agentry (the staging of events to attract media or public attention to a person, product, organization, or cause) is sometimes confused with public relations. But the former is simply an occasional tool of the latter. Another term often confused with PR is publicity, a practice which attempts to place favorable stories in the mass media. Like press agentry, publicity is also just a tool of a public relations campaign. In addition, publicity is primarily a one-way process whereas PR is essentially a two-way communication. To help define what PR really is, let’s examine what PR people actually do.
What Public Relations People Do
1. PR involves interpreting, monitoring, and trying to influence public opinion in ways positive to its parent organization, and then passing on the results of those efforts to top management.
2. PR is concerned with communicating and explaining the actions of its parent company to its various publics (internal and/or external groups affected by the parent organization).
3. Public relations is a management function, the goal being to council and assist management in setting goals and adapting to a changing environment.
Public relations as defined by the World Assembly of Public Relations:
“Public relations is the art and social science of analyzing trends, predicting their consequences, counseling organization leaders and implementing planned programs of action which serve both the organization’s and the public’s interests.”
A SHORT HISTORY OF PUBLIC RELATIONS
Interpreted broadly, public relation practices show up throughout history. In our own country, the Boston Tea Party, symbols of liberty, and the publications advocating freedom from Britain are early examples. At the end of the 19th century the muckrakers’ stories on big business corruption spurred these companies to hire writers to help counter what we would call “bad press,” and highlight instead the industry’s side of the story. Thus we see the first clear evidence of a specific and concentrated effort to manipulate public opinion by communication specialists.
Acknowledged as the first formal PR practitioner, Ivy Lee first opened a "public relations" office in 1903. Among his early accomplishments was a reversal of negative public opinion about the Rockefeller family and their extensive business empire. Lee is credited with humanizing business and demonstrating that public relations is most effective when it affects employees, customers, and members of the community.
During World War I, President Wilson set up the Creel Committee to mount a PR campaign to help persuade Americans to save food and buy war bonds. The effort was significant in that it illustrated how effective a well-planned and executed PR campaign could be on the public.
The acknowledged co-founder of the public relations industry, Edward Bernays, wrote the very first book on PR, Crystallizing Public Opinion, in 1923. Yet another early PR pioneer was Carl Byoir who, in 1930, organized a PR firm that became one of the world’s largest. The Great Depression caused many citizens to look to business and government with suspicion and distrust. Soon both business and the federal government began employing public relations effort in an attempt to regain public favor. The "fireside" radio chats given by President Roosevelt to help explain his New Deal policy and quell public anxiety still stands as one of the most successful PR efforts of those times.
Since then, social changes have promoted a huge growth in the PR field:
1. Corporations have acknowledged their social responsibility to the public.
2. Public consumerism is forcing organizations to be more responsive and communicative.
3. The increasing size and complexity of modern organizations necessitates a centralized public relations department.
4. Increasing population growth and workplace specialization mandates the need for PR specialists trained to interpret the needs of various publics for the parent organization.
Reflecting those trends, the public relations industry has skyrocketed from 19,000 members in 1950 to over 300,000 in 2000. That growth is reflected in the membership of PR’s main professional organization, the Public Relations Society of America, founded in 1947, and who adopted a code of PR standards in 1954. And today, over 400 colleges offer training in public relations.
Recent politics have necessitated the rise of a new PR phenomena, the "spin doctor," a specialist who tries to put the best possible interpretation on events—good or bad. President Clinton's duel problems with Whitewater and his impeachment proceedings provide good examples of spin doctors at work on both sides of opposing campgrounds.
PUBLIC RELATIONS INDUSTRY ORGANIZATION
Public relations is handled in one or both of two ways: internally and externally, and many firms employ both kinds for specific goals.
As an arm of management, an internal PR department generally reports directly to the president of the company (some 85 percent of the 1500 largest U.S. firms have such a department). Many firms also retain an external PR company to handle special situations as well as to inject fresh and objective viewpoints into a company's management strategies. Both internal and external PR departments have their advantages and disadvantages. An internal department, for example:
. has more in-depth knowledge about the company
. can be assigned and operating on a project in very short notice
. offers big cost savings because in-house operations are cheaper
On the minus side, it's often difficult for an internal PR department to see its own company from a fresh and objective viewpoint. As such, it's not uncommon for an internal department to go "stale." Enter the external agency, where the strengths and weaknesses of an internal department are simply reversed.
Internal or external, PR people perform a wide range of services which can include counseling management, preparing annual reports, handling news releases and other media coverage, supervising internal communications, managing campaign promotions and special events, lobbying, fund-raising, community relations, and speech writing.
Public relations can be practiced anywhere, but most efforts come in the areas of:
. business . entertainment and sports
. government . international pubic relations
. education . investor relations
. hospitals . politics
. nonprofit organizations . crisis management
. professional associations
DEPARTMENTS AND STAFF
Though no two internal PR department organizational structures are identical, the one thing most have in common is that the PR director reports directly to the president. An internal PR department might typically include subordinates in charge of such areas as press relations, internal communications, and community relations. External PR agencies, somewhat similar in organization to an ad agency, are more complex because of the wider range of services they provide.
THE PUBLIC RELATIONS PROGRAM
A typical PR campaign involves the following four stages. Though separately defined, these steps are more likely to be a continuing and overlapping process rather than distinct PR efforts.
Information Gathering
Information caan come from several sources: organizational records, trade journals, public records, research, polls, surveys, advisory committees, personal contacts, and so on. Information gathering is a crucial first step in the process, since what's learned here will influence all that follows.
Planning
There are two general types of planning: strategic and tactical. In short, strategic plans are your long-term goals, the what part of you want accomplished. Tactical plans are the ways and means by which you can best get those long-term goals actually accomplished.
Part of the planning process here would be to frame the objectives, consider the alternatives, assess risks and benefits, decide on a course of action, draft budgets, and get the go-ahead approvals. A strong PR trend in recent years is the planning technique of management by objectives, or MBO. Simply put, this approach has the organization set observable and measurable goals for itself and allocate sufficient resources to meet those goals.
Communication
In the third stage, PR personnel decide which media channels are best suited to get planned messages across to their various publics. Communications might take the form of interviews, press releases, press conferences, video news releases, paid advertising, posters, e-mail, staged events, speeches, demonstrations, an open house, tours, press kits, information booths, faxes, letters, etc.
Evaluation
This stage tries to answer the question, "How well did it work?" and is generally accomplished through the use of sophisticated analysis techniques using questionnaires, polls, surveys, panel discussions, meetings, and various audience responses. If a measurable MBO goal was proposed for the PR program, then an evaluation technique should be able to measure the relative success of how well that goal was or was not reached.
ECONOMICS
Companies, nonprofit groups, and government agencies spend large sums of money on PR, but the total figures are difficult to hard to measure. One estimate, however, can be reflected in the fact that the top 50 external PR firms in the U.S. earned more than $2.8 billion in 1999. Today the PR industry is dominated by giant firms owned by ad agencies.
External PR agencies earn revenues in a number of ways; some, for example, perform a specific job for a set fee; some charge their clients monthly retainers; others will charge by the hour; still others will charge by time plus expenses.
PR ONLINE
The Internet has already had a significant impact on how PR professionals gather information and communicate messages to their various publics. For example:
. the Internet has streamlined how PR data is distributed to media; PR Newswire, for example, takes data from PR departments and makes it available to newsrooms nation wide
. Internet sources can also provide everything journalists need to prepare a story from a PR source: the latest news, background data, bios, official commentary, and audio/video clips
. PR workers can now more easily monitor how their efforts are being covered in the media; one firm, eWatch, monitors 1,000 web-based newspapers, magazines, and news sites
. the Internet now provides a treasure house of resources for a PR staff, such as photo archives, information directories, conferences, and trade shows
. corporate web sites have now become the electronic equivalent of an organization's store-
front display window and portal to its products and services; an increasing amount of company web pages are now directed and produced by PR staff members
. a PR department can more easily communicate within its own company via Intranet systems, a PC LAN with access limited to company employees
The downside of increased communication via the Internet is corporate sabotage. Most of the above sources could just as easily be turned against the parent firm by information vandals.
DEFINING PUBLIC RELATIONS
Though there are some similarities between public relations and advertising (they both try to persuade), their essential difference is that public relations is a function of management while advertising is a marketing function. Second, advertising uses all communication methods except for interpersonal communications; public relations, on the other hand, uses all forms of communication. Last, advertising is sponsored (paid for), whereas PR communications are not. In many instances, advertising, especially corporate advertising, is used to help further the public relations agenda.
Press agentry (the staging of events to attract media or public attention to a person, product, organization, or cause) is sometimes confused with public relations. But the former is simply an occasional tool of the latter. Another term often confused with PR is publicity, a practice which attempts to place favorable stories in the mass media. Like press agentry, publicity is also just a tool of a public relations campaign. In addition, publicity is primarily a one-way process whereas PR is essentially a two-way communication. To help define what PR really is, let’s examine what PR people actually do.
What Public Relations People Do
1. PR involves interpreting, monitoring, and trying to influence public opinion in ways positive to its parent organization, and then passing on the results of those efforts to top management.
2. PR is concerned with communicating and explaining the actions of its parent company to its various publics (internal and/or external groups affected by the parent organization).
3. Public relations is a management function, the goal being to council and assist management in setting goals and adapting to a changing environment.
Public relations as defined by the World Assembly of Public Relations:
“Public relations is the art and social science of analyzing trends, predicting their consequences, counseling organization leaders and implementing planned programs of action which serve both the organization’s and the public’s interests.”
A SHORT HISTORY OF PUBLIC RELATIONS
Interpreted broadly, public relation practices show up throughout history. In our own country, the Boston Tea Party, symbols of liberty, and the publications advocating freedom from Britain are early examples. At the end of the 19th century the muckrakers’ stories on big business corruption spurred these companies to hire writers to help counter what we would call “bad press,” and highlight instead the industry’s side of the story. Thus we see the first clear evidence of a specific and concentrated effort to manipulate public opinion by communication specialists.
Acknowledged as the first formal PR practitioner, Ivy Lee first opened a "public relations" office in 1903. Among his early accomplishments was a reversal of negative public opinion about the Rockefeller family and their extensive business empire. Lee is credited with humanizing business and demonstrating that public relations is most effective when it affects employees, customers, and members of the community.
During World War I, President Wilson set up the Creel Committee to mount a PR campaign to help persuade Americans to save food and buy war bonds. The effort was significant in that it illustrated how effective a well-planned and executed PR campaign could be on the public.
The acknowledged co-founder of the public relations industry, Edward Bernays, wrote the very first book on PR, Crystallizing Public Opinion, in 1923. Yet another early PR pioneer was Carl Byoir who, in 1930, organized a PR firm that became one of the world’s largest. The Great Depression caused many citizens to look to business and government with suspicion and distrust. Soon both business and the federal government began employing public relations effort in an attempt to regain public favor. The "fireside" radio chats given by President Roosevelt to help explain his New Deal policy and quell public anxiety still stands as one of the most successful PR efforts of those times.
Since then, social changes have promoted a huge growth in the PR field:
1. Corporations have acknowledged their social responsibility to the public.
2. Public consumerism is forcing organizations to be more responsive and communicative.
3. The increasing size and complexity of modern organizations necessitates a centralized public relations department.
4. Increasing population growth and workplace specialization mandates the need for PR specialists trained to interpret the needs of various publics for the parent organization.
Reflecting those trends, the public relations industry has skyrocketed from 19,000 members in 1950 to over 300,000 in 2000. That growth is reflected in the membership of PR’s main professional organization, the Public Relations Society of America, founded in 1947, and who adopted a code of PR standards in 1954. And today, over 400 colleges offer training in public relations.
Recent politics have necessitated the rise of a new PR phenomena, the "spin doctor," a specialist who tries to put the best possible interpretation on events—good or bad. President Clinton's duel problems with Whitewater and his impeachment proceedings provide good examples of spin doctors at work on both sides of opposing campgrounds.
PUBLIC RELATIONS INDUSTRY ORGANIZATION
Public relations is handled in one or both of two ways: internally and externally, and many firms employ both kinds for specific goals.
As an arm of management, an internal PR department generally reports directly to the president of the company (some 85 percent of the 1500 largest U.S. firms have such a department). Many firms also retain an external PR company to handle special situations as well as to inject fresh and objective viewpoints into a company's management strategies. Both internal and external PR departments have their advantages and disadvantages. An internal department, for example:
. has more in-depth knowledge about the company
. can be assigned and operating on a project in very short notice
. offers big cost savings because in-house operations are cheaper
On the minus side, it's often difficult for an internal PR department to see its own company from a fresh and objective viewpoint. As such, it's not uncommon for an internal department to go "stale." Enter the external agency, where the strengths and weaknesses of an internal department are simply reversed.
Internal or external, PR people perform a wide range of services which can include counseling management, preparing annual reports, handling news releases and other media coverage, supervising internal communications, managing campaign promotions and special events, lobbying, fund-raising, community relations, and speech writing.
Public relations can be practiced anywhere, but most efforts come in the areas of:
. business . entertainment and sports
. government . international pubic relations
. education . investor relations
. hospitals . politics
. nonprofit organizations . crisis management
. professional associations
DEPARTMENTS AND STAFF
Though no two internal PR department organizational structures are identical, the one thing most have in common is that the PR director reports directly to the president. An internal PR department might typically include subordinates in charge of such areas as press relations, internal communications, and community relations. External PR agencies, somewhat similar in organization to an ad agency, are more complex because of the wider range of services they provide.
THE PUBLIC RELATIONS PROGRAM
A typical PR campaign involves the following four stages. Though separately defined, these steps are more likely to be a continuing and overlapping process rather than distinct PR efforts.
Information Gathering
Information caan come from several sources: organizational records, trade journals, public records, research, polls, surveys, advisory committees, personal contacts, and so on. Information gathering is a crucial first step in the process, since what's learned here will influence all that follows.
Planning
There are two general types of planning: strategic and tactical. In short, strategic plans are your long-term goals, the what part of you want accomplished. Tactical plans are the ways and means by which you can best get those long-term goals actually accomplished.
Part of the planning process here would be to frame the objectives, consider the alternatives, assess risks and benefits, decide on a course of action, draft budgets, and get the go-ahead approvals. A strong PR trend in recent years is the planning technique of management by objectives, or MBO. Simply put, this approach has the organization set observable and measurable goals for itself and allocate sufficient resources to meet those goals.
Communication
In the third stage, PR personnel decide which media channels are best suited to get planned messages across to their various publics. Communications might take the form of interviews, press releases, press conferences, video news releases, paid advertising, posters, e-mail, staged events, speeches, demonstrations, an open house, tours, press kits, information booths, faxes, letters, etc.
Evaluation
This stage tries to answer the question, "How well did it work?" and is generally accomplished through the use of sophisticated analysis techniques using questionnaires, polls, surveys, panel discussions, meetings, and various audience responses. If a measurable MBO goal was proposed for the PR program, then an evaluation technique should be able to measure the relative success of how well that goal was or was not reached.
ECONOMICS
Companies, nonprofit groups, and government agencies spend large sums of money on PR, but the total figures are difficult to hard to measure. One estimate, however, can be reflected in the fact that the top 50 external PR firms in the U.S. earned more than $2.8 billion in 1999. Today the PR industry is dominated by giant firms owned by ad agencies.
External PR agencies earn revenues in a number of ways; some, for example, perform a specific job for a set fee; some charge their clients monthly retainers; others will charge by the hour; still others will charge by time plus expenses.
PR ONLINE
The Internet has already had a significant impact on how PR professionals gather information and communicate messages to their various publics. For example:
. the Internet has streamlined how PR data is distributed to media; PR Newswire, for example, takes data from PR departments and makes it available to newsrooms nation wide
. Internet sources can also provide everything journalists need to prepare a story from a PR source: the latest news, background data, bios, official commentary, and audio/video clips
. PR workers can now more easily monitor how their efforts are being covered in the media; one firm, eWatch, monitors 1,000 web-based newspapers, magazines, and news sites
. the Internet now provides a treasure house of resources for a PR staff, such as photo archives, information directories, conferences, and trade shows
. corporate web sites have now become the electronic equivalent of an organization's store-
front display window and portal to its products and services; an increasing amount of company web pages are now directed and produced by PR staff members
. a PR department can more easily communicate within its own company via Intranet systems, a PC LAN with access limited to company employees
The downside of increased communication via the Internet is corporate sabotage. Most of the above sources could just as easily be turned against the parent firm by information vandals.
News Gathering Overview
News Gathering and Reporting Overview
DECIDING WHAT IS NEWS
News values are the characteristics that help journalists decide what stories merit coverage and to what degree. These values have been formed by tradition, technology, organizational policy, and by economics. The major characteristic values to determine a story’s newsworthiness are:
1. Timeliness To be news, news must be fresh, immediate, and current.
2. Proximity The closer a news event is to your home, the more important you perceive
it to be. In addition to geographical proximity, a news story might have
psychological proximity, which occurs when you identify with the story
topic (health, college, jobs) regardless of the story’s geographical origin.
3. Prominence The more known the news personality, the more likely the news coverage.
4. Consequence Events that affect the majority of a medium’s audience, the greater the
newsworthiness of that story; though all news values are in a sense equal,
consequence usually takes precedence over other news values.
5. Human Interest Story genres of timeless interest: stories about children, treasures, health,
adventures, science, animals, discoveries, best-or-worst of stories, etc.
Economics also plays an important role in determining whether a story is reported. For example, an investigative story might turn up empty but still be run to justify the cost of doing it; in the same manner, a city editor might assign reporters to quick and easy stories before committing them to stories that may prove too costly in terms of manpower hours. Likewise, the expensive investment in news gathering technology (helicopters, studio mini vans, and satellite feeds) also plays a deciding factor in whether a story gets aired; the more dramatic, timely, or expensive the scenario (regardless of its inherent merits), the more likely the story will be covered.
As bottom line profits continue to gain importance in corporate journalism, they may also begin to influence traditional news values in an attempt to focus on the packaging rather than the prod-uct. Another concern with conglomerate ownership is the uncertainty of whether or not a news medium can objectively report on events surrounding its parent corporation.
Other areas of potential concern include aggressive reporting of local businesses (who may ad-vertise with the station or newspaper), favoring story appearance over news substance, and TV news featuring sensationalistic stories in the quest for higher ratings during sweep weeks.
CATEGORIES OF NEWS AND REPORTING
News can be broken down into three broad categories: (1) hard news, (2) features, or soft news, and (3) investigative reports.
Hard News
Hard news is the realm of traditional fact-oriented journalism; it embodies the famous journalis-tic question set of who, what, where, when, why, and how. Hard news generally embraces all but the human interest values, with emphasis on the values of timeliness and consequence. Hard news tends to be the lead off stories in broadcast news or Section 1 of a newspaper.
The Print Media usually delivers news in the traditional inverted pyramid format, wherein the story is reported in a descending order of importance. The first sentence of a hard news story is the lead, a sentence that summarizes the who, what, where, when, why, and how of the story.
The Broadcast Media follows a square format in which the level of important facts remains the same throughout the story and often ends in a summary statement of the story’s relevance to the viewer. TV news uses both hard leads (factual, no nonsense approach) or soft leads (feature-like approach designed to grab the viewer’s interest). In addition to being written largely to comple-ment the story’s video tape, broadcast news is written in a simpler, more informal conversational style than print news.
Soft News (or feature news)
Soft news, which covers a wide spectrum of topics, usually relies heavily on the human interest news value, stories that appeal to people’s curiosity, sympathy, skepticism, or amazement. Fea-ture stories are entertaining, and they can be about places, people, animals, mysteries, oddities, or products. Many TV and print vehicles are based primarily on soft content, such as Entertainment Tonight, or the “Life” section of USA Today. One thing is for certain--audiences love them.
Investigative Reports
Investigative stories are designed to unearth significant information about matters of public im-portance through the use of non-routine information-gathering methods. Stories such as political scandals, business cover-ups, drug trafficking, and institutional inefficiencies are typical targets. The investigative piece also requires considerable time and money to complete. In print media, stories usually take the form of an extended series over a period of several days; in the broadcast media, an investigative story might be take several minutes each day on an evening newscast (a mini-doc) or it might take from 15-120 minutes on a news magazine show or documentary.
THE NEWS FLOW
Print Media
There are two main sources of print news, staff reports and wire services. There are other con-tributing sources as well (syndicates, columnists, public relation handouts, and government re-ports), but they generally have less consequence for the paper’s readers. The city editor heads a paper’s reporting staff, assigning stories to two types of reporters: the beat reporter (covers tra-ditional news-making areas such as fire and police departments, government, schools, and busi-ness), and the general assignment reporter. The managing editor is responsible for the overall daily preparation of the paper. These people, including others such as the editor-in-chief, copy editor, layout editor, and the photo editor play a part in the gatekeeping process.
Broadcast Media
Broadcast news sources are fairly similar to print sources (local beats, general assignment report-ers, wire services, syndicates, and, for affiliate stations, network resources). In terms of organi-zation, the news director is responsible for the news program itself, while the executive producer oversees other producers in charge of various news programs (morning, evening, and late night). Typical responsibilities for a news program producer might include:
. deciding what stories are covered, by whom, and in what way
. deciding the order in which stories appear in the newscast
. determining the amount of time each story is given
. writing copy for some stories
. integrating live reports into the newscasts
Working with the producer is the assignment editor who assigns stories and monitors reporters and the TV production crews. Equally important people to the program include the news an-chors (the “glamour” jobs), camera crews, sound editors, writers, artists, and tape editors.
Online Media
An online news organization may or may not be integrated with its parent print or broadcasting parent, but the news flow and production process is essentially similar to that of the traditional media. Obviously, the new job responsibilities in this arena are the web site designer (in charge of what the news site looks like), and the web editor (who decides, among other things, how of-ten the site will be updated and which multimedia elements to use with the stories and how).
TECHNOLOGY
. ENG Electronic News Gathering allows portable cameras to beam images back to the studio
. SNG Satellite News Gathering allows live global satellite feeds from anywhere on the planet
While ENG and SNG technologies allow TV stations to provide live coverage, that news is also unedited and unfiltered, and therefore subject to elements of trivia, irrelevance, and inaccuracies.
THE WIRE SERVICES
AP stands for the Associated Press wire service and UPI stands for United Press International; they are our country’s two biggest news wire services and together provide you with most of the news about what’s going on outside of your local community.
In short, wire services work like this: first a wire correspondent covers a story and sends it along to the local bureau chief; if the story is deemed to be important or appropriate enough, the bureau chief forwards it to the state bureau. The evaluation process is repeated again for the next higher levels, regional, national, and global. The purpose of a wire service is to provide newspapers with correspondents and coverage that the papers couldn’t otherwise afford. Newspapers pay for wire service news on a sliding scale: the bigger the paper’s circulation, the more they pay.
The AP has about 145 domestic bureaus and about 95 foreign bureaus, and in 2000 the AP had about 15,000 customers worldwide, including about 1,700 newspapers, 5,000 radio and TV sta-tions, and about 500 cable systems.
Because of continuing long-time financial problems, UPI has only six domestic bureaus and now concentrates on providing news to Internet clients such as Excite.
The AP and UPI do have other competition, most notably The New York Times News Service and the Los Angeles Times-Washington Post News Service. Some newspaper chains and a few international wire services (Britain’s Reuters and France’s Agence-France) provide additional competition. Finally, there are specialized information services now available on the Internet, such as Internet Wire and CNet.
MEDIA DIFFERENCES IN NEWS COVERAGE
Print media have the potential for in-depth reporting and lengthy analysis, elements usually miss-ing from broadcast journalism. A typical news broadcast, printed out, would usually take up less space than a single newspaper page. Broadcast news proponents counter by saying that print journalism is slow, old-fashioned, dull, and doesn’t have the space to print the many images used in a typical TV news broadcast.
Critics of online journalism suggest that many web journalists are too quick to post stories, don’t check their facts as thoroughly as traditional journalists, and are slow to post corrections to news stories.
The truth, however, is that all three mediums have unique strengths and weaknesses, and they all play crucial roles in keeping the public informed.
Words and Pictures
Both print and online news is organized by space while TV stories are sorted by time. The in-herent characteristics of each media, therefore, have an impact on what news gets covered and how. Some observers point out that TV is better at transmitting experience or impressions while print and online media are better at providing facts and information. Newspapers and online sites also have more permanence, making re-reading and researching stories, even complicated ones, fairly easy to do. Broadcast stories, on the other hand, are designed for one-time exposure, and complex stories are often difficult to accurately convey to the viewer. Broadcast news does have strong and unique advantages, which is now shares somewhat with online journalism, in-cluding immediacy, sound, and moving images.
Print, Online, and Broadcast Journalists
Another difference between the three media is that the appearance and personality of the broad-cast reporter are important parts of the process. Repeated exposure often turns TV anchors into stars in themselves, with audiences often developing a personal relationship with the anchors. By contrast, print and online reporters remain relatively anonymous, identified, if at all, only by their byline under a news story.
News Consultants
News consultants work for all three news media, although their impact is more apparent in the broadcast area. Consultants introduced audience surveys to local stations in order to make rec-ommendations to management based on what the public said they wanted to see in local news, not on what journalists think should be in the news, which is a considerable shift in the tradi-tional news value system and gatekeeping process. Since news programs are the top revenue source for TV stations, and bigger audience ratings directly equate to larger revenues, broadcast-ers listen carefully to news consultants. One result has been a news homogenization effect across the country, wherein one news broadcast looks and sounds pretty much like any other in the country; this effect is largely due to station owners relying on the same pool of news consult-ants.
Similarities in the News Media
Despite their differences, editors and reporters in each media share identical journalistic values: honesty, accuracy, objectivity, fairness, balance, and integrity. To be trusted and believed, jour-nalists must maintain a high level of credibility with their audiences. As such, they have tradi-tionally respected the truth, refused to distort facts, and consciously tried to detach themselves as much as possible from the stories they report. Nonetheless, journalists periodically undergo cri-ses of confidence, when many people begin to doubt that journalists are telling them the com-plete truth or are using questionable methods to uncover news stories. And credibility, above all other factors, is paramount in order to keep a relationship of integrity and trust with the public.
INTERMEDIA COMPARISONS
A 2000 news survey turned up a surprising trend in how Americans get their news: the Internet is increasingly becoming a major information source (30 percent of people go online for news at least once a week). At the same time, viewership for network and local news has declined, while reliance on print and cable as news sources has remained stable. Although in decline, TV news shows still retain the highest credibility rating with the American public.
NEWS ONLINE
General news web sites tend to be visited most often (MSNBC, CNN.com, CNET.com, etc.). Online audiences also have the ability to customize their news, allowing people to choose what blend of news coverage they prefer. Another major advantage of online news sites is that much of their information remains accessible, and user searchable, in archived stories.
From the journalist’s perspective, the Internet now permits a much greater ability to do first-hand research, certainly a quicker, more convenient, and often more comprehensive way of research than on-site visits. With the Internet’s wide array of communication tools, journalists are calling the Internet the most significant advance in news-gathering tools since the telephone.
Online reporters must also be able to mine facts from Internet-based sources as well as master all its communication outlets; these skills are collectively called computer-assisted reporting. An online journalist’s writing skills must also include a new ability to weave appropriate hyperlinks into a story, which provide related or background information for that story. E-journalists also need to know how to incorporate sound bytes, video clips, and even establish audience interac-tive links (bulletin board access) to help round out major stories.
With all its advantages, online journalism raises an equal number of serious new issues about the profession, such as: should online journalists be expected to have the same formal training as traditional journalists? What are the legal and ethical standards for online journalism? Should online news sources be held to the same credibility standards as traditional news sources?
DECIDING WHAT IS NEWS
News values are the characteristics that help journalists decide what stories merit coverage and to what degree. These values have been formed by tradition, technology, organizational policy, and by economics. The major characteristic values to determine a story’s newsworthiness are:
1. Timeliness To be news, news must be fresh, immediate, and current.
2. Proximity The closer a news event is to your home, the more important you perceive
it to be. In addition to geographical proximity, a news story might have
psychological proximity, which occurs when you identify with the story
topic (health, college, jobs) regardless of the story’s geographical origin.
3. Prominence The more known the news personality, the more likely the news coverage.
4. Consequence Events that affect the majority of a medium’s audience, the greater the
newsworthiness of that story; though all news values are in a sense equal,
consequence usually takes precedence over other news values.
5. Human Interest Story genres of timeless interest: stories about children, treasures, health,
adventures, science, animals, discoveries, best-or-worst of stories, etc.
Economics also plays an important role in determining whether a story is reported. For example, an investigative story might turn up empty but still be run to justify the cost of doing it; in the same manner, a city editor might assign reporters to quick and easy stories before committing them to stories that may prove too costly in terms of manpower hours. Likewise, the expensive investment in news gathering technology (helicopters, studio mini vans, and satellite feeds) also plays a deciding factor in whether a story gets aired; the more dramatic, timely, or expensive the scenario (regardless of its inherent merits), the more likely the story will be covered.
As bottom line profits continue to gain importance in corporate journalism, they may also begin to influence traditional news values in an attempt to focus on the packaging rather than the prod-uct. Another concern with conglomerate ownership is the uncertainty of whether or not a news medium can objectively report on events surrounding its parent corporation.
Other areas of potential concern include aggressive reporting of local businesses (who may ad-vertise with the station or newspaper), favoring story appearance over news substance, and TV news featuring sensationalistic stories in the quest for higher ratings during sweep weeks.
CATEGORIES OF NEWS AND REPORTING
News can be broken down into three broad categories: (1) hard news, (2) features, or soft news, and (3) investigative reports.
Hard News
Hard news is the realm of traditional fact-oriented journalism; it embodies the famous journalis-tic question set of who, what, where, when, why, and how. Hard news generally embraces all but the human interest values, with emphasis on the values of timeliness and consequence. Hard news tends to be the lead off stories in broadcast news or Section 1 of a newspaper.
The Print Media usually delivers news in the traditional inverted pyramid format, wherein the story is reported in a descending order of importance. The first sentence of a hard news story is the lead, a sentence that summarizes the who, what, where, when, why, and how of the story.
The Broadcast Media follows a square format in which the level of important facts remains the same throughout the story and often ends in a summary statement of the story’s relevance to the viewer. TV news uses both hard leads (factual, no nonsense approach) or soft leads (feature-like approach designed to grab the viewer’s interest). In addition to being written largely to comple-ment the story’s video tape, broadcast news is written in a simpler, more informal conversational style than print news.
Soft News (or feature news)
Soft news, which covers a wide spectrum of topics, usually relies heavily on the human interest news value, stories that appeal to people’s curiosity, sympathy, skepticism, or amazement. Fea-ture stories are entertaining, and they can be about places, people, animals, mysteries, oddities, or products. Many TV and print vehicles are based primarily on soft content, such as Entertainment Tonight, or the “Life” section of USA Today. One thing is for certain--audiences love them.
Investigative Reports
Investigative stories are designed to unearth significant information about matters of public im-portance through the use of non-routine information-gathering methods. Stories such as political scandals, business cover-ups, drug trafficking, and institutional inefficiencies are typical targets. The investigative piece also requires considerable time and money to complete. In print media, stories usually take the form of an extended series over a period of several days; in the broadcast media, an investigative story might be take several minutes each day on an evening newscast (a mini-doc) or it might take from 15-120 minutes on a news magazine show or documentary.
THE NEWS FLOW
Print Media
There are two main sources of print news, staff reports and wire services. There are other con-tributing sources as well (syndicates, columnists, public relation handouts, and government re-ports), but they generally have less consequence for the paper’s readers. The city editor heads a paper’s reporting staff, assigning stories to two types of reporters: the beat reporter (covers tra-ditional news-making areas such as fire and police departments, government, schools, and busi-ness), and the general assignment reporter. The managing editor is responsible for the overall daily preparation of the paper. These people, including others such as the editor-in-chief, copy editor, layout editor, and the photo editor play a part in the gatekeeping process.
Broadcast Media
Broadcast news sources are fairly similar to print sources (local beats, general assignment report-ers, wire services, syndicates, and, for affiliate stations, network resources). In terms of organi-zation, the news director is responsible for the news program itself, while the executive producer oversees other producers in charge of various news programs (morning, evening, and late night). Typical responsibilities for a news program producer might include:
. deciding what stories are covered, by whom, and in what way
. deciding the order in which stories appear in the newscast
. determining the amount of time each story is given
. writing copy for some stories
. integrating live reports into the newscasts
Working with the producer is the assignment editor who assigns stories and monitors reporters and the TV production crews. Equally important people to the program include the news an-chors (the “glamour” jobs), camera crews, sound editors, writers, artists, and tape editors.
Online Media
An online news organization may or may not be integrated with its parent print or broadcasting parent, but the news flow and production process is essentially similar to that of the traditional media. Obviously, the new job responsibilities in this arena are the web site designer (in charge of what the news site looks like), and the web editor (who decides, among other things, how of-ten the site will be updated and which multimedia elements to use with the stories and how).
TECHNOLOGY
. ENG Electronic News Gathering allows portable cameras to beam images back to the studio
. SNG Satellite News Gathering allows live global satellite feeds from anywhere on the planet
While ENG and SNG technologies allow TV stations to provide live coverage, that news is also unedited and unfiltered, and therefore subject to elements of trivia, irrelevance, and inaccuracies.
THE WIRE SERVICES
AP stands for the Associated Press wire service and UPI stands for United Press International; they are our country’s two biggest news wire services and together provide you with most of the news about what’s going on outside of your local community.
In short, wire services work like this: first a wire correspondent covers a story and sends it along to the local bureau chief; if the story is deemed to be important or appropriate enough, the bureau chief forwards it to the state bureau. The evaluation process is repeated again for the next higher levels, regional, national, and global. The purpose of a wire service is to provide newspapers with correspondents and coverage that the papers couldn’t otherwise afford. Newspapers pay for wire service news on a sliding scale: the bigger the paper’s circulation, the more they pay.
The AP has about 145 domestic bureaus and about 95 foreign bureaus, and in 2000 the AP had about 15,000 customers worldwide, including about 1,700 newspapers, 5,000 radio and TV sta-tions, and about 500 cable systems.
Because of continuing long-time financial problems, UPI has only six domestic bureaus and now concentrates on providing news to Internet clients such as Excite.
The AP and UPI do have other competition, most notably The New York Times News Service and the Los Angeles Times-Washington Post News Service. Some newspaper chains and a few international wire services (Britain’s Reuters and France’s Agence-France) provide additional competition. Finally, there are specialized information services now available on the Internet, such as Internet Wire and CNet.
MEDIA DIFFERENCES IN NEWS COVERAGE
Print media have the potential for in-depth reporting and lengthy analysis, elements usually miss-ing from broadcast journalism. A typical news broadcast, printed out, would usually take up less space than a single newspaper page. Broadcast news proponents counter by saying that print journalism is slow, old-fashioned, dull, and doesn’t have the space to print the many images used in a typical TV news broadcast.
Critics of online journalism suggest that many web journalists are too quick to post stories, don’t check their facts as thoroughly as traditional journalists, and are slow to post corrections to news stories.
The truth, however, is that all three mediums have unique strengths and weaknesses, and they all play crucial roles in keeping the public informed.
Words and Pictures
Both print and online news is organized by space while TV stories are sorted by time. The in-herent characteristics of each media, therefore, have an impact on what news gets covered and how. Some observers point out that TV is better at transmitting experience or impressions while print and online media are better at providing facts and information. Newspapers and online sites also have more permanence, making re-reading and researching stories, even complicated ones, fairly easy to do. Broadcast stories, on the other hand, are designed for one-time exposure, and complex stories are often difficult to accurately convey to the viewer. Broadcast news does have strong and unique advantages, which is now shares somewhat with online journalism, in-cluding immediacy, sound, and moving images.
Print, Online, and Broadcast Journalists
Another difference between the three media is that the appearance and personality of the broad-cast reporter are important parts of the process. Repeated exposure often turns TV anchors into stars in themselves, with audiences often developing a personal relationship with the anchors. By contrast, print and online reporters remain relatively anonymous, identified, if at all, only by their byline under a news story.
News Consultants
News consultants work for all three news media, although their impact is more apparent in the broadcast area. Consultants introduced audience surveys to local stations in order to make rec-ommendations to management based on what the public said they wanted to see in local news, not on what journalists think should be in the news, which is a considerable shift in the tradi-tional news value system and gatekeeping process. Since news programs are the top revenue source for TV stations, and bigger audience ratings directly equate to larger revenues, broadcast-ers listen carefully to news consultants. One result has been a news homogenization effect across the country, wherein one news broadcast looks and sounds pretty much like any other in the country; this effect is largely due to station owners relying on the same pool of news consult-ants.
Similarities in the News Media
Despite their differences, editors and reporters in each media share identical journalistic values: honesty, accuracy, objectivity, fairness, balance, and integrity. To be trusted and believed, jour-nalists must maintain a high level of credibility with their audiences. As such, they have tradi-tionally respected the truth, refused to distort facts, and consciously tried to detach themselves as much as possible from the stories they report. Nonetheless, journalists periodically undergo cri-ses of confidence, when many people begin to doubt that journalists are telling them the com-plete truth or are using questionable methods to uncover news stories. And credibility, above all other factors, is paramount in order to keep a relationship of integrity and trust with the public.
INTERMEDIA COMPARISONS
A 2000 news survey turned up a surprising trend in how Americans get their news: the Internet is increasingly becoming a major information source (30 percent of people go online for news at least once a week). At the same time, viewership for network and local news has declined, while reliance on print and cable as news sources has remained stable. Although in decline, TV news shows still retain the highest credibility rating with the American public.
NEWS ONLINE
General news web sites tend to be visited most often (MSNBC, CNN.com, CNET.com, etc.). Online audiences also have the ability to customize their news, allowing people to choose what blend of news coverage they prefer. Another major advantage of online news sites is that much of their information remains accessible, and user searchable, in archived stories.
From the journalist’s perspective, the Internet now permits a much greater ability to do first-hand research, certainly a quicker, more convenient, and often more comprehensive way of research than on-site visits. With the Internet’s wide array of communication tools, journalists are calling the Internet the most significant advance in news-gathering tools since the telephone.
Online reporters must also be able to mine facts from Internet-based sources as well as master all its communication outlets; these skills are collectively called computer-assisted reporting. An online journalist’s writing skills must also include a new ability to weave appropriate hyperlinks into a story, which provide related or background information for that story. E-journalists also need to know how to incorporate sound bytes, video clips, and even establish audience interac-tive links (bulletin board access) to help round out major stories.
With all its advantages, online journalism raises an equal number of serious new issues about the profession, such as: should online journalists be expected to have the same formal training as traditional journalists? What are the legal and ethical standards for online journalism? Should online news sources be held to the same credibility standards as traditional news sources?
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