Dunn, D. (1974). Symbiosis: congress and the press. In R. O.

Blanchard, Congress and

the news media (pp. 240-249). New York, NY: Hastings House.
240 The intensity and persistence of such discussions suggest that both political reporters and
public officials regard the relationship between the press and government as fundamental to the
democratic process.
241 While not all representatives and senators are publicity hounds, most reap satisfaction from
personal publicity
Senators and representatives believe that the better known they are, the greater are their
chances for re-election
Congressmen also desire to make news in order to create an image of themselves as active and
concerned leaders.
Officials also need the assistance of the press as they seek to introduce ideas and develop
support for them.
242 One reason senators and representatives desire to make news is that publicity has an impact
on the policy process. They learn from the media and assume that other officials also do.
The media, for example, constitute a source of ideas. When the New York Times executes a study
of what it perceives to be a national problem, the resulting work can provide a seedbed for policy
ideas. Likewise, a dramatic television documentary, ripe with ideas for new policy initiatives
concerning a public problem, might produce extensive publicity.
Indeed, an official may plant ideas for such documentaries and feature stories in an effort to
dramatize the need to act on a program in which he has long been interested.
The media helps them in evaluating their own activities.
Officials also learn from the press how to order their priorities.
243 Congressmen read newspapers to discover what is occurring on the Hill itself. The myriad of
committee meetings makes it impossible to keep abreast of everything.
Lawmakers also utilize the media to gauge constituency reaction.
246 Senators and representatives desiring press coverage can acquire it in a variety of ways.
The most ubiquitous is the press release (containing attendance, results of constituency polls,
committee activities, key votes, policy positions, responses, and different letters) which is
broadcasted through a news column, or radio or TV program.
-247 Personal interviews are a second way. It is the rare representative or senator who refuses to
talk with a reporter. A reporter usually wants to know about a particular event occurring on the
Hill or an activity in which a member is engaged.
247 Floor speeches can also be made to generate press attention. Some observers assert that
most activity on the legislative floor is play toward the press, designed primarily for its
newsmaking qualities.

Lawmakers frequently stage events (congressional investigations, committee hearings) to

achieve publicity.
Finally, senators and representatives can call press conferences or briefings (support or criticize
the positions of the Executive; explain purposes and obtain publicity for a resolution; etc)
248 The typical congressman or senator has a press secretary to marshal the lawmakers press
initiatives, to calculate the ways to increase his publicity, to answer routine reportorial inquiries,
and to write the weekly newsletter for newspapers as well as the script for radio and television
shows. The press secretary should have broad personal contact with reporters, know what their
needs are, be able to recognize a good story, and be aware of the possibilities of generating
news for the benefit of his boss.
Donald, M. (1974). Covering the senate. In R. O. Blanchard, Congress and the news
media (pp. 253-269). New York, NY: Hastings House.
Two levels of reporting:

Small out-of-town papers (+ regional reporters for wire service; locally-slanted news)
Wire services (for top news; e.g. AP, UPI)

257 Reporters play an important role in the operation of the Senate and profoundly shape the
behavior of its members.
Senatorial behavior is shaped by the senators perceptions of the reporters notion of news. (1
Reporters definition of news, and what the issues are.)
258 Most senators develop a sense of news, that is, they are able accurately to anticipate what
events will be considered news by which reporters (out of town versus wire service reporters.)
If the relationship between senator and reporter matures into one of close collaboration and
respect, the reporter is likely to become an informal adviser to his Senate news source. (2 As
Informal Advisors)
259 The truth of the matter would seem to be that while newspapermen make news, they cannot
. . . admit it. For example, if we discover a scandal in an executive agency we generally take it to
a senator or congressman and try to get an investigation. Then it becomes news. (3 Pressure
senators into taking action by playing a story)
260 While the normal senator has great (and sometimes misguided) faith in personal ovservation
and experience, it is clearly impossible for him personally to gather more than a tiny fraction of
all the facts and ideas he needs. Senators are incredibly busy people. They read newspapers to
keep track of whats happening in the Senate. (4 Link between senators and outside world and
as a means of communication within the chamber)
260 But the blatant subservience of most senators to reporters is not solely a manifestation of
the latters power. It is also, as we shall see, one way in which senators try to control reporters.
(1 Overcooperation)
260-261 Senators also possess considerable leverage over the reporters as well. They are
publicity hounds, whose basic gambit is overcooperation.

Senators, their staffs, and (indirectly) the American taxpayer provide all kinds of services and
special privileges to the press corps. The Senate press galleries are the most tangible of these
services and help explain why the Senate and senators are such favored sources of news. A
good place to run into friends and catch up on the latest gossip
Senators staffs also provide news outlets with press releases as a matter of routine and
appropriately timed to suit the reporters convenience (by notifying them in advanced whenever
the senator has activities)
Consequences

Information on speeches, debates, and committee questioning are seldom adequately

covered in newspaper accounts of Senate proceedings.
Senators gain more control over the content of news dispatches than they otherwise
would have.

262 Overcooperation results not only in good will but also in a sense of indebtedness on the part
of the reporter as well, and at least some control is exerted over the reporters stories.
(2 Off-the-Record Interviews, Leaks, and Exclusives)
-263 Important distinction: They are not across-the-board policies applied to many reporters
but special favors granted to a select few. (Keeping sources open; competition between news
sources, Washington reporters are hungry for exclusive stories)
(3 The Friendship Ploy)
263 Reporters pick up tips and inside stories; senators get protection. Many a reporter has found
that his best stories are obtained at Washington parties.
(4 Non-cooperation and Attack)
The basic tactic of the publicity hound is to provide services and special favors which then may
be withdrawn in the event the newsmen do not live up to their end of the bargain of rendering
favorable coverage.
265 However, a senator who boycotts a reporter, paper, or news service usually does himself
more harm than good. To the reporters, efforts to use extreme sanction against them merely
indicate that the senators just dont understand our business and are not likely to be good
sources, anyway.
Conflict, Cooperation, and the News
The potential sources of conflict in the relations of senators and reporters are almost infinite. The
reporters want news, and the senators desire favorable publicity for themselves and their
programs the two are by no means identical concepts.
266 However, animosities seldom break the surface because senators and reporters understand
each others problems, reporters are socialized into the Senate, and senators and reporters
perform rational calculationthey need each other so badly that the use by either side of
sanction stronger than noncooperation is not rational policy.

267 A senator, by giving a reporter preferential treatment, can enhance a newsmans prestige
among the press corps, his standing with his employees and readers, and his earning power. A
reporter, by giving a senator a good break, can contribute substantially to the success of the
senators career. This kind of back-scratching is far more profitable to both sides than conflict.
But the reporter cannot suppress a really newsworthy story.
268 It is how a story is written, and not whether it is written, that is influenced by reportersenator back-scratching.
Rozell, M. J., & Semiatin, R. J. (2008). Congress and the News Media. In M. J. Rozell & J.
D. Mayer (Eds.), Media power, media politics (2nd ed.) (pp. 43-63). Lanham: Rowman
& Littlefield Publishing.
(Intro: Hypodermic Needle Theory)
43 Numerous studies on media coverage of Congress arrive at the same conclusion: Congress
receives very little respect from the national media. The news either ignores much of what goes
on in Congress or presents the institution in the most unflattering light possible.
46 What do many of the studies of media coverage of congress specifically reveal?
That members of Congress are either incompetent or corrupt or both and that the legislative
process does not work
47 Journalists know that conflict and scandal interest the public. Competition within print media
which more recently has seen declining revenues has driven many journalists toward increased
scandal coverage to satisfy what they perceive as the publics appetite for such a focus.
48 Both Broder and William Raspberry have written that the public holds Congress in such low
esteem, in part, because of the journalistic trend of emphasizing conflict and controversy over
substance. 29 Blow by Blow Coverage, Washington Post 30 Oct 1995 A17
49 Institutional stories are more complicated for reporters and editors to understand and to write
about in single news stories and columns. One explanation is the difficulty of identifying a focal
point in Congress. Congressional coverage also suffers because of intense media interest in the
horse race of presidential campaigns.
50 Responsibility for presenting a balanced and realistic representation of Congress lies with the
journalists.
-51 It is difficult to imagine that congressional coverage will ever deemphasize controversy,
scandal, and intrigue and focus on process and policy. But reporters and editors can voluntarily
do a better job of educating the public about Congress and representative government.
50 The national press would do well to reconsider its priorities. It has excelled in exposing . . .
the high crimes and peccadilloes of persons in high places. But it has fallen short far short in
its higher responsibility of public education.45 William Fulbright in Broder, Behind the Front page,
213
52-53 News divisions are now supposed to be revenue makers for the networks, as opposed to
fifty years ago, when news was not expected to generate profit. This means cutbacks in

coverage of traditional political news and more coverage of consumer, health, and personal
news. Such consolidation of news coverage leads to more superficial reporting.
Media decentralization > competition, to fill in sensational news 24/7
53 The internet has increased the instantaneous nature of reporting, or what has become known
as breaking news.
54 The proliferation of Web sites that report news without the traditional filter of sourcing
information has contributed to a reporting environment where the difference between rumors
and fact is often blurred.
Viral explosion of rumor over the Internet only exacerbates partisan tensions and contributes to
conflict rather than cooperation.
Institutional effects

55 Coverage is not 27/7 anymore; it is now 1440/7 that is, minute-by-minute coverage,
every day.
Every statement a member makes can be parsed, captured by a blogger, and appear on
the Web instantly.
56 The politicization of Congress is magnified instantaneously, while the time for policy
reflection is diminished.
Fragmentation of the media has decreased incentives for collegiality, and has increased
the value of personality and decreased the value of institutional responsibility.
Members are less apt to engage in risk-taking policy initiatives when they are continually
watched by bloggers, internet reporters, and trackers.
Agenda setting and position taking have now become even more responsive given the
pressures felt by members of Congress from the internet.

Graber, D. A. (1984). Mass media and American politics (2nd ed.). Washington, DC: CQ
Press.
CHAPTER 1
2 News stories often play a crucial part in shaping the perceptions of reality of millions of people,
whose actions then reflect their perceptions
Media often serve as behavior models
-

The media indicate which attitudes and behaviors are acceptable and praiseworthy in a
given society and which are unacceptable or outside the mainstream
Media thus serve as agents of social control that help to integrate and homogenize
American society (hypodermic needle theory?)

5-11 Functions of the Mass Media (Harold Lasswell)

-

Surveillance (report ongoing events)

Interpretation (*of meanings of events and put them into context, and speculate)
Socialization (learning of basic values that prepare individuals to fit into the cultural
setting)

(Graber) 11 Deliberate manipulation (muckraking journalists who conducted their own

investigations into corruption and wrongdoing in hopes that govt action would follow to
clean up the dirt they had exposed

CHAPTER 8
261-263 Types of muckraking (262 Molotoch, Protess, Gordon)
-

Simple muckraking: when journalists investigate a serious societal problem that could be
ameliorated through political action, which creates an investigation that stirs the public
Leaping impact model: Investigation > Publication > Pub Op Arousal > Elite Arousal > Elite
Action > Correction (when some of these are skipped
Truncated muckraking model: the simple muckraking sequence may be aborted anytime
preventing correction (out of close collaboration)

267 Beyond muckraking

-

Power plays: newspeople bullying government officials

Act as surrogates (for govt or IG): newspeople as active participants in a situation
Act as mouthpiece: leaks; because of belief in their cause or return of favors

CHAPTER 7
-

Not much attention on Congress

240 Consequence of congressional coverage
o Representatives watch themselves, monitoring sessions
o Longer policymaking; difficulty to reach compromises
o Less powerful lobbyists
241 What media wants to report (boring vs exciting)
Press releases tell their stories in their own words
243 Neither Congress nor the media need the services of the other
o Media can afford to alientate some legislators without losing direct access to
congressional news
o Legislators often can ignore national publicity and rely instead on publicity in their
districts
National and local media provide senators and representatives with a forum to express
their views on political issues and to attract public support
244 Legislators have their own media consultants
Congressional coverage is more negative
o Media emphasize trivia and scandals and official misconduct and internal dissent
and often ignore congressional consensus and activities of major significance
245 But senators and representatives realize that they need the media for information
and for the publicity that is crucial to their work
Newspeople, in turn, realize they need individual legislators for information about
congressional activities and as a counterfoil and source of leaks to check the executive
branch
They do not want to bite the hand that feeds them the news.

Sellers, P. J. (2011). Manipulating the message in the U.S. Congress. In D. A. Graber

(Ed.), Media power in politics (6th ed.) (pp. 267-274). Washington, DC: CQ Press.
268 If legislators draw media attention to an issue, they may more successfully move related
legislation through Congress.

Support for a single media message draws news attention

273 Differences in coverage and reputation may be linked to decisions by the newspapers
owners and editors to provide different interpretations of news events.
Cook, T. E. (1989). Making laws and making news: Media strategies in the U.S. House
of Representatives. Washington, DC. Brookings Institution.
CHAPTER 7
153-154 Members seek a good reputation among journalists, which can be translated into
influence in Congress, which then leads to increased favorable coverage, and so forth.
154 An inside strategy demands pliability to allow bargaining and compromise
An outside strategy demands definitive position since it relies on the media
CHAPTER 8
167 Relations with the news take up legislators time and effort
Making laws has been supplemented by making news
168 Members of Congress use media to help them get reelected and in policymaking, wielding
influence in Congress and in Washington, and pursuing their personal ambitions
169 News media help House members set the legislative agenda, define the alternatives,
influence public moods, and affect outcomes at a time when the political process is confused and
unpredictable.
Reporters also need legislators to create the events or provide the observations that can bcome
the basis of a story.
They can work in a symbiosis. What did these two institutions have done with each other
HOWEVER: Reporters accord a reassuring coherence to the legislative process by focusing on
particularly and peculiarly congressional actions,
-

Stresses gradual and orderly nature of the way build are passed rather than the chaos or
statis that characterizes much of congressional life.
170 Priorities of journalists and politicians are not always so synchronized.
Journalists tend to pass up matters that are complex, unfamiliar, specialized, or not
apparently easily addressed

If members want news coverage, they must choose clear-cut issues or try to present the
complex as simple.
Bargaining among members . . . becomes more difficult when reporters are watching
Reporters dislike non-committal stances
The Clock of Congress will resemble of the news. The media have a limited attention span.
175 By facilitating communication within Washington, news organizations represent the views of
organized groups or other side already prominent sectors.

Medias role is akin to recirculating air in a building with no windows.

177 Members of the House become directed towards problems that are quickly fixed and away
from chronic conditions that find a news peg only with difficulty. Political debate under the
spotlight is directed to more technical less politicized questions of governance instead of
essential social concerns that the news rarely discusses and that thus remain rarely discussed.
176 Media may ask people outside positions of power for opinions in street interviews, but they
choose the subject, which is usually reflects issues that are hot in Washington Top-down
Policymaking
The news that gets published is a result of a negotiation of newsworthiness, which is a bargain
between the legislator and the journalist.
Baumgartner, F. R., Jones, B. D., & Leech, B. L. (1997). Media attention and
congressional agendas. In S. Iyengar & R. Reeves (Eds.), Do the media govern:
Politicians, voters, and reporters in America (pp. 349-363). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Media attention is limited (see Graber); 349 as a result, coverage often goes in spurts, with
alarmed discovery leading to numerous stories on an issue until attention shifts away.
350 Govt officials cannot possibly pay attention to everything at once, so they choose those
issues that seem most promosing
Hilgartner and Bosk argue that media attention is an important determinant of which issues will
manage to win space in the limited attentions of the public and of Congress.
362 Media attention often precedes congressional attention and then itself increases again in
reaction to increased congressional attention. The more successful proponents or opponents an
issue [there] are in generating news coverage, the more likely that there will be a congressional
hearing on the issue. The more congressional hearings there are, the more publicity there is
likely to be.
Evidences
-

Nuclear power: shutdown of the civilian nuclear power program

Urban problems: prompted congressional attention to problems facing cities
Smoking: Congress began regulating tobacco advertising after health concerns displaced
economic concerns
Drug abuse: prompted Congressional debates

Cooper, C. A. (2002). Media tactics in the state legislature. State Politics & Policy
Quarterly, 2(4), 353-371.
353-354 Rosenthal suggests that media influence is increasing in state legislatures, claiming that
legislators, the urge to play to the media is virtually irresistible.
362: lower mean for media tactics
Traditional tactics (Insider -- Cook)
-

Contacting other legislators directly

Proposing legislation
Contacting government agencies

Contacting the governor's office

Speaking on the floor
Meeting with lobbyists
Meeting with party caucus

Media Tactics (Outsider)

-

Appearing on TV news
Writing OP-ED articles
Issuing press releases
Appearing on public access TV

368 The data suggest that state legislators use media tactics to aid both re-election and lawmaking
State legislators also use the media to advance their policy goals by reaching constituents, policy
elites, and other media.
Tan, Y. & Weaver, D. H. (2007). Agenda-setting effects among the media, the public,
and congress. Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly, 84(4), 729-744.
730 Jones and Baumgartner propose one explanation of agenda-setting: policymaking
institutions have limited issue-capacity, and they have to rely on signals in the political
environment.
730 Cognitive capacity refers primarily to legislators' ability to process information including
collecting, assembling, interpreting, and prioritizing signals from the environment.
In this process, mass media play an important role in "helping" (or affecting) Congress with these
tasks.
731 Legislators are frequent users of national and local news media and play close attention. A
legislator needs the media to increase reelection chances, to put issues on the public agenda, to
convince other legislators to support his or her policy proposals, and to discuss policy
alternatives. (Cooper)
The mass media, as information sources, distinguish themselves in three different ways.
-

They are widely accessible by all the actors in the policymaking process
they broadcast an incomparably large amount of information fast, regularly, truthfully, and
professionally
and their impact is enlarged by intermedia agenda-setting effects

739 There is a moderate and substantial positive relationship between news agendas and
Congressional policy agendas.
Soroka, Stuart, Andrea Lawlor, Stephen Farnsworth, and Lori Young. (2012). "Mass Media and
Policymaking," in Wu Xun, et al. (eds.) Routledge Handbook of the Policy Process. London:
Routledge.

Mass Media and Policymaking

Mass media can, and often do, play a critical role in policymaking.

Media as a policy actor

(Media matters throughout the policy process):

(1) Media can change the audience around a policy debate by framing or defining an issue
using dialogue or rhetoric to persuade/dissuade the public
(2) Can draw attention to players in the policy process and can aid, abet, or hinder their
cause by highlighting their role in policy making.

Sub-arguments:
[Agenda Setting]

(1) Media focusing public attention

(2) Issue attentiveness is a critical precursor of policy change
(3) Media effect on individual level (politicians) 3

[Issue Framing]

(4) Agenda setting looks at story selection as determinants of public perceptions

of issue importance; FRAMING looks at the way those issues are presented 4

(5) Media can apply frames to issues in order to organize a storyline around a series of
events 4

(6) To frame a story is to often withhold some information or prioritize some

facts over others 4

(7) Frames often influence the direction of policy by pulling values or emotion
into the discussion 5
(8) Framing is not an activity of media alone. Policymakers are not simply affected by issue
framing in media, they actively engage in policy framing 5.
Yanovitzky, Itzhak. "Effects of News Coverage on Policy Attention: A Closer Look Into the MediaPolicy Connection." Communication Research, 29(4),pp. 422-451

Effects of News Coverage on Policy Attention

Inquiry on the particular circumstances or conditions under which media effects on
policy making are likely to occur and the way they are manifested [societal level] 423.

Hypotheses: 427
(1) Heightened policy attention to a public issue will be prompted by increased media
attention to the same issue
(2) Following a decrease in media attention to this issue, policy attention to the same issue will
decrease as well
(3) The nature and volume of policy makers actions will correspond to the solutions advocated in
the media regarding this problem and the frequency in which they were mentioned (+
differences)

CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK:

Policymakers have media exposure (primary condition for media effects on individual
judgments and behavior (McGuire) 424.
Motivation is a function of both individual characteristics (predisposition) and
message attributes (frames, persuasion) >> unresponsiveness of policy makers to
issues may compromise their power (given competition)
Media construction of public problem opens window of opportunity for political gain
(Kingdon) 424 >> high stakes in media coverage by policymakers.
Policymaking is a long period of relative stability and incrementalism >> Equilibrium is
punctured when sudden demands for dramatic change forces leaders to respond
quickly (Baumgartner and Jones) 425.
Volume of issue related policy measures would be higher following increased media
attention to this issue.

**Enthusiastic, one-sided treatment of the issue will result in a rapid policy change. Debate and
criticism are predictive of slower and gradual policy actions 425.
**Policymakers are inoculate against media frames due to personal knowledge and experience
except when media prescriptions fit into their own belief structure.

METHODOLOGY (1978-1995)
*IV -- Media attention (measured by number of news stories that appeared in the NYT, WP, and
AP related to DD) 428
*DV -- [A] Policy attention (measured by DD-related congressional hearings and DD-related bill
introduced in the US Congress) 431 [B] Policy action (measured by amount of federal
appropriation for curbing DD and adoption of anti-DD laws by all 50 states and D.C.) 432

RESULTS
(1) Tougher laws and strict reinforcement were introduced in the media even before the problem
peak 434 (note 1980s)
(2) Number of DD-related bills increased 434
(3) Same for DD-related congressional hearings
(4) Hearings and bills also reduced as attention is reduced; ah hoc and long-term solutions are
introduced 436 [Summary on 437
(5) Media-policy association results suggest that the increased volume of DD-related policy
actions between 1981 and 1984 was largely driven by increased media attention to the problem.
As media attention waned from 1985 onward, policy actions continued to increase but at a
decreasing rate. This may imply that the medias role in promoting policy change has shifted
from mobilization to maintenance

Daljinder, N. (2010, Jun 10). How media influences the legislature. Coventry
Journalism Review, X. Retrieved from:
http://cjr2010.wordpress.com/2010/06/10/moral-panics-how-media-influences-thelegislature/