American Government and Politics Today, Brief Edition, 2014-2015

132 PART TwO • THE POlITICS OF AMERICAn dEMOCRACy

Public Agenda

Issues that are perceived

by the political com-

munity as meriting

public attention and

governmental action.

Entertainment. By far the

greatest number of radio and

television hours are dedicated

to entertaining the public. The

battle for prime-time ratings indi-

cates how important successful

entertainment is to the survival of

networks and individual stations.

A number of network shows

have a highly political content.

Many younger people report

that they get much of their politi-

cal information from two pro-

grams on the Comedy Central

network, hosted by Jon Stewart

and Stephen Colbert. Both are

liberal, although as part of his

routine, Colbert pretends to be a

conservative.

For many Americans, espe-

cially younger ones, the Internet

is replacing television as a source

of entertainment. While much

time on the Internet may be spent

chatting with friends on Skype or

even watching television programs online, politics is often a topic. YouTube, in particular,

offers a large number of politically oriented videos, many of which are satirical. Talk radio

and television shows that feature personalities are another form of politically oriented

entertainment—one that is dominated by the political right.

Reporting the news. A primary function of the mass media in all their forms is the

reporting of news. The media provide words and pictures about events, facts, personali-

ties, and ideas. The protections of the First Amendment are intended to keep the flow of

news as free as possible, because it is an essential part of the democratic process. If citi-

zens cannot obtain unbiased information about the state of their communities and their

leaders’ actions, how can they make voting decisions? One of the more incisive comments

about the importance of the media was made by James Madison, who said, “A people

who mean to be their own governors must arm themselves with the power knowledge

gives. A popular government without popular information or the means of acquiring it, is

but a prologue to a farce or a tragedy or per haps both.”^5

Identifying Public Problems. The power of the media is important not only in

revealing what the government is doing but also in determining what the government

ought to do—in other words, in setting the public agenda. As we noted earlier in

this chapter, the mass media identify public issues. An example is the release of con-

victed sex offenders to residential neighborhoods after the end of their prison terms.

Many young people get much of their television news from Stephen Colbert

and Jon Stewart on the Comedy Central cable/satellite channel. (Scott Gries/PictureGroup.

via AP Images)

5. James Madison, “Letter to W. T. Barry” (August 4, 1822), in Gaillard P. Hunt, ed., The Writings of
   James Madison, Vol. 9 (1910), p. 103.

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