146 CHAPTER 5|PUBLIC OPINION AND THE MEDIA
years have seen signifi cant declines in newspaper readership. Companies that once
owned newspapers in Chicago, Philadelphia, and Minneapolis have gone bankrupt,
and one major U.S. city, Seattle, now has no hometown daily news paper. Moreover,
decreases in circulation and advertising revenues are forcing many newspapers to
cut foreign bureaus, some local reporters, and the amount of news in every edition.^67
Nonetheless, many books with political content continue to be published each year.BROADCAST MEDIA
The four major national TV networks (ABC, CBS, Fox, and NBC) and many cable
channels, such as CNN, off er nightly news as well as prime-time news pro-
grams. Some cable stations off er news coverage throughout the day and night,
creating the 24-hour news cycle. Local TV stations also cover local political
events in addition to running the national networks’ programming. News cov-
erage varies from the “talking head” format of a person behind a desk reading
copy to the camera, to investigative reporting that involves reporters and cam-
era crews gathering information in the fi eld, to talk shows that air interviews
with political fi gures.
The major radio networks, such as ABC, CBS, and Clear Channel Communica-
tions, off er brief news programs throughout the day; but most political content on
the radio consists of talk radio programs featuring a host discussing politics with
listeners who phone in. The major nationwide talk radio shows, such as The Rush
Limbaugh Show, generally off er a politically conservative viewpoint—and openly
advertise this orientation.^68 Liberal talk radio programs have a very small audience
compared to the conservative programs’ audience. Other political programs air on
Nat ion a l P ubl ic R a d io, a n orga n i zat ion f u nded by t he gover n ment a nd pr ivat e don a-
tions. Overall, there are more than 13,000 radio stations in America. As with other
media sources, only a fraction of these stations focus on news or political coverage.THE INTERNET
The Internet has quickly become a major source of information about American
politics (Table 5.4). Some Internet sources are electronic versions of sources
that originate in other kinds of media; for example, you can read the New York
Times on its website or listen to Rush Limbaugh’s radio program online. Other
sources exist only in cyberspace; these include Politico.com as well as blogs
authored by political scientists, political consultants, elected officials, and oth-
ers. Video sites such as YouTube offer coverage of congressional proceedings,
campaign events, major political speeches, and many other political topics.
Social media sites are another new information source on the Internet; these
include Facebook, Twitter, and countless sites that off er forums, chat rooms, and
other venues for interaction. Virtually every political organization in America
uses such tools for keeping in touch with supporters and off ering its own view-
point on issues. For example, during Occupy Wall Street protests, organizers have
used Facebook and Twitter to inform supporters about upcoming protests and to
post pictures of protests and police response in diff erent cities. These tools have
also enabled Occupy supporters to exchange ideas about the movement’s goals, to
report on local activities that other media may have missed, and to compare notes
about successful protest tactics. Because the Internet has become such a signifi -
cant source of political information, we explore its role in more detail below.prime time Evening hours when
television viewership is at its high-
est and networks often schedule
news programs.
news cycle The time between
the release of information and its
publication, like the twenty-four
hours between issues of a daily
newspaper.