Oklahoma State University – Oklahoma City
American Government POLS1113-20470
Spring 2022
Lecture Notes #8
Contents: cover materials in Chapter 8 – Media
American Government
Lecture Notes #8
The new media environment is dynamic and continues to develop in novel, sometimes unanticipated,
ways that have serious consequences for democratic governance and politics. New media have radically
altered the way that government institutions operate, the way that political leaders communicate, the
manner in which elections are contested, and citizen engagement.
This lecture will briefly address the evolution of new media, before examining in greater detail their role
in and consequences for political life. The rise of new media has complicated the political media system.
Legacy media consisting of established mass media institutions that predate the Internet, such as
newspapers, radio shows, and television news programs, coexist with new media that are the outgrowth
of technological innovation. While legacy media maintain relatively stable formats, the litany of new
media, which includes websites, blogs, video-sharing platforms, digital apps, and social media, are
continually expanding in innovative ways. Mass media designed to deliver general interest news to
broad audiences have been joined by niche sources that narrowcast to discrete users (Stroud, 2011).
New media can relay information directly to individuals without the intervention of editorial or
institutional gatekeepers, which are intrinsic to legacy forms. Thus, new media have introduced an
increased level of instability and unpredictability into the political communication process.
The relationship between legacy media and new media is symbiotic. Legacy media have incorporated
new media into their reporting strategies. They distribute material across an array of old and new
communication platforms. They rely on new media sources to meet the ever-increasing demand for
content. Despite competition from new media, the audiences for traditional media remain robust, even
if they are not as formidable as in the past. Readers of the print edition of The New York Times and
viewers of the nightly network news programs far outnumber those accessing the most popular political
news websites (Wired Staff, 2017). Cable and network television news remain the primary sources of
political information for people over the age of thirty (Mitchell and Holcomb, 2016). Consequently, new
media rely on their legacy counterparts to gain legitimacy and popularize their content.
Ideally, the media serve several essential roles in a democratic society. Their primary purpose is to
inform the public, providing citizens with the information needed to make thoughtful decisions about
leadership and policy. The media act as watchdogs checking government actions. They set the agenda
for public discussion of issues, and provide a forum for political expression. They also facilitate
community building by helping people to find common causes, identify civic groups, and work toward
solutions to societal problems (Owen, 2022).
