THE "POWER" OF THE PRESS

Everybody has their own opinions about the “media.” Some say that the media is too powerful and often unfair. Others recognize the important role the media plays in our democracy. Keep in mind that journalism is the only business specifically protected by no less than the First Amendment of the US Constitution: “Congress shall make no law abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press . . .” The founders saw the “power of the press” as a that of a government watchdog, as well as a catalyst for discussion of public issues.

I have always been fascinated by the mass communication media. In fact, I was fascinated enough to pursue college degrees in the field, including a doctorate in mass communication. Before I founded Key West The Newspaper (KWTN) in 1994, I spent more than 20 years working in virtually every facet of mass communication– advertising, public relations, writing and teaching. Do you want me to tell you how powerful the press really is, according to the academic literature? I’ll do that at the end of this column. You might be surprised.

The first real mass communication medium was newspapers. But before newspapers were the flyers and pamphlets. Thomas Paine’s “Common Sense,” which is credited with building support for the American Revolution among the colonists, was a pamphlet. The big newspapers, combined with the popularity of radio in the 1930s and 1940s began to attract the attention of critics concerned that the mass media had simply become too powerful. They talked about the media in terms of a “magic bullet,” which suggested that just about any idea communicated through the mass media could easily persuade the hapless public.

The critics’ “smoking gun” came on October 30, 1938, when young Orson Welles broadcast the now-famous Halloween production of “War of the Worlds” on CBS. The story was presented as a series of simulated (but realistic) news bulletins reporting that Martians were in the process of invading Earth. Although the producers had aired a disclaimer at the beginning of the show, listeners who tuned in late did not hear that announcement– and there was widespread panic. Many people actually thought that Earth was being invaded. The next day, there was widespread outrage, with critics calling for government regulation of the too-powerful media.

However, as social psychologists and others began to research the effects of mass media, it did not take long to discover that the media was not all-powerful. But they did discover a number of mass-persuasion theories that are still used today by communicators in advertising and other forms of communications. If you’re old enough, you may remember Vance Packard’s book, “The Hidden Persuaders.”

In the 1950s, television began to preempt radio as the prime mass communication medium. And today, of course, the internet, in all of its forms, is the new media– with potential that most of us cannot even imagine.

As far as the power of the press is concerned, mass communication researchers developed a now well accepted theory– the Theory of Agenda Setting. This theory holds that mass communication is NOT very effective when it comes to telling people WHAT TO THINK. On the other hand, mass communication is quite effective when it comes to telling people WHAT TO THINK ABOUT.

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Dennis Reeves Cooper, Ph.D

Dennis Reeves Cooper was editor and publisher of Key West The Newspaper for 18 years before he retired in 2012.