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4 - The Public Forum

Mass Media and the Web

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  30 November 2023

Stephen M. Maurer
Affiliation:
University of California, Berkeley
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Summary

This chapter starts by reviewing the history of American news media since 1789, focusing on how new production technologies and business models led to a comparatively unbiased, objective journalism in the mid-20th Century. The difference today that audiences have become far more polarized. This has enabled market segmentation strategies in which each broadcaster avoid competition by pandering to a different political viewpoint. More recently, the rise of the Web has accelerated the rate at which new political messages can be invented, tested on audiences, and eventually refined to the point where mainstream outlets are prepared to broadcast it. The question remains how effectively large news organizations and Web platforms can suppress information they disagree with. The chapter explores when and to what extent todays markets permit this.

Type
Chapter
Information
We Hold These Truths
Updating the Framers' Vision of American Democracy
, pp. 98 - 135
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2023

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  • The Public Forum
  • Stephen M. Maurer, University of California, Berkeley
  • Book: We Hold These Truths
  • Online publication: 30 November 2023
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108990646.006
Available formats
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Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

  • The Public Forum
  • Stephen M. Maurer, University of California, Berkeley
  • Book: We Hold These Truths
  • Online publication: 30 November 2023
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108990646.006
Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • The Public Forum
  • Stephen M. Maurer, University of California, Berkeley
  • Book: We Hold These Truths
  • Online publication: 30 November 2023
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108990646.006
Available formats
×