The Media Interest Groups Lobbyists Individual Citizens

1
The MediaInterest GroupsLobbyistsIndividual
Citizens

• Plurality
• Political influence

2
The MediaInfluence

• Known as the fourth branch
• Media sets agenda of political discussion and
  this sweeping power is unrestrained by any law.
  It determines what people will talk about and
  think about an authority that in other nations
  is reserved for tyrants, priests, parties and
  mandarins
• Media effects include -
• Identifying issues and setting agenda for
  policymakers
• Influencing attitudes and values toward policy
  issues
• Changing behavior of voters and decision makers

3
The MediaInfluence

• Survey 69 of respondents said they got most of
  their news info from television 56 said they
  are inclined to believe over other news sources
• Survey 70 of senior federal officials believed
  positive press coverage increased the likelihood
  that they would attain their goals
• Example unfavorable coverage of Reagan
  administrations attempts to tighten eligibility
  requirements for social security disability
  benefits contributed to eventual abandonment of
  the effort

4
The MediaMedia Power

• Media not only reports to the people the
  struggles for power in society, but also are
  participants in those struggle
• Great power derives from control of a societys
  media
• Media power is concentrated in the hands of a
  few editors, producers, anchors, reporters and
  columnists of leading television networks (ABC,
  CBS, NBC, FOX, CNN) and press (New York Times,
  Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Newsweek,
  US News and World Report)

5
The MediaNewsmaking

• Media executives decide on newsmaking what is
  news who is newsworthy what people,
  organizations, events will be given media
  attention, and how much attention
• Politicians, public relations people, interest
  groups will engage in behavior or manufacture
  situations (e.g. media events, staged debate,
  confrontation, or illustration of injustice) to
  attract media attention. Policymakers may also
  leak premature information to test or influence
  public opinion in order to rally (or kill)
  support for a certain policy

6
The MediaMedia Bias

• Judgment regarding which stories should be given
  coverage is affected by political values and
  economic interests of media executives
• A principal source of distortion in the news is
  caused by the need for emotional rhetoric,
  shocking incidents, dramatic conflict, overdrawn
  stereotypes to entertain audience sex,
  violence, and corruption are favorite topics
• Sensational, easy-to-comprehend policies (e.g.
  universal healthcare coverage) tend to get more
  coverage than technical and complicated policies
  (e.g. patent rules that affect drug costs)

7
Interest Groups

• An interest group (also called advocacy group,
  lobby group, pressure group or special interest
  group) is an organized collection of people who
  seek to influence political decisions
• American political process being inherently
  pluralistic emphasize the role of competitive
  groups in society

8
Interest GroupsInfluence

• Interest groups seek to influence policy in
  different ways
• Lobbying, including contacting government
  offices, presenting research results, drafting
  legislation, and testifying at committee hearings
• Campaign contributions made through political
  action committees
• Revolving door exchange of personnel between
  government offices and their industries/organizati
  ons
• Litigation to force changes in policies through
  the court, wherein they may bring class-action
  suits or file amicus curiae (friend of the court)
  argument
• Grassroots mobilization efforts to encourage
  letters, calls, and visits by individual
  constituents to influence the politicians
• The level of influence depends on their size of
  membership, monetary and other resources,
  cohesiveness, social status, skill of leadership,
  presence or absence of competing organizations

9
Interest GroupsExample American Medical
Association

• The American Medical Association (AMA) is the
  largest association of physicians and medical
  students in the US. Its mission is to promote the
  art and science of medicine for the betterment of
  the public health, to advance the interests of
  physicians and their patients, to promote public
  health, to lobby for legislation favorable to
  physicians and patients, and to raise money for
  medical education.
• the AMA opposed publicly-funded health care
  because of concerns physicians have had over the
  financial implications of such plans and the
  worries that a prominent government role in
  coordinating medical financing would
  inappropriately interfere with the doctor-patient
  relationship

10
Lobbyists

• Lobbying targets the Senate, the House of
  Representatives, and state legislatures.
  Lobbyists may also represent their clients' or
  organizations' interests in dealings with
  federal, state, or local executive branch
  agencies or the courts. Each year lobbyists spend
  more than 2 billion trying to influence policy
  more than 2 million for each member of Congress
• There are over 17,000 federal lobbyists based in
  Washington, DC. While many are employed by
  lobbying and law firms and retain outside
  clients, others are employed by trade
  associations, companies, and state and local
  governments
• Lobbyists use time spent with legislators to
  explain the goals of the organization which they
  represent.
• Lobby groups and their members sometimes also
  write legislation and whip bills.
• The ability of individuals, groups, and
  corporations to lobby the government is protected
  by the right to petition in the First Amendment
  of the Constitution.

11
LobbyistsTop spenders by sectors (98-06)

• Finance, Insurance, Real Estate
• Health
• Misc Business
• Communications/Electronics
• Energy Natural Resources
• Transportation
• Other
• Ideological/Single-Issue
• Agribusiness
• Defense

• 2,558,205,882
• 2,257,719,539
• 2,298,865,053
• 2,092,700,759
• 1,670,116,451
• 1,358,911,163
• 1,358,911,163
• 848,747,426
• 819,757,771
• 668,009,653

12
LobbyistsReform

• The Lobbying and Disclosure Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C.
  1601) aimed at bringing a level of accountability
  to federal lobbying practices. The law was
  amended substantially by the Honest Leadership
  and Open Government Act of 2007. Under provisions
  which took effect on January 1, 2006, Lobbyists
  are required to register with the Clerk of the
  House of Representatives and the Secretary of the
  Senate. Anyone failing to do so is punishable by
  a civil fine of up to 50,000

13
Political Action Committees

• Under the Federal Election Campaign Act, an
  organization becomes a "political action
  committee" (PAC) by receiving contributions or
  making expenditures in excess of 1,000 for the
  purpose of influencing a federal election.
• When an interest group gets directly involved
  within the political process, a PAC is created.
  These PACs receive and raise money from the
  special group's constituents, and on behalf of
  the special interest, makes donations to
  political campaigns.

14
Political Action CommitteesTop spenders in 2004
Presidential Election

• EMILY's List 22,767,521
• Service Employees International Union 12,899,352
  
• American Federation of Teachers 12,789,296
• American Medical Association 11,901,542
• National Rifle Association 11,173,358
• Teamsters Union 11,128,729
• International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers
  10,819,724
• National Education Association 10,521,538
• American Federation of State, County and
  Municipal Employees 9,882,022
• Laborers' International Union of North America
  9,523,837

15
Political Action CommitteeExample EMILYs List

• EMILY's List is a PAC founded in 1984 that aims
  to help elect female candidates who support
  abortion rights to office.
• The name EMILY's List is an acronym for "Early
  Money Is Like Yeast," from the common political
  saying, "Early money is like yeast, because it
  helps to raise the dough." The saying is a
  reference to a convention of political
  fundraising that receiving lots of donations
  early in a race is helpful in scaring off
  challengers and attracting other, later donors.
• EMILY's List has over 100,000 members across the
  country. Since 1984, EMILY's List has raised over
  240 million to elect 69 pro-choice Democratic
  women to the U.S. House, 13 to the U.S. Senate,
  and eight governors

16
Individual Citizens

• Individual citizens may influence policymaking in
  different ways
• Public opinion (poll)
• Grassroots efforts to call, write to
  politicians
• Participation in interest groups (or other policy
  actors)
• Voting in election
• Voting in initiatives and recall election

17
Individual CitizensInitiatives

• Initiative (also known as referendum or
  propositions) provides a means by which a
  petition signed by a certain minimum number of
  registered voters can force a public vote on a
  proposed statute, constitutional amendment,
  charter amendment or ordinance, or policy, to
  oblige the executive or legislative bodies to
  consider, adopt or implement the subject. It is a
  form of direct democracy
• The initiative is only available in a minority of
  jurisdictions. It was included in the Swiss
  Federal Constitution in 1891, permitting a
  certain number of citizens (currently 100,000) to
  make a request to amend a constitutional article,
  or even to introduce a new article into the
  constitution
• In US, the initiative is in use in 24 states and
  the District of Columbia, and is also in common
  use at the local and city government level

18
Individual CitizensInitiatives

• In 1998, voters approved 36 of 61 initiatives on
  the ballot in several states, they included
• Ending affirmative action
• Raising minimum wage
• Banning billboards
• Restricting campaign spending and contributions
• Expanding casino gambling
• Banning many forms of hunting
• Prohibiting some abortions

19
Individual CitizensRecall Election

• Recall election is a procedure by which voters
  can remove an elected official from office.
  Eighteen states allow the recall of state
  officials. In Alaska, Georgia, Kansas, Minnesota,
  Montana, Rhode Island, and Washington, specific
  grounds are required for a recall. Some form of
  misconduct while in office must be identified by
  the petitioner. In the other eleven states, no
  grounds are required
• Only two Governors have ever been successfully
  recalled. In 1921, North Dakota's Lynn J. Frazier
  was recalled over a dispute about state-owned
  industries, and in 2003, California Governor Gray
  Davis was recalled over mismanagement of the
  state budget. Other California governors,
  including Ronald Reagan, Jerry Brown, and Pete
  Wilson, had faced recall attempts, but these
  attempts were unsuccessful