1. THIS MORNING:
1. The media as "watchdogs"
2. Documentary showing 1) how the media cover elections and 2) how this coverage is influenced by candidates and their advisors.
1. It is a perfect illustration of the political uses of the media.



2. THE MEDIA AS THE GUARDIANS OF DEMOCRACY:
1. A reassuring belief is that our "free and independent" press guards us against official misconduct.
1. Numerous images and symbols support this feeling, which is also reinforced by, say, books and films such as Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman in "All the King's Men," which describes the uncovering of the Watergate scandal in the 1970s.
2. Yet our faith may be misplaced.
1. One can argue, for example, that contrary to this reassuring belief the media are not as independent of those they cover as we think.



3. "ILLUSIONS OF NEWS":
1. Overview:
1. Lots of important events and problems occur and persist.
2. But surprisingly many are hardly mentioned in election campaigns and the mass media.
3. Worse yet, according to this documentary, how the media covers elections is heavily influenced by candidates and their campaign staffs.
1. We see and hear what campaign managers, public relations experts, pollsters, and others want us to see and hear.
4. Ronald Reagan's team was not the first or only group to exercise this influence; it was just better than most.
5. The media treat campaigns in particular and politics in general as sporting events and entertainment.
1. The result: superficial, trivial, confusing, disorienting coverage.
2. Some names and incidents to keep in mind:
1. Michael Deaver
2. Lesley Stahl
3. Reagan and the Daytona 500
4. Reagan at a Boston pub and a construction site in Texas
5. Bush and Dukakis saluting the flag and reciting the pledge of allegiance.
6. Bush jogging in the rain.

1. NEXT TIME:
1. Reading:
1. As noted in the last notes, Squire and others, Dynamics of Democracy, Chapter 8 and the essays on the internet site.

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