AMERICAN

MEDIA
GROUP 4:

Elizabeth Sylvania Lie (1701541040)

Trisani Fausyah (1701541045)
Ni Kadek Dwi Permata Sari (1701541048)
Ni Putu Ani Andriyanti (1701541051)
Ni Made Aurelia Wahyu Bathari (1701541055)
A. A. Ratu Paratistha Wijayanti (1701541058)
THE PRESS
 THE FREEDOM OF THE PRESS
 Thomas Jefferson, one of the
Founding Fathers of the United
States, and his political friends
believed that it was the
fundamental right of citizens to be
informed about all sides of an issue
without governmental interference.
This conviction of the importance
of the freedom of the press is laid
down in the First Amendment to
the Constitution of the United
States: "Congress shall make no
law respecting an establishment of
religion, or prohibiting the free
exercise thereof; or abridging the
freedom of speech, or of the press;
or the right of the people peaceably
to assemble, and to petition the
government for a redress of
grievances". These words are the
basis for America's tradition of a
free press.
HISTORY OF THE
PRESS
IN THE USA
 The founders of the United States
thought it essential to stress the
importance of an uncensored
press in order to distinguish their
new government from hat of
England. The British censor the
press and prosecuted persons who
dared to criticize the British
Crown. To comply with the strict
regulations, American editors
avoided controversy and
restricted the contents of their
papers to local (birth, deaths) and
social events. With the passing of
the Stamp Act of 1765 the British
levied a direct tax on all papers
required for official business in
the American colonies. This tax
was also put on newspapers in
order make them more expensive
and thus reduce their circulation
and The Stamp Act provoked riots
and although it was repealed in
1766.
 One of the largest and most successful news
services was founded in London in 1851 by Paul
Julius Reuter, who in 1858 began his service of
foreign telegrams the press. In the United States
six New York news- papers formed the first news
agency to be run by the newspapers themselves, the
New York Associated Press in 1848. Today AP
employs about 3,400 people around the world and
supplies a steady stream of news to its domestic
members and foreign subscribers. Another
American news service, United Press International
(UPI), was created in 1958 by the merger of the
United Press Associations (founded in 1907) and
the International News Service (1909).
 Towards the end of the 19th century Joseph Pulitzer and William
Randolph Hearst arrived in New York and created a new type of
newspaper with a broad appeal for the less educated industrial
workers in New York's booming industries. From 1895 on
Hearst's Morning journal and Pulitzer's World competed strongly
against each other for the supremacy on the New York press
market. Their fierce competition eventually resulted in the
tactics of yellow journalism, a phrase which de- rives from a
comic strip named "The Yellow Kid", which played a part in the
rivalry Joseph Pulitzer (1847-1911). In 1883 he bought the
failing New York World and increased its circulation by making
the paper both informative (reports about political corruption)
and entertaining (comics, sports coverage, women's fashion
coverage, and illustrations) In his will Pulitzer provided for
establishing the Columbia School of Journalism and the Pulitzer
Prize, which has been awarded annually since 1917.
 Pulitzer's opponent was William Randolph Hearst
(1863-1951) with his New York Morning Journal.
Hearst was born in San Francisco where in 1887 he
started his career as newspaper editor by taking over
his father's ailing paper San Francisco Examiner.
With his sensationalist style he soon earned enough
money to buy the New York Morning Journal. Hearst
Newspapers is one of the biggest newspaper chains
in the US today.
 The largest newspaper chains is the Gannett
Company, whose flagship newspaper, USA Today, is
the largest-selling daily newspaper in the country.
The Gannet Company owns some 90 newspapers with
an overall circulation of more than 7 million
worldwide. Other chain include Hearst Newspapers,
Knight-Ridder Newspapers, the New York Times
Company, the Times-Mirror Company, Thomson
Newspapers, and Walls Newspapers.
THE ROLE OF A
FREE PRESS
 The press is regarded as the fourth authority in a democratic
state- the other three are the legislative, executive and judicial
powers. It informs the public on important events and, to a
certain extent, exercise control on the government and local
administration. Parts of the printed press and, more recently, an
increasing number of internet communities (e. g wikis against
plagiarism) or specialized websites (Wiki Leaks) have appointed
themselves the role of watchdogs over morals and decent
behavior. President Clinton's affair with a young White House
trainee made the headlines in 1998, and was so widely
publicized that legal procedures were taken to remove the
president from office on impeachment. Reporters and journalists
of two of the most respected papers in the United States, The
Washington Post and the New York Times, informed the public
about events which the governments of the day would have liked
to conceal. The two spectacular investigations and publications
of the journalists became known worldwide as the Watergate
Scandal and the Pentagon Papers Affair. The uncovering of the
Watergate scandal which eventually led to the first resignation
of a US President Richard M. Nixon- is one of the triumphs of
serious ‘investigative’ journalism.
TELEVISION
 Today the most important
networks are the National
Broadcasting Company
(NBC) – which dominates
the ratings-, the Columbia
Broadcasting System (CBS),
the American Broadcasting
Company (ABC) – owned by
the Disney Company-, the
Fox Broadcasting Company.
The 24-hour news station
Cable News Network (CNN)
was launched on cable
television in 1980 by Ted
Turner. Apart from these
channels there are rising
numbers of cable networks
and programmers whose
shows can be received via
satellite.
 In order to attract as many viewers as possible TV
programming is concentrated on entertainment and
diversion. Popular shows include family situation
comedies (sitcoms such as Big Bang Theory, Modern
Family, New Girl, and Two and a Half Men) and
comedy-variety shows featuring well-known
performers. There are all sorts of TV series featuring
detectives, investigators, special agents, lawyers, and
the police. Among the shows with the highest ratings
are NCIS (Naval Criminal Investigate Service),
Criminal Minds, CSI (Crime Scene Investigation),
Person of Interest and the medical’s drama Grey’s
Anatomy. In addition, an increasingly popular genre
of so-called reality television are the talent shows
such as American Idol, America’s Got Talent and The
X Factor.
 Before the arrival of the internet most Americans relied on cable
and televisions news programs as their primary sources of
information about government, current events and elections. Since
2008, when Barrack Obama first won the presidential race, the
importance of the internet at election times has increased
tremendously. Modern communication technologies such as e-
mails, websites, podcasts, blogs and tweets are used to inform a
large audience in no time. Campaigners use the internet to raise
funds, organize action groups, muster volunteers and mobilize
voters. In spite of the rise of the internet television has retained its
importance to influence a mass audience of more than 260 million
viewers. During campaigns for the US Senate or presidential
elections extensive advertising crusades are launched to win the
support of the independent and still undecided voters. In particular
at election times, politics is “made for television”, which means it is
simplified and reduced for the evening news.
THANK YOU