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31. Mass Media and American Contemporary Culture: Discuss the importance and extent of the influence of Mass Media in American Culture.

The Media in America: the media in America are known as the Fourth Estate, in respect to the power it governs over Americans.

While investigative journalism and the media's role of "America's watchdog" were seen as a power for furthering democracy, some feared the extent to which journalists would invade the privacy of individuals.

This conflict and the diminishing trust the public had towards the media forced agencies to adapt certain ethics

American television is dominated by three networks, the "Big Three" of ABC, CBS and NBC.

Its major competitors are cable television (CNN, MTV, specialised channels) and Fox.

Online Journalism: Web technology has strengthened the traditional watchdog functions of journalism by giving reporters efficient ways to probe more deeply for information.

The capacity to search documents, compile background and historical context, and identify authoritative sources has expanded the reporter's toolbox.

It also has introduced a fundamentally different culture built on interactivity, fewer rules, and fewer limits.

It also has introduced a fundamentally different culture built on interactivity, fewer rules, and fewer limits.

The Media Influence on American Society: the mainstream media is highly polarised and partisaned.

The Media Influence on American Society: the mainstream media is highly polarised and partisaned.

It references more conservative experts than liberal ones. This partisanship is offset partially by the non-mainstream media, in the form of blogs, some newspapers and magazines and certain television programmes

The sway the media holds over popular opinion was demonstrated by the swinging support of president George H.W. Bush following the Gulf War

While the media reported positively on America's role as defender of Kuwait against Iraq, the president's popularity polls rose to 90%.

These polls radically dropped after the war, when the media focused on the decline of national economy in 1992.