Page 25 - Mass Media, Mass Propoganda Examining American News in the War on Terror

Public Trust, Media, and the "War on Terror" 15

news sources, including network and cable news, local newspapers, radio news,
magazines, and Internet based news outlets.33 This does not mean, however, that
national newspapers are not still important in influencing public opinion. De-
spite a reduction in the readership of national papers somewhat in the last few
years,34 an estimated 42 percent of Americans still report that they read daily
papers on a regular basis.35
The direct influence of the nation's major national newspapers, however,
has always been limited to a narrow sector of the American public. Out of a total
U.S. population of approximately 300 million people, the New York Times-the
nation's most prestigious paper-maintains a total daily circulation of only
When
about 1.1 million, and only 1.7 million on ~unda~s.~~ taken together, the
top five national newspapers' total circulation is only slightly over seven million
on average per day, not counting Internet subscribers. Even the ten largest na-
tional newspapers account for only about ten million readers nationwide.
Altogether, these print outlets reach just five percent of the a proximately 200
P,
million Americans between fifteen and sixty-four years of age.

Table 1.3

National Newspaper Readership (2005)
1. USA Today
2. Wall Street Journal
3. New York Times
4. Los Angeles Times
5. Washington Post
6. New York Daily News
7. New York Post
8. Chicago Tribune
9. Detroit News/Free Press
10. Houston Chronicle

The small number of Americans reached by these ten newspapers has led
many to label them as part of the national "elite media." And yet, the print me-
dia's influence must be understood to encompass far more than just the narrow
readership statistics of the table above. Ben Bagdikian affirms that "the daily
newspaper has become the medium for the upper and middle classes," as just
under half of American families reported receiving a daily newspaper in 2003.~~
As of 2005, the Gannett Corporation (the largest national newspaper group and
owner of USA Today) controlled ninety-nine daily newspapers nationwide, as
well as twenty-one T.V. stations reaching 17.9 percent of the United States. Af-
ter taking into account non-daily publications, Gannett's national circulation