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The information value of ads needs to be recognized, and free time for political spots would have several benefits. Free time would hold down campaign spending, equalize candidate opportunity, and increase the information available to the American electorate. All of these objectives seem desirable.

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FOOTNOTES

1

Other criteria for judging media effects could have been selected: impact on voters' images of the candidates, influence over the importance voters attach to issues, contribution to voters' understanding of events, etc. In future papers, we intend to explore these other aspects.

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2 The data come from a stratified sample of voters who were selected by standard area probability techniques from the Syracuse metropolitan area. During the first wave, September 7 through 18, 731 respondents were interviewed. In the second wave, October 7 through 15, 650 respondents were interviewed. In the third wave, October 30 through November 6, 650 of our original respondents were contacted again. Overall, 626 -- or 86 percent of the original panel were interviewed three times prior to the election. This retention rate is extremely high (by way of comparison, the rate for the 3 personal interview waves of the Elmira study conducted by Paul Lazarsfeld, Bernard Berelson, and William McPhee in 1948 was 72 percent). In addition to the three pre-election personal interviews, each of which lasted about 90 minutes, a short postelection telephone interview was conducted. Of the initial 731 respondents, 692 were contacted for this final interview.

3

Our approach to and measurement of "beliefs" are based on the work of Professor Martin Fishbein. See, e.g. Martin Fishbein, "A Consideration of Beliefs and Their Role in Attitude Measurement," in Martin Fishbein (ed), Readings in Attitudes and Measurement (New York: Wiley, 1967).

4

A complete list of issue and handling items included in the panel survey is the following (numbers in parentheses indicate the waves in which each issue was included): military spending (1,2,3), amnesty (2,3), tax rates (1,3), government spending (1,2,3), law and order (1,2,3), more control over government for working people (2,3), Vietnam withdrawal (1,2,3), making people on welfare go to work (1,3), honoring our committments to other nations (1,2,3), busing (1,3), government guaranteed jobs (1,2,3), wiping out political corruption and favoritism (2,3), government programs for Negroes (1), holding down inflation (1), government paid medical care (1), guaranteed annual income (1), government support for parochial schools (2). The handling items were included in all three waves and were as follows: China, Russia, inflation, unemployment, law and order, race relations, drugs, and Vietnam War.

5

Those items which involve voters' evaluations of Nixon's handling of various policy areas were not measured using LIKELY-UNLIKELY scales. Instead, GOOD-BAD scales were used because they more precisely capture the nature of voters' evaluations of the performance of an incumbent President.

6

Our respondents tended to overreport their exposure to television news. Substantially less than 50 percent of America's adult

population watches the television news on four or more nights per week.

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FOOTNOTES (CON'T)

7

Mentions and times for McGovern ad campaign are very accurate, being based on time-buy logs provided by Charles Guggenheim. We were unable to obtain the same information on the Nixon ads, and mentions and times for these ads were based on other, available information. Thus, although reasonably precise, the Nixon ad content is not as accurate as the McGovern content. In Table 2, the content of the two advertising campaigns is combined.

8

An additional issue (Nixon's Vietnam handling) had at least 10 mentions and five minutes of time but the position was not clearly stated.

9

Nixon's handling of Vietnam was also the subject of both ad campaigns, but the message from the Nixon campaign was favorable and the McGovern message unfavorable. Consequently, it is impossible to give direction to this issue. The issue will be treated as

a "lightly covered" issue and will be given favorable direction in
keeping with its treatment by television news.

10 For additional information on television news effects, see
Robert D. McClure and Thomas E. Patterson, "Television News and
Voter Behavior in the 1972 Presidential Election,"
paper presented
at the 1973 Meeting of the American Political Science Association,
New Orleans, 1973.

11

Although it must be recognized, however, that issue coverage in newspapers was substantially greater than on television news.

12 The fact that the gain for high newspaper readers is as great on the lightly covered issues should not lead to a discounting of newspaper effects. First, newspapers cover more issues and, second, other analysis we have done controlling for political interest and education two correlates on high newspaper reading indicates that clear effects from newspaper exposure remain even when audience characteristics are taken into account.

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13 For additional information on televised political advertising

effects, see Thomas E. Patterson and Robert D. McClure, Political Advertising, (Citizens Research Foundation Monograph: Princeton, 1973).

14 The overlaps between channels are the following: Among high television news viewers, 64 percent were high newspaper readers and 79 percent were high television advertising viewers; among high newspaper readers, 54 percent were high television news viewers and 74 percent were high advertising viewers; and, among high advertising viewers, 58 percent were high newspaper readers and 57 percent were high television news viewers.

15

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See, Harold Israel and John P. Robinson, "Demographic Characteristics of Viewers of Television Violence and News Programs, in Rubinstein, et al, Television and Social Behavior (National Institute of Mental Health: Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C., 1972).

HUBERT H. HUMPHREY-MODERN CONGRESS ACT, S. 2992

The Act:

Summary of Modern Congress Act, S. 2992

(1) Creates a Citizens' Committee to Study Congress. This committee, consisting of four Members of Congress, one Executive Branch appointee and ten private citizens selected by the others, would have broad powers to study the full range of Congressional operations and recommend reforms during a twoyear period.

(2) Authorizes a study by the Joint Committee on Congressional Operations of the committee structure of the Senate, to seek jurisdictional reforms and improvements in the Senate's use of personnel and modern technological tools.

(3) Establishes an Office of Congressional Counsel, to provide legal services to Congress and its members including advice on pending legislation and court-related legal activities.

(4) Authorizes the Comptroller General to institute civil action against any Executive Branch attempt to use public funds in illegal or erroneous manner or amount.

(5) Establishes by legislative mandate an annual "State of the Congress" message by the Majority and Minority leadership of both Houses.

(6) Implements fiscal and budgetary reforms, including establishment of a Congressional Office of Budget Analysis and Program Evaluation, establishment of budget ceilings at the beginning of each year's budget deliberations, and other reforms including provisions for more openness in the budget process. (7) Establishes a Legislative Review Subcommittee in each Standing Committee of the Senate, to perform oversight and related functions dealing with the implementation of previously adopted Acts of Congress.

(8) Creates an Office of Congressional Communications, to provide modernized internal and external communications and information services and facilities. (9) Requires that meetings of Standing Committees shall be open to the press and public except when a majority of committee members vote otherwise.

(10) Specifically instructs the Citizens Committee to Study Congress to undertake a study of the possible use of computers in scheduling Senate work, including meetings of committees and subcommittees.

(11) Creates a Joint Committee on National Security, to conduct continuing review and evaluation of the many portions of public policy known as "national security."

Statement on Modern Congress Act, S. 2992

[From the Congressional Record, Feb. 5, 1974]

THE MODERN CONGRESS ACT OF 1974

Mr. HUMPHREY. Mr. President, in the near future I am going to introduce the Modern Congress Act of 1974, legislation that will help to transform Congress into an effective, up-to-date institution.

A 20th century Congress cannot be content with employing 18th and 19th century techniques. Yet in many areas of the United States has done just that. This is unfortunate even when we are able to work cooperatively with an administration which respects the rights and responsibilities of the legislative branch, but it can lead to a critical situation when an administration ignores or contravenes congressional mandates under statutory laws.

Part of the solution to this dilemma involves getting our own house in order. There are many internal problems which we must overcome to strengthen ourselves.

Some problems to which this legislation is addressed include our failure to examine the national budget in a comprehensive, logical manner, our refusal to eliminate overlapping committee jurisdictions, and our reluctance to employ modern technology to assist us in our deliberations.

Mr. President, one failure which I consider to be of overriding significance, and which is also dealt with in this legislation, is the feeble lipservice we pay to the congressional function commonly known as oversight. While there have been occasional exceptions, in general the most we have done about oversight has been to overlook it as a major duty.

We devote endless hours to the tasks of considering and debating and passing new laws and programs. But the amount of time we spend seeing that those laws and programs are carried out in a way that meets the intention of the Congress is pathetically little. The Congress must keep fully informed of the administration's handling of the laws and programs passed by Congress. We must know whether those laws and programs are performing as we intended.

Our duty has not ended when we have passed a law or launched a new program. Our duty is to evaluate, recommend and terminate: To evaluate the laws and programs we pass to make sure they are performing as we intended; to recommend means of filling deficiencies in their administration and of correcting shortcomings in their operation, and to terminate those which we find have outlived their usefulness.

The only way we can fulfill this duty and obligation is to establish a systematic means of overseeing the administration of laws and the operation of programs. For this purpose, Mr. President, the legislation I introduce today proposes the establishment of legislative review subcommittees within each of the standing committees of the Senate, to conduct oversight functions on a continuing, daily basis.

The Modern Congress Act establishes other tools and mechanisms needed to meet the challenges that face the Congress in carrying out its constitutionally delegated responsibilities.

To assist the Congress in an analysis of itself as an institution, this legislation creates a Citizens' Committee to Study Congress. I believe that the Congress will have serious difficulty reforming itself without outside impetus. The Citizens' Committee will make an immediate and comprehensive assessment of the steps necessary to make Congress more open, responsive, and assertive. Composed of individuals removed from the internal pressures of Congress this body will provide the perspective necessary to pursue the reforms which those of us within this body sometimes overlook or neglect.

The frequent incidence of overlap among committee jurisdictions creates problems for the smooth operation of Congress. My bill contains a proposal to reorganize the current distribution of jurisdictions.

One area in which Congress has drawn particular criticism concerns the degree of candor with which it conducts itself. With the lessons of excessive secrecy all too clear, it is necessary that Congress open its processes to the public eye; and the need for this is nowhere more obvious than in the area of committee hearings and sessions. The Congress is an arm of the people, and the public has every right to be completely informed of the deeds of its representatives. Accountability is something which the public demands and which the Congress must preserve if it is to retain the trust of the people. My legislation provides for open sessions which will prevent the secrecy that has been so alarming.

The importance of having quick and precise information on the wide range of topics that come before Congress in this complex, technological, high speed age must not be underestimated. The quality of the congressional information and communications system has major and direct bearing on the decisions that we make in this chamber. The Congress must have these modern systems and devices if it is to gain the benefits that can be derived from the new information and communications sciences.

I propose the establishment of the Office of Congressional Communications to maintain a video-tape library of important public interest broadcasts, provide closed circuit telecasts of committee proceedings, arrange for each Member of Congress to be able to view such documents in his own office, and other measures to modernize the communications-information services available to the Congress. Not only would this Office supervise existing activities, but it would monitor the latest innovations in the field of communications to enable Congress to adopt a more modern approach in the coming years.

Congress has continually suffered from the absence of legal counsel to represent it in court proceedings involving other agents of government. This situation would be rectified through the Office of Congressional Counsel which I have included in my bill.

The Congress has received unfavorable comment for its failure to assert its equality with the executive branch of Government, and one major area in which this inadequacy is pronounced is in the respective uses of the television media. My bill would partially address this problem with the institution of a congressional annual report, or a “state of the Congress" message presented by the congressional leadership. By establishing a tradition of significance through this event, the Congress would have a valuable opportunity to increase its prestige

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