Introduction Since Israel became a state in 1948, protecting it has been a cornerstone of U.S. foreign policy. As with any political issue, the media plays a key role in shaping public opinion, which in turn can affect how policymakers make decisions. With this in mind, it is important to understand how these issues are covered and what effect decisions of the media have on public opinion. H1:People who consume the majority of their news via U.S. television will have a more favorable view of Israel than those who consume the majority of their news via social media. Previous research has demonstrated that mass media plays a critical role in shaping public opinion about foreign policy. Soroka (2003) tells us that mass media the main source …show more content…
As defined in “Cultivation Revisited: Some genres have some effect on some viewers,” (Cohen & Weimann, 2000) cultivation is “the independent contributions television viewing makes to viewer conceptions of social reality.” Generally, these conceptions of social reality are adverse effects, causing the viewer to perceive the world as a scarier place as a result of the television programs viewed (Cohen & Weimann, 2000). Cultivation is “ not concerned about variations in interpretations; instead, cultivation focuse(s) on the dominant meanings that the media present(s) to the public” (Potter …show more content…
television news affects the way that the viewer understands the issue. The more U.S. television news consumed will result in more exposure to messages about the Israeli/Palestinian conflict; which in turn, makes them believe that the issue is highly important. If the issue is perceived as highly important, people are more like to push for action to create a solution. In the Israeli/Palestinian conflict’s case, research suggests that viewers would support the U.S. government taking a more active role in the conflict. Conclusion Through theoretical backing from the CNN effect, cultivation theory, and agenda setting theory, insight is provided into exactly how the media influences public opinion on foreign policy. Specifically, the media works to serve the political elite and paints a picture of the world that is perceived as more threatening than reality. When this is applied to the case of the United States and Israel, these issues become particularly important, given that the conflict has persisted for many decades. This means the media has had an extended period to influence public
398).It is also stated that news divisions reduced their costs, and raised the entertainment factor of the broadcasts put on air. (p. 400). Secondly, the media determines its sources for stories by putting the best journalists on the case and assign them to areas where news worthy stories just emanates. (p.400). Third, the media decides how to present the news by taking the most controversial or relevant events and compressing them into 30 second sound-bites. (p.402). finally, the authors also explain how the media affects the general public. The authors’ state “The effect of one news story on public opinion may be trivial but the cumulative effect of dozens of news stories may be important. This shows a direct correlation between public opinions and what the media may find “relevant”. (Edwards, Wattenberg, Lineberry, 2015, p.
Piers Robinson: The CNN Effect: The Myth of News, Foreign Policy, and Intervention, (London: Routledge, 2002), pp.7-24.
The media takes a biased approach on the news that they cover, giving their audience an incomplete view of what had actually happened in a story. Most people believe that they are not “being propagandized or being in some way manipulated” into thinking a certain way or hearing certain “truths” told by their favorite media outlets (Greenwald 827). In reality, everyone is susceptible to suggestion as emphasized in the article “Limiting Democracy: The American Media’s World View, and Ours.” The
...ation and framing issues in a certain manner; the media may certainly effect the opinion of the American people; thus effecting the lens of which is given to the people and not allowing them to see the true issues that arises within the government. The news media constantly want to create controversy, and create a frenzy; this interludes how the people may elect public officials which in turn help create public policy; and public policy contributes to the United States Democracy.
Saad, L. (2013, July 8). TV Is Americans' Main Source of News. Retrieved September 28, 2015.
There for we say yes, media can have a sizeable political impact, especially when a politician controls a substantial share of the media. Media is therefore bad for democracy. Stated throughout this paper is the level of bias that is displayed in the media. This level of bias sways the public far right or far left. Their decisions are based on a political point of view.
The theory is developed by George Gerbner and Larry Gross. Cultivation theory is derived from several large-bit researches cast as part of an overall research project entitled ‘Cultural Indicant’. The purpose of the Cultural indicators project was to identify and track the cultivated effects of video on viewing audience. They were bothered with the effects of television programming especially violent programming on the attitudes and behaviors of the public. Gerbner claimed that the overall concern about effects of television on public. The theory clearly put forward that cultivation effect occurs only after long term, accumulative view to television. He claimed that because television contains so much violence, people who contribute the most time in front of the TV. He postulates that television is mass medium of communication.24/7 the TV set is a pitch member of the household, with virtually unlimited access to every person in the family. He compared the power of TV to the power of religion, saving that TV was to innovative society what religion once was in earlier times.
The Hidden Relationship Between Government and Media Rather than being a neutral conduit for the communication of information, the U.S. media plays an intricate role in shaping and controlling political opinions. Media is extremely powerful in the sense that without an adequate functioning media, it is virtually impossible for a sophisticated social structure like the U.S. Government to exist. Henceforth, all known sophisticated social structures, have always been dependent upon the media’s ability to socialize. The U.S. government generally exploits the media, often times manipulating the enormous power of the printed word. Ultimately empowering the U.S. government, strengthening it with the ability to determine and control the popular perception of reality.
Stromback, J. and Esser, F. (2009) Shaping Politics: Mediatization and Media Interventionism, in Lundby, K (eds) Mediatization: Concept, changes, consequences. New York: Peter Lang Publishing, Inc, pp. 205-223.
“Through the ongoing interaction of theorizing and empirical research consistent with the scientific method, agenda-setting theory has evolved from a tightly focused perspective to a broad theory. Initially, the focus was on the way media affect the public’s view of which issues are important. Later the theory broadened to encompass five distinct aspects of public life: basic and attribute agenda-setting effects, the psychology of these processes, and the consequences of these effects for opinions and behavior. The participation of scholars worldwide has been central to the continuing productivity of the theory” (Maxwell McCombs).
In the US, mass media plays a significant role in politics. One of the key roles mass media plays in politics includes the airing of the platforms of various politicians. The media influences the view of people on politics and politicians. As the opinion of individuals is affected, the results of the votes are consequently changed (Holden, 2016).
As Americans we take pride in our liberating government. But, it is essential to ask how much we, the general public, know about our democracy. Because of the representative structure of our government, it is in our best interest to remain as knowledgeable as possible about political affairs so that we can play an active role in our democracy by voting for candidates and issues. The media, which includes print, television, and the internet, is our primary link to political events and issues. (For the purposes of this essay only print and television will be considered.) Therefore, in order to assess the success of our democracy it is necessary to assess the soundness of our media. We are lucky enough to have a media, in theory, free from government influences because of our rights to freedom of press and freedom of speech, but we are still subject to the media’s interpretation and presentation of politics, as is the danger when depending on any source for information. So, we must address how the media informs us; how successful it is at doing so; and how we should respond to it.
The current role of mass media in politics has definitely played a significant role in how view and react to certain events and issues of the nation. Newspapers, magazines, television and radio are some of the ways information is passed onto many of the citizens. The World Wide Web is also an information superhighway, but not all of the sources on the Internet are credible. Therefore, I will only focus on the main three types of media: written, viewed, and audible, and how they affect whether or not democracy is being upheld in the land of the free. The media includes several different outlets through which people can receive information on politics, such as radio, television, advertising and mailings. When campaigning, politicians spend large quantities of money on media to reach voters, concentrating on voters who are undecided. Politicians may use television commercials, advertisements or mailings to point out potentially negative qualities in their opponents while extolling their own virtues. The media can also influence politics by deciding what news the public needs to hear. Often, there are more potential news stories available to the media than time or space to devote to them, so the media chooses the stories that are the most important and the most sensational for the public to hear. This choice can often be shaped,
In our democratic society, mass media is the driving force of public opinion. Media sources such as Internet, newspaper, news-broadcasts, etc, play significant roles in shaping a person’s understanding and perception about the events occurred in our daily lives. But how much influence does the mass media poses on our opinion? Guaranteed by the First Amendment in American Constitution, the media will always be there to inform us about the different events or issues they feel are important for the public. The media constantly bombards us with news, advertisements, etc, wher...
In conclusion, the medium is the message. The way that information is presented to us plays a key role in our understanding of the topic itself. By framing the crisis in Egypt a particular way, both the old and new media sources are able to give the audience two separate understandings of the social and cultural issues at hand. The media is less interested in telling the audience about the actual story and more interested in the underlying messages of society they provide. These underlying messages lead us to define social and cultural issues the way that the media want us to. Since the media sell us both products and ideas, both personalities and worldviews, the message becomes the medium.