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Effects of media on politics
Mass media bias
Effects of media on politics
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The Biased Media and Its Effects on American Interest Towards Politics In America we value the freedom of the press. The press is the one place where most Americans go to get educated on issues facing their community, state, and most of all nation. Everyone knows that the media plays a major role in Americans' lives; however their role of gatekeeper is not completely understood. The press decides which issues to report and how to report them. In order to improve the nation and world, the media should present their unbiased findings to allow people to make up their own minds. However, this is not the case. The media often shows its bias. Their widespread exposure enables them to communicate their ideas to the public, regardless of the public's responsiveness. The elections of officials for the federal government during the late 20th century serve as prime examples of their bias. An analysis of surveys, media delivery, and reporter's testimonies, I have found that the media is actually more out of touch with mainstream America than the politicians they cover. The media affects American interest towards politics by only showing the people what they want them to see. Even if there are many issues in a campaign, the media will focus on the one's they believe to be the most important. Other issues maybe completely ignored. Hence people become interested only in certain areas of politics since they hear about them very often. There is usually a much greater turnout when voting for the president than voting for a Senator. This is mainly because the media covers a presidential race much more closely. Americans focus on what the media frequently shows us rather than the little heard of issues of greater importance. A large nu... ... middle of paper ... ...what they are running for. However, the media has many bad influences on politics ranging from, ads that promote uninformed voting, all the way to only informing the public about what they believe to be important. I do believe that the media does exercise too much power in America. They should not be allowed to present biased news to the public and should let the people make up their own minds on what they want to believe. Bibliography: Works Cited · "Freed Forum". Poll of 1400 random journalists. 1992. · Goldberg, Bernard, CBS News Correspondent. "Wall Street Journal. Feb 13, 1996 · Media Resource Center, http://www.abb.org/mrc.com · Thomas, Evan. "Newsweek Washington Bureau Chief, Inside Wash". May 12, 1996. · "Times Mirror Center for the People & Press". 1992. · Walsh, Kenneth. "U.S. News & World Report". Survey for Feeding the Beast.
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.
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
Imagine a world in which presidential debates were not televised, and a person would have to read the newspaper to get all their political news. Just how different would our country be today? Television has a huge effect on American politics. It is often the main source from which people derive their reasoning and opinions from. There is a plethora of news television channels to choose from and gather information from. These channels often run all times of the day. Keeping American citizens up to date on all developing news. Television properly helps U.S citizens vet and get to know the candidate, as well as the candidate's plan.
People who are uncommitted or torn between the candidates can be swayed by the media on who to vote for. The candidates are aware of the influence of media and often spend a lot of their time staging media so that they will look good on camera and come across good to voters. For example, when Roosevelt used his “Fireside Chats”, he soothed the nation about the economic times and the war by talking on the radio. If a Politian is good they will know how to work the media in their advantage and this is how the majority of our presidents get elected and how they get bills passed. The media focuses of some issues while not focusing on others and that is another way they get things done in politics. Ronald Raegan was a movie star and that significantly helped win the race because he was already so popular and he already knew how to talk to the American people. Certain media outlets will only show democrats and others republican and that influences people on who to vote for. Politics is how a lot of news media gets views because it
The news media rejects the fact that they are biased. They claim that they are the “middle of the road,” and are neutral on the stories that they cover. Publishers also claim that they are the watchdog for the political system, and they make sure that the system is free of any corruption, or wrongdoing. Th...
Television has affected every aspect of life in society, radically changing the way individuals live and interact with the world. However, change is not always for the better, especially the influence of television on political campaigns towards presidency. Since the 1960s, presidential elections in the United States were greatly impacted by television, yet the impact has not been positive. Television allowed the public to have more access to information and gained reassurance to which candidate they chose to vote for. However, the media failed to recognize the importance of elections. Candidates became image based rather than issue based using a “celebrity system” to concern the public with subjects regarding debates (Hart and Trice). Due to “hyperfamiliarity” television turned numerous people away from being interested in debates between candidates (Hart and Trice). Although television had the ability to reach a greater number of people than it did before the Nixon/Kennedy debate, it shortened the attention span of the public, which made the overall process of elections unfair, due to the emphasis on image rather than issue.
Such factors are their educational background, socioeconomic status, gender and other demographics. There will be a definite difference between a person who has an excellent academic background and a person who does not have such qualification. In the same way, socioeconomic status of a person also decides how well a person engages politically (Riedel and Sullivan, 2001). For instance, an individual who comes from a very lower class will not pay heed to political system of the country because his basic concern is to feed his children and family. His priorities will be different from a person who has all basic necessities. In the same way a middle aged person who has an adequate knowledge and experience regarding the political system of a country and a young person who is just an amateur will have significant differences of political attitudes and political efficacy. So attitudes and experiences also affect the political efficacy and ultimately the voting behaviors of the individuals (Sheerin and Celia Anne, 2007). Mass Media is one of the tools to build these attitudes and political
Nelson explains that media could be to blame for the widespread hatred of American politics. Media is selective in what they publish: news organizations hold biases in their reporting. They point out the problems with certain politicians, but raise up the politician they care to see in office. With all the different news networks, there are so many skewed reportings.
The Power of the Media in Politics The mass media possesses a great deal of influence in society and politics in the United States. Newspapers, radio, magazines and television. are able to use their own judgment when reporting current events. The The power of the mass media is an asset to the government in some instances and a stumbling block in others. Recent technology and regulations related to The media have improved the means by which the public can get information.
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).
Americans look to the press to provide the information they need to make informed political choices. How well the press lives up to its responsibility to provide this information has a direct impact upon Americans: how they think about and act upon the issues that confront them.
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,
Prior, Markus. "News vs. Entertainment: How Increasing Media Choice Widens Gaps in Political Knowledge and Turnout." American Journal of Political Science. 49.3 (2005): 577-592. Web. 3 Feb. 2014.
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...
The media is so impressive that it can influence who we have as the United States President. That appears to have a huge impact on everyone who has access to social or mass media.