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Media and public opinion in the contemporary world
The effect of media on politics
The effect of media on politics
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Today media has evolved since the beginning of the country. Newspaper was the main source of new but in the 21st century news media comes in three type, print media, broadcast, and new media. This has allowed media to increase the efficiency of getting their information out to the public. During critical times in a year such as election season, the media determines what issue either domestic or global, is worthy to cover. This ability which the news media obtains, gives them the power to influence the Public Opinion which influence on what they believe what action the President and Congress should be included in the country’s political agenda. Elections results are also critically affected by what is said throughout the media since public opinions are centered on what the media says.
During the early years of the United States, most of the citizens would obtain their news from their local newspaper. Print media had the ability to be more detailed about their news which gave them the advantage of influencing their readers. Although this is still an effective way to inform people about news, but it did have some disadvantages. One of them was that it takes at least one day to read about an event or information that happens today. The other disadvantage was the demographic print media attracted. The population that read newspapers has the following characteristic: educated, Caucasian, and people over 65. This limited the amount of people newspaper were able to target until technology gave them the opportunity to increase their demographic.
As technology started to advance, so did the media. The development of broadcast media and new media (social and internet) increase the demographic which the news was able to reach. Broadcast medi...
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...r turnout during the past election due to the involvement of social media being used as a campaign aid.
Media has a unique influence on public opinion and elections which leads them to have a profound impact on setting the country’s agenda. The country direction is determined by what the media say and the interest of the public. This country runs on a democracy government in order to give what the people want. But since most of the people get their political knowledge through media, their actually give the government what the media wants. Abraham Lincoln once stated “Democracy is the government of the people, by the people, for the people.” But once you take a step back and look the amount of influence of the media has on the citizen of the US. You notice that most of the choice the country makes is determine by the way media is used and what the media has to say.
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.
Have you ever turned on the TV to watch the news during election year? News programs constantly bombard the public with campaign coverage that negatively affects the way people vote. The most noticeable effect the TV news media causes is a decrease in voter attendance at the ballot boxes. News coverage of political campaigns reduces voter turnout because of the negative campaign tactics used by candidates and their parties; exit polls that predict the outcome of an election; and the public's perception that the media can be bought to influence people to vote for a certain issue or candidate.
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.
For years, the population has been exposed to different forms of media. Newspapers, magazines, television, films, radio, and more recently the Internet are ways of promoting ideas, spreading news, and advertising products.
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.
Basically, the media performs three functions to inform, to influence and to entertain. But effects of these functions are multidimensional in modern times. It has provided awareness about the whole world. In twenty-first century, media has a tendency to shape political, economical and social values of an individual. Moreover, media has eliminated the boundaries of information, so that a person can become an active citizen of the global economy. Hence, it is logical to state the media has become a basic need of human civic life.
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.
"Freedom of the press is guaranteed only to those who own one." This quote by A.J. Liebling illustrates the reality of where the media stands in today's society. Over the past twenty years there has been an increase in power throughout the media with regard to politics. The media's original purpose was to inform the public of the relevant events that occurred around the world. The job of the media is to search out the truth and relay that news to the people. The media has the power to inform the people but often times the stories given to the public are distorted for one reason or another. Using slant and sensationalism, the media has begun to shape our views in society and the process by which we choose our leaders. There was once a time when the government used the media as a medium to influence voters, committees, communities etc. Recently, it has been the presidents of major media outlets that have not only exercised power over the public but also made their presences felt in government and in the halls of congress. When the word democracy is thrown about it usually has to do with the rights or original intentions for a group or organization. The first group intended to be influenced by the media was the informed voter. Political parties along with the government used a variety of media resources to persuade the voter or in effect receive a vote for their cause. Returning to the thought of ?democracy? the question is, what was the original intention of the media with relation to the theme of democracy and the informed voter? To analyze this thought thoroughly one must first grasp an understanding of the basic definition of democracy.
Unquestionably the media being newspapers, internet, radio and television, influence society. They can affect, have affected and will continue to affect the progression of life in this nation and around the world, as electronic technology continues to be the chosen mode of communication for a whole generation, offering direct, often anonymous influential information.
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,
print bunch of video heads. This was culture at its lowest brow, with no concept of
In today's world people cannot live without Mass Media and with the help of technological improvements to send messages to the masses is becoming easier and easier. As we are been shower with tons of advertising, information and other sort of materials by the different types of Mass Media has influence in our everyday life styles.
Everyone watches the news but does that mean we have to trust them? The media is known for giving us verified information that is usually observed and /or proven. Most people get their information about current events from the news media because it would be impossible to gather all the news themselves. Television news is extremely important in the United States because more people get their news from television broadcasts than from any other source. Print media is the oldest form of media but is very significant. It is known for just reporting more than any other source of media. Radio news was the best ways to broadcast news before the television but, people still listen to the radio every day. “If errors regularly occur in a publication, its reputation suffers in threaten the very existence of publication,” said journalist Maximilian Schafer. Nobody wants to read false publication when they deserve the truth. There are several types of media but false news would still get out to the society by one of these Medias. There have situations where the news told the public false information and got away with it.
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...
Through technological advancements the television and internet now deliver the news instantly into our homes, which has inadvertently put pressure on the traditional newspaper to deliver up-to-the minute news. As technology developed swiftly over the 20th century, some academics could see the demise of the newspaper as early as the late 1960s. Marshall McLuhan (HREF1) an academic and commentator on communications technology prophesied “that printed books would become obsolete, killed off by television and other electronic information technology”. To compete with other more sophisticated electronic media systems, and to survive, newspapers joined the technological revolution and many publications went online in the fight to remain the number one information provider (Kesley 1995:16). In contrast, Kelsey (1995) states the main reaso...