Custom Essays, Term Papers, Research Papers

F.A.Q.

MEDIA AND POLITICS. FREE ESSAY SAMPLE

This Essay on Media and Politics was donated by students like you who want to improve your writing style and abilities. This essay or term paper is intended for reading purposes only. As it is written by other students it can serve as a valuable example of how essays or term papers should be written. To get a professionally written, high quality, authentic paper, please use our Custom Writing Services. If you have an essay to donate please read our submission details here.

******************************************************************

The premiere framing institution of our time, the American media dramatically shapes the way we view current issues. As early as 1920, a scientist named Lippman proposed that the media would control public opinion by focusing attention on selected issues while ignoring others. Known as the "agenda-setting" hypothesis, the idea that people were easily susceptible to media influence was soon derided as an overly simplistic misperception of the viewing audience.

Through most of this century, media pundits claimed that the public wasn't susceptible to simple "hypodermic" injections from the media (and you can still hear this defense put forward by today's media moguls). But the agenda-setting hypothesis has been revisited and traced surges and declines in presidential popularity to media contextualizing (Gilens, 36).

In 1991, the gulf war dominated media coverage, pushing Bush's approval ratings to 90% after the war-the highest rating in American history. A short 12 months later, Bush was defeated at the polls. How could one of the most popular presidents in American history lose a subsequent election? There was no publicized scandal, no political gaffe, no international blunder that could explain Bush's misfortunes (Bennett, 49).

Media personalities often explain national changes in mood by denigrating the fickle, mindless American public. Remember when Dan Rather attributed the 1994 Republican wins to a public that threw a "tantrum"? But a fickle, mindless public isn't the answer either. The answer to national mood swings appears to be psychological rather than logical. Seemingly inconsequential changes in issue presentation have been shown to cause dramatic shifts in public preference (Gilens, 39).

So does the media influence public opinion? I have to say that there is mixed evidence:

A. Yes, it influences. Here are some proofs:

1. Television "personalizes" candidates and elections. The Fairness Doctrine- required radio and television stations to cover news events adequately and present contrasting

views on important public issues. Created by the FCC in 1949, it was later

struck down by that same group in 1985 (Walsh, 103).

2. Media stresses short-term elements of elections at expense of long-term elements (Ansolabehere, 173).

3. Those who "consume" media in turn influence others.

4. Media help set national agenda.

5. Rise of advocacy journalism/adversarial journalism rather than objective journalism. Journalists "comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable."

6. Studies show that journalists are more liberal than public as a whole.

7. Media are a primary linking mechanism between public and government (Bennett, 51).

8. Profit motive-->emphasis on boosting ratings--> "trivialization" of news--> people are less informed on important issues

B. No, it does not influence. Here are some proofs:

1. Mass public pays little attention to the news and often forgets what it sees or reads (Ansolabehere, 176).

2. Selective attention: many focus in on media sources they already agree with (Laufer, 51).

3. Selective perception: many perceive news in the way they want to view it. They see what they want and filter out the rest.

4. Media are only one source of influence -political socialization suggests importance of family, schools, peers, and other influences (Walsh, 106).

5. People consume media for variety of reasons other than information.

Now it is important to take a closer look on the impact of newspapers on the US politics and public opinion as shown below:

A. Typical perception of liberal bias, but they generally endorse Republican candidates.

B. Complaints from both liberals and conservatives:

1. Conservatives claim that reporters are too liberal (Ansolabehere, 178).

2. Liberals claim that publishers are conservative and therefore are more concerned with sales and profits than exposing social/political/economic evils.

C. Lack of competition: most cities now have only one major newspaper.

D. Largest amount of presidential campaign coverage is devoted to day-to-day campaign issues (Gilens, 43).

E. Newspapers are exempt from most forms of government regulation unlike television and radio.

Let's refer to the impact of television on the US public opinion and the US politics:

A. Most people now get their news from television. Most get their political information from television. This has led to a decline of substance in coverage and rise of image and slogans.

B. Concern that television is allied with "big government:" use of television as electronic throne of President.

1. President can now bypass journalists' annoying questions and go right to the people with a speech.

2. Decline in the number of press conferences (Walsh, 108).

3. White House manipulation of television with photo opportunities and sound bites.

C. Concern about "revolving door" in journalism: former government leaders who become journalists leads to a concern that reporting is tainted.

D. Concern that television has fostered cynicism, distrust and negativism towards government and politics.

E. Lack of competition, although the advent of cable has made this less of a problem.

F. Concern that people look at politics through the "camera lens" rather than the "party lens".

In order for the negative media effects to turn around, there are changes that need to take place by the media, government and the citizens of the United States. The first change is within the law. There needs to be more regulation on how the media presents stories. These regulations need to be strongly enforced with heavy penalties and fines for any violations. The regulations need to include fair and equal representation of all party candidates (Bennett, 55). Another regulation would be to have a media oath. The oath would require all journalist and media owners to abide by a code of ethics. The oath would include rules that required the media to cover politics in an unbiased fashion. In addition to an oath, journalists and media owners need to take the responsibility upon them selves to not report politics in a bias way. Not only does the media need to take responsibility but the citizens of America should also be accountable (Ansolabehere, 180). Citizens need to take a stand for what they expect from the media and demand equal representation of political candidates and issues (Bennett, 57). Joint efforts from all three parties need to take place in order for political media to become positive to most citizens.

Politicians and the media often point to polls or surveys as examples of public opinion on issues. In many cases, however, polls and surveys more closely reflect the opinions and methods of their sponsors than they do any actual "will of the public." For a variety of reasons, determining what "the people" want or believe is not as simple as the final poll numbers might imply (Gilens, 47).

Although scientific methods of polling have greatly reduced methodological errors in polling, detecting stable or "informed" opinions at the individual level is still difficult. People construct attitudes based on their own personal experiences as well as the indirect experiences passed on through socialization. Most individuals have little reason to construct organized, well-informed political ideologies, primarily because they could spend their time better doing other things. For this reason, they are ambivalent on most issues and can shift their stated positions because of small changes in survey wording or framing (Walsh, 110).

Aggregate public opinion, on the other hand, seems to be much more stable and intelligible than individual public opinion. The stability of public opinion can be attributed in large part to the mediating role of opinion leaders, who serve as easy cue-givers and information sources for the unengaged public (Ansolabehere, 182). The stable, shared consensus of basic political values helps make politics possible, while the policy disagreements within public opinion make politics necessary.

******************************************************************

EssayPlant.com professional writers can assist you in preparation of your Social Science, Mass Media, Politics, Law and Literature Essays. Their writing experience allows them to grasp the topic and quickly develop a successful essay. Do not procrastinate, order Custom Politics Essay now!

Additional Services