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| Chapter 5, cont. |
| 7 October, cont. Role of Representation Members of Congress represent their constituents. They will go with the constituents� opinions even if its different from the country as a whole, just to get re-elected. Single-issue voters- voter for whom one issue is so important that it determines which political candidates attract his/her votes or campaign activism. Does Public Opinion Matter? Individually, people are inconsistent, but as an aggregate, public opinion is accurate. As trends in opinion move, policy changes with it. In the long run, voters get what they want. * Page and Shapiro analyzed a huge collection of surveys and concluded that American policy follows public opinion. How Americans get their Political Information Importance of media is so great, some have referred to it as the �fourth branch of govt� Public opinion responds to the information available. 1. Television�most often used, viewers can see news as it is occurring, something np cant do. problem-its too brief, sensationalist (b/c it�s a business they have to make $), shallow. 2. Newspapers/Magazines�historically, they played the most important role you can read in-depth coverage, depending on the paper problem-less convenient, more time-consuming 3. Radio�headline news, very little detail unless it�s a news station talk radio has greatly increased in # of stations; 389 to over 1200. 4. Internet�every day becoming more important 12 October 2004 Media Biases-- Modern journalists are supposed to be objective, not biased, so that people can determine their own opinion. Ideological Biases�there is no doubt that liberal viewpoints are over-represented among practicing journalists. One group says too liberal, and another says too conservative, so both criticisms are right. Biased Story Selection Negative and scandal and simple stories get more coverage. Stay away from complicated stories with too many numbers. Go for sensational stories! They need villains, conflict, corruption. This created the �attack� journalism. Professional Bias Most journalists are generalists, not experts. They must get their info from outside sources, covering the same stories. This creates �pack� journalism, esp where there�s a scandal. Political News Media helps transmit info about problems/issues/potential candidates so voters can make intelligent decisions. Biases carry over to the way news is covered. Emphasis on Personalities�individuals are more interesting than groups of people That�s why there�s more focus on the president than the House and Senate. Only when there�s a Senate/House member that�s flamboyant/charismatic enough, they get a story Problems: focusing on individuals can discourage teamwork; encourage citizens to think in terms of heroic exploits and tragic failures, as �all or nothing,� when in reality its all gradual, a slow & steady process. Emphasis on Conflicts, scandals, and mistakes It�s difficult to consider what�s going on, what people are really saying b/c they look for scandals only, instead of informing us of what the candidates really stand for. Campaign Coverage Media provides little info on policies. Again, its personalities/outside issues that they concentrate on Presidential races tend to cover character and personal issues �Horse-Race�--instead of looking at specific issues, the race itself becomes the story. Candidates have begun to use outside info to reach people (web, phone banks, talk shows) This is better so they can talk to voters directly w/out having journalists interpret them. Presidential Debates Theoretically, debates can swing independent voters. Too much attention is given to �who won?� Visual impact can make a difference, people notice that. How many & how formal isn�t specific. Also: Senatorial, etc. Coverage: media gives us short sound bites�is it really what we want?! Media Effects People once feared mass media�afraid it�d sway people. Selective Perception�listeners absorb info reinforcing current beliefs Agenda Setting�situation where news coverage gets ppl to think about a certain issue. Media ranks stories in importance and that�s what they talk about. Media can�t tell what people to think, but can what to think about. Priming and Framing By calling attention to some matters and ignoring others, news media influences the standards by which these entities are judged. Framing- how the issue is covered, what perceptive; how much depth and attention is given to it. Different channels cover it different ways, influencing how ppl are effected. (ex: school ban guns�issue of school violence or freedom w/guns? Clinton�s affair�public or private issue?) Evaluating Media Effects Easier to manipulate ppl who know very little about govt. Independents easy to sway, not ppl w/strong ideologies. For overseas, foreign affairs, however, we have to rely on news coverage. Newspapers�around since 1780s. originally 1-sided put out by political parties became less political, more sensational, professional journalists. later grew to expose corruption, etc. Most important development�increase in diversity of opinions and sources. |