PUBLIC OPINION & MASS MEDIA IN DEMOCRACY -...
Transcript of PUBLIC OPINION & MASS MEDIA IN DEMOCRACY -...
ESSENTIAL QUESTION
Why is critical examination of information an
essential responsibility of citizens in a democratic
society?
PART 1
THE FORMATION AND MEASUREMENT OF
PUBLIC OPINION
What is public opinion and why is it so difficult to define?
What are the factors that shape public opinion?
What are the challenges involved in measuring public
opinion?
What are the five steps in the polling process?
What are the challenges of evaluating polls?
What are the limits on the impact of public opinion in a
democracy?
Def: Attitudes held by people on matters of government and
politics.
WHAT IS PUBLIC OPINION?
Different Publics
The US has many groups,
or publics, who share
common views.
Public Opinions
More than one public
opinion can exist at the
same time.
A view or position must be
expressed in the open in
order to a public opinion.
FACTORS INFLUENCING PUBLIC OPINION
Mass Media
Def. - means of communication
that reach large, widely dispersed
audiences simultaneously.
Peer Groups
The people with whom one
regularly associates. (friends,
classmates, neighbors)
Opinion Leaders
Anyone who has an unusually
strong influence on others’ views.
Historic Events
Ex) 9/11 helped shape the
political views and opinions of all
Americans.
The Schools
Children acquire political
knowledge as they are taught
about political systems,
patriotism, and great Americans.
The Family
Children first see the
political world from within
the family and spent large
amounts of time with them.
MEASURING PUBLIC OPINION
Elections
Interest Groups
• Private organizations whose members share certain views and work to shape public policy.
The Media
• The media are both “mirrors” and “molders” of opinion.
Personal Contacts
• Public officials rely on contacts with their constituents, such as reading their mail, answering calls, and meeting people in public.
POLLS—THE BEST MEASURE
Public opinion is best measured by public opinion polls, devices that attempt to collect information by asking people questions.
THE POLLING PROCESS
Defining the Universe
• The universe means the population that the poll aims to measure.
Constructing a Sample• A sample is a representative slice of the poll’s population.
Preparing Valid Questions• The way in which questions are worded is very important. Wording can affect the
reliability of any poll.
Interviewing• Pollsters communicate with the sample respondents using various methods
including person-to-person interviews, telephone calls, and mail surveys.
Reporting• Pollsters use computers to store and manipulate data, which helps them analyze
and report the results of the poll.
EVALUATING POLLS AND THEIR LIMIT ON
PUBLIC OPINION
Evaluating Polls
Most national and regional polls are fairly reliable, but far from perfect.
Problems
Cannot measure intensity, stability, and relevance of the opinions they report.
Polls sometimes shape the opinions they are supposed to measure.
Limits on the Impact of Public
Opinion
Public opinion is the major, but by no means the only, influence on public policy.
The Government protects minority interests against the excesses of majority views and actions.
Finally, polls are not elections, nor are they substitutes for elections.
PART 2
THE MASS MEDIA
How does the mass media fulfill its role to
provide the public with political
information?
How does the mass media influence politics?
What are the factors that limit the influence
of the media?
THE ROLE OF MASS MEDIA
TelevisionPolitics and television have gone hand inhand since the technology firstappeared. Today television is theprinciple source of political informationfor a majority of Americans.
NewspapersThe first newspapers carried mostlypolitical news. Even with the totalnumber of newspapers declining, theyare still the second leading source ofpolitical information for most Americans.
RadioOn average, Americans hear 20 hours ofradio each week. Radio has been asource of news and entertainment since1920.
MagazinesSome 12,000 magazines are publishedin the United States today. Severalmagazines are devoted to Americannews and politics.
Mass media is a medium of communication for the public.
Internet
The internet provides instant and continual access to all previously
mentioned mediums, as well as web-only content such as blogs and
political commentary sites.
THE MEDIA AND POLITICS
The Public Agenda
The media play a large role in
shaping the public agenda,
the societal problems that
political leaders and citizens
agree need government
attention.
The media does not tell the
people what to think; but it is
clear that they tell the people
what to think about.
Electoral Politics
Today, television allows
candidates to appeal
directly to the people,
without the help of a party
organization.
Candidates regularly try
to use media coverage to
their advantage.
Newscasts featuring
candidates are usually
short, sharply focused
sound bites—snappy
reports that can be aired
in 30 to 45 seconds.
LIMITS ON MEDIA INFLUENCE
Only a small part of the public actually takes in and understands much of what the media have to say about public affairs.
Many media sources mostly skim the news, reporting only what their editors judge to be the most important and/or most interesting stories of the day.
In-depth coverage of public affairs is available to those who want it and will seek it out.
REPETITION
•One way to drive a message
home is repetition.
•In all forms of advertising that
use jingles or slogans,
repetition is intended to keep a
word or phrase in the minds of
the viewers.
•The more times viewers
hear a name, word, or phrase,
the more likely they are to
remember it.
SYNTAX : SHORT & INCOMPLETE, OR LONG &
LYRICAL
The syntax, or grammatical structure of words, used in
ads achieves different purposes when used in different
ways.
Some ads, favor complex, lengthy, complete sentences.
This method requires more thought and attention on the
part of the viewer, but often presents a more complete
picture of the candidate.
•Others utilize fragments or
phrases, which are easily
accessible to the viewer, but
may not fully explain the
candidate’s position.
“LOADED LANGUAGE”:
POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE WORDS
The use of “loaded” language—
words with strong positive or
negative emotional
associations—is a long-standing
tradition in political advertising.
The use of positive and negative
words is a common technique of
partisan attacks.
It is an important strategy used
by candidates and advisers of
both parties to sway voter
opinion.