Transcript Public Opinion and the Mass Media

Public Opinion and the Mass
Media
Appetizer
Name and describe four types of
propaganda we talked about last week.
Four Types
Endorsement
Name-Calling
Glittering Generalities
Bandwagon
Objectives
4.04 Demonstrate active methods of
promoting and inhibiting change through
political action.
4.06 Describe the benefits of civic
participation
4.08 Participate in civic life, politics,
and/or government.
Public Opinion
Public opinion includes the ideas and
attitudes that most people hold about
elected officials, candidates, government,
and political issues.
– Presidents and candidates know that they
need the people’s support to carry out their
programs. This includes members of the
general population and Congress.
Public Opinion
The Public opinion is not uniform or the
same.
Americans rarely agree on issues.
Factors that influence Public
Opinion
Personal Background
Mass Media
Public Officials
Interest Groups
Personal Background
People’s economic and social background
can affect a person’s public opinion.
– Age
-Residency
– Gender
– Income
– Race
– Religion
– occupation
The Mass Media
Media that communicates to the masses through
radio, newspapers, magazines, recordings,
movies, and books.
Mass Media has a major influence on public
opinion.
– The media provides images and political information
that is delivered directly to the masses.
– The way that the media covers major events or issues
can play a strong part in swaying public opinion.
Public Officials
Public Officials
– Candidates, Office Holders, they can swing
public opinion.
– They try to bring the issues to the masses in
hopes of persuading them to support their
point of view.
Interest Groups
Interest groups work at influencing public
opinion by trying to persuade people to
see their point of view.
Components of Public Opinion
Direction
Intensity
Stability
Direction
Is a topic positive or negative?
Intensity
The Strength of a Given Issue
– Most Americans do not have intense positions
on most political topics.
– However, when they do they tend to vote
against or for a candidate or work in an
election campaign or participate in a
demonstration
Stability
The firmness of the public’s opinion.
For example, people’s opinions on civil
rights are more stable than their beliefs on
political issues and candidates.
Measuring Public Opinion
Public Opinion is measured in a variety of
ways.
– Through Election Results
– Through Public Opinion Polls
Pollsters are specialists who collect poll data.
They also interpret and analyze the data.
Pollsters
Pollsters have to be careful how they word
their questions.
– Poll questions need to be as unbiased and
fair as possible.
– Note that there is usually some bias in
questions it doesn’t matter how unbiased they
try to be.
Before we get to the media…
Do you think more people get their news
from electronic sources or printed media
such as newspapers?
The Mass Media
The Mass Media is involved in everything
and anything related to politics, issues,
and media.
Print Media
Print Media consists of
– Newspapers
– Books
– Letters
– Magazines
– Journals
Electronic Media
Radio
Television
Internet
Movies
Media Outlets
The majority of media outlets are private
businesses and are in it to make money.
Managers, Editors decide what stories to
run or what programs to run to attract
more viewers, readers, and listeners
The larger the audience, the more money
the business is likely to make.
Some Media Facts
Television is considered to be the most
important medium to convey political ideas
and issues to the people
– Over 98% of homes today have at least one
television
– Most people rely on the TV for their news and
information.
Newspapers
More than 70 percent of adults read
newspapers according to your book.
However, the real number is around 5060%
For those that do read, they usually spend
three to four hours a week on them.
Newspapers and magazines present more
in depth coverage of current events than
the TV.
The Internet
The Internet is one of the fastest growing
media outlets in the world today.
People can get more information from the
net than reading a newspaper or watching
brief TV reports.
The Internet gives people faster access to
news information.
Media’s Impact on Politics and
Government
The Media has a strong influence on
political issues and public opinions.
They can influence which issues are the
most important while others go unnoticed.
– For example, Gas Prices and the
Environment.
Vocab. Alert: Public Agenda: issues that
are considered to be the most significant
by public officials
Influence on Candidates and
Public Officials
The media makes it possible for
candidates who may not consider running
for office, actually run.
– Candidates do not necessarily have to have
prior political experience to run.
For example, Ronald Reagan
Elected Officials
Elected officials want the media to portray
them as hardworking individuals.
They also rely on the media to
communicate to the masses on political
activities and dealings.
The Double-Edged Sword
Political Officials will use assistants such
as press secretaries to get information to
the people about what is going on in office.
• Sometimes information will leak out.
• Officials will secretly pass on or leak
information, good or bad to the masses.
• This is a double edged sword since
information can be good or it can be bad.
Watchdog Role
• The Media can also serve as a watchdog
for political activities.
• Journalists are hungry for scandals,
corruption, or government waste.
• They want to share anything and
everything related to a politicians public
and private life.
• This not only affects an official but their
family as well.
Media and National Security
Since 9/11 there has been a general need
for information on National Security.
However, there are some things that the
government will do in order to protect
intelligence information and limit
information that the media can leak out to
the people
Terror Alert System
Note, you will
generally see the
current terrorism
threat level on the
bottom scroll of most
major cable news
networks.
Make a Quiz….
• Your assignment is to make a ten question
quiz related to Chapter 11 which will be
due at the end of the period.
• You may use Short-Answer, Multiple
Choice, and Matching questions on your
quiz or you can mix and match.
• Do not use True-False or Essay questions.
Breakdown of the Chapter
11-1 Public Opinion
11-2 Mass Media
11-3 Propaganda and Interest Groups
Agenda for Thursday
Interest Groups (Warm-Up/Appetizer)
and……
Intro to Law
For Friday…..
• Midpoint test!!!
• Law Continuation