Mass Media & Public Opinion

Influencing Public Opinion Interest Groups Public-Interest Groups Lobbyists Public opinion: ideas and attitudes a significant amount of Americans have about political issues

What is Public Opinion? One of the most overused and misunderstood terms A complex collection of opinions of many different people Different Publics Each “Public” care about different issues Public affairs events and issues that concern the people at large Definition Public opinion Those attitudes held by a significant number of people on matters of government and politics

Political Socialization Political Socialization: Process of shaping one’s ideas and attitudes about government Factors that Affect Political Views: Family Schools Peers Media

Family and Education Public Opinion is formed through the life experiences Political Socialization preformed by: Family Parents beliefs build a foundation of views on political beliefs in their children The Schools Used to indoctrinate students to become good citizens Family and Schools not the only factors, but most significant

The Political Spectrum People who have similar opinions on political issues are generally grouped according to whether they are “left,” “right,” or “center” on the political spectrum.

Measuring Public Opinion Politicians monitor public opinion: Email Letters Talking to Constituents Town hall meetings Election results Media Polls

Mass Media Mass Media Peer Groups Those means of communication that reach large, widely dispersed audiences (masses of people) simultaneously TV and Internet the most common form of Mass Media Peer Groups Made up of the people with whom one regularly associates friends, classmates, neighbors, and co-workers reinforces what a person has already come to believe most tend to share the same belief on public issues

Mass Media Television Newspapers Radio Magazines Internet Most Americans get their news about government and political issues from: Television Newspapers Radio Magazines Internet

Media Influence on the Public Agenda Public Agenda: societal problems that political leaders and the general public agree need government attention Media set agenda by choosing what to show and what not to show Bias: liberal, conservative, moderate

Media Bias Types of Bias: Advertising bias, when stories are selected or slanted to please advertisers. Corporate bias, when stories are selected or slanted to please corporate owners of media. Mainstream bias, a tendency to report what everyone else is reporting, and to avoid stories that will offend anyone. Sensationalism, bias in favor of the exceptional over the ordinary, giving the impression that rare events, such as airplane crashes, are more common than common events, such as automobile crashes.

Other Factors Opinion Leaders Historic Events Person who, for any reason, has an unusually strong influence on the views of others Could be anyone who people believe and tend to follow Historic Events Great Depression led to the belief that the National Government should have a larger role in citizens lives Events of the 1960’s and 70’s led to mistrust in the national government

Measuring Public Opinion Section 2

Scientific Polling Polls are one of the most common means of gauging public opinion Elections Votes cast for the various candidates are regularly taken as evidence of the people’s approval Mandate instructions or commands a constituency gives to its elected officials However an election very likely does not give mandates from the public

Scientific Polling Polls: ask voters for their opinions Random sample: randomly chosen people up to a specified amount (usually 1500+) Telephone interviews Leading Questions vs. Scientific Questions Margin of error: measures poll’s accuracy Margin of error: 2%

Images affect attitudes VS. Case Study: (Vietnam War)

Media Influence on Elections Presidents use the media to promote their policies and programs Media plays a role in who is elected How television shapes elections: Little-known candidates can make an impact TV ads reach more people than print TV networks put more resources into covering front-runners in primaries

Measuring Public Opinion Interest Groups Private organizations whose members share certain views and work to shape the making and the content of public policy Chief means through which public opinion is made known The Media Considered many times as “mirrors” and/or “molders” of public opinion However they are not very accurate mirrors of public opinion, often reflecting only the views of a vocal minority Personal Contacts Public Administrators receiving calls, mail, emails, or through meetings however tend to only find views that support and agree with their own views

POLLS Public opinion polls Straw Votes Devices that attempt to collect information by asking people questions Straw Votes Polls that seek to read the public’s mind simply by asking the same question to a large number of people however highly unreliable does not make sure that the sample is an accurate cross-section of the population 1936 election and Library Digest mishap

Polling Process Defining the Universe Constructing a Sample Universe means the whole population that the poll aims to measure Constructing a Sample To poll the entire universe is very difficult, and often impossible Must select a sample representative slice of the total universe Random sample a probability sample Generally national polls only are represented by about 1,500 people Mathematics tells us that 1,500 people selected randomly, can give you the probability to have an accurate poll (+/- 3%) Quota sample sample deliberately constructed to reflect several of the major characteristics of a given universe

Preparing Valid Questions Major National polls are fairly reliable Wording can affect the reliability of any poll try to avoid “loaded questions” Major National polls are fairly reliable Intensity Strength of feeling of an opinion held Stability Relative permanence of opinion Relevance How important is the opinion However, criticized for creating a “Bandwagon Effect”

Images affect attitudes Vice President Nixon vs. newcomer John Kennedy 1st time presidential debate was televised TV viewers thought Kennedy won, but radio listeners thought Nixon won. Case Study: (1960 Election)

Media, Congress, & the Courts Press Secretary C-SPAN Broadcast of state & local trials Daily sessions for reporters at Federal trials

The Simpsons lampoons Fox News bias

The Role Of Media Medium is a means of communication Television Media is plural for medium TV, Newspaper, Internet, and magazines most prolific Through Mass Media, most people receive their information Television Replaced newspaper as the principal source of political information for a majority of Americans in the early 1960’s Newspapers Once the strongest source of political information, however it’s influence has been diminished due to TV, radio and internet Most, if not all newspapers, have their publications on the internet

The Role of Media (cont’d) Radio Still considered one of the top sources of information Generally lean Republican However, NPR leans Democratic Magazines Generally used by scholarly or educated individuals

The Media in Politics Public Agenda The societal problems that political leaders and citizens agree need government attention Ultimately the Media help influence those matters of concern to public-policy makers Done by featuring certain items at different points Media help determine what people should think about Presidents currently receive a daily digest of the news reports and analysis

Limits on Media Only a small part of the population actually is “well informed” for elections Those who do pay attention, tend to only listen to reports from the political parties they tend to support TV tends to share very little information about news due to the short amount of time Left to report only what TV Editors deem most important Overall, in depth information is tough to come by in just one of the mediums Requires effort to read and analyze the information in each medium

Watchdog Groups Liberal Conservative Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting (FAIR) Media Matters for America Accuracy In Media Media Research Center