What we believe? Or what we are told we believe? Public Opinion and the Media

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YouTube - "The Cost of Doing Nothing"

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Public Opinion After seeing all these commercials and posters what do you think public opinion really is? ____________________________________________ ____________________________________________ ____________________________________________ ____________________________________________ ____________________________________________

Public Opinion “The people’s evaluations and understanding of politics in general and their views on specific political issues of the day.” American Government Rasmussen The random sample and its surprising accuracy Polling in the U.S. has become very scientific in nature and pollsters only need a random sample to get fairly accurate public opinion numbers. On the other hand check this out

The Media’s Role Young voters are especially affected by the media Older adults see the media as presenting bad news Generally lowering the view of politics and politicians in that persons mind. Agenda setting by the media Sometimes the media takes an issue and runs with it, making or shaping public opinion around it then bringing political attention to it. The making and shaping of the public opinion part is called the priming effect

Public Opinion Direct mail is also an effective way to keep public opinion on the high side of an issue For example: pamphlets and flyers from candidates and their parties. Polling in politics Polling has become a very effective tool for campaigns and parties to shape public opinion around candidates and to shape candidates messages

Public Opinion and what we believe Americans are liberal What do you mean? I’m not a liberal? What do you think liberal means?________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________ We support private property, self- reliance, free enterprise, freedom, equality, achievement motivation, and individualism.

Our Beliefs Translated into Action Democracy General Democratic Principles If asked this question what do you think people would say Should the minority be free to criticize the majority? ___________________ ___________________ ___________________

Ideology (in the more well known sense) LiberalConservative Concentrate on social issues and change Government involvement in regulation of the economy Government acting on behalf of the disadvantaged Usually go with the status quo Support less government regulation of the economy Rely on charity to act on behalf of the disadvantaged

Liberal and Conservative Public opinion in the U.S. between the two ideologies ebbs and flows. So which ideology do the parties generally subscribe to?__________________________________________ ____________________________________________ ____________________________________________ Are there any in- betweens?____________________________________ ____________________________________________ ____________________________________________

Public Opinion and what forms it Well polls form some of it Generally though the economic conditions nationally, effect the shift from one to another. The worse the economy the more conservative we are, the better the economy the more liberal we are.

Public Opinion and Public Trust 1950’s Level of trust was high in government But by the 1960’s trust in government was falling off. This trend begins shortly after the Civil Rights Act of By the 1980’s trust in government is on the rise again.

Involvement, Civic Duty, Behavior Political Involvement How interested are we in politics?________________________________________ From the 60’s to the 70’s involvement falls off, and by 1988 a key indicator (the reading of newspapers) had dropped dramatically. Civic Duty Ought we to be involved in politics? Yes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! But why? It is a responsibility of being a citizen and enjoying the rights that go with it. It effects every part of our lives, public policy is the effect of government on our lives.

Involvement, Civic Duty, Behavior Voter Behavior= ? _________________________ (how other conditions affect voting and voters and their reaction to these conditions) Voter behavior: as economic conditions get worse and optimism falls voting along class lines will increase. Low voter turnout is a direct result of financial difficulty, unemployment, and poverty levels. Politics become of less concern when we are just making ends meet.

How do we know what we know about Politics It is called political socialization The family Everyday experiences Education Income Social status Age Gender

Public Opinion and Public Policy These two really do go hand in hand 62% of SCOTUS decisions reflect public opinion at the time of the decision State and local policy also reflects public opinion Liberal policy shifts tend to happen more quickly and conservative shifts in policy tend to happen more slowly in congruence with public opinion shifts

Participation Voting in elections Campaigning Communal Activity (community organizing) Contacting Calling a politician or official to affect change