1. POSC 1000(056) Introduction to Politics
Russell Alan Williams

2. PART TWO: POLITICAL PARTICIPATION & BEHAVIOR
Unit Four: Political Culture and Modern Media
Required Reading:
Mintz, Chapters 7 & 8, pp
Outline:
Introduction – Political Culture
Political Socialization and Participation
Changing Values?
The Role of the Media
Political Problems of “Mass Media”
Changing Technology

3. 1) Introduction:
“Political Culture”: General political values and beliefs that are widely held in within a community
Specific to each social setting
Assumed to impact politics & public policy
Societal aggregation of political ideologies
E.g. US traditionally seen as having more liberal political culture then Canada
Limited government
Pluralistic participatory democracy
Canadians brought more conservative attitudes to the new world then Americans
Yet, demographically the two countries are so similar, so why different political cultures?
Yet, demographically the two countries are so similar, so why different political cultures?
Experience of the American Revolution
Political cultures must be made over time They change as people work to change the values of their communities

4. Core aspects of political culture
a) Democratic values:
E.g. Anglo-American world expects high level of participation
b) Views of governments and politicians:
E.g. Anglo-American countries more negative
Attitudes towards incumbent governments
c) Political interest and knowledge
E.g. Can vary from one community to another
c) Political interest and knowledge
E.g. Can vary from one community to another
E.g. Higher in NL than in British Columbia

5. 2)Political Socialization & Participation:
“Socialization”: Process by which values, political ideologies and political culture are transmitted to citizens.
May explain why political cultures are different
Mechanisms:
Education system
Governments
Media !!!!!
Families? Considerable debate about families . . .
The Catholic voter hypothesis 
More impact on Political Culture than Political Ideologies
E.g. “Political Efficacy”: Belief individuals have on whether they can effect what governments do
Parties?
“Socialization”: Process by which values, political ideologies and political culture are transmitted to citizens.
May explain why political cultures are different
We are taught different political culture just like we are taught different ideologies by the world around us.
Role of Parties = more important than in the past – used to be a major mechanism – came into our homes and influenced are ideologies but also influenced our political cultures – parties encouraged us to be active and participate

6. Socialization . . . Example – the “Turnout Crisis”
Voter turnout lower AND declining in Canada
Canadian Federal elections ( ):
Turnout very low as a % of population in Canada

7. Socialization . . . Example – the “Turnout Crisis”
Most noticeable amongst young voters
Perceived importance of voting by age cohorts
Producing a lost generation of voters ?
Question: Why don’t young people vote?

8. Explanations: Wisdom – young voters see “strategic realities”
E.g. Political Efficacy
E.g. Electoral system problems
E.g. Relates to possible “Generational Effect”: Effect that a different generation can have on its members attitudes – will persist over time
E.g. Current youth still participate, just less likely to vote . . .
“Life Cycle Effect” : Age effects one’s attitudes and behavior
E.g. People become more conservative as they get older
This is not new - young people never tend to vote!

9. Socialization – Youth are not “trained” to vote Role of media?
Explanations:
Socialization – Youth are not “trained” to vote
Role of media?
Decline of political parties?
Decline of civic culture?
E.g. “Bowling Alone” hypothesis (Putnam)
May suggest our political culture is changing – socialization is not same on participation
May suggest our political culture is changing – socialization is not same on participation
In past the media, parties and civic culture made us think voting was important, now they don’t.

10. 3) Changing Values:
Political cultures and ideologies change over time . . .
Materialism  Post-materialism
Ideologies were traditionally “materialist”: focused on economic benefits for different groups
“Postmaterialist Theory”: Political values changing because younger generations grew up in era of prosperity since WWII
Less concerned about economic security
More highly educated
Insert a map of your country.

11. Increases support for “Postmaterialist Values”:
Human rights, civil liberties etc
Environment
Evidence?
Question: Does this explain the “turnout crisis”?
E.g. Party politics and platforms not responding to postmaterialist values
Political Culture is changing = less interest in traditional politics
Socialization may be playing a role in this = we are no longer being socializaed that tradtional particpation is importatn
Changing values may also be playing a role in this = parties slow to respond to postmaterialist interests.

12. 4) :The Role of the Media
“Mass Media”: TV, Radio and widely circulated newspapers/magazines
Large audience
“Elite Media”: Periodicals intended for more “focused” audiences – economic and political elites.
New Media: Internet based sources of information
Different from mass media?

13. Three perspectives on the media:
“Libertarian Perspective”: Media should be free from government regulation
“Social Responsibility Perspective”: Media has a responsibility to the public’s “common good”
Free media = bad information
=Need for regulation and “public broadcasters”
E.g. CBC
“Libertarian Perspective”: Media should be free from government regulation
Consistent with liberal political philosophy – a marketplace of ideas. Let us choose what we wish to believe or be interested in – that is the “common good”
“Social Responsibility Perspective”: Media has a responsibility to the public’s “common good”
Free media = bad information
=Need for regulation and “public broadcasters”
E.g. CBC
Sometimes the concern is just standards – E.g. The “it bleeds, it leads” dynamic – we need broadcasters that are less concerned about ratings and ad revenue so that we also get more informative and serious information

14. Perspectives on the media:
“Dominant Ideology Perspective”: Media promotes values of the powerful who benefit from status quo
E.g. Noam Chomsky
Media in liberal democracy is “propaganda”
=Need for wider interpretations

15. 5) Political Problems of Mass Media:
Large influence(?)
“Hypodermic Model”: Belief media messages have a direct effect on beliefs and behavior of public
Problem: Pre-existing political values effect our response to a story
“Minimal Effects Model”: Through selective attention, individuals filter out messages they don’t want to hear
Media reinforces what people already believe
Either way, this is bad – because it means we are not forming opinions based on facts about a public issue . . .
Media has a huge impact on our knowledge about the world and our beliefs - however there are different interpretation of just what the effect is:
“Hypodermic Model”: Belief media messages have a direct effect on beliefs and behavior of public
Problem: Pre-existing political values effect our response to a story – we might pay more attention to a story that confirms our existing fears – this suggest the dynamic is not simply “hypodermic” leads to the alternative interpretation 
“Minimal Effects Model”: Through selective attention, individuals filter out messages they don’t want to hear
Media messages we choose to pay attention to reinforces what people already believe

16. b) Ownership concentration - E.g. “Rogers Communications”
Traditional Media:
3 National TV Networks (CHUM, Sportsnet and TSC)
62 Magazines (5 of the 10 top selling)
E.g. MacLean's
35 Cable TV services
29 Radio stations
8 of Canada’s largest Daily newspapers
New Media:
Simpatico
Rogers AT&T Wireless
240+ Video stores in Canada
Risk: Most information provided by few sources

17. d) “Conflicts of Interest”
c) Ideological bias
Partisan political bias . . .
E.g. Italy and Berlusconi
Glen Beck
The “news” we don’t hear
Examples?
Stories on Media concentration!
d) “Conflicts of Interest”
Do media outlets protect their advertisers?
Partisan political bias Meaning favoring one party over another

18. Political media and entertainment:
“Infotainment”: The merging of information and entertainment in news and public affairs
Ratings more important then helping people evaluate public policy
E.g. Talk radio - VOCM
There is evidence that as radio revenues have declined talk radio has had to get angrier as the only way to generate a listening audience

19. f) From information to “framing”:
“Framing”: Selecting some aspects of a story to promote a particular interpretation of events
Conveys a moral judgment rather then informs the viewer of the facts
E.g NDP “Pot Candidates”
Or, makes a story more entertaining at the expense of good information
E.g. Reporting of Political Polls and the electoral “horse race”
Dana Larsen & Kirk Tousaw – In both cases the stance of the parties on marijuana legalization or the candidates arguments ignored.
Only the most controversial aspects of their pasts were discussed to illustrate that they weren’t the right kind of people to be M.P’s

20. g) Political manipulation of the media:
“News management”: Attempting to control and shape the presentation of the news in order to affect public opinion in desired ways
Try to take advantage of:
“Agenda-Setting Effect”: The role of the media in influencing what the public thinks are political priorities
“Priming”: The role of the media in impacting the criteria by which people “judge” events
Techniques:
“Press release journalism”, “Spin”, “Leaking” and “un-attributed” sources
Risk: Modern politics = priming and spin?
Risk: The “drinking your own bathwater” problem
Risk: The “drinking your own bathwater” problem
E.g. Iraq war

21. 6) Changing Technology & the Media:
How has the internet changed this?
Two views:
It promotes a more libertarian view of media impacts on politics = more “voices” in politics (libertarian perspective)
Changes little
Internet even more irresponsible (Social Responsibility Perspective)
Internet just a different medium for same mass media companies (Dominant Ideology Perspective)
Insert a picture of an animal and or plant found in your country.

22. 7) For next time: Unit Six: Political Parties (October 7)
Required Reading:
Mintz, Chapter 9, pp
Insert a picture of an animal and or plant found in your country.