360 likes | 382 Views
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.
E N D
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 50-60% • 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