Media’s impact on public opinion & policy: implications for journalists by: Guy Berger, Rhodes Journalism & M

1. Media’s impact on public opinion & policy:implications for journalists by: Guy Berger,Rhodes Journalism & Media Studies

2. “ Public opinion sets the bounds of the possible – especially as regards the shape of policy and the exercise of power. Qtn: how do orthodoxies change – cf. women’s role, privatisation and liberalisation? Qtn: where does media fit in? That’s why understanding media’s impact is important. ”

3. Contents: • THE ACTORS AND DYNAMICS • 5 models of action in media-policy • Other issues in media-policy • HOW MEDIA INFLUENCE WORKS • 3 theories of media impact • CONCLUSION

4. THE ACTORS: • the public public opinion • the media • policy people

5. Specific players: • media: different platforms, premier outlets, media stars (Oprah) • public: general public, civil society groups incl NGOs, business, global forces, individuals. • policy people: the makers and the implementers. • Qtn: who drives the process?

6. Five models of how the relationship works: • Liberal democratic • Muckraker model • Bypassing civil society • Manipulation model • Propaganda picture

7. 1. Liberal democratic model MEDIA COVERAGE 2 3 PUBLIC + OPINION 1 GOVT RESPONDS i.e. The public is the active source of public opinion eg. Aids activists win coverage, affect govt

8. 2. Muckraker model PUBLIC + OPINION 2 MEDIA COVERAGE 1 GOVT RESPONDS 3 i.e. Media coverage is active source of public opinion eg. Exposure of child abuse

9. 3. Bypassing Civil Society 2 GOVT RESPONDS MEDIA COVERAGE 1 = “PUBLIC OPINION” i.e. Media impacts on govt, irrespectv of real public opinion eg. Bill Clinton-Monica Lewinsky

10. 4. Manipulation model 2 MEDIA COVERAGE GOVT INITIATES 1 PUBLIC + OPINION 3 i.e. Government is the originator of public opinion eg. Iraq war in US, Info scandal, discredit leader’s rivals

11. 5. Propaganda picture MEDIA COVERAGE 2 GOVT INITIATES 1 i.e. Government is the originator, circuit incomplete eg. media coverage pleases govt, ignores public

12. Summing up (a): • Policy people infer Public Opinion from media, • and they use media to promote their policies. • Often it is interaction of media & politicians (not the public) that affects govt policy & practice.

13. Summing up (b): • But civil society also has a real role to play as in the first model. • In practice, many situations combine aspects of all five models. • Media is assumed to be a factor in all five

14. Other issues 1: • Enthusiastic, one-sided & simplistic treatment in the media = rapid policy change; • Eg. anti-retrovirals • Complexity & debate = slower policy action. • Eg. genetically modified crops • Effect on politicians & policy is a transition: mobilisation -> action -> maintenance -> fade (as the media intensity declines).

15. Other issues 2: • Some media more influential than others: eg. TV greater on dramatic & short-term events. • But often TV takes its cue from print. • Intermedia agenda-setting power. For example, some titles set “the story” for others. • Note: power of international media and cultural imperialism.

16. HOW MEDIA INFLUENCE WORKS

17. The making of “public opinion” • What is public “opinion”? • Theory 1: indirect effects • Theory 2: direct effects • Theory 3: deeper effects

18. Defining Public Opinion ·Knowledge and information ·Beliefs (about reality) ·Values (about goodness) ·Norms (about behaviour)   => attitudes, which in turn => contextualise and colour specific opinions on specific issues. • Public Opinion = a set of shared attitudes based on: knowledge, beliefs, values, norms. • i.e heart-and-head on an aggregated scale

19. Influence: Theory 1 • Very Indirect effects (“Tertiary-level effects”): • Media creates new publics, causes changes in politics, alters people’s time allocation. • A “media dense” environment will have greater effect in this area, even on identities • Much less the case in most of Africa.

20. Influence: Theory 2a 2. Most Direct effects (“Primary effects”): Works on short-term attitudes and opinions A. Stimulus-response (S-R) theory: Overly-powerful view. But true that S-R exists in affective responses: fear, tears, identification, anger, laughter, arousal. Suicides, fashions, riots. Less-powerful view: S-R is modified by psycho variables, socio variables, 2 step diffusion.

21. Influence: Theory 2b 2. Most Direct effects (“Primary effects”) cntd: B.Uses & gratificationstheory: Audiences act on media; they make the effects. But: • People do change through media exposure, • Messages are not open-ended, • There are unobvious effects (= consumerism), • Reinforcement, rather than change, effect. Still: U&G valid ‘cos audiences not purely passive

22. Influence: Theory 3 3. Direct, but deeper, effects or influence (“Secondary effects”):  Works on beliefs, values, norms, worldviews (foundation of attitudes & opinions) More longterm, & relatively powerful: • Agenda-setting effects • Paradigmatic effects.

23. Influence: Theory 3a 3. Direct, but deeper, effects or influence (“Secondary effects”): A. Agenda-setting effects: • Defines what is NB. • Affects not what you think, but what you think about. • Plays to advantage of specific forces.

24. Influence: Theory 3b 3. Direct, but deeper, effects or influence (“Secondary effects”): B. Paradigmatic effects: • How you think about the agenda: • i.e. “framing” what has been “primed”. • Thiseffect defines reality & norms. • Defines what is wise, normal, praiseworthy, acceptable, right. And what is: • deviant, disgusting, outdated, unacceptable.

25. Influence: summing up What theories we’ve covered: • Stimulus-response effects • Modified S-R • Uses and gratifications • Agenda-setting • Paradigms There is value in all of them. Media impacts on public opinion and policy in all these ways

26. CONCLUSION • Audience role and “decoding” • Public Opinion – fact or fiction? • Summing up impact

27. Audience role Media effects are subject to receiver decoding: • hegemonic, (b) negotiated, (c) oppositional a. “Hegemonic decoding”: Reinforcing influence operates at 2ndary level. You accept the media’s agenda, the paradigm & the attitude-opinion effects.

28. Audience role cntd b. “Negotiated decoding”: You accept the paradigm, maybe even agenda, you stop at the attitudinal stuff. Question: Why? Ans: Situated & Mediated meaning levels c. “Oppositional decoding”: a “weak effects” approach. Implies a resistance orientation.

29. Public opinion: fact or fiction? Very notion itself of Public Opinion can be argued to be an effect of media coverage. A construct that masks real power – that of media, their owners and their sources (such as govt or PR companies). Self-fulfilling: policy people – who influence so much media coverage – gain their own understanding of Public Opinion from the self-same media.

30. Policy impact: But even fictions have impacts: • Affect the circuit of policy making, via media & bypassing media, and upon media (affecting its interests & operations). • Influence the decoding by audiences: the setting of media agendas and framing • Influence audience decoding via effect on knowledge, attitudes, and practices.

31. Summing up Media, public, policy people = a dynamic & powerful triangle! that is sometimes not a triangle! and that works at diff levels, issues, times!

32. Understanding Journalists need to grasp the complexities and the nuances about actors, PO, influence. In this way, strategise & heighten our impact The continent needs optimum relationships. Think about it. Act upon it. Be a conscious player in public opinion