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Mass Media and Public Opinion. Chapter 8. The Formation of Public Opinion. What is Public Opinion?. Definition: those attitudes held can be described this way; those attitudes held by a significant number of people on matters of government and politics. Different types of public opinion!
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Mass Media and Public Opinion Chapter 8
What is Public Opinion? • Definition: those attitudes held can be described this way; those attitudes held by a significant number of people on matters of government and politics. • Different types of public opinion! • Newspaper, Internet, Twitter, magazines.
Family and Education • How do we learn our political opinion? • We have many different teachers. • Teachers and our Family members can help us decide where we stand political opinion.
Other Factors • Mass Media • Include those means of communication that reach large, widely spread audiences. • Peer Groups • Are made up of the people with whom one regularly associates, including friends, classmates, neighbors, and co-workers. • Opinion Leaders • Bears heavily on public opinion. Leader has strong views of others. • Historic Events • This has a major impact on the content and direction of public policy.
Measuring Public Opinion • Elections • Voice of the people is suppose to express itself through elections. • Interest Groups • Are private organizations whose members share certain views and work to shape certain views and work to shape the making and the content public policy. • The Media • They are described as the mirrors as well as the molders of opinion. • Personal Contacts • These personal contacts try and read the public’s mind. Their jobs demand that they do so.
Polls- The Best Measure • Straw Polls • These are polls to read the public’s mind and simply by asking the same question of a large number of people. • Scientific Polling • Techniques have advanced since the mid 1930’s. They tap everything from toothpastes to television shows.
The Polling Process • Defining the Universe • The whole population that the poll will seek to discover. • Constructing a Sample • Not possible to poll everyone. So they will sample a slice of the whole universe. • Preparing Valid Questions • Pollsters have to phase their questions very carefully and are precise. • Interviewing • Most polls are face to face. Sometimes they have to be by mail or by telephone. • Analyze and Report Findings • They just try and measure people’s attitudes.
Evaluating Polls • How Good are Polls? • Sometimes they shape the opinion?? • Do they shape how people really feel?
Limits on the Impact of Public Opinion • Democracy is more than a simple measurement of opinion. • Democracy is about making careful choices among leaders and their positions on issues, and among the governmental actions that may follow.
The Role of Mass Media • Television • Newspapers • Twitter • Radio • Magazines
The Media and Politics • How does the Media play a role in public opinion? • Do they play a role in the election process? • Play a role in two areas public agenda, and electoral politics. • Public Agenda- the societal problems that need attention. • Electoral Politics- television has taken the place of parties in American Politics.
Limits on Media Influence • Radio and Television skim the news. • There are other assets that people can go and seek if they want more coverage.