Unit 3 Review: Political Beliefs & the Mass Media

Transcription

1 Unit 3 Review: Political Beliefs & the Mass Media

2 American Political Culture Despite our diversity, a common political culture exists in the U.S à common set of beliefs & attitudes about gov t & politics Majority rule/minority rights: majority views are accepted but minority views are respected Political equality: all groups can have a say in gov t, regardless of race, gender, religion, etc. Private property: gov t must respect & protect the property of the American ppl Individual freedoms: certain freedoms protected in the Bill of Rights Compromise: opposing views in gov t must compromise to enact policy Limited government: gov t is not above the Constitution

3 Political Spectrum Reactionary: extreme change in society to older ways Conservative: limited (if any) change can occur but to traditional ways Moderate: vacillate in the middle as either conservative or liberal depending on the issue Liberal: moderate change should occur towards more progressive ways à **the U.S. is a liberal society** Radical: extreme change in society to newer ways

4 Political Ideology DeHined: consistent pattern of beliefs about political values & the role of government. Types: Pure liberal: more gov t involvement in economy & less in private social conduct Pure conservative: less gov t involvement in economy & more in private social conduct Libertarian: less gov t involvement in economy & private social conduct Statist: more gov t involvement in economy & private social conduct

5 Political Socialization Political values are acquired through the process of political socialization The process through which an individual acquires their particular political orientation Orientation grows Nirmer w/ age Agents of socialization: Demographics: Gender Race & ethnicity Age Religion Family (most important during formative years) Peers & School Mass Media

6 Generational Gap Gay Marriage Do you think gays and lesbians should have the legal right to get married, or do you think they should not be able to get married legally? Women s Rights If you had to choose between each of the following values, which is more important to you working for the rights of women or preserving tradi;onal family values?

7 Political Consensus & the Moderate View What consequences might this have on politicians today?

8 Public Opinion What the public thinks about a particular issue or set of issues at any point in time. Public opinion is measured through polls Why is it so important? Attunes politicians to voters perceptions of their policies or of major issues à guides policy Fairly useful predictor of elections Marries Senators & Congressmen to their districts (constantly aware of their constituents opinions) Provides voice for the electorate Why might it be a hindrance? Public is inconsistent from day-to-day Public opinion is extremely diverse Media coverage relies on poll data May not be measured from reliable data

9 May Not be Measured from Reliable Data Where did you ask à encompass ppl from across the country? How did you ask the question à loaded questions which lead ppl to a certain answer; also includes the means of obtaining answers, e.g. phone poll vs. online Who did you ask à did you asked unbiased individuals, e.g. NRA members only on a 2 nd A. issue Who chose to respond à only the most passionate tend to respond to polls

10 Reliability of Polls % %

11 Public Opinion What constitutes a good poll? No selection bias: Represents cross-section of society Randomized Unambiguous & unbiased wording of the question Large sample size Low margin of error (+/- 3%)

12 The Mass Media Mass media: entire array of orgs. through which info is collected & disseminated to the general public It is the main link b/w many citizens & the gov t

13 Print Media Movement away from the use of print media as source of news

14 Radio Emerged as an important medium under FDR à Nireside chats NPR does maintain some popularity

15 Television Rise in televisions in households saw increase in its political signinicance Network news vs. cable news (more prominent now)

16 Network News Viewership

17 Cable News Viewership Cable news is gradually giving way to internet

18 Internet BeneNits? less Niltered more accessible Negatives? Adopted sensationalist approach Raises question what is media? fake news

19 Political Polarization Despite moderation of American society, party identinication appears (at least on the surface) to be more polarized than ever. How has the media contributed towards polarization?

20 Consolidating of Ownership of the Mass Media

21 Polarization & TV People tend to reinforce biases & existing beliefs by only viewing content which they agree with.

22 Mass Media Media acts as: Gatekeepers: innluence what subjects become political news & how long we talk about it Agenda setting: process of shaping the issues that should be addressed by the gov t Scorekeepers: keep track of & help shape political reputations Watchdogs: media have a vested interest in investigating & scrutinizing public Nigures Gov t innluences on the media: Newspapers are mostly free from gov t regulation - no prior restraint FCC (Federal Communications Commission) does regulate Debate privileges granted to respected news sources

23 Politicians & the Media Presidents attempt to control the media Privileges to media outlets for favorable reports or withholding scandals

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