PUBLIC OPINION & MASS

MEDIA IN DEMOCRACY

ESSENTIAL QUESTION

Why is critical examination of information an

essential responsibility of citizens in a democratic

society?

PART 1

THE FORMATION AND MEASUREMENT OF

PUBLIC OPINION

What is public opinion and why is it so difficult to define?

What are the factors that shape public opinion?

What are the challenges involved in measuring public

opinion?

What are the five steps in the polling process?

What are the challenges of evaluating polls?

What are the limits on the impact of public opinion in a

democracy?

Def: Attitudes held by people on matters of government and

politics.

WHAT IS PUBLIC OPINION?

Different Publics

The US has many groups,

or publics, who share

common views.

Public Opinions

More than one public

opinion can exist at the

same time.

A view or position must be

expressed in the open in

order to a public opinion.

FACTORS INFLUENCING PUBLIC OPINION

Mass Media

Def. - means of communication

that reach large, widely dispersed

audiences simultaneously.

Peer Groups

The people with whom one

regularly associates. (friends,

classmates, neighbors)

Opinion Leaders

Anyone who has an unusually

strong influence on others’ views.

Historic Events

Ex) 9/11 helped shape the

political views and opinions of all

Americans.

The Schools

Children acquire political

knowledge as they are taught

about political systems,

patriotism, and great Americans.

The Family

Children first see the

political world from within

the family and spent large

amounts of time with them.

MEASURING PUBLIC OPINION

Elections

Interest Groups

• Private organizations whose members share certain views and work to shape public policy.

The Media

• The media are both “mirrors” and “molders” of opinion.

Personal Contacts

• Public officials rely on contacts with their constituents, such as reading their mail, answering calls, and meeting people in public.

POLLS—THE BEST MEASURE

Public opinion is best measured by public opinion polls, devices that attempt to collect information by asking people questions.

THE POLLING PROCESS

Defining the Universe

• The universe means the population that the poll aims to measure.

Constructing a Sample• A sample is a representative slice of the poll’s population.

Preparing Valid Questions• The way in which questions are worded is very important. Wording can affect the

reliability of any poll.

Interviewing• Pollsters communicate with the sample respondents using various methods

including person-to-person interviews, telephone calls, and mail surveys.

Reporting• Pollsters use computers to store and manipulate data, which helps them analyze

and report the results of the poll.

EVALUATING POLLS AND THEIR LIMIT ON

PUBLIC OPINION

Evaluating Polls

Most national and regional polls are fairly reliable, but far from perfect.

Problems

Cannot measure intensity, stability, and relevance of the opinions they report.

Polls sometimes shape the opinions they are supposed to measure.

Limits on the Impact of Public

Opinion

Public opinion is the major, but by no means the only, influence on public policy.

The Government protects minority interests against the excesses of majority views and actions.

Finally, polls are not elections, nor are they substitutes for elections.

PART 2

THE MASS MEDIA

How does the mass media fulfill its role to

provide the public with political

information?

How does the mass media influence politics?

What are the factors that limit the influence

of the media?

THE ROLE OF MASS MEDIA

TelevisionPolitics and television have gone hand inhand since the technology firstappeared. Today television is theprinciple source of political informationfor a majority of Americans.

NewspapersThe first newspapers carried mostlypolitical news. Even with the totalnumber of newspapers declining, theyare still the second leading source ofpolitical information for most Americans.

RadioOn average, Americans hear 20 hours ofradio each week. Radio has been asource of news and entertainment since1920.

MagazinesSome 12,000 magazines are publishedin the United States today. Severalmagazines are devoted to Americannews and politics.

Mass media is a medium of communication for the public.

Internet

The internet provides instant and continual access to all previously

mentioned mediums, as well as web-only content such as blogs and

political commentary sites.

THE MEDIA AND POLITICS

The Public Agenda

The media play a large role in

shaping the public agenda,

the societal problems that

political leaders and citizens

agree need government

attention.

The media does not tell the

people what to think; but it is

clear that they tell the people

what to think about.

Electoral Politics

Today, television allows

candidates to appeal

directly to the people,

without the help of a party

organization.

Candidates regularly try

to use media coverage to

their advantage.

Newscasts featuring

candidates are usually

short, sharply focused

sound bites—snappy

reports that can be aired

in 30 to 45 seconds.

LIMITS ON MEDIA INFLUENCE

Only a small part of the public actually takes in and understands much of what the media have to say about public affairs.

Many media sources mostly skim the news, reporting only what their editors judge to be the most important and/or most interesting stories of the day.

In-depth coverage of public affairs is available to those who want it and will seek it out.

PART 3

PROPAGANDA & LANGUAGE OF POLITICAL

ADVERTISEMENTS

REPETITION

•One way to drive a message

home is repetition.

•In all forms of advertising that

use jingles or slogans,

repetition is intended to keep a

word or phrase in the minds of

the viewers.

•The more times viewers

hear a name, word, or phrase,

the more likely they are to

remember it.

SYNTAX : SHORT & INCOMPLETE, OR LONG &

LYRICAL

The syntax, or grammatical structure of words, used in

ads achieves different purposes when used in different

ways.

Some ads, favor complex, lengthy, complete sentences.

This method requires more thought and attention on the

part of the viewer, but often presents a more complete

picture of the candidate.

•Others utilize fragments or

phrases, which are easily

accessible to the viewer, but

may not fully explain the

candidate’s position.

“LOADED LANGUAGE”:

POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE WORDS

The use of “loaded” language—

words with strong positive or

negative emotional

associations—is a long-standing

tradition in political advertising.

The use of positive and negative

words is a common technique of

partisan attacks.

It is an important strategy used

by candidates and advisers of

both parties to sway voter

opinion.