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How the mass media may influence political attitudes
Impacts of mass media in politics
How the mass media may influence political attitudes
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Introduction Malaysia recently underwent its 13th General Election since achieving Independence a little over 56 years ago. This election that was held on the 5th of May of this year broke a record when it managed to accomplish the highest percentage of voters’ turnout at 85%. From the 13.26 million of registered voters for the 222 Parliamentary seats, 11.25 millions of voters turn up to cast their votes; meanwhile for State Legislative Assemblies, a whooping amount of 9.74 millions of citizens voted from the 11.35 millions registered voters. According to the Election Commission (EC), this was the highest voter turnout for Malaysia among all the general elections that were held to date (Straits Times 2013). And through this election, the incumbent coalition party, Barisan Malaysia (BN), managed to retain their reign over Malaysia once again by attaining 133 seats in the Parliament. With only 46.57% of popular votes, BN goes on to form the government while the opposition party, Pakatan Rakyat (PR) only managed to score 89 parliamentary seats although it fare better in the popular votes by gaining 53.43%. With these results in mind, this assignment will goes on to determine if the mass media content in Malaysia has the ability to influence the voting decision of an individual. Content It isn’t a foreign concept anymore that media plays a huge role in people’s life these days. This is especially true since the world is now dominated by technology and its like. Gone are the days where citizens have little to no access to media, as information in this day and age can be easily obtained through a swipe of the finger or the click of a remote. Therefore, it isn’t surprising that many scholars, politicians, political scientists, journ... ... middle of paper ... ...ation Journal, vol. 16, no. 2, p. 3, viewed 10 November 2013, . Subramaniam, S 2011, ‘Assessing Political Dynamics in Contemporary Malaysia: Implications for Democratic Change’, ASIANetwork Exchange, vol. 19, no. 1, p. 49. Thompson, EC 2013, GE 13 and the politics of urban chauvinism, viewed 9 November 2013, . Weiss, ML 2012, ‘Politics in Cyberspace: New Media in Malaysia’, fesmedia Asia series, viewed 12 November 2013, < http://library.fes.de/pdf-files/iez/09068.pdf> Yeap, SY 2013, ‘Malaysia’s 13th General Election: Rising Citizen Participation’, RSIS Commentaries, p. 2, viewed 12 November 2013,
The results of recent elections in Britain have raised many significant questions about the current political situation in the country, particularly concerning the electoral system. Therefore, the problem of “crisis” in Britain’s democracy has been the subject of wide speculation among analysts and political scientists over recent years. In addition, it is widely recognized that the traditional electoral system in the UK - first past the post - is the main cause of that crisis and should be replaced as part of a plan to reconstitute the democratic culture (Kelly 2008). By longstanding critics of the system, opponents advocate the use of proportional representation (PR) for selecting MPs. Due to this problem, it is going to be a referendum on changing the electoral system of the country's parliamentary elections.
The majoritarian and proportional representation systems are the two most common electoral systems which decide how votes are translated into seats. The majoritarian electoral system could be divided into plurality or an absolute majority (Norris, 1997: 299). Plurality aims to create a manufactured majority via exaggerating the share of seats for the leading party to an effective working majority for the government, while hindering the process of minor parties, whilst absolute majority requires candidates to obtain at least 50% plus 1 of the total votes in order to form a new government (Norris, 1997: 299).... ... middle of paper ...
...ment plays an important role in determining the relationship between its politicians and electorates. It also “[calculates] how votes are translated into seats of political power... it... also affects the party system, political culture, the formation of government and the structure of the executive” (Trac 5). Most importantly, candidates in an SMP system can be elected with minimal amounts of public support as they do not require a majority of the votes. To be elected to the legislature in the PR system, a candidate must have “at least 3% of the party vote across the province” (Ontario Citizens' Assembly 3). In contrast to the SMP system, the PR system better represents the views of the citizens, supports a stable and effective government, and is a simple yet practical voting system. It successfully caters to the needs of the voters, unlike the traditional system.
Nakhaie, M. R. (2006). Electoral participation in municipal, provincial and federal elections in Canada. Canadian Journal of Political Science, 39(2), 363-390.
Throughout the years, media has advanced along with technology. They now range in sizes, small to large, and weight, heavy and light. The means of communication we have used evolved from newspapers to televisions, social media, and the list goes on. They aid people in keeping us connected and keeping them informed of new products and of the environment. Media is an important part of the lives of neighbors, friends, family members, and the rest of the world. It is how they all stay connected. significant why it matters Why: mold the children molds the world. Affects how they act, feel, act towards others, and how they react to different events in their lives.
In Texas, there have been many concerns about voting and elections due to political changes in recent decade. Just like other Americans, Texas displays many of the same voting tendencies. It is important that one participate in the political process, political participation incorporates how citizens influence the selection of issues they are interested or political leaders. “Citizen’s actions are intended to solve public problems through political means” (American). Political participation is more than just pertaining to a certain party. Individuals can become involved in certain phases of the electoral process by participating in politics in many ways, either by voting, campaigning for candidates, and writing to their legislators. The media also plays a huge part in providing avenues for political participation.
Voters in Britain elect members of the House of Commons, the more powerful lower house of the Westminster Parliament, for maximum terms of five years. Each one of the 659 electoral districts sends one member to the House of Commons after being chosen on the basis of plurality. Candidates obtain their places on the ballot by being nominated by their party. Frequently the w...
... Despite the negative effects that had brought bad impact to the country, it was also one of the things that have strengthened the country. It has provided an acceleration of development for the country. Conclusions References Works Cited http://prezi.com/ko92evamttlo/colonial-rule-and-impacts-in-sea/ http://www.marxist.com/malaysia-fifty-years-independence-part-one.htm http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20120320222600AAYZmN7 http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20090908024038AAH5Qw
Media also influences the thinking of people and society in general through entertainment as well as advertising and marketing campaigns. It is the creative ideas and boost to the imagination that people get once they watch a television show, movie, commercial or listen to a certain song. The impact any of these forms of media can have on an individual’s thinking can change in that most of them view the various stars in the movies, TV or the music industry as role models and as a result, they start imitating them. This type of influence oftentimes will influence the way someone views a political
In Malaysia, the United Malay National Organization (UMNO) became the dominant political force beginning in 1959. UMNO created an agreement with MCA (Malayan Chinese Association) and MIC (Malayan Indian Congress) together they formed the Barisan Nasional (National Front or BN) and since 1974 it has been the senior partner in a governing coalition. Since its formation as an independent state in 1963, Malaysia has never experienced a change in government. UMNO’s positions are attractive because they are important in Malaysia’s political and business life. Because UMNO leader has always served as Malaysia’s de facto prime minister, the party’s internal election is seen as the country’s real election. UMNO’s party apparatus often reflects the state’s apparatus, a fact that makes UMNO’s election even more alike with the country’s election.
...e importance of media studies will not decline, in fact, it will be more dominated in the future, and therefore we need to study the media to understand how it influences ourselves and the society. Not only that, people who study the media rather than consuming it would know how to act rather than being acted about. In saying this, media literate people are and will be better citizens and they can pose questions on the different benefits of the media as well as understand how the media is constructed.
Jali, N.H.M., M. Redzuan, A.A. Saman, and I.H.M. Rashid. 2010. Malaysian Studies: Nationhood and Citizenship. Petaling Jaya: Prentice Hall.
In our democratic society, mass media is the driving force of public opinion. Media sources such as Internet, newspaper, news-broadcasts, etc, play significant roles in shaping a person’s understanding and perception about the events occurred in our daily lives. But how much influence does the mass media poses on our opinion? Guaranteed by the First Amendment in American Constitution, the media will always be there to inform us about the different events or issues they feel are important for the public. The media constantly bombards us with news, advertisements, etc, wher...
The Role of Media in the Society Media has always played a huge role in our society. For a long time media is one of the methods of controlling people and leisure. In In ancient times when there was no newspapers and television, people used literature as a source of information, some books like "the Iliad", and different stories about great kings, shows those people the information about them, and how they are used. Nowadays, media is one of the main parts of our lives and our society, because we use word media, to combine all. sources of information to be used.
There are two forms of constitution involves in Malaysia which is Federal Constitution and State Constitution.