Brief Introductory Summary
It has long been said that the media has the potential to make a candidate known as well as make a well known candidate become unpopular by giving either more media coverage or media blackout. It is interesting to see just how the media can play with people’s psychology and influence their decisions to a great length. In this issue paper, the learner investigates the contribution that the media has on political campaigns. The major issue under concern in this paper is the extent of media coverage that is accorded to particular candidates. Under this topic, there will be focus on issues like the contributions that technology in media broadcast has on political campaign candidates. For example, do YouTube and High Definition Televisions play a role in boosting or destroying a political campaign candidate? This will then be followed by coverage of potential media biasness that has been recorded in the past and the level of consistency in the same. The effect of these biases on political candidates especially those vying for the post of presidency and other top seats will be discussed. The learner will introduce some personal rationale of these issues and their contribution to making or breaking a political campaign candidate.
It is inevitable that the world today is living at a time when technology is evolving at such a fast rate, such that the media as well as the politicians have to think of ways to integrate their political and personal ambitions on the same platform and rhyme to their own good. To the media houses and giants, politics gives them the best opportunities get hype from potential advertisement customers where they earn more income from. Bernt argues that the media is more like a vehicle in...
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...n terms of coverage in the airtime than on others. In this issue paper, it is clear that the female candidates are less publicized by the media houses unlike their male challengers especially for the presidential elections. It is also clear that the media houses are turning to technology to try and magnify the negatives physical aspects of a candidate that they do not support in favor of the one they support with the utilization of High Definition TV. When it’s all been said and done, the media houses remain the greatest benefactors in all the election campaigns.
Works Cited
Bernt, Joseph P. "Women for President: Media Bias in Eight Campaigns." Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly 85.2 (2008): 473,473-475. ABI/INFORM Complete. Web. 9 Oct. 2011.
Crupi, Anthony. "Scars and Stripes." Mediaweek 18.35 (2008): 12,12-13. ABI/INFORM Complete. Web. 9 Oct. 2011.
Have you ever turned on the TV to watch the news during election year? News programs constantly bombard the public with campaign coverage that negatively affects the way people vote. The most noticeable effect the TV news media causes is a decrease in voter attendance at the ballot boxes. News coverage of political campaigns reduces voter turnout because of the negative campaign tactics used by candidates and their parties; exit polls that predict the outcome of an election; and the public's perception that the media can be bought to influence people to vote for a certain issue or candidate.
For over 60 years, presidential campaigns have used television ads to communicate ideas and campaign plans to the American people. With hopes of influencing people to vote, politicians have used various tactics and strategies to persuade. After observing television campaign ads throughout the years, a few themes are observed.
Trent, J. S., Short-Thompson, C., Mongeau, P. A., Nusz, A. K., & Trent, J. D. (2001). Image, Media Bias, and Voter Characteristics: The Ideal Candidate From 1988-2000. American Behavioral Scientist, 44, 12, 2101-2124.
398).It is also stated that news divisions reduced their costs, and raised the entertainment factor of the broadcasts put on air. (p. 400). Secondly, the media determines its sources for stories by putting the best journalists on the case and assign them to areas where news worthy stories just emanates. (p.400). Third, the media decides how to present the news by taking the most controversial or relevant events and compressing them into 30 second sound-bites. (p.402). finally, the authors also explain how the media affects the general public. The authors’ state “The effect of one news story on public opinion may be trivial but the cumulative effect of dozens of news stories may be important. This shows a direct correlation between public opinions and what the media may find “relevant”. (Edwards, Wattenberg, Lineberry, 2015, p.
Though women and men receive an equal amount of coverage by newspapers, "the content of the coverage that women receive as opposed to men, during an election is extremely different and male biased." Newspaper readers are more likely to read about a female candidate's personal life, appearance, or personality while reading about a male's stance on governmental issues. This gives the man more credibility as a candidate. Compared to coverage of male candidates, coverage of a female candidate is, "more personal, less issue based, and less likely to include evidence or reasoning to support quoted remarks". Ultimately women are portrayed as less informed on issues and instead as icons rather than educated citize...
Television has affected every aspect of life in society, radically changing the way individuals live and interact with the world. However, change is not always for the better, especially the influence of television on political campaigns towards presidency. Since the 1960s, presidential elections in the United States were greatly impacted by television, yet the impact has not been positive. Television allowed the public to have more access to information and gained reassurance to which candidate they chose to vote for. However, the media failed to recognize the importance of elections. Candidates became image based rather than issue based using a “celebrity system” to concern the public with subjects regarding debates (Hart and Trice). Due to “hyperfamiliarity” television turned numerous people away from being interested in debates between candidates (Hart and Trice). Although television had the ability to reach a greater number of people than it did before the Nixon/Kennedy debate, it shortened the attention span of the public, which made the overall process of elections unfair, due to the emphasis on image rather than issue.
Bond, Jean Carey. "The Media Image of Black Women." Freedomways 15.1 (1975): 34. Web. 17 Mar. 2014.
From an early age, men and women are expected to act in stereotypical ways. Boys should be manly and girls should learn to be lady like; those who brake the social norms face rejection and criticism. As kids grow up, they become exposed to the media. Images, videos, television shows all portray men and women in stereotypical manners. As we get older, things sadly get worse. Things such as the fact that women make up 51 percent of our population and hold no power. Men hold a tight grip on being the majority. A good example for why men have the power is the way they view women. On March 10, 2008, Marc Rudov appeared on Fox news, he was asked about the downside of having a women president. Rudov responded, “You mean besides the PMS and the mood swings, right?" (Ironside) Comments such as this provoked me to look for women in the media organizations; only one caught my interest immediately, making it all the more effective.
Currently, the office of the United States Presidency is one of the most powerful positions in the world. The President has the power to influence Congress, the nation and the free world. However, the US Media, which is also the freest and most powerful press, has had control over the presidency. The advent of CNN, ABC, NBC and others has had the effect of being able to sway the population of the United States, either garnering support for a president or destroying his credibility. The media has permitted the spread of information, allowing the people to take a more active role in politics making the general will better known, but it has also made politicians and the public hostage to the ideas and opinions of reporters, who are often only after a gripping story and a large profit. The media has the power to sway the American public by reporting favorably or with disfavor on a candidate, thus making a presidential candidate the prisoner of entertainment companies. Thus it could be said that the American people lose their ability to truly know a candidate because of the media. Instead they vote according to what they are told by major publications rather than what they believe. In this paper, I will explore whether the Media is a valuable resource or a does it have an undue influence over the President and the American public?
The invention of the television has had an impact on all aspects of American's lives. It has affected how we work, interact with others, and our foreign relations. One part of American society that it has especially affected is presidential elections. Television has impacted who is elected and why they were elected. Since the 1960's television has served as a link between the American public and presidential elections that allows the candidate to appear more human and accountable for their actions; consequently this has made television a positive influence on presidential elections. But it has also had a negative affect on elections, making presidential candidates seem like celebrities at times and making it easier to publicize mistakes made by candidates.
The aim of this paper is to look at the relationship between the mass media, specifically television, and presidential elections. This paper will focus on the function of television in presidential elections through three main areas: exit polls, presidential debates, and spots. The focus is on television for three reasons. First, television reaches more voters than any other medium. Second, television attracts the greatest part of presidential campaign budgets. Third, television provides the candidates a good opportunity to contact the people directly. A second main theme of this paper is the role of television in presidential elections in terms of representative democracy in the United States.
Stromback, J. (2008) Four Phases of Mediatization: An Analysis of the Mediatization of Politics, The International Journal of Press/Politics, 13: 228-246.
"Freedom of the press is guaranteed only to those who own one." This quote by A.J. Liebling illustrates the reality of where the media stands in today's society. Over the past twenty years there has been an increase in power throughout the media with regard to politics. The media's original purpose was to inform the public of the relevant events that occurred around the world. The job of the media is to search out the truth and relay that news to the people. The media has the power to inform the people but often times the stories given to the public are distorted for one reason or another. Using slant and sensationalism, the media has begun to shape our views in society and the process by which we choose our leaders. There was once a time when the government used the media as a medium to influence voters, committees, communities etc. Recently, it has been the presidents of major media outlets that have not only exercised power over the public but also made their presences felt in government and in the halls of congress. When the word democracy is thrown about it usually has to do with the rights or original intentions for a group or organization. The first group intended to be influenced by the media was the informed voter. Political parties along with the government used a variety of media resources to persuade the voter or in effect receive a vote for their cause. Returning to the thought of ?democracy? the question is, what was the original intention of the media with relation to the theme of democracy and the informed voter? To analyze this thought thoroughly one must first grasp an understanding of the basic definition of democracy.
The current role of mass media in politics has definitely played a significant role in how view and react to certain events and issues of the nation. Newspapers, magazines, television and radio are some of the ways information is passed onto many of the citizens. The World Wide Web is also an information superhighway, but not all of the sources on the Internet are credible. Therefore, I will only focus on the main three types of media: written, viewed, and audible, and how they affect whether or not democracy is being upheld in the land of the free. The media includes several different outlets through which people can receive information on politics, such as radio, television, advertising and mailings. When campaigning, politicians spend large quantities of money on media to reach voters, concentrating on voters who are undecided. Politicians may use television commercials, advertisements or mailings to point out potentially negative qualities in their opponents while extolling their own virtues. The media can also influence politics by deciding what news the public needs to hear. Often, there are more potential news stories available to the media than time or space to devote to them, so the media chooses the stories that are the most important and the most sensational for the public to hear. This choice can often be shaped,
In Hillary Clinton’s 2008 campaign for president, there were people who criticized her for looking too haggard and they questioned whether or not her prior political success was because of her husband, Bill Clinton (Lawless). This narrow media coverage of her appearance is a consequence of our culture’s issues with stereotypes in gender. The men that were running were not questioned as to whether their success was dependent on others, however, since society placed the stereotype that women are being valued only for their appearance. The main issue with this is that without the initial gender stereotypes, all candidates, business owners, news anchors and people would be treated equally and