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Chapter 8

Chapter 8. Mass Media and Public Opinion. Section 1. The Formation of Public Opinion. What is public opinion?. One of the most overused and misunderstood terms A complex collection of opinions of many different people Different Publics Each “Public” care about different issues

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Chapter 8

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  1. Chapter 8 Mass Media and Public Opinion

  2. Section 1 • The Formation of Public Opinion

  3. What is public opinion? • One of the most overused and misunderstood terms • A complex collection of opinions of many different people • Different Publics • Each “Public” care about different issues • Public affairs • events and issues that concern the people at large • Definition • Public opinion • Those attitudes held by a significant number of people on matters of government and politics

  4. Family and Education • Public Opinion is formed through the life experiences • Political Socialization preformed by: • Family • Parents beliefs build a foundation of views on political beliefs in their children • The Schools • Used to indoctrinate students to become good citizens • Family and Schools not the only factors, but most significant

  5. The Political Spectrum People who have similar opinions on political issues are generally grouped according to whether they are “left,” “right,” or “center” on the political spectrum. 2 3 Chapter 8, Section 1

  6. Other Factors • Mass Media • Those means of communication that reach large, widely dispersed audiences (masses of people) simultaneously • TV and Internet the most common form of Mass Media • Peer Groups • Made up of the people with whom one regularly associates • friends, classmates, neighbors, and co-workers • reinforces what a person has already come to believe • most tend to share the same belief on public issues

  7. Other Factors (Con’t) • Opinion Leaders • Person who, for any reason, has an unusually strong influence on the views of others • Could be anyone who people believe and tend to follow • Historic Events • Great Depression led to the belief that the National Government should have a larger role in citizens lives • Events of the 1960’s and 70’s led to mistrust in the national government

  8. Section 2 • Measuring Public Opinion

  9. Measuring Public Opinion • Polls are one of the most common means of gauging public opinion • Elections • Votes cast for the various candidates are regularly taken as evidence of the people’s approval • Mandate • instructions or commands a constituency gives to its elected officials • However an election very likely does not give mandates from the public

  10. Measuring Public Opinion (Con’t) • Interest Groups • Private organizations whose members share certain views and work to shape the making and the content of public policy • Chief means through which public opinion is made known • The Media • Considered many times as “mirrors” and/or “molders” of public opinion • However they are not very accurate mirrors of public opinion, often reflecting only the views of a vocal minority • Personal Contacts • Public Administrators receiving calls, mail, emails, or through meetings • however tend to only find views that support and agree with their own views

  11. Polls – The Best Measure • Public opinion polls • Devices that attempt to collect information by asking people questions • Straw Votes • Polls that seek to read the public’s mind simply by asking the same question to a large number of people • however highly unreliable • does not make sure that the sample is an accurate cross-section of the population • 1936 election and Library Digest mishap

  12. Polls – The Best Measure (Con’t) • Scientific Polling • George Gallup and Elmo Roper have helped polls to become highly sophisticated level • Best pollsters today are Gallup Organization and Louis Harris Associates

  13. Polling Process • Defining the Universe • Universe means the whole population that the poll aims to measure • Constructing a Sample • To poll the entire universe is very difficult, and often impossible • Must select a sample • representative slice of the total universe

  14. Polling Process (Con’t) • Constructing Sample (Con’t) • Random sample • a probability sample • Generally national polls only are represented by about 1,500 people • Mathematics tells us that 1,500 people selected randomly, can give you the probability to have an accurate poll (+/- 3%) • Quota sample • sample deliberately constructed to reflect several of the major characteristics of a given universe

  15. Polling Process (Con’t) • Preparing Valid Questions • Wording can affect the reliability of any poll • try to avoid “loaded questions”

  16. Evaluating Polls • Major National polls are fairly reliable • Intensity • Strength of feeling of an opinion held • Stability • Relative permanence of opinion • Relevance • How important is the opinion • However, criticized for creating a “Bandwagon Effect”

  17. Limits on the Impact of Public Opinion • Polls are not elections • Requires citizens to be informed to determine the possible bias of any and all polls or mass media

  18. Section 3 • The Mass Media

  19. Media Statistics Access to media varies from country to country. 1 2 Chapter 8, Section 3

  20. The Role of Mass Media • Medium is a means of communication • Media is plural for medium • TV, Newspaper, Internet, and magazines most prolific • Through Mass Media, most people receive their information • Television • Replaced newspaper as the principal source of political information for a majority of Americans in the early 1960’s • Newspapers • Once the strongest source of political information, however it’s influence has been diminished due to TV, radio and internet • Most, if not all newspapers, have their publications on the internet

  21. The Role of Mass Media (Con’t) • Radio • Still considered one of the top sources of information • Generally lean Republican • However, NPR leans Democratic • Magazines • Generally used by scholarly or educated individuals

  22. The Media and Politics • Public Agenda • The societal problems that political leaders and citizens agree need government attention • Ultimately the Media help influence those matters of concern to public-policy makers • Done by featuring certain items at different points • Media help determine what people should think about • Presidents currently receive a daily digest of the news reports and analysis

  23. The Media and Politics (Con’t) • Electoral Politics • TV has lessoned the power of political party committees • candidates can appeal directly to the population • All about the “image” the candidate gives off • Extensive use of sounds bites • snappy reports that can be aired in 30-45 seconds or so

  24. Limits on Media Influence • Only a small part of the population actually is “well informed” for elections • Those who do pay attention, tend to only listen to reports from the political parties they tend to support • TV tends to share very little information about news due to the short amount of time • Left to report only what TV Editors deem most important • Overall, in depth information is tough to come by in just one of the mediums • Requires effort to read and analyze the information in each medium

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