Magruder’s American Government
1st Edition
ISBN: 9780133306996
Textbook solutions
All Solutions
Section 10-6: Influencing Public Opinion: The Mass Media
Exercise 1
Solution 1
Solution 2
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Radio is one of the oldest forms of mass media. With the advent of television, the popularity of radio did not drop drastically, because radio was much more affordable. Unlike television, the radio could be accessed from many different places and it was also possible to listen to the radio while performing various other activities.
Step 2
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With the advent of the internet and social media, the role of radio as a mass medium began to decline. The internet is also a medium that is available almost everywhere, from many devices. People have started to spend so much time on the internet and access all the content that interests them through it so that all mass media except television have fallen into the background. Radio shares the fate of these media, and many contents have been transferred from it to the internet.
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**Radio** is a form of broadcasting sound programs to the public. It is convenient as almost every driver turns on the radio to listen to news and weather updates or music.
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**Social media** and advancements in technology have taken away from the popularity of radio. It has been substituted because of easy access to information from the internet, whether that is an official news website, audiobook, music streaming, podcast, and more.
Step 3
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One of the reasons people choose other ways (internet sources) is because the content is infinite and in their control compared to a radio broadcast. However, there will always be people who prefer to turn on the radio and listen to it. The outcome of the generation born in the “social media time” will further show how popular radio will be throughout the future.
Exercise 2
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Today, party affiliation is less relevant than 50 years ago but still is one of the most important elements influencing voters.
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The **shift was due to the rise of media** that can report political issues and current circumstances surrounding the political parties – providing more information and reaching more people than in the past. This led to voters giving less significance to the party affiliation.
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Today, it is usual that voters choose candidates from different parties, vote for independent candidates, or don’t trust political parties at all.
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**Party affiliation** is one of the most important factors influencing a voter’s decision. However, 50 years ago, this factor was leading, while today it is one of the important ones.
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This change was caused by the weakening of the parties themselves, and also by the appearance of the mass media. Earlier, there were not so many opportunities to inform voters about important political issues, especially those younger who did not have the habit of following the news on radio and television, so the factor of party affiliation was of great importance for voters.
Step 3
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With the advent of the internet, information has become much more accessible, while with the advent of social media, it has found its way to a younger population. This increased and facilitated exposure to information has led to a variety of factors influencing voters’ decisions, further leading to a decline in the importance of the candidate’s party affiliation.
Exercise 3
Solution 1
Solution 2
Step 1
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The media influences public policy by setting a framework for the **public agenda.**
Step 2
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The main function of the media is to inform the public about important issues and report on events. Given the huge amount of information that needs to be conveyed and the events that need to be reported, the media must decide which content to cover in detail, which will be striking, which will be superficially processed or mentioned in passing, etc. In this way, the media influence the topics that the public deals with.
Step 3
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If we add special shows, talk shows, debates, guest appearances, etc. to the basic reporting, we understand that the power of the media in creating topics that the public deals with is enormous.
Step 4
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The media do not necessarily influence the formation of opinions, but they definitely influence what the public will think about.
Result
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Given that politics must follow topics that interest the public and deal with them, take positions on them, etc. it is clear that the media in this way influence the creation of public policy. Once again, this does not mean that the media shape public policy, but that they influence the determination of the topics it will deal with.
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The **media indirectly influences public policies** because it directly influences how people perceive political matters.
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The media gives information and insight that can change how the viewers think on particular political issues. Therefore, it can influence and set the public agenda. So, it affects voting, individual viewpoints by offering information about the political circumstances.
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The media sends its messages through television and news broadcast, websites, podcasts, newspapers, radio, and talk shows.
Exercise 4
Solution 1
Solution 2
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**Echo chamber** illustrates an individual or group with tunnel vision and bias to the content of information, the medium, and the individual from which it’s coming.
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Therefore, the man only intends to listen to his favorite candidate’s podcast instead of the one opposite to his political viewpoints, even if it regards the same issues.
Step 3
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People, generally speaking, tend to lean to comforting information that is aligned with their beliefs and values. For this reason, people choose to pay attention to the content that will align with their viewpoints even though it can be useful to hear the opposite side, but it can also make people feel a certain way that isn’t desired.
Step 1
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People generally feel comfortable when they are surrounded by like-minded people. For the same reasons, they often choose media content that does not contradict their views. Opposing arguments and attitudes can cause confrontation and negative sentiments, so most people will choose to exclude such content.
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In this way, we can explain a person’s decision to follow a podcast of a political candidate he supports, without following the content of the opposing candidate on the same topic.
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With the advent of modern communication channels, such as the aforementioned podcast, selecting content is a simple process.
Exercise 5
Solution 1
Solution 2
Step 1
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Social media has experienced immense popularity among people and especially among younger people over the past two decades. Many people use them as a source of information, so social media has become an important tool of election campaigns.
Result
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If a candidate finds that he has too few likes on his site, he could decide to hire professionals to run his official site. There are professional agencies that are hired to take care of the official presentations of the candidates. Professionals rely on serious social research when creating content in order to make as much impact as possible on potential voters.
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A **small amount of “likes” on social media pages** can initiate candidates and political figures to work on their political advertisement and public influence.
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This can be effectively done on the social media platform because it is an easily accessible source of information that touches a large crowd of citizens. Political figures might as well choose a professional to manage their official page where they can give the latest updates and stage the messages sent to perfection.
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**Social media** has become an important segment of an individual’s politics. The likeliness of Obama and Trump has stacked up considerable amounts of “followers” on the pages where they promote their political interest, thus setting and influencing the public agenda. Furthermore, President Trump is famous for his, sometimes perceived as harsh and controversial, Twitter status updates that even news outlets broadcast as an official political statement.
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