Transcript Document
Chapter 9 - Public Opinion and the Media
D E N I S O N M I D D L E 7 TH G R A D E C I V I C S
Chapter 9 Florida Standards
SS.7.C.2.11 - Analyze media and political communications (bias, symbolism, propaganda).
SS.7.C.2.10 - Examine the impact of media, individuals, and interest groups on monitoring
and influencing government (The portion of this standard dealing with interest groups were
covered in the last TCI chapter).
SS.7.C.2.9 - Evaluate candidates for political office by analyzing their qualifications,
experience, issue-based platforms, debates, and political ads (Part of this standard will be
covered in the next TCI chapter).
SS.7.C.2.8 - Identify America’s current political parties, and illustrate their ideas about
government.
SS.7.C.2.13 - Examine multiple perspectives on public and current issues.
LACC.68.RH.3.8 - Gather relevant information from multiple print and digital sources,
using search terms effectively; assess the credibility and accuracy of each source; and quote
or paraphrase the data and conclusions of others while avoiding plagiarism and following a
standard format for citation.
LACC.68.RH.2.4 - Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text,
including vocabulary specific to domains related to history/social studies.
What is Public Opinion?
Public opinion is the sum of many
individual opinions, beliefs, or
attitudes about a public person or
issue.
9.1 - Introduction
The 1952 presidential campaign was
the first to use the new medium of
television extensively to reach voters.
Adlai Stevenson refused to use
commercials while his opponent,
Dwight Eisenhower took advantage of
this new form of public exposure.
Let’s think for a second!
According to the poster, why
should people vote for
Stevenson?
To whom is this poster
designed to appeal?
Do you think such a poster
could actually influence
people's views in an election?
Page 158
9.2 - The Formulation of Public Opinion
The American public consists of over 300 million individuals, each with
his or her own personal beliefs, values, attitudes, and opinions.
How Do Individuals Form Their
Political Opinions?
The opinions that you have on political issues tend to
be shaped by deeply held political beliefs and values.
The formation of these beliefs comes from the
process of political socialization, or learning
about the values, beliefs, and processes that
underline a political system in order to participate
effectively.
Many factors play a role in political socialization
including agents of socialization, or one’s family,
schooling, religion, peer groups, gender and
ethnicity, and news media. (Diagram on the right,
also on page 161)
Historical events also shape a person’s views (E.g.:
the views of Americans towards government during
the 1950s {positive view} as compared to their views
towards government during the 1960s {distrust})
What is Public Opinion and How is it Shaped?
Because we know what public opinion is (the sum of many individual
opinions about a public person or issue), we can answer the following
question:
How is public opinion shaped?
1.
2.
3.
By special interest groups - These groups represent large numbers of people,
therefore they are listened to when they speak on an issue (E.g.: Unions).
By journalists, politicians, and other opinion makers - The public
doesn’t have the time to be informed about every issue so they rely on public
figures for information and advice.
By what politicians say it is - Politicians make claims about public opinion.
Public Opinion as Guide, Guard, and Glue
Public opinion serves a democratic system of government in 3 ways:
1.
2.
3.
Guides leaders as they make decisions about public policy
Politicians must listen to public opinion or they will not be re-elected
Guards against hasty or poor understood decisions
E.g.: Clinton’s attempted reform of the nation’s healthcare system
Acts as a glue that holds society together
9.3 - Measuring Public Opinion
In 1936, in the depths of the Great
Depression, Literacy Digest announced
that Alfred Landon would beat FDR in
the upcoming presidential election
based on their polls.
George Gallup, a young pollster,
disagreed with this prediction and
announced FDR as the winner, publicly
challenging newspapers and magazines
to show the two polls side by side.
Roosevelt ended up winning the
election by a landslide, ruining public
perception of Literacy Digest and
eventually forcing the publisher to file
for bankruptcy.
From Straw Polls to Scientific Sampling: The Evolution of Opinion Polling
Literacy Digest had had a record of correctly predicting the presidential election since
1916 using straw polls
A straw poll is an informal survey of opinion conducted by a show of hands or some
other mean of counting preferences.
The magazine conducted the 1936 straw poll by mailing out more than 10 million ballots
for people to fill out with their choice for president.
The editors did not take into account that their poll was biased (i.e.: bias is a
preference, opinion or attitude that favors one way of thinking or feeling over another).
Most of the ballots went to people with telephones or registered automobiles, not accounting
for the masses of people who did not have these possessions due to the state of the economy.
The mailing letters were sent to a more affluent crowd who tended to be Republican and
favored the Republican, Landon.
From Straw Polls to Scientific Sampling: The Evolution of Opinion Polling
Gallup’s secret was his use of
scientific sampling.
Scientific Sampling is the
process of selecting a small
group of people who are
representative of the whole
population.
This success marked the beginning of
the modern opinion poll (i.e.: a
method of measuring public opinion
by asking questions of a random
sample of people and using their
answers to represent the views of the
broader population).
The Polling Process: Sample, Survey and Sum Up
The first step when polling is to identify a population to be surveyed.
The target population may be all adults, members of a political party, a certain age group, or
people living in one community.
Most polling today is done by telephone which ensure that pollsters interview
a representative sample of people.
In a random sample (i.e.: a group of people selected at random from the general population;
used in opinion polling) every individual had the same likelihood of being selected.
The number of people surveyed usually ranges from 500 to 1500.
The opinions gathered are then summed up and reported.
The margin of error indicates how accurately the sample surveyed reflects
the views of the target population.
E.g.: small margin of error = closer to opinion of target population.
The Use of Polling to Measure Public Sentiment
Gallup drew comparisons between public opinion polls and old-
fashioned New England town meetings
Today, opinion polls are largely used to gather information on public
sentiment.
E.g.: What do you think is the important problem facing this country today?
Politicians use the results of polls to help them develop public policies
they hope the public will support.
The Use of Polling in Political Campaigns
There are 3 special kinds of polls that are widely used during elections:
1.
2.
3.
Benchmark Polls are often used by prospective candidates to “test the waters”
before beginning a campaign.
Tracking polls are conducted during a campaign to measure support for a
candidate on a day-to-day basis.
Exit polls are used by campaigns and the news media to predict the winners on
election day long before the polls close.
Tracking poll
Exit Poll
The Misuse of Polling to Influence Public Opinion
At times polls are used more to shape than to measure public opinion.
The questions in these surveys are often rigged to generate highly
favorable results for the sponsor of the poll.
Despite criticism by scientific pollsters, some news shows still continue
to promote call-in or internet polls and report the results.
The 1990s saw the appearance of a highly suspect form of polling called
push polling.
Push polling are phone surveys made close to Election Day, on behalf
of a candidate.
The pollsters sound like they want your views on the election but their real purpose is
to “push” you away from voting for the candidate’s opponent and to spread damaging
information.
9.4 - The Impact of the Mass Media on Public Opinion
Mass media can have a large effect
on public opinion.
By the year 2000, Americans were
buying nearly 60 million copies of
daily newspapers and 10 thousand
copies of weekly or monthly
magazines.
They listened to nearly 9,000 radio
stations and watched an average of 6
hours of television a day.
Where Do Americans Get Their News?
A century ago Americans got their news
from print media - means of
communication that distribute information
with paper and ink to a mass audience,
particularly newspapers and magazines.
By the 1950s, the broadcast media means of communication that distribute
information through the airwaves to a mass
audience, particularly radio and television had become major sources of news.
Now, people get instant news from using
electronic media - computers, cell
phones, and other devices that connect to
the world wide web (i.e.: an information
system that makes documents stored in
computers around the world accessible to
users via an Internet connection, also
known as “www”).
The News Versus the “New” Media
A generation ago, most Americans trusted news
media (i.e.: newspapers, news magazines, and
broadcast news shows) for information on politics and
public affairs.
Beginning in the late 1980s, new ways to communicate
with the public about politics began to appear.
These “new” media include talk radio, television talk
shows, television news magazines, televised town
hall meetings, and cable shows spoofing the news of
the day.
Blogs have emerged as a new medium for reporting
the news. A blog is a journal or newsletter published
on the World Wide Web; short for “Web log”]
Blogs are the most democratic and unregulated of
all the news and news media.
Because bloggers do not have the same standards
for accuracy as professional journalists, their
reports should be read with caution.
The Role of a Free Press in a Democracy
News media has 3 roles in a democracy:
1.
2.
3.
Serve as a “watchdog” over the government.
Setting public opinion.
Supporting the free exchange of ideas, information, and opinions.
Politicians try to control the agenda-setting power (i.e.: ability to make issues
a public priority and get them on the public agenda) of the media to focus on
issues they find important.
News media serves as a marketplace of ideas and opinions.
As such, the airwaves today are filled with opinion journalism (i.e.: opinion
journalism: the expression of personal views and opinions in the news media,
with little or no attempt to make that coverage objective).
Influencing the Media: Staging, Spinning, and Leaking
Public officials at all levels of
government work hard to both
attract and shape media coverage
The most common way of doing this
is by staging events (i.e.: a
political event organized to attract
and shape media coverage) and
inviting the press (E.g.: Presidential
press conference).
Influencing the Media: Staging, Spinning, and Leaking
Politicians also try to influence the
press by granting interviews to
reporters.
If it is an on-the-record
conversation, the reporter can
quote the public official by name.
If it is an off-the-record
conversation, the reporter can
use the information but may not
reveal the source.
Influencing the Media: Staging, Spinning, and Leaking
When speaking on-the-record, politicians usually put their spin (i.e.:
the deliberate shading of information about a person or an event in an
attempt to influence how it is reported in the media) on issues.
The goal is to convince the media and the public that their point of view is correct.
They also try to include colorful sound bites a short quote for the news media that
conveys information or opinions in a catchy or memorable way.
Public officials sometimes use off-the-record conversations to float trial
balloons, or a proposal that is shared with the press to test public
reaction to it
Off-the-record conversations are also used to leak information to the
press
A leak is an unofficial release of confidential information to the media.
Are the Media Biased?
Many Americans believe that the media have a liberal or conservative
bias.
Most journalists strive to be fair and unbiased in their reporting.
In its code of ethics, the Society of Professional Journalists calls for its members to be
“honest, fair and courageous”.
What critics see as media bias (i.e.: real or imagined prejudice that is
thought to affect what stories journalists cover and how they report
those stories) may just reflect how a news organization works.
Most news media outlets are a business, meaning that they need to attract readers.
Are the Media Biased?
Journalists look at many factors in choosing what stories to cover:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Impact- How will it make people feel?
Conflict- Does the story involve a crime, a fight, a scandal, a disaster?
Novelty- Is the story about a “hot topic” or a breaking news event?
Familiarity- Is it interesting? Do people know those involved?
These factors influence what you see and hear as news.
9.5- The Influence of the Media in Political Campaigns
Image Making and the Role of Media Consultants
With the invention of television, came the job of media consultants.
Media consultants advise candidates on how to present a positive image
to voters.
Media consultants also help candidates plan their media campaigns.
Candidates may spend up to 80% of their campaign funds on paid ads.
Media consultants use opinion polls to make sure that money is spent effectively.
They also work with focus groups (i.e.: a small group of people who are brought
together to share their opinions on a topic of concern) to test the appeal of a
campaigns message.
Types of Campaign Ads: Issue Versus Image
Positive issue ads promote a candidate’s position on topics calculated to
appeal to voters.
Negative issue ads criticize opponents.
Attracting Media Coverage: Photo Ops and Streamlined Conventions
Photo-op is a fully staged event designed to produce memorable
photographs and video images. E.g.: kissing a baby or a family portrait.
Media Coverage of Elections: Horse Races and Soap Operas
Most reporting falls into 2 distinct categories:
1.
Horse race coverage, treats an election as a sporting event.
2.
i.e.: political campaign reporting that focuses on who is winning and why.
Soap opera stories, focuses on the ups and downs of candidates and their
campaigns.
These stories thrive on gossip, scandals, and personality.
Some journalist get caught up in “gotcha journalism” that aims to
catch the candidates making a mistake or looking foolish.
Why Campaigns “Go Negative”
This means switching from positive,
upbeat campaigns to negative
campaigning (i.e.: trying to win
an advantage in a campaign by
emphasizing negative aspects of an
opponent or policy), also known as
mudslinging.
In the end, campaigns go negative
because it works.
It may discourage voters from voting
for the candidates opponent.
It may also encourage larger voter
turnout on election day.