In what ways can the media affect society and government?

 Political importance of Mass Media

· media report helps shape the views citizens about politicians and policies

· serve as attitude and behavior change – the image that creates suggests views and behaviors that are accepted and create even praise-worth

· set cultural value that consequently creates integration and homogenization.

· Because most people spend their time with fictional media, a lot of politically relevant info is conveyed through these tv stories. EX: SNL

· Functions of Mass Media

· Political scientist Harold Lasswell, a pioneer in media studies, mentions three things:

· surveillance of the world to report ongoing events,

· interpretation of the meaning of events,

· socialization of individuals into their cultural settings.

· To these three, a fourth function must be added: manipulation of politics.

· MEDIA EFFECTS AND BIAS

· In what ways can the media affect society and government? The media’s primary duty is to present us with information and alert us when important events occur. This information may affect what we think and the actions we take. The media can also place pressure on the government to act by signaling a need for intervention or showing that citizens want change. For these reasons, the quality of the media’s coverage matters.

· https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RL-CHyzgK1Q&embeds_referring_euri=https%3A%2F%2Fumb.umassonline.net%2Fwebapps%2Fblackboard%2Fexecute%2FdisplayLearningUnit%3Fcourse_id%3D_61674_1%26content_id%3D_2539750_1&source_ve_path=OTY3MTQ&feature=emb_imp_woyt

· COVERAGE EFFECTS ON SOCIETY :

· The media choose what they want to discuss. This agenda setting creates a reality for voters and politicians that affects the way people think, act, and vote.

· EX: Even if the crime rate is going down, for instance, citizens accustomed to reading stories about assault and other offenses still perceive crime to be an issue.1

· Network news misrepresents poverty victims by using more images of blacks than whites

· Viewers are led to believe that African Americans are the majority of the unemployed and poor

· This misrepresentation is not limited to news coverage; national magazines also depict race and poverty inaccurately

· Racial framing , even unintentional, affects perceptions and policies

· The way images are presented can influence public opinion and even impact voting behavior. EX: The perception that most recipients of welfare are working-age African Americans may have led some citizens to vote for candidates who promised to reduce welfare benefits.

· Word choice may also have a priming effect . News organizations like the Los Angeles Times and the Associated Press no longer use the phrase “illegal immigrant” to describe undocumented residents. This may be due to the desire to create a “sympathetic” frame for the immigration situation rather than a “threat” frame

· Democratie Systems

· 1. **Media as Watchdogs**: In democracies, the media is expected to scrutinize government performance, and their role as watchdogs is seen as serving democracy when it exposes government misconduct.

· 2. **Challenges in Practice**: In reality, the media’s watchdog role can be complex, especially in countries like the United States, where trust in the media is low, and charges of bias are common. The media tend to limit criticism to perceived perversions of values or notable corruption rather than questioning fundamental political system aspects.

· 3. **Media Responsibility**: In democratic societies, the media’s primary responsibility is to provide information and entertainment. Libertarian philosophy suggests that news should be reported quickly, accurately, and without conveying a particular viewpoint, leaving it to the audience to decide. In contrast, social responsibility advocates believe the media should reflect societal concerns and foster political action when necessary by highlighting social issues.

· 4. **Social Responsibility vs. Totalitarian Journalism**: Social responsibility journalism shares some features with totalitarian journalism in using media to shape societal ideals, but it lacks the same level of fervor and single-mindedness.

News sources on the event : Elon Musk anti semitic comments on X ( old twitter) https://www.msnbc.com/11th-hour/watch/is-x-toast-the-aftermath-of-elon-musk-s-outburst-to-advertisers-199128645977

https://www.cnbc.com/2023/11/29/elon-musk-says-he-wont-vote-for-biden-over-trump.html

https://abcnews.go.com/Business/elon-musks-twitter-acquisition-means-midterm-elections/story?id=92436831

https://www.cnn.com/2023/11/20/politics/elon-musk-us-government-what-matters/index.html

Topics covered in Political Communication media class 

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