Public Opinion, Mass Media, and Interest Groups Chapter 11 Section 1, 2, and 3.
Mass Media and Public Opinion
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Transcript of Mass Media and Public Opinion
Mass Media and Public Opinion
Chapter 8
The Formation of Public Opinion
What is Public Opinion?• Definition: those attitudes held can be described this way;
those attitudes held by a significant number of people on matters of
government and politics.
• Different types of public opinion!
• Newspaper, Internet, Twitter, magazines.
Family and Education• How do we learn
our political opinion?
• We have many different teachers.• Teachers and our
Family members can help us decide
where we stand political opinion.
Other Factors• Mass Media• Include those means
of communication that reach large, widely spread audiences.
• Peer Groups• Are made up of the
people with whom one regularly associates, including friends, classmates, neighbors, and co-workers.
• Opinion Leaders• Bears heavily on
public opinion. Leader has strong views of others.
• Historic Events• This has a major
impact on the content and direction of public policy.
Measuring Public Opinion
Measuring Public Opinion• Elections• Voice of the people is suppose to express itself through
elections.• Interest Groups• Are private organizations whose members share certain
views and work to shape certain views and work to shape the making and the content public policy.
• The Media• They are described as the mirrors as well as the molders of
opinion.• Personal Contacts• These personal contacts try and read the public’s mind. Their
jobs demand that they do so.
Polls- The Best Measure• Straw Polls
• These are polls to read the public’s mind and simply by asking the
same question of a large number of people.
• Scientific Polling• Techniques have advanced since the mid
1930’s. They tap everything from
toothpastes to television shows.
The Polling Process• Defining the Universe
• The whole population that the poll will seek to discover.• Constructing a Sample
• Not possible to poll everyone. So they will sample a slice of the whole universe.
• Preparing Valid Questions• Pollsters have to phase their questions very carefully and are
precise.• Interviewing
• Most polls are face to face. Sometimes they have to be by mail or by telephone.
• Analyze and Report Findings• They just try and measure people’s attitudes.
Evaluating Polls• How Good are
Polls?• Sometimes they shape the
opinion??• Do they shape
how people really feel?
Limits on the Impact of Public Opinion• Democracy is more
than a simple measurement of opinion.
• Democracy is about making careful choices among leaders and their positions on issues, and among the governmental actions that may follow.
The Mass Media
The Role of Mass Media•Television•Newspapers•Twitter•Radio
•Magazines
The Media and Politics• How does the Media play a role in public
opinion?• Do they play a role in the election process?• Play a role in two areas public agenda, and
electoral politics.• Public Agenda- the societal problems that
need attention.• Electoral Politics- television has taken the
place of parties in American Politics.
Limits on Media Influence• Radio and Television skim
the news.• There are other
assets that people can go
and seek if they want more coverage.