Media Influence On The Media

Newspapers and other forms of news are very vital communication methods in the world today. The goal of news is to sell us their ideas by being biased and talking about how their idea is best. News can give us biased information although, the viewer could do further research on the

The 2016 election has been the first election where social media has been a key player to how people got their information. Statistics say “44 percent of American adults said they had learned something new in the past week about the election from social media.” However, with social media such an important influence on the younger generation it is important for all of this information to be legitimate and truthful. Google and Facebook have recently changed their policies to try to stop fake news articles from popping up within their ad space. The spread of fake news articles skews the public's perception of the candidates. The guardian talks about how the American voter is not just one demographic (college educated individuals, white men, minorities etc. ) because of this lack of (straightforward), it's hard to get an accurate prediction on who would have won the election. Additionally, the media affected the election negatively because they did not give the general public enough information to understand the statistics that they were

Last but not least, the media does not take political elections as seriously as politicians might like. People on social media, horse-race the politicians to see who will win the election. They debate on who will win, rather than the politicians views on topics. Horse-races are where citizens vote on who will win the election and they see the race happen and they determine whether their vote was correct or not. They ‘run’ the politicians, just like how people run horses. “Lost in the media spectacle is any careful coverage of issues and policy proposals, or serious discussion of candidate background.” (bigthink). When the media horse-races politicians, they horse-race them by their party or their major decisions that they have made. Citizens can also race them by protests that they were involved in, in their young adult lives, for example Bernie Sanders and his early protests were covered all over the media.

In chapter 2 of The Filter Bubble by Eli Pariser, after discussing how although two newspapers still create the base of almost all news stories that get shared online, newspapers are failing daily. He then explains how news became centered around “public opinion” instead of just information about the outside world. Pariser reminds us that:

Chun-Fang Chiang and Brian Knight discuss the significance that media bias has on voters in America. They conducted a study in which subjects select a candidate to vote for after reading a biased newspaper article. After the research is conducted, they determine that media is influential in determining who people will vote for, but there are different degrees of influence. For example, people are more willing to be influenced when their source is more credible and when the voters tend to be more moderate.

Since the United States of America were first established, the news media has had a large and important role in influencing the people. Even during the American Revolution, the press helped to shape the public opinion in favor of the patriotic agenda through newspapers and pamphlets. In the Early Republic, Broadsides became popular with the people and, in the Jacksonian Era, a more voters inclusive press, the “penny press”, and the Associated Press, using a new technology known as the telegraph, rose in popularity. But, more events along the way saw to the growth of the news media as we know it today.

Though the misinterpretation and ignorance of honest news through perceptual bias is formed by individuals, it’s a shame that the remaining three-fourths of bias is deliberately carried out by reporters and journalists themselves. The main issue at hand is that journalists today feel that their own opinions are correct and superior to others; therefore, they are sure to only circulate information that will get citizens to see things their way, as opposed to giving an honest, impartial version of the truth. When asked if today’s media influences the opinions of citizens for better or for worse, Shane McNabb, a fellow news consumer, explains that “media outlets influence people when they have obvious biases. They tell you only what they want you to hear, and often out of context. This is often the case for both liberal and conservative outlets, and people end up either not knowing what to believe or taking on the opinion of the biased outlet”

(2006). Does the Media Matter? A Field Experiment Measuring the Effect of Newspapers on Voting Behavior and Political Opinions. Retrieved April 2016, from Social Science Research Network: http://ssrn.com/abstract= 903812

There are three widely accepted options for influence and power to surge from in the election process, as stated above. First and foremost, the media is widely perceived as the top dog in the election process; society as a whole holds the assumption that media sets the agenda and controls the political process. This idea is embellished by the cynics of the world and there have been a number of studies with findings disputing these perceptions. Dalton’s paper tracked over 6000 newspapers articles, during the 1992 presidential election, from a stratified sample of counties across the nation and their research points to a much weaker position being held by the media as a whole, in respect to its influence over elections within the United States (466). The research focused of the viewpoint and time given to either candidate during the election season. Overall the findings showed little to no bias, outside of the editorial section, with in the overall information of each candidate. The argument is summed up in the article stating, “Certainly, some newspapers and journalists have distinct views, but such individual biases appear small and tend to cancel out when aggregated. Moreover, a newspaper’s presidential endorsement had little impact on its news coverage of the issue themes of the campaign” (Dalton, 476). The media seems to play a part in

The topic has been very controversial due to different opinions. Some people believe that the media is influential in framing issues and setting agendas in the political world. Other people believe that the media is an educative tool, and it just informs the public and does not influence their political decisions. Media just tell people what to think about instead of how to think. Each side of the argument has been previously confirmed based on the perception of different researchers to the topic. However, I didn’t find a research that has provided a clear explanation to the issue: If the media decides where the public cast their vote during an election? Therefore, there is a knowledge gap, and this research paper intends to explain the influence

Media has influence the political system many different ways in the United States. Talking about politics, it is very complicated because there are so many public opinions. Not knowing which candidate is lying or passing a bill and not knowing what is on it. Because most Americans own a smartphone, social media is so enormous and having access to almost anything. While Americans are on the internet, watching television, and listening to the radio or even reading the newspaper, at some point the word politics comes around and we have our own public opinions.

Some people think that we should cut out newspapers completely, but as people have stated that not everyone has access to the internet. This statement “The “digital divide” is very real, as many studies have been confirmed people of color and people of lower socioeconomics classes use the internet with less frequency.” Shows that without newspaper these people would have no way to read about the news and events going on around them. Some people can’t afford the internet so they would be without news also. So the idea of doing away with newspaper completely is crazy. If we do away with newspaper that would leave a lot of people in the dark about news

The printed newspaper has been an integral part of American society for many more years then most realize. Either through its digital distribution on mobile or social media, it will always be in some form that integral part of how American society is informed.

After reviewing the State Media Report I discovered some interesting information that I was previously unaware of; specifically, that only 5 percent of U.S. adults rated newspapers as their “most helpful” source in information for the presidential election (2). Though newspapers are dwindling, I still would have thought that adults would turn to newspapers for helpful information. Learning this information, I understand that individuals now deem information from the Internet as “most helpful”.

Media is a huge part of people’s lives in today’s society. Through different forms of media people can now obtain vast amounts of information at the slightest touch of a finger. While it is convenient and comforting to have access to so much data, the question arises. How much of this information we receive shapes our lives? Mass media as an agent of socialization can prime and/or skew people’s belief system through mere exposure without the slightest clue of it affects. Mass media as an agent of socialization can structure people’s perception on society as a whole by simply using influence, control, and trust.