Mass Media

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Mass Media Public Opinion

• Chapter 8

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8.1 The Formation of Public Opinion

• What is Public Opinion?
• Suggests that most or all Americans hold the same
  view/attitude on some Govt issue.
• It is NOT the single undivided view of some
  mass mind.
• Different Publics
• Individuals that hold the same view.
• Most issues attract the interest of some people.
• Public Affairs politics, issues, public policies
  must hold concern for people as a whole.
• EXgt taxes, unemployment, welfare, etc.

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Family Education

• We learn our political opinions from.political
  socialization
• Begins in childhood continues throughout life.
• The Family
• You learn from what your parents say do, older
  siblings, watching TV with the fam.
• We learn authority, rules of behavior, property,
  neighbors, race, religion, etc.
• We absorb info w/o knowing it..we become
  democrat or republican.

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• The Schools
• You are trained to be a good citizen!
• Salute the flag, Pledge of Allegiance, patriotic
  songs.
• Learn political knowledge from Social Studies
  classes!
• Working with others who have different opinions,
  learning to compromise, seeing other view points!

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Other Factors

• Mass Media
• Communication that reaches the masses.
• TV, Radio, Newspaper, internet, etc
• 98 of Americans owns at least 1 TV.
• Peer Groups
• People we regularly associate with friends,
  co-workers, classmates, neighbors.
• Reinforces what we already believe in.
• We have need to belong We do not stray too far
  how our peers behave and think.

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• Opinion Leaders
• Any person has strong influence on views of
  others.
• News Anchors, talk show hosts, writers, actors,
  business, church, teachers, etc.
• Historical Events
• Wars, Civil Rights Era, Scandals, Economic
  Trouble.
• The Great Depression
• Shift of Minorities to the Democratic Party

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Homework

• Questions 1-5 on page 213
• Find issues that have high public opinions
  current Opinion Leaders.

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8.2 Measuring Public Opinion

• According to the recent poll..
• Measuring by voting, books, media, editorials.
• Elections
• Voice of the people!
• Candidates claim to have mandates.
• Interest Groups
• Private organizations who members share views
  try to shape public policy.
• Use lobbyists

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• The Media
• Not the mirror of opinion, only those who are
  most vocal.
• TV commentaries, editorials, magazines, etc
• Personal Contacts
• Public officials try to stay in contact with the
  people to get opinions on issues or to sell their
  proposals.

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POLLS

• Devices that attempt to collect information by
  asking people questions.
• NEVER TRULY ACCURATE!
• Straw Votes
• Asking Questions waiting for responses.
• Unreliable
• Scientific Polling
• Gallup Roper Harris Polls
• Based on political preferences.

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The Polling Process

• 5 Basic Steps
• 1) Defining the Universe
• Whole population (group) that the polls aims to
  measure.
• EXgt Republicans, HS students, Men 40 or older,
  etc
• 2) Constructing a Sample
• Sample Representative slice of the total
  universe.
• Random Sample Random selecting people
• Quota Sample sampling a specific group.
• Use of law of mathematical probability
• Accurate (/-) by 3.

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• 3) Preparing Valid Questions
• Wording Questions is very important!
• Cannot use emotionally charged words or terms
  difficult to understand
• 4) Interviewing
• Face to face, telephone, or by mail
• Wording, voice, dress can effect results.
• 5) Analyze Reports
• Computers are used to interpret data and give
  results.

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• Polls can be FAIRLY reliable.
• However,
• Some people want to jump on the bandwagon of who
  is ahead.

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Homework

• Questions 1-5 on page 221
• BONUS Create your own simple poll.
• Must have the 5 basic parts!

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8.3 MASS MEDIA

• The Role of Mass Media
• Media is a medium (transmitting communication)
• TV
• There are more than 1500 stations
• CBS, NBC, FOX, ABC, CNN, MSNBC, CNBC, PBS, etc
• Newspapers
• 10,000 published
• NY Times, Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, LA
  Times, Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Christian
  Science Monitor.

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• Radio
• 12,000 stations
• KDKA in Pittsburg was the 1st station
• FDR was the first to use radio.
• Magazines
• Ben Franklins General Magazine was the 1st.
• 12,000 today with 20 million printed
• TIME, US News World Report, Newsweek

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