Public Opinion and Media Influence

Flashcards covering key vocabulary related to public opinion, media influence, and political processes.

Public Opinion

is what the public thinks about regarding an issue or set of issues. 

All the attention to it has created a growing industry within it, and it’s polling and survey research, which includes surveys and polls. 

An example was in WWI when President Woodrow Wilson created the committee on public information to see what Americans thought about the war and linked public opinion behind the war effort.

Salient Issues

Issues are critical issues that people think more and feel strongly about, therefore 

they tend to receive greater attention in mass media, television, newspapers, and magazines.

Examples include economy, unemployment, war, terrorism, crime, education and budget deficit.

For example, unemployment includes structural unemployment, where technology replaces workers, such as ai.

Political Socialization

process through which is the process through which an individual acquires his or her political knowledge, feelings, evaluations regarding the political world.

Family, the mass media, schools and peers, race, age, gender all make an impact on political socialization. For example, the influence of family on political attitudes and party affiliations are traced to 2 factors: communication and receptivity, such as a child raised in a 

Democratic or Republican household, tends to for the most, part be affiliated to the same party affiliation as their parents.

Muckraking

is a form of newspaper publishing concerned with reforming government and business conduct.

It’s journalists search and expose misconduct by politicians and businessmen.

Sometimes these episodes grow into feeding frenzies or intense coverage of a scandal or event that blocks out other news.

Press Conferences

are significant media events, where an elected official appears in person to talk with the press at greater length about an unrestricted range of topics.

It provides a field on which reporters struggle to get the answers they need and public officials attempt to retain control of their message and spin the news and issues in ways favorable to them.

Horse Race Coverage

 is what the media treats or covers election campaigns to see who is ahead and behind, controversies that may arise from the campaign, and issues regarding the candidate’s moral character.

Mass Media

is all means of communication with the general public including television, newspapers, magazines, social media, radio, books, recordings, motion pictures and the internet.

For example, news making is the most important source of media power, as It decides what events, topics, presentations and issues will be given coverage in the news.

The power of the media stems from several sources.

Agenda Setting, Interpretation, Persuasion, and Socialization.

Agenda Setting

the media helps to set the agenda for political discussion and in doing so bring public attention to particular issues and problems.

Interpretation

The power of media to influence how events and issues are understood by the public.

Socialization

The influence of media in shaping the political values and culture of audiences, where the news, entertainment, and advertising all contribute to it.

Interest Group

an organization that seeks to influence and pressure the government to advance its interests and to obtain special benefits, privileges and protection from the government.

It is taxpayers who pay for these benefits of interest groups.

The First Amendment of the Constitution recognized the right that they have.

Other interest groups include farm groups, 

religious groups, social and civil rights groups, and environmental groups.

Specific groups are Trade and professional associations, where the American Bar Association (ABA), the American Medical Association (AMA), and the National Education Association (NEA), which are influential in Washington.

Lobbying

The act of attempting to influence government decisions, often conducted by lobbyists.

Single Issue Groups

Organizations that focus on one specific policy area or issue.

Grass-Roots Mobilization

Efforts to engage and mobilize individuals at the community level to influence policy.