Impact of the Media Newspapers Television Internet Voting Behaviour Impact of the Media Newspapers Television Internet

Newspapers

Why are newspapers important? Circulation The Sun – 3 million Daily Mail – 2.1 million Daily Record – 323,000 They are not impartial! They are privately owned and tend to reflect the views of the owners.

How influential is The Sun? They supported the Tories in 1992 and they won despite Labour being favourites – ‘It’s The Sun Wot Won It’. They moved back to Labour in 1997 and they won, maintaining power for 13 years. However, they backed the Tories in 2009 – ‘Labour’s Lost It’. We know what happened there. Is The Sun really that influential or do they simply know when the time is right to switch allegiance? Do they influence voters or do they take into account the views of their readership and adapt? The quality broadsheets tend to be more balanced a they will lose credibility with their readership if they are too biased. Their readership tends to be more educated.

Rupert Murdoch Founder of News Corporation World’s 3rd biggest media organisation They own The Sun, BSkyB and many, many others! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/News_Corporation

Newspaper Readership & Social Class The Telegraph – 5% of the readership is from Social Class DE The Sun – 32% of the readership are from Social Class DE 12% of the readership are from Social Class AB

Voting by Newspaper Readership http://www.ipsos-mori.com/researchpublications/researcharchive/poll.aspx?oItemId=2476&view=wide

Daily Mirror The turnout for Daily Mirror readership was 68%. 16% voted Tory 59% voted Labour

Daily Telegraph The turnout for Daily Telegraph readership was 81%. 70% voted Tory 7% voted Labour

So, what about The Sun? The turnout for readers of the Sun was 57%. 43% voted Tory 28% voted Labour

How important is Television in an election? Leadership Debates Party Political Broadcasts

The average person in the UK watches 22 The average person in the UK watches 22.5 hours of TV each week, therefore it’s a platform for political parties to reach the electorate. 51% of adults consider television to be their main source of political information. Watch the clip on the following screen

Television, unlike newspapers, must be balanced and impartial giving equal access and coverage to each of the political parties

It can work against them too…

However, Approximately, 67% of people surveyed felt that TV broadcasts had little impact on their decision. 29% said it was not at all important. This is despite it being the most expensive form of advertising used by political parties. In twenty years time, will we still be watching Party Political Broadcasts as we currently know them?

Leadership Debates

Did the debates make a difference?

The Internet Facebook Twitter 2010: The Internet Election What impact did Social Media have?

It was predicted that the Internet would have a significant impact on the outcome of the 2010 Election. http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/thereporters/rorycellanjones/2010/05/so_was_it_an_internet_election.html Did it?

So how did they use the internet? Official Website Stealth Sites (Lib Dems set one up a false Party known as ‘Labservative’. Email – regular updates from key Party members. Online Fundraising – Lib Dems reportedly raised £500,000. Strategies to direct web traffic – Tories at one point had a video linked to a search for Gordon Brown on youtube. www.mydavidcameron.com Facebook, Twitter and blogging

Tasks Read Textbook Pages 113-116. Complete the tasks on Page 114 and 116. Newspapers Why might newspapers be able to influence voting behaviour in the UK? In what way does political coverage by tabloids and broadsheets differ? How could ‘The Sun’ claim to have had an impact on voting behaviour? Make a note of newspapers that tend to maintain party support and those who fluctuate. What evidence is there to suggest a link between social class and newspaper? Explain the relationship between social class, newspapers and turnout.

Television What do you think political parties see television as a useful tool in an election campaign? Television can have a hugely positive impact on voting behaviour for political parties. Provide arguments for and against this view. Summarise the influence of the Leadership Debates. Internet In what way did political parties utilise the internet? Read the blog on Slide 25. Summarise the impact of the internet on the 2010 General Election. Was it the Internet Election that people predicted? Why?