Monday 9/22 RAP Today: Watch media and campaigns. HW: Begin to Read Elections and interest groups; Ch. 9

Tuesday 2/10 RAP What does split-ticket voter mean? What does straight-ticket voter mean? Who or what shapes your thoughts? What role does the media play on elections? Today: Video on Media and elections

WEDNESDAY 2/11 Rap ANALYZE THE POLITICAL CARTOON ON PAGE 209, AND ANSWER THE QUESTION BELOW. TODAY: CE VIDEO ON MEDIA AND ELECTIONS CH. 8 REVIEW IF TIME

THURSDAY 2/12 Rap Who were the two major candidates in the video on media and elections? What were some of the rules reporters had to follow when they were reporting on the candidates? Today: Review Ch. 8 –take notes! Read and complete Ch. 9 handout

Ch. 8.1: The Formation of Public Opinion What is public opinion? Phrase is used to suggest that all or most of the American people hold the same view on some public issue, such as arms control or environmental protection. The public holds many different and often conflicting views on nearly every public issue.

Formation of ideas Family: Children first see the political world from within the family, and through the family’s eyes. Schools Pledge of allegiance Singing patriotic songs—”This land is your land, this land is my land, from … Learn about George Washington, Susan B. Anthony, Martin Luther King, Jr., etc. Mass Media Newspapers, internet, tv, etc. Peer groups Friends bring their family beliefs into conversations, etc. Opinion leaders Newspaper writers, doctors, lawyers, governor, POTUS, ministers, teachers, etc. Historic Events Great Depression Watergate Scandal Civil Rights

Ch. 8.2: Measuring Public Opinion The general shape of public opinion on an issue can be found through a variety of means. Elections: Through a democracy the voice of the people is supposed to express itself through the ballot box. Elections are seldom an accurate measure of public opinion. Interest groups: Private organizations whose members share certain views and work to shape public policy. Pressure groups and special interest groups. Hard to know how many people they actually represent and how strongly those people hold the views that an organization says they hold. Media Described as mirrors and molders of public opinion.

Ch. 8.2: Measuring Public Opinion Personal Contacts Members of Congress receive hundreds of phone calls and s every day, along with bags of mail. Can they find the voice of the public in all these contacts? Polls –The Best Measure Straw votes – polls that sought to read the public’s mind simply by asking the same question of a large number of people. Still fairly common Highly unreliable – the poll may not reach all backgrounds of people. Scientific polling – more than 1,000 national and regional pooling organizations in this country, like the Gallup Poll. Polling Process Five basic steps 1.Define universe to be surveyed 2.Construct a sample 3.Prepare valid questions 4. select and control how the poll will be taken 5.Analyze and report their findings to the public.

Voters, should know that polls are not elections, and they should be able to tell the difference between opinions and concrete information, and should know the difference between personalities and platforms!

Ch. 8.3: Mass Media Medium-means of communication Media is plural for medium. TV Newspapers Radio Magazines Media and Politics Public agenda- the societal problems that political leaders and citizens agree need government attention. Media plays a huge role. Electoral politics: TV allows candidates to appeal directly to the people, without the help of a party organization. Candidates try to manipulate media coverage to their advantage. Good campaign managers try to create news stories that take no more than a minute or two of air time, and show people doing something interesting or exciting. They do not want to drone on and on, so they create short, sharply focused sound bites that can be aired in 30 or 45 secs.

Ch. 8.3 continued Limits on Media influence Few people actually follow international, national, or even local political events very closely. People who do pay some attention to politics are likely to be selective about it. So, Democrats may ignore Republican televised campaign appearances, and Republicans may ignore Democrats televised campaign appearances. Radio and television mostly “skim” the news. ABC, NBC, etc.

Please open your book to page 234 As you read Ch. 9 please look at pictures, graphs, political cartoons, etc. Due on Monday!