Complete the Guided Reading / Structured Notes as you view the Power Point.

 Essential Standards:  CE.C&G.2.8: Distinguish between one, two and multi-party governments  CE.C&G.3.6: Analyze the role media, interest groups, political parties, and propaganda play in influencing elections and public policy  CE.C&G.5.1: Explain the election process

 Influencing Government  Section 1: Forming Public Opinion  Public Opinion ◦ Public Opinion- the ideas and attitudes that most people hold about elected officials, candidates, government, and political issues ◦ Knowing public opinion helps elected officials make decisions ◦ It is important to know not all people share the same opinion

 Section 2: The Mass Media  Types of Media ◦ Print Media- newspapers, magazines, newsletters, and books ◦ Electronic Media- radio, television, Internet

 Public Agenda ◦ Public Agenda- issues that receive the most time, money, and effort from government leaders ◦ Media influences public opinion ◦ The media have the power to define some issues as problems while others go unnoticed ◦ When the media brings attention to a problem the people expect the government to solve the issue  Disease, war, weather, jobs

 Media and Elected Officials ◦ Elected officials want the media to show them as hardworking and effective leaders ◦ They also rely on the media to communicate information to the public about government activities and decisions ◦ Leak- The release of secret government information by anonymous government officials to the media ◦ Elected officials may leak information to the press to test public opinion on a proposal without having to acknowledge that the government is considering it ◦ A leak lets officials take credit for good ideas and avoid the blame for bad ideas

 Watchdog Role ◦ The media exposes corruption and warns the public of mistakes or misconduct by government officials  Media and National Security ◦ There is tension between the American citizen’s need for information and the need for the government to keep secrets to protect national security ◦ The government can control information the media reports by classifying information as secret or by limiting press coverage of military action

 Media Safeguards ◦ Democracy requires a free flow of information and ideas ◦ The Supreme Court has ruled that the key to the First Amendment protection is freedom from prior restraint ◦ Prior Restraint- government censorship of material before it is published ◦ Generally, the government cannot tell the media what or what not to publish

◦ Freedom of the press is not completely unlimited ◦ No one is free to publish false information that will harm someone’s reputation- libel ◦ Libel- publishing false information that will harm someone’s reputation ◦ You may sue if false statements are written about you that harm your reputation ◦ To win a libel lawsuit, the Supreme Court ruled in New York Times Co. v. Sullivan (1964) that you must be able to prove malice- meaning the publisher knew it was false or did not care about the truth ◦ Malice- evil intent

 Regulating the Media ◦ One way the government regulates broadcasting is through the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) ◦ The FCC is a regulatory commission (managing commission) of the federal government ◦ The FCC cannot censor broadcasts, but it can penalize stations that violate its rules

 Section 3: Interests Groups  Types of Interests Groups ◦ Interests Groups are groups of people who share a point of view and unite to promote their viewpoints ◦ Interests groups (aka Special Interest Groups) are biased toward their on agenda ◦ Bias- not considering all viewpoints equally ◦ Members of interest groups believe by joining together they can increase their chances of influencing decision makers

 Interest Groups and Government ◦ Primary goal of interest groups is to influence public policy ◦ Public Policy- the course of action government takes in response to an issue or problem ◦ To influence public policy, interest groups focus their efforts on elections, the courts and lawmakers ◦ Some groups use resources to support candidates who support issues they are concerned with

 Lobbying Government ◦ Lobbyist- representatives of interest groups who contact lawmakers or other government officials directly to influence their policy making ◦ Interest groups use lobbyists to help them influence all levels of government officials (national, state, and local) ◦ A lobbyists’ job is to persuade government officials to support their interest group’s policies

 Beware propaganda ◦ Interests groups use propaganda to promote a particular viewpoint or idea ◦ Propaganda- To spread certain ideas that may involve misleading messages designed to manipulate people ◦ To avoid being misled, citizens need to recognize types of propaganda

 Endorsements- if people admire the person endorsing a candidate or product they will vote for them or buy the product  Stacked Cards- present only one side of an issue; usually distorts facts (“She doesn’t support money for education…”)

 Propaganda Videos  Endorsements  Stacked Cards

 Name-Calling- using an unpleasant label or description to turn people against a person or idea  Glittering Generally- statement that sounds good but is meaningless (“reduce the size of government” or “change”)

 Propaganda Videos  Name Calling  Glittering Generalities

 Transfer- use symbols when appealing to the public (standing in front of a flag, wearing a flag pin)  Just Plain Folks- to make people think the candidate is just like them with the same desires and concerns (wearing jeans to speak to farmers)  The Bandwagon- convincing people that everyone agrees with the person or interest group’s viewpoint

 Propaganda Videos  Transfer  Just Plain Folks  Bandwagon