1. The Mass Media in Politics

2. And what shapes it…
Public Opinion – the attitudes held by a significant number of people on matters of government and politics
Our Families
What we talk about, what we watch, what we hear, where we worship, etc.
A Mix of Other Factors
Who we are, what our job is, where we live, what is important to us
The Mass Media
What we hear from television, newspapers, radio, and magazines
The Opinion Leaders
People who have lots of influence over us…media, politicians, etc.
Our Schools
What we learn in schools, what we read, what our school engrains in us

3. How We Measure Public Opinion
Through Polling
The best way…asks questions about issues to figure out what they believe
Through the Media
It is not necessarily accurate, but what is the media saying about issues
Through Interest Groups
What organizations are people joining and what views do they have
Through Elections
What kind of mandate was given..or instructions or commands to election officials
Through Personal Contacts
What are the people saying to their elected representatives

4. How would we create A public opinion poll?
2. Construct a sample – samples are small parts of the bigger universe, since we cannot interview everyone
3. Come up with good questions – make sure that they are not misleading questions that are going to influence or hurt the results
4. Select and control the polling process – be nice, know who you are talking to, dress the right way, etc.
1. Define the universe that we want to survey – what ages, what races, what religions, what characteristics are we going to look at
5. Report Your Findings – Analyze the results that you have in order to see what you can come to a conclusion on

5. What Forms of Media Influence Us?
Television
Newspapers
Radio
Magazines
The Internet

6. It shapes the public agenda. It plays a role in elections.
How the Media Impacts Politics
It shapes the public agenda.
What are we talking about? What do we find important? The media influences these things.
It plays a role in elections.
They give us the information that influences us…sometimes in sound bites that are only 30 seconds or less.