Does the media influence people's decision on who the people vote for or does it just reflect the people's already made opinions?
Personally, I think it's a little of both..but...
if it wasn't for media, how would the public know the views of the candidates? By word of mouth?..but...then how would it be reliable?
As much as people complain about how certain candidates have had too much media time and have become celebrities, people should realize that it is partially because of the response of the public that certain candidates have become somewhat of an object of interest...whether you hate them or love them..
4 comments:
The relationship between media and politics really is a double-edged sword. What I think is most interesting about election season is how the coverage is so heavily about rallies held, gallup polls, and the race to that magic number of electoral votes it seems like we have no idea what is going on beyond that in world events. Recently, yes we have also heard about the economy but those stories always follow up with the election.
During election season it seems unbelievable to me that 24-hour news stations can exist during non-election seasons!
I think sometimes the media can be a downfall for political candidates but at the same time, it's the only effective way to educate the public. What is disappointing is that these "reliable" news channels that we turn to are generally biased in one way or another. I think all stations should clearly present the facts and not swing in a certain political direction. We look to these stations to educate us so that we can make an informed decision. I think that is more difficult when we hear drastically different things on a a variety of channels.
Although many people are annoyed of political candidates taking over their televisions in the weeks before an election, but generally I would say that this is beneficial for the candidates, voters, and the country as a whole. If these ads did not exist, many Americans would not have any information about the candidates, and would vote blindly. A vote with little knowledge about a candidate is better than a vote with no knowledge. However, as beneficial as positive ads presenting the facts of the candidate's platforms are, the negative ads are just the opposite. Any time I see a negative ad, I simply turn it out and do not even pay attention to the message because I know this information is so skewed and manipulated. But overall, I think it is necessary for there to be a relationship between media and politics.
The media and politics have a symbiotic relationship. Both provide coverage and news stories for one another. Think about it: if media outlets had not been covering the 2008 presidential election for the past several months, what other material would have been used? I agree with Becky: the coverage of the election seasons detracts from other important issues, especially world events.
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