The Media's Political Influence
Ever since the suggestion that Nixon’s stubble in the first televised presidential debate lost him the presidency in 1960, the extent to which media coverage influences elections has been a concern. The proliferation of mass media, 24-hour news channels, and Internet reporting makes the issue more pressing. Does the constant barrage of information and updates lead to voter fatigue? Do major news outlets focus more attention on high-profile candidates, effectively determining the outcomes of party nominations?
 
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2.28.08
| 04:48 PM - |
just doing their jobs
Anonymous - media practitioners are there to do their job and we have to respect that because it is their duty to inform the public about cyrrent and controversial issues within our society.it is important to note that politicians time and again manipulate the media to get political favouritism
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1.24.08
| 03:14 PM - |
Make an effort to get the facts
Anonymous - Money, politics and the truth. At the end all you really end up with is with a compromise between the 3. One can only hope that enough people are involved-- and when I say involved I truly mean involved-- in the electoral process that candidate with the most integrity makes it through.
Robert |
| 01:07 PM - |
Schrodinger's Cat
endless - Beyond the influence of the ways in which the media portrays candidates, it's also important not to forget the ways in which the media actually changes the politics of the candidates. Politicians are very different today when they have cameras in their face at every moment, whether they be media cameras or cell phone cameras. Every little movement, and every little word, is captured on film and scrutinized and picked apart and used as evidence against them. It's a different world and makes for a very different politician.
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| 11:05 AM - |
The overwhelming power of the visual sense
jb - The visual sense heavily influences our perception. With the advent of television and increasing screen resolution - an artists (whether that be a singer or an actor/actress) is admired increasingly for their appearance instead of their talent. Politics is no different. With increasing ease for the transfer of images (and of increasing quality) the presidential image become more important than any kind of platform or ideology. I think that is really the underlying effect of media.
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| 10:56 AM - |
Framing the debate
dpy - Campaigns and the media to a great job of framing the debate which ultimately leads to some form of persuasion. For example, in 2004 the Bush campaign painted Kerry as a "flip flopper" based specifically on his contradicting votes over the Iraq war. Once the media gets hold of a talking point or catch phrase, it can repeat it 24/7, much to the satisfaction of the candidate who initially offered it.
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| 10:03 AM - |
Obviously
Anonymous - The Media influences the outcome of elections. But you can't observe anything without influencing it. Sure, media's influence has increased, but it's a byproduct of people having more exposure to politics - which is a good thing
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