Chapter 8
Mass Media and Public Opinion
Section 1
The Formation of Public Opinion
What is public opinion?
One of the most overused and misunderstood
terms
A complex collection of opinions of many
different people
Different Publics
Each “Public” care about different issues
Public affairs

events and issues that concern the people at large
Definition

Public opinion
Those attitudes held by a significant number of people on
matters of government and politics
Family and Education
Public Opinion is formed through the life
experiences
Political Socialization preformed by:

Family
Parents beliefs build a foundation of views on
political beliefs in their children

The Schools
Used to indoctrinate students to become good
citizens

Family and Schools not the only factors, but
most significant
The Political Spectrum
People who have similar opinions on political issues are
generally grouped according to whether they are “left,”
“right,” or “center” on the political spectrum.
2 3
Chapter 8, Section 1
Other Factors
Mass Media


Those means of communication that reach large,
widely dispersed audiences (masses of people)
simultaneously
TV and Internet the most common form of Mass
Media
Peer Groups

Made up of the people with whom one regularly
associates
friends, classmates, neighbors, and co-workers

reinforces what a person has already come to
believe
most tend to share the same belief on public issues
Other Factors (Con’t)
Opinion Leaders

Person who, for any reason, has an unusually
strong influence on the views of others
Could be anyone who people believe and tend to follow
Historic Events


Great Depression led to the belief that the National
Government should have a larger role in citizens
lives
Events of the 1960’s and 70’s led to mistrust in the
national government
Section 2
Measuring Public Opinion
Measuring Public Opinion
Polls are one of the most common
means of gauging public opinion
Elections


Votes cast for the various candidates are
regularly taken as evidence of the people’s
approval
Mandate
instructions or commands a constituency gives
to its elected officials

However an election very likely does not
give mandates from the public
Measuring Public Opinion (Con’t)
Interest Groups

Private organizations whose members share certain views
and work to shape the making and the content of public policy
Chief means through which public opinion is made known
The Media


Considered many times as “mirrors” and/or “molders” of public
opinion
However they are not very accurate mirrors of public opinion,
often reflecting only the views of a vocal minority
Personal Contacts

Public Administrators receiving calls, mail, emails, or through
meetings
however tend to only find views that support and agree with their
own views
Polls – The Best Measure
Public opinion polls

Devices that attempt to collect information by
asking people questions
Straw Votes

Polls that seek to read the public’s mind simply by
asking the same question to a large number of
people
however highly unreliable
does not make sure that the sample is an
accurate cross-section of the population
1936 election and Library Digest mishap
Polls – The Best Measure (Con’t)
Scientific Polling


George Gallup and Elmo Roper have
helped polls to become highly sophisticated
level
Best pollsters today are Gallup Organization
and Louis Harris Associates
Polling Process
Defining the Universe

Universe means the whole population that
the poll aims to measure
Constructing a Sample

To poll the entire universe is very difficult,
and often impossible
Must select a sample

representative slice of the total universe
Polling Process (Con’t)
Constructing Sample (Con’t)

Random sample
a probability sample
Generally national polls only are represented by
about 1,500 people
Mathematics tells us that 1,500 people selected
randomly, can give you the probability to have an
accurate poll (+/- 3%)

Quota sample
sample deliberately constructed to reflect several
of the major characteristics of a given universe
Polling Process (Con’t)
Preparing Valid Questions
Wording can affect the reliability of any poll

try to avoid “loaded questions”
Evaluating Polls
Major National polls are fairly reliable

Intensity
Strength of feeling of an opinion held

Stability
Relative permanence of opinion

Relevance
How important is the opinion
However, criticized for creating a
“Bandwagon Effect”
Limits on the Impact of Public
Opinion
Polls are not elections
Requires citizens to be informed to
determine the possible bias of any and
all polls or mass media
Section 3
The Mass Media
Media Statistics
Access to media varies from country to country.
1 2
Chapter 8, Section 3
The Role of Mass Media
Medium is a means of communication

Media is plural for medium
TV, Newspaper, Internet, and magazines most prolific

Through Mass Media, most people receive their
information
Television

Replaced newspaper as the principal source of
political information for a majority of Americans in
the early 1960’s
Newspapers

Once the strongest source of political information,
however it’s influence has been diminished due to
TV, radio and internet
Most, if not all newspapers, have their publications on the
internet
The Role of Mass Media (Con’t)
Radio

Still considered one of the top sources of
information
Generally lean Republican
However, NPR leans Democratic
Magazines

Generally used by scholarly or educated
individuals
The Media and Politics
Public Agenda

The societal problems that political leaders
and citizens agree need government
attention
Ultimately the Media help influence those
matters of concern to public-policy makers


Done by featuring certain items at different points
Media help determine what people should
think about
Presidents currently receive a daily digest of the
news reports and analysis
The Media and Politics (Con’t)
Electoral Politics

TV has lessoned the power of political party
committees
candidates can appeal directly to the population


All about the “image” the candidate gives off
Extensive use of sounds bites
snappy reports that can be aired in 30-45
seconds or so
Limits on Media Influence
Only a small part of the population actually is
“well informed” for elections

Those who do pay attention, tend to only listen to
reports from the political parties they tend to
support
TV tends to share very little information about
news due to the short amount of time

Left to report only what TV Editors deem most
important
Overall, in depth information is tough to come
by in just one of the mediums

Requires effort to read and analyze the information
in each medium