CHAPTER 9: THE
POLITICAL PROCESS
Part 1: Section 1 and
2
PUBLIC OPINION
• Public Opinion: the aggregation of views shared by a segment of
society on issues of interest or concern.
•
Public opinion is limited to the community in question and who holds the opinion.
Meaning?
•
Public opinion is complex and not limited to any one point-of-view.
•
Example: Global Warming- is it both natural and manmade? Is it irreversible? Should
it be a concern?
• Public opinion often shapes public policy.
•
Should it public opinion shape public policy? Should our democracy solely be a reflection
of public opinion? Why or why not? Explain.
GUN POLICY- PUBLIC OPINION ON OBAMA
ADMINISTRATION- POLLINGREPORT.COM
TWO THEORIES ON THE ROLE OF PUBLIC
OPINION:
• Public as single, centralized body to be shaped.
• The public is to be led, formed, or molded by political and social
leaders.
• Public as many, separate publics to shape.
• The public or people’s attitudes should shape society and policy
makers.
EXPRESSION OF PUBLIC OPINION
• Assembly and/or Protest
• Petitions to social and political leaders
• Speech in social and established media
• Formation of groups and organizations (MADD:
Mothers Against Drunk Driving)
• Voting
FORMING PUBLIC OPINION
• Individual political opinion is formed by a process called
political socialization (the process by which people
acquire political beliefs).
• Family, School, Communities, Jobs, Demographics (age, race, ethnicity,
gender, and religion)
• Mass media shapes the individual, but shapes them in the
context of a community by creating a mass, unique message.
• Social media can create both individual and mass messaging.
MEDIA AND PUBLIC OPINION
• Mass Media: means of communication meant to reach a large
population through various mediums (magazines, television,
newspapers, blogs, radio, internet, and many others).
• Social Media: a means of communication by which online communities
share and publish as well as consume information.
• Mass media systems influence public policy by:
• Monitoring government activity
• Creating an agenda by creating discourse (if the news says it is important, we
think that it is important)
• Shaping opinions through bias and propaganda or through the use of facts
(which facts are used and what are left out)
CREATING AN AGENDA- WHO ARE THEY
AND WHAT IS THEIR VALUE? WHY DO
YOU KNOW THEM (OR NOT)?
A BRIEF UNDERSTANDING OF MASS
MEDIA
• American Factions: 1789- Gazette of the United States published a Federalist
(political party) paper and the National Gazette published Democratic-Republican
arguments.
•
Partisan politics has been in our media since the beginning of our nation.
• Penny Press: cheap papers that catered to working class citizens. Significance?
• Yellow Journalism: journalism which used sensationalism, scandals, and appeals
to patriotism to attract and influence readership.
•
Origin: 1890’s- Joseph Pulitzer v. William Randolph Hearst
• How do they affect the public?
UNDERSTANDING OF MASS MEDIA (CONT.)
• Effects of Social Media on Mass Media: social media is changing the agenda of the
mass media system and creating resources (video, photos, firsthand accounts)
that mass media can use to supplement investigative journalism.
• Criticism of mass media systems:
•
Bias in reporting: bias towards a specific point-of-view
•
Bias in story selection: ignore one issue and focus on another
•
Factual (in)accuracy
•
Media Consolidation: only 8 major companies control the majority of information received
through mass media mediums
• Future of media: accessibility does not imply accuracy
•
“At its best, the internet can educate more people faster than any media tool…At its worst, it
can make people dumber faster than any media tool.” – Thomas Friedman
MICHAEL BROWN SHOOTING
MEDIA CONSOLIDATION
MEASURING PUBLIC OPINION
• Poll: a survey of people scientifically selected to provide opinions about
something.
• The accuracy of any poll should be questioned, and one needs to consider:
• The sample universe: the group taking part in the poll or “the total
population or market of interest.”
•
Example: campaigns- what is the sample universe that is best to contact between 9 and 3 on weekdays at
home?
•
Important to consider- the size and randomness of the sample
• The poll or question itself
•
Can it be a yes or no question or multiple choice (strongly agree, agree, disagree, or strongly disagree)?
• Margin of error- How mathematically accurate is the poll based off of the
sample universe and those actually polled.
MEASURING PUBLIC OPINION (CONT.)
• The polls can be created in such a way to create a
specific result and needs to be questioned.
• Three types of lies: “Lies, damned lies, and statistics”
– Popularized by Mark Twain
• A reminder to be skeptical
INTEREST GROUPS
• Special Interest Group: an association of people who hold
similar views or goals.
• Organize people who share views
• Provide a means to participate or influence the political process
• Supply information to public and policy makers
• Types of interest groups:
• Agricultural (farming), business (financial), labor (AFT- American
Federation of Teachers), cause-based (MADD- Mothers Against Drunk
Driving), Societal groups or welfare or individual groups (AARPAmerican Association of Retired Persons), Professional Groups (AMAAmerican Medical Association).
FUNCTIONS OF INTEREST GROUPS
• Influence elections and endorsing (publicly declaring support for candidates): 1)
encourage members to vote for a candidate, 2) influence party platforms (planks),
3) campaigning, and 4) contributing money.
•
PACS- Political Action Committees- an organization created to raise money legally to the
campaigns of political candidates.
•
PACS are regulated by federal government, but give interest groups and private individuals a lot of power
in financing candidates and policies of their choice without facing regulations placed on individual citizens.
•
Super PACS are also regulated, but cannot give money to a candidate. But they can spend without limit
on marketing or advertising for a candidate or policy as long as they do not work directly with a
candidate’s campaign. Members of Super PACS do not need to disclose how much money they personally
donated. Dangerous?
•
Lobbying- contacting a public official to influence political choices. (Who has greatest access?)
•
Filing lawsuits- NAACP and the Brown v. Board of Education, Topeka KS (1954) case.
•
•
How does this influence politics and society? Explain.
Grassroots organization- a system of organizing people based on the most basic, local level; of or
originating with the people.