Media and Public Influence

Ways media play an important role in setting the public agenda

· Focusing public attention on selected issues

· Offering a forum in which opposing viewpoints are communicated

· Holding government officials accountable to the public

Government officials use the media to communicate with the public.

Terms to know

Lobbying: Seeking to influence legislators to introduce or vote for or against a bill

Ways individuals influence public policy

· Participating in politics (voting, campaigning)

· Expressing opinions (lobbying, demonstrating, writing letters)

· Joining interest groups

Ways interest groups influence public policy

· Identifying issues

· Making political contributions

· Lobbying government officials

Strategies for evaluating campaign speeches, literature, and advertisements for accuracy

· Separating fact from opinion

· Detecting bias

· Evaluating sources

· Identifying propaganda

Mass media roles in elections

· Identifying candidates

· Emphasizing selected issues

· Writing editorials, creating political cartoons, publishing op-ed pieces

· Broadcasting different points of view