Media Influence on the Presidential Election
The new era of Mass Media Company has influenced the way we communicate and gather information, will it change the way we chose our leaders? The answer might be closer to a yes than an ‘’I don’t know.’’ We have seen the growth of broadcasting over the years from 1945 when there were only 8,000 TV sets in America to approximately 114.8 Million today. The power this mass media medium to modify, inform and create people’s opinion might be underestimated.
Broadcasting is maybe one of the most important media outlets to communicate with the voters of America but it is also one of the hardest to control these days. The reason? Media bias and sensationalism. Because of the power these mass media companies have, it is actually very hard for the candidates to show what they really want the voters to see.
We now live in a society that lacks confidence in the system and in the news. The stumbling economy and the radical changes our society have changed the focus of news reporting. The audience now has many different outlets to get information and might even radically stop using one of them. For these reasons media companies create ‘’fuzz’’, rather than communicate information, they ‘’entertain’’ the skeptical audience. The media will be vying for viewers, readers and advertising dollars over the next six months with the same vigor with which the candidates will vie for votes.
The apparent desire by an overwhelming majority in the mainstream media to see a president reelected has never been as obvious as it is today. Yes, there are places where people can get other points of view, but if you’re looking at the mainstream media—CBS, NBC, ABC, MSNBC, CNN, The New York Times and The Washington Post—there is undoubtedly a powerful bias favoring President Obama. The media covers conflict, and because we live in a 24/7 news world, if there is no conflict deemed news-worthy, the media must create it.
Recent examples include an article about President Obama’s recent stance on
Broadcasting is maybe one of the most important media outlets to communicate with the voters of America but it is also one of the hardest to control these days. The reason? Media bias and sensationalism. Because of the power these mass media companies have, it is actually very hard for the candidates to show what they really want the voters to see.
We now live in a society that lacks confidence in the system and in the news. The stumbling economy and the radical changes our society have changed the focus of news reporting. The audience now has many different outlets to get information and might even radically stop using one of them. For these reasons media companies create ‘’fuzz’’, rather than communicate information, they ‘’entertain’’ the skeptical audience. The media will be vying for viewers, readers and advertising dollars over the next six months with the same vigor with which the candidates will vie for votes.
The apparent desire by an overwhelming majority in the mainstream media to see a president reelected has never been as obvious as it is today. Yes, there are places where people can get other points of view, but if you’re looking at the mainstream media—CBS, NBC, ABC, MSNBC, CNN, The New York Times and The Washington Post—there is undoubtedly a powerful bias favoring President Obama. The media covers conflict, and because we live in a 24/7 news world, if there is no conflict deemed news-worthy, the media must create it.
Recent examples include an article about President Obama’s recent stance on