Chapters 8 Notes

Mass Media and Public Opinion

Formation of Public Opinion
• Public Opinion – A collection of opinions held by __large_________ groups of people
• Public Opinion includes views that relate to public ___affairs_________
• “The Public” isn’t one single group that all feels the same way on any topic
• Public opinion can include the opinions held by ____smaller_______ groups
• “Among Democrats in Georgia…”
Influences on Public Opinion
• Family and education
• Political _____socialization_____________
• The influence the family has on the development of political opinions begins in a child’s early
years
• Schools are a complex set of _____experiences_____________ that help influence a young
person’s attitudes and opinions
• Peers, teachers, school environment, etc.
• The ___media_________ one consumes can also have a drastic effect on political opinions
Measuring Public Opinion
• Politicians use several different methods to determine public opinion:
• _____elections__________ – The candidate with the most support wins (motivation of
supporters also plays a role)
• Interest Groups – Speak on behalf of a group of people
• Media – The left- and right-leaning sources express the ______opinions_______ of their
supporters
• Town Hall meetings – Allow politicians to hear concerns of _________consitituents_________
face to face

Opinion Polls
• The best way to gauge public opinion is through __polls_______________________
• Polls can cover a wide variety of topics, such as:
• Presidential _________variant_______ ratings
• Elections
• Or any other ___poll________ or political question
Scientific Polling
• Not all polls are created equal
• In order to be accurate, polls must follow rigorous _____voting_________ in regard to polling
procedure
• Any poll that doesn’t follow the generally accepted rules of polling is essentially
_________invalid___________
• For example: online polls that can be taken multiple times

• Five steps to conducting a ____scientific_________ poll:

1. Define your population
• _____a group________________
2. Construct a __status___________
• Needs to be representative of your population
• ____data_________ is standard, gives a margin of error of ~3%
• Polls with a smaller sample have a higher margin of ____error______
3. Prepare _______valid____ questions
• Is Obama a great President, or the greatest President?
4. Control how poll is taken
• In-person interviews, mail-in, ____telephone___________, online
5. ______analyze__________ and report findings
• Charts and graphs make results easier for most people to understand
Mass Media
• Americans get their information from a variety of sources
• TV – Over __1700______ stations nationwide
• Newspapers – 1450 daily newspapers, ____declining_____________ rapidly
• Radio – 10,000 stations
• ___social_________ Media – rapidly growing news source
• Media outlets influence American politics through _______agenda-setting________________
• If the news is talking about a topic, politicians are forced to _____confront_________ it
• But, the influence of the media is ___limited___________, due to the fact that most Americans
select news sources they like, and refuse to venture outside of that bubble
Media Bias
• Media outlets often display some degree of _bias______ (some more than others) which can
influence the opinions of their viewers
• People on the political ‘Left’ believe ____fox news__________ has a conservative bias
• Those on the political ‘Right’ believe ___msnbc________ has a liberal bias
• Is this the same thing as lying?
• Differences in perception can lead to a variety of interpretations