Media Power Essay, Research Paper

& # 8220 ; Does the media wield excessively much power in America? & # 8221 ;

Today, with all of our advanced engineering, the media influences our lives more than of all time. Whether it is telecasting, wireless, newspapers, magazines or the Internet, the media has a immense impact on American lives. In the last 50 old ages entirely the media has in some manner or signifier shaped merely about every facet of American life. The media tells us everything, from what sort of laundry detergent we should utilize to who we should vote for for president. The greatest impact the media has is that on political relations. The media forms America s involvement in political relations, the type of campaigners that will run for office, and even Tells us what to believe about campaigners and issues.

The media affects American involvement towards political relations by merely demoing us what they want us to see. If there are many issues in a certain run, the media will concentrate on the 1s they believe to be the most of import, they may go forth others out wholly. We become interested in certain countries of political relations because we hear about them really frequently, and we lose involvement really fast because we are ever being bombarded with new bigger things. There is normally ever a much greater bend out to vote for president than there is to vote for senate or the House of Representatives. This happens because there is more media coverage of the presidential race than there is of a senate or house of representative race. We focus importance on the things the media shows us more of, alternatively of the things we do non hear much about, even if they are things of concern. A batch of people do non follow local elections chiefly because they don t hear about it on the six O clock intelligence, I m certainly a batch of people don Ts know who their senator, or house rep is. On the other manus, if you try to happen one individual who does non cognize anything about the recent presidential election, you would be looking everlastingly. Everyone knows about the Florida ballot disputes merely because the media has placed so much accent on them.

There is so much media coverage in political relations today that in order to be elected one must be appealing to the populace. Old ages ago the lone manner people had to happen out about campaigners and the issues they stood for was by reading a newspaper or listening to the wireless. Today, anyone can turn on the telecasting or travel to a web site on the Internet and see the campaigners themselves speaking about their issues. With 98-99 % of all American places holding at least one telecasting, a campaigner must be physically appealing every bit good as holding appealing programs and thoughts. Now, more than of all time Americans place inordinate importance on visual aspect. This means that a campaigner has to look like they can manage the occupation, like they are good educated, that they know what they are making and like people can swear them, every bit good as non being atrocious to look at. When was the last clip a dreadfully ugly president was elected, it was likely in the 1800 s with the election of Abe Lincoln, and expression at what a great president he was. It sounds really superficial, but unluckily is true of our society. Campaigners need to appeal to the populace every bit much as possible, they must hold a people personality and be able to look comfy on camera. But a campaigners visual aspect is non the lone thing that plays a portion in acquiring them elected.

A campaigner must stand for the issues that people believe in. The

media greatly loosens party ties, because they make major campaigners appear really moderate, non either broad or conservative like they used to be. Years ago many people would vote entirely based on the party they affiliated themselves with, if they were a Democrat they voted democratic along the full ballot, vise versa for republicans. Today there is no absolute cut and dry line between the two major parties, they overlap, hence loosening party ties. Although it is more of import than of all time to follow political relations, particularly elections, to do an informed ballot, there is more uninformed vote than of all time.

Political ads lead to a great trade of uninformed vote. The campaigner with the most money will be able to run more ads and will most probably have a better opportunity of winning because they received more exposure to the populace. This has nil to make with if they are the better campaigner for the occupation, it merely sells their good points and gets their name known. Ads are made for amusement, to do a campaigner expression good and to promote people to vote for them. Many ads have nil to make with the issues of a run, they merely sell a valued character trait. Viewing audiences will see it and believe, & # 8220 ; that is the sort of individual I want running my state & # 8221 ; , and they will travel and vote with no other cognition about the election at all. This may look like a good thing for the campaigners who counts on the uninformed elector to be elected, but in world it is non a good thing. Most Americans don T want person to be elected to stand for them because they look like the sort of individual that would make a good occupation, we want them to hold to turn out to us that they can make the occupation and that they can make it better than anyone else.

More than anything else the media shapes public sentiment in America. News broadcasts will demo the side of the narrative they want people to cognize and believe, they do the same things when it comes to political relations. When you are watching the intelligence the sentiment you come off with is most likely the one the station or the plan wanted you to hold. They portray events and duologues in peculiar ways so that you will believe something was said one manner when it may hold been meant to be taken another manner. To sum it up, most American s believe what they are told, and the media takes advantage of this, in a manner brainwashing America to believe what they want us to. This happens a batch in political relations, when addresss are given and a smattering of webs all say that the address meant something different, they want you to believe what you hear.

Now, more than of all time, the media influences and impacts about every facet of American lives. They tell us what is of import, who should run in an election, how a campaigner should look to the populace and even what to believe about an issue. With there being so many ways to acquire information today, we are influenced to believe what we are told and non to oppugn it. In some ways the media influences political relations in a good manner, by doing certain the campaigner has some thought of what they are running for. The media besides has a batch of bad influences on political relations, ads which promote uninformed vote, brainwashing the populaces beliefs and merely informing the populace about what they believe to be of import. I do believe that the media does exert excessively much power in America, they should non be allowed to show colored intelligence to the populace and allow them do up their ain heads on what they want to believe.