Does the Media Have Too Much Influence in American Policymaking?
- Submitted by: mcneilly
- Views: 1380
- Category: Politics
- Date Submitted: 03/16/2011 06:22 AM
- Pages: 10
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Does the media have too much influence in American policymaking? Explain your answer.
Man has always had a thirst for knowledge and desire to know what is happening and what may happen in the future, it is a necessity to know what is happening now as a means of forming the events of the future. In recent years it has become increasingly easier for the public to gain information on current events, political scandals, international conflicts and relations. There has been a communications revolution which has transformed the way in which information is passed and how people access and process what they hear. With the creation of twenty-four hour news channels, online journals and social networking sites there has been an increased lust from the public to know as much as they can about the world around them and the people shaping the events occurring within that world, the ease of access to in-depth information on political and social events has increased interest in the news from the public. The question to be asked now is, is the news being reported and processed just a means to inform the public, or is it a device to influence or manipulate the public and their political views.
In the past the main source of news accessible to the public was either newspapers or word of mouth, there was not as much attention paid to the news by the public, and it was mainly the upper classes in society that seemingly had interest in newspaper reporting. However this is no longer the case, a transformation of the communication process has made it possible for news to be reported instantly from one side of the world to another. This transformation has resulted in mass media being the main source influencing the public’s knowledge and insights on the political world, giving the media a stronghold and enabling them to have considerable influence on the political agenda. With the ability to reach and report to such vast numbers of people throughout the world the media not only has the...
Man has always had a thirst for knowledge and desire to know what is happening and what may happen in the future, it is a necessity to know what is happening now as a means of forming the events of the future. In recent years it has become increasingly easier for the public to gain information on current events, political scandals, international conflicts and relations. There has been a communications revolution which has transformed the way in which information is passed and how people access and process what they hear. With the creation of twenty-four hour news channels, online journals and social networking sites there has been an increased lust from the public to know as much as they can about the world around them and the people shaping the events occurring within that world, the ease of access to in-depth information on political and social events has increased interest in the news from the public. The question to be asked now is, is the news being reported and processed just a means to inform the public, or is it a device to influence or manipulate the public and their political views.
In the past the main source of news accessible to the public was either newspapers or word of mouth, there was not as much attention paid to the news by the public, and it was mainly the upper classes in society that seemingly had interest in newspaper reporting. However this is no longer the case, a transformation of the communication process has made it possible for news to be reported instantly from one side of the world to another. This transformation has resulted in mass media being the main source influencing the public’s knowledge and insights on the political world, giving the media a stronghold and enabling them to have considerable influence on the political agenda. With the ability to reach and report to such vast numbers of people throughout the world the media not only has the...