Free Paper Sample on Media in U.S. President Election

Introduction

The media’s primary duty is to communicate information and alert the public when important events happen. The information conveyed may influence the actions, thoughts, behavior, and attitudes of the audiences. Whether spoken, written, or televised mass media reaches a large audience; thus, playing a key function in shaping public opinion, which comprises the thinking, wants, and desires of the large part of the population. The media can put pressure on the government to act by exhibiting that the public wants to change or emphasizing the need for intervention. Since the people have limited information and personal experience with politics and government, the media, through their stories coverage, put ideas in their minds. The ideas evolve and become part of the public frame of reference impacting their decisions. Therefore, the media means of communicating information concerning government and campaigns can sometimes affect how the government functions and the candidates' success. In this light, the paper will describe the role of the media as a means of communicating information related to the election of the U.S. president, and how it influences public opinion, for better or for worse.

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Debate Platform

The media acts as a debate platform for the public to convey their needs, views, and concerns to the candidates, the government, and to other voters impacting on their decisions on whom to vote. As such, the mass media is imperative to the rule of law. A democratic election is not possible exclusive of the media. Therefore, a free and fair election is not only about voters casting their votes but also participating in the process whereby they engage in public debate and having necessary information about the election process to make primed choices (Kellner 11). The media acts as an open forum for discussion and debate. It provides people with the right to express opposing opinions and ideas as preserved in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (Kellner 11). This influence voter's views about their readers and eventually influence their voting decisions. The media’s role in providing discussion and debate platforms is therefore critical.

In politics today, the media is vital in safeguarding the transparency of the democratic process. The media influences the public through the provision of information about the election process, voters’ rights, and the unfettered discussion and scrutiny of the failures and success of the presidential candidates, electoral management, and government (DonoHue, Philip, and Clarice 25). The media provides information on the candidates’ effective performance and helps in holding them into account. In the U.S., the media have been investigating the 2016 general election allegation of a flawed process, malpractice, violations, and Russia’s involvement, which influence the public opinion about President Trump reducing his popularity. As such, the media acts as a watchdog demanding transparency on many levels like legitimacy and accountability of the presidential candidates, access to information, processes and institutions, and public debate and rightful participation (Donohue, Philip, and Clarice 25).

Considerable Effect

The first way journalists get involved in altering the U.S. presidential election is picking, which candidates to cover, and how much (Meraz, 41). These choices have a considerable effect on the opinions of the voters. Ideally, some candidates are left invisible since they do not win sufficient media interest. For instance, the last U.S. presidential election during the Republican primaries where Donald Trump caused a whopping amount of media exposure. Thus, he was able to get substantial advertisement buys without spending a lot of resources. This colossal media coverage played an important role in his nomination and as the presidential election eventual winner.

The media coverage predisposes the audience to a particular perspective on the election of the U.S. president. Studies show that main media outlets appeal to partisan viewers reflecting political partialities in their reporting or analysis (Faris 6). Since the voters can acquire candidates' basic facts from a quick search on the internet, the mainstream media have shifted from straight news to context and analysis. Selective exposure increases the political schisms in the country (Meraz 37). Also, Media outlets propagate biased opinions by reducing complicated issues and campaigns into shortened scripts such as a game frame or horse race. Also, the media spread Character-based scripts. For instance, in the 2016 U.S. presidential race, the narratives that dominated election coverage portrayed Hillary Clinton as a corrupt politician and Donald Trump as a racist, misogynist outsider.

In the U.S., Press freedom is viewed as a method of raising public awareness of issues of national importance and as an extra check on the power of the government. The media may focus on communicating information about struggling industries, Jobs moving overseas, and increasing unemployment in a country (Meyaz 45). The report creates a negative public opinion regarding the economy, which then impacts them in voting out the incumbent. As such, the viewers or audience may not approve the presidential job performance of the current president seeking re-election.

Besides, the media acts as a campaign platform providing the parties and candidates with a clear right to provide the people information concerning their political agendas, proposed plans, and attributes (Semetko, Blumler, Gurevitch, and Weaver 1). All candidates must be provided with equal access to media for this effort. As such, covering the candidates’ campaigns activities influence the public thought and opinions and ultimately impact on how they vote. The public is able to get information about the candidates’ manifesto, which would otherwise be almost impossible without the mass media. As such, it creates a level playing ground for the candidates.

Public Educator

The media role as a public educator influences their decisions to vote for a particular candidate and combines three other functions of the media (Kellner 11). For instance, as a transparency mechanism, the press ensures that voters are given information essential to evaluating the conduct of the presidential candidates in the U.S. election, and the whole electoral process as a campaign platform ensures that the public is conversant with the candidates’ political agendas (Semetko 33). As an open forum for discussion and debate make sure that voters can educate politicians, officials, and other voters. Also, the media educate the public through the transmission of voter information. It communicates how the importance of voter registration, voting sites, and how votes may be counted. Moreover, it plays an analytical role utilizing several tools such as; opinion polls, expert opinion, and input, assess community needs and opinions, measure candidates’ deliveries against promises. The detailed information that allows the voter to make informed action or choices (Kellner 11). Therefore, the media educate the public and influence their thoughts, actions, and attitudes towards parties and presidential election candidates.

Conclusion

The media as a means of communicating information related to the election of the U.S. president influences public opinions. First, the media acts as a debate platform for the public, whereby voters can educate other voters. It also acts as a watchdog demanding transparency on many levels like legitimacy and accountability of the presidential candidates, access to information, processes and institutions, and public debate and rightful participation. Further, the choice on the candidates to cover and how much impact the general opinion of the voters. The media also perpetuate biased viewed about the candidates based on their ideological belief and their personalities to align voters to a specific participant. Further, media choice on the candidates’ achievements also influences the audience thought process and actions. As a campaign platform, the media ensure that the voters understand the candidates’ political agendas. As a transparency mechanism, it ensures that voters are given the necessary information to evaluate the conduct of the presidential; elections candidates. Therefore, the media plays a critical role in influencing the public voting decision in the United States presidential election.

Works Cited

Donohue, George A., Phillip J. Tichenor, and Clarice N. Olien. "A guard dog perspective on the role of media." The Media, Journalism, and Democracy. Routledge, 2018. 21-38.

Faris, Robert, et al. "Partisanship, propaganda, and disinformation: Online media and the 2016 U.S. presidential election." Berkman Klein Center Research Publication 6 (2017), https://dash.harvard.edu/bitstream/handle/1/33759251/2017-08_electionReport_0.pdf?sequence=9

Kellner, Douglas. Media spectacle and the crisis of democracy: Terrorism, war, and election battles. Routledge, 2015.

Meraz, Sharon. "Quantifying partisan selective exposure through network text analysis of elite political blog networks during the U.S. 2012 presidential election." Journal of Information Technology & Politics 12.1 (2015): 37-53, https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/19331681.2014.974119.

Semetko, Holli A., Blumler, Jay. Gurevitch, Michael, and Weaver, David. The formation of campaign agendas: A comparative analysis of party and media roles in recent American and British elections. Routledge, 2013.