Insert Cartoon of reason people vote

Participation in the Political Process

1. Voting (Be able to describe historical trends in voting) Eligibility

Elimination of property requirements in nearly all states (1830) Elimination of racial discrimination in 15th Amendment (1870) Elimination of sexual discrimination in 19th Amendment (1920) Elimination of poll taxes in 24th Amendment (1964) Elimination of literacy tests in Voting Rights Act (1965) Partial elimination of state registration laws in Voting Rights Act

(1965) Reduction of voting age to 18 in 26th Amendment (1971) Potential further elimination of state registration laws in Motor

Voter Act (1993) Reduction of residency requirement to 1 or 2 months in most states

Statistics on Voter TurnoutParticipation of voters in

Presidential Elections Registered voters

1992

122,000,000 2000 130,000,000 2008 169,000,000

Voting on election day

1992

55% of all eligible voters 85% of registered voters

1996 49% of all eligible voters 82% of registered voters

2000 51% of all eligible voters 86% of registered voters

200455.3% of all eligible voters

200856.8 % of all eligible

voters70.7 % of registered

voters

Voting for Highest state offices – participation of 33+%

Congressional midterm elections- participation of 33+%

Lesser state and local offices – participation of 20+%

38% of electorate voting every 2 years- core electorate

Analysis……

High rates of voter participation in Presidential Years!

YearVoting-agepopulation

Voterregistration Voter turnout

Turnout of voting-age population (percent)

2008* 231,229,580 NA 132,618,580* 56.8%

2006 220,600,000 135,889,600 80,588,000 37.1%

2004 221,256,931 174,800,000 122,294,978 55.3

2002 215,473,000 150,990,598 79,830,119 37.0

2000 205,815,000 156,421,311 105,586,274 51.3

1998 200,929,000 141,850,558 73,117,022 36.4

1996 196,511,000 146,211,960 96,456,345 49.1

1994 193,650,000 130,292,822 75,105,860 38.8

1992 189,529,000 133,821,178 104,405,155 55.1

1990 185,812,000 121,105,630 67,859,189 36.5

1988 182,778,000 126,379,628 91,594,693 50.1

1986 178,566,000 118,399,984 64,991,128 36.4

1984 174,466,000 124,150,614 92,652,680 53.1

Analysis of Voter Turnout…Voter turnout rates reached a long time low in the

elections of 1996 and 2000In 2004 extraordinary efforts by political parties,

candidate campaigns, and interest groups increased the voter turnout to about 60%.

The highest turnouts in American history happened around the turn of the 20th century, when higher voter fraud artificially elevated voter rates

Profile of individuals most likely to vote (Core Electorate)

Middle aged or older Poor record for 18 to 24 year olds! (That is you!!!!)

WhiteHighly educatedLiving outside the southMaleMarriedEmployment in white collar jobLong time resident of an areaWealthy

Disappearance of racial factor with consideration of socioeconomic status

Reasons for VotingOne of the duties and

obligations of citizenship

Belief in concept that every vote counts (Florida in 2000)

Predicted closeness of an election

Joy of participation in political process

Desire to influence outcome of elections and the direction of the nation’s policies

Identification with a specific party and or party’s candidate

Response to volunteers and campaign staff’s get-out-the-vote efforts Door-to-door canvassing Voter registration drives

Reasons for Not Voting Lack of interest (Lacks

Political Efficacy) Lack of faith in political

system Lack of government

responsiveness to the individual voter

Lack of any real choice between candidates

Indecision on merits and/or positions of candidates

Domination of area by one party

Illness on election dayLack of transportation

(poor/elderly)Out of district on

election dayFailure to obtain an

absentee ballot (young and old)

Reasons for voter decisions on given Candidates

Party affiliation - partisanship Declining importance in recent years

Interest in particular issue or issues Increase in single issue voting Problems with issue voting

Lack of clarity in a candidates position (easy issues) Agreement on candidates position but not means of implementation (hard

issues) Agreement with different candidates on different issues

Reasons for votes decisions on candidates Cont’

Prospective vision Favorable comparison of position statements and choice of

candidate (Takes real effort) Retrospective vision

Basis of judgment on results not intentions Personal appeal (role of the Media?)

Past accomplishments Perception of competence and political ability Perception of ability to deal with crisis, other elected officials and

branches of government

2. Campaign Roles Citizens can play Member of paid political staff Donation of time as a volunteer (Active Role)

Phone calling and door-to-door campaigning Selling of prospective candidates Registration of potential voters

Mailing literature and letters of endorsement Hosting fund-raising parties Hosting meet-the-candidate parties Distributing handbills on election day Displaying bumper stickers, buttons, and or other election

paraphernalia Keeping abreast of the issues (Passive Role)

Read newspapers Watch television Hold political discussions Communicating with the candidate on the issues Donation of $ (10% of voters do this)

Nomination as a candidateAttractiveness of political career in 20th century

Salary and benefits Public recognition Perception of power Belief in ability to impact the direction of government

Reasons for not seeking a political office Cost of campaigns Absence from current job or position Demands on time and family Loss of privacy Mudslinging campaigns Possibility of defeat

Additional Actions citizens can takeContact with elected officials on issues or need for

personal assistance 30% of the people per year

Membership in a group or association hoping to impact political decisions 90% of the population in one group 50% of the population in 3 or more groups 4% of the groups with politics only focus

Filing a lawsuit to challenge a government actionUse of Civil Disobedience

Intentional breaking of a law to bring attention to an issue

Role of Public OpinionWhat do citizens want from government?Definition

Opinions of people about elected officials, candidates, public policy, and government institutions

Reflections of personal values, beliefs, and attitudes Values –basic guiding goals and priorities Beliefs – understanding of events and visions of the

future Attitudes – judgments about the interactions of life

Creation of linkage between public opinion and government policy

Inconsistencies in Public OpinionsDissatisfaction in 1992 (Not always easy to

interpret)

Disapproval of George Bush’s job as president by more than 60% Disapproval of the job of Congress by nearly 80% Little or no trust in the government to do the right

thing most or all the time by more than 60%

Satisfaction in 1992Pride in being an American by more than 90%General belief in the workings of democracy by

more than 60%

2010Obama’s approval rating in the 30% range50% of Americans have confidence in their

government

73% of people believe business can run things more efficiently than government

76% of people believe the government needs to build roads and conduct research

End-of-Presidency Job Approval Ratings

President Rating (%) Election ResultsBill Clinton(2 terms, D, 2001)

66 VP Gore (D) wins popular vote but Bush (R) wins electoral college vote

Ronald Reagan(2 terms, R, 1989)

63 VP Bush (R) defeats Dukakis (D)

John F. Kennedy(partial term, D, 1963)

63 (VP) Johnson (D) defeats Goldwater (R)

Dwight Eisenhower(2 terms, R, 1961)

59 Kennedy (D) defeats Nixon (R)

George H. Bush(1 term, R, 1993)

56 Clinton (D) defeats Bush (R)

Gerald Ford(partial term, R, 1977)

53 Carter (D) defeats Ford (R)

Lyndon Johnson(1+ terms, D, 1969)

49 Nixon (R) defeats Humphrey (Johnson did not run) (D)

Jimmy Carter(1 term, D, 1981)

34 Reagan (R) defeats Carter (D)

George W. Bush(2 terms, R, 2009)

34 Obama (D) defeats McCain (R)

Richard Nixon(partial term, R, 1974)

24 Carter (D) defeats (VP) Ford (R)

Public Opinion PollingSampling

Random Complete listing of all available people Selection of a random number to be interviewed

Equal chance of every person to be chosen

Multistage cluster Division of the nation into regions of equal population Division of regions into sub regions Choice of several sub regions in each region Selection of random sample from each sub region

Random-digit telephone dialers Selection of every X number of houses in the subregion

Sampling errorDifference between the sample and the entire population

Margin of errorProbability of the entire population within X

percentageIncrease in the accuracy of the poll with an

increase in the sample sizePotential for inaccuracy (Watch out for..)

Emotionally loaded questionsSubtle differences in wordingLack of truthfulness on the part of the

respondents

Opinions of Various GroupsMust design campaigns to get their support!

Gender DifferencesExamples of the gender gap

Women’s shift to the Republican party in the Eisenhower Era Party of Peace

Importance of health issues to women and defense issues to men

Age differences Examples of generation gap

18 to 30 year olds only group with majority Republican identification

Less attachment to the idea of a large military to preserve the peace among the young

Class DifferencesExamples of an education and income gap

Support for government direct assistance programs among people with less money and less education

More support for protection of civil liberties by upper and middle classes

Regional DifferencesExamples of a geographic gap

Major support for a strong military in the south Major support for prayer in the schools in the south Minimum support for civil rights by many white

Southerners

Racial Differences Example of Race gap

Question of guilt or innocence of O.J. Simpson Strong support for civil rights laws by blacks

Acquisition of Political Knowledge and Opinions in the Socialization Process (How do we acquire our political tastes?)

Timeline Preschool (1-4)

Ideas of authority and rules Elementary school (5-10)

Concept of government as an institution Portrayal of political figures as honest and benevolent

Adolescence (11-18) Beginning of identification with a political party Ability to think of politics in the abstract as liberal or

conservative Adulthood (18+)

Generally no change in basic political beliefs Open concern for jobs and personal welfare Responsible for continuity of US politics

Influences

FamilyGeneral imitation of members’ views

SchoolsTeaching about the organization of society

and governmentTeaching compliance to rules and authorityTeaching of patriotismTendency of college experience to liberalize

views

Mass media Impacts

Setting of the public policy agenda Content of news coverage (CNBC v. FOX) Stress on issues or people (where in the line up, what page?)

Development of a party identification Guiding short-term opinions and voting

Creation of vision of political efficacy (trust in government) Internal-personal ability to influence government External government ability to handle personal concerns General decline in both areas over the long-term

Mass Media cont’ Limitations of mass media

Prescreening of incoming information Choice of what to watch or read, sound bites

Party loyalty (Republican – FOX) Choice of party candidate regardless of information

Importance of local issues and personal communication Increasing concern with local support rather than regional or

national

Mass Media DefinitionsMedia

Means for the transmission of thoughts and ideas

MassImpact on a large number of people

Media Statistics (HUGE #’s)Televisions

In United States homes in 2010 1 in over over 99% 2 in over 75% 3 in over 50%

2,500 stations in 2000Radio

13,000 stations in 2000Newspapers

1,500 dailies in 2000

Organizational Structure of the News Media

Division into corporationMotive to make profits

Need for significant audience (Entertainment??) Need to secure advertisements

Increase in the number of mergers Total media outlets

Control of 50+% of outlets by 50 corporations (1981) Control of 50+% of outlets by 29 corporations (1987)

Merger mania Paramount Viacom Turner Broadcasting and ABC

Newspapers Lack of competition in 98% of US cities

ExamplesDecline from 14 papers in 1920 to 4 in 1996 in NYCOwnership of 82 individual papers by the Gannett Corporation

Broadcast Media TV Increase in the number of stations legally permitted to be owned

by a network 5 – pre 1980 12 – late 1980s 20 late 1990s

Potential allowable market-share increase from 25 to 35 % of the nations viewing audience

Increase in competition with growth of cable television World Wide Web

Over 1 billion documents Over 15 million domain namesMedia as a business is very competitive - but tough to make $$

Perspectives on the Role of the Print MediaPartisan Press

Reporting of news from a particular stance (Liberal/Conservative)

Critique Harsh treatment of certain issues or individuals (Hardball)

Benefit Airing of dissenting views

Public Press Cheap newspapers for the increasingly literate population

Mass circulation newspapers USA Today Examples NY Times

Joseph Pulitzer and Randolph Hearst News and entertainment Sensationalistic yellow journalism

Public Press cont’Opinion Magazines

McClure’s, Cosmopolitan, and Colliers Use of investigative reporting

Revelations on the underside of industrialization and society at the turn of the century (muckrakers)

Ida Tarbell – The History of the Standard Oil Company Lincoln Steffen – The Shame of Cities Frank Norris – “The Octopus” Upton Sinclair – The Jungle

Critique Watered down, often sensationalistic, content to appeal to a

variety of groups (USA Today, NY Times)

Can the Press be objective???Objective Press

“Cannons of Journalism” 1923 Principles of an objective press

Appearance of reporting all sides of all issues

Critique Impossibility of objectivity

Inclusion or exclusion of certain newsworthy items Emphasis or de-emphasis on certain aspects of a situation Positive or negative slant to coverage

Interpretive PressJob of reporter to interpret and analyze what is said and

doneCritique

Advocacy of certain policy positions of either the establishment or its opponents

Government Control of the MediaJudicial – The Courts

Support of 1st Amendment protections No prior restraint on publication of material, but

responsibility for publication Definition of limitations on obscenity and libel

Question of right of access to information Freedom of Information Act, 1966

Protection of citizen’s right to information Branzburg v. Hayes, 1972

No guarantee of special access for the press to information not available to the general public

Richmond Newspapers, Inc v. Virginia, 1980 Open access of press and public to criminal trials and the

government bureaucracy

Executive – The PresidentAppointment with Senate approval of members of

Federal Communications CommissionUse of White House Press Corps. to communicate

policies of the executive branch Reporters traveling with the President at taxpayer

expense

Legislative - CongressAppropriation of funding for Public Broadcasting SystemAllocation of scarce resources- broadcasting frequencies

Establishment of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) (1934) Origin In Radio Act (1927)

Assignment of frequencies by Federal Radio Commission

Membership Appointment by the President with Senate

approval Duties –How does the FCC operate?

Management of all electronic communications Regulation of broadcast content to protect the

public’s interest Equal time provision Requirement of time for all candidates, not selected

ones

Fairness Doctrine Provision of time for opposing views on controversial topics Red Lion Broadcasting Co. v. FCC, 1969

Upholding of doctrine for broadcasts Miami Herald Publishing Co v. Tornillo, 1974 Striking down of doctrine for newspapers Abolition by FCC in 1987Political – editorial rule Right of candidate to reply to a station’s editorial Personal Attack Rule

Right of individual or group to reply to negative statements

Abolition of required number of radio commercials Abolition of required public affairs programming

Regulation of Children’s programming with Children’s Television Act (1990)

Requirement for FCC license to serve educational

and informational needs of children Regulation of the use of Public Airwaves Definition of technical standards

Creation of licensing procedures

7-7-7 rule early 1950s

Licensing of 7 AM , 7 FM and 7 television stations to the same

source

Expansion to 12-12-12 rule in the 1980s

Development of a crisis situation in 1992 Support for increasing single ownership of radio stations

Compromise of 18 AM and 18 FM Only 2 AM and 2 FM in the same market

Control of broadcasting standards

Regulation of Ownership Prevention of multiple station ownership by a corporation or person in a single market Prevention of cross-ownership by a corporation or person in a single market Ownership of different types of media outlets Potential easing of restrictions with advent of cable industry Reduction of regulations on mergers in 1985 Fear by some of more domination by conservative owners

Regulation of cable television rates with Cable Television Consumer Competition Act (1992)

One billion dollar reduction 1993

Facilitation of development of alternative media technologies

(Gov’t approval needed to raise Rates)

State Governments Protection of sources

Use of shield laws in 25 states to protect reporters’ sources

Interaction of the Media and the PublicCriteria for decisions on the choice of news articles -What to

cover? High impact on the audience Natural or man made violence, conflict, disaster, or scandal Familiarity of the subject Novel and up to date stories Local events

Elasticity of definition of local with shrinking worldChanging concepts of news

Broadcast media Blur between news and entertainment Blurring of distinction between news and entertainment in

broadcast media “Infotainment” of morning news Cheaper production costs of late night news type shows

“48 Hours “Dateline”

Production of tabloid news programs “Hard Copy” “A Current Affair”Increasing premium on short stories with dynamic pictures

Print mediaFirst priority to news of public events

Greater depth and breadth of news coverageIncreasing presence of alternative sections –Entertainment!

Sports Comics Human Interest Features Entertainment/recreation Family/gender issues

Interaction of the Media & PoliticsCampaign Coverage – How to cover a

campaign?Types of campaign news (listed in order of declining

importance) Strategy planning

Discuss campaign strategies Horse racing image

Perception of the campaign as a competition Hoopla excitement

Coverage of exciting news Real Issues

Discussion of substantive campaign issues Candidate character

Revelations on the attributes and flaws of candidates Polling results

Reporting of poll results and analysis Common man interviews

Interviews with potential voters

Current Political events/actions Linking of candidates and campaigns to breaking events

White House Congress

Media usage Reporting on other media’s campaign coverage

Expert commentary Analysis by political experts

Pack Journalism – Use of Pools Homogenization of reports

Reporting of politicians’ statements Reporting of other reporters’ statements

New Initiatives during 1992 Campaign Dedicated effort by news reporters to avoid manipulation by

the candidates or parties Bypassing of network news political media

Use of MTV Use of interview shows - Oprah

Media BiasDifficulty of classification

Subjectivity of positive and negative decision Assumption of 50/50 treatment

Keys to the selection and reporting of news stories Access of information Succinctness Newsworthiness Sound bites

General government news reporting - How does media get its info on government?Major sources for political and economic news

National Government Official proceedings White House Papers Press conferences Interviews Staged events “Leaks”

Foreign governments Pollsters National Wire Service

Associated Press United Press International Reuters

Interest Groups

News Reporting and the national government Influences on and of the executive

Promotion of cause or agenda Focus on politics not policy Concentration on personality not issues Potential for promotion of disinformation

Intentional use of misinformation to influence future events Influences on and of Congress

Broadcasting of floor debate by C-Span network House of Representatives

Amendment of rules (1979) Coverage of Nixon impeachments hearings Open coverage of floor debate (1986)

Senate Open coverage of floor debate (1986)

Audience Potential of 150 million viewers Viewing by 21.6 million households four and one-half hours per month

Difficulty of coverage Slow and tedious pace of decisions Focus on leadership and committees

Influences on and of the Courts Minimal coverage

Inaccessibility of judges Importance

Investigation of crimes and trials

Views on the MediaImportance for the information of public opinion

Repetition of selected stories Selection of news stories and or candidates for coverage Allotment of time and space to story placement

Priority of the story Ability to withhold a story or manipulate the reporting

Attempts to control journalistic content of the news by “spin” efforts

Source for most information on candidates, convention, and campaigns

Source for most information on local, state, regional, national, or international events

Use of investigative reporting Broadening of the information base Enhancement of democratic control Deterrence on abusers by institutions and groups

Alteration of views not strongly heldImpact on the public agendaCreation of a view on a previously unknown

itemWithholding of information

Reasons for the potential decline in the impact of the media – is it losing its influence? Importance of beliefs of family, church, and community Viewing of news programs or reading of newspapers by a

relatively small number of people Selection by the public of news shows and columns in support

of pre-existing beliefs Difficulty in understanding the fragmented rapid fire television

news broadcasts Fear of the new technologies

Concern of government “eavesdropping on citizens Availability only to those with money Lack of instruction in how to use the technologies Worry over increasing government regulation

Reasons for the potential increase in the impact of the media – Will media impact increase? Decentralization of access to information and transmission

lines with new technologies Diversification in sources of information and in ways of

communicating More control by individuals

Ability to become a publisher Ability to communicate with people around the world

Development of new and revised codes of ethics and definitions of civic responsibility