November 10, 2014Objectives: To develop an understanding of influences on voter behavior

Sources of Public Opinion• So where do people get their political

beliefs?– Ideally – they form from careful study, research,

debate

– But we know that family, income, education. age, race, gender and religion all influence and affect political beliefs

Family• Considered the largest predictor of political

behavior – children usually follow the political beliefs of their parents

• Only 9 percent of high school seniors are the opposite party of their parents

• By adulthood, 60 percent remain their parent’s party and most of the rest are independents who lean in their parent’s direction

• Exception: Youth generally more liberal on race and sexual orientation

GenderSince the 1970’s there has emerged a “gender gap” as more and more men have shifted to the Republican Party

49% of male voters voted for Obama, as opposed to 56% of female voters in 2008

In the previous election 55% of men voted for Bush, while 51% voted for Kerry

RaceWhite voters are more likely to vote RepublicanMinority voters tend to vote DemocratIn 2008, Obama received 43% of the white vote, 95% of the African-American vote, 67% of the Latino vote, and 62% of the Asian voteIn 2004 Bush received: White 58%, African American 11%, 44% Latino, 44% Asian

Age• Younger voters tend to vote Democrat,

older voters tend to vote Republican

• 66% of 18-29 year olds voted for Obama, while 45% of those 65 and older did

• 45% of 18-29 year olds voted for Bush, while 52% of those 65 and older did

Religion• Protestant voters tend to vote the most

conservative while Jewish voters the most liberal and Catholic voters in between

• In 2004 59% of Protestants voted for Bush, 52% of Catholics, 25% of Jewish and 23% of “other” voters

EducationObama gets 63% of the votes of people without high school diplomas. But that falls to 52% to High School graduates, 51% for people with some College and 50% for College graduates. But then 58% of people with a postgraduate degree voted for Obama.

Income60% of people making less than $50,000 voted for Obama, but only 49% of those making over $50,000 voted for him (at least until they started making more than $200,000 then 52% started voting for him ).

Politics in America. The Mass Media

WEDNESDAY NOV. 12, 2014

Politics in America. The Mass

Media Politics—the struggle over who gets what, when and how—is largely carried out in the Mass Media.

Unless we ourselves are admitted to the White House Oval office or the committee rooms of Congress or dinner parties at foreign embassies, or unless we ourselves attend political rallies or distant battlefields, we must rely on the media to tell us about politics.

     

   The reality is that GREAT POWER derives from the control over information—WHO knows what definitely helps to shape WHO GETS WHAT.

   So despite what members of the media might say, it not only reports on the struggle for power in society; they are themselves participants in those struggles, which is why the media has long been referred to as America’s other branch of govt...WHY do people call it this?

   Definitions & Types of Media

 Definitions of Mass Media

The mass media includes newspapers and magazines, radio, television (broadcast, cable, and satellite), films, recordings, books, and electronic communication”

“All means of communication with the general public, including television, newspapers, magazines, radio, books, recordings, motion pictures, and the internet” -Dye

 Definitions & Types of Media

 3 types of Mass Media1. Print Media: communicate

information through the publication of words and pictures---newspapers, books, magazines

2. Broadcast Media: communicate information electronically through sounds and images---TV, Radio, and Motion Pics

3. Group Media: are communications technologies such as the internet. They are the result of the technology revolution and are used extensively in politics

 Definitions & Types of Media

  Newspapers: newspapers have been around

since the dawn of our country and were originally organs of the political parties but now are independent, privately owned, for-profit businesses

 3 largest: (1) WSJ = 1.7M; (2) USA Today = 1.6M; (3) NYT = 1M Ntl Enquirer = 4M

 Definitions & Types of Media

  Magazines: have smaller circulation but are perhaps more influential b/c political/opinion elites read them and then communicate the ideas to mass audiences

Newsweek (3.2M circulation),

Time (4.6M), and US News (2.3M)

 Definitions & Types of Media

 Radio: before TV the dominant mass media and made celebrities out of news personalities. Now: more a forum for talk than for live coverage of things. Still an important national news medium which many predicted would be replaced by TV. It hasn’t.

 99 of 100 households own radios and more than 9 of 10 households listen to the radio everyday—largely in their cars

 people get entertainment, facts, and interpretation on the radio from radio hosts like Rush Limbaugh, Matt Drudge, Al Franken, and Janeane Garofalo among others

 Definitions & Types of Media TV: grew explosively after WWII and is now the dominant

mass communication medium. Most people get their political news from TV news, especially local news broadcasts–

According to media expert Doris Graber, TV is the MOST powerful medium of communication and is the 1st TRUE mass communication medium

 Research indicates that TV news commentary is probably the SINGLE greatest influence on public opinion and according to polling TV is “the most believable” source of news.

about 2/3 of all American households have cable TV which is a big reason for the decline in viewing of the 3 old Ntl TV newtworks—NBC, CBS, and ABC

avg tv news story lasts about 1 minute and also devotes far more time to the President than to Congress or the Supreme Court

 Definitions & Types of Media

 Internet: increasingly more important and the newest of the media. The internet is so important now that many news stories appear on the WWW before they appear in newspapers and news mags and radio

 Newest, most important news oriented internet innovation is the BLOG, or "weblog“ and “Twitter”

The Real Media Biases

     Sensationalism: Economic interests of the mass media—the need to capture and hold audience attention—creates a bias toward “hype” in the selection of news, its presentation, and its interpretation—ie stories that are “sensational” in nature

  to attract viewers in other words—on a very crowded TV “dinner plate”—the media bias the news toward violence, conflict, scandal, corruption, sex, scares of various sorts, and the personal lives of politicians and celebrities…Q: Can you think of examples?

 

The Real Media Biases

 Negativism: The media are also biased toward BAD NEWS or the negative, bad news attracts larger audiences than good news. In fact, bad-news stories on TV outnumber good-news stories by at least 3 to 1

good news gets little attention while bad news (“if it bleeds it leads”) dominates

The Real Media Biases     Liberalism: The political values of the news media (esp. the

big 3 networks, CNN, the major ntl newspapers) are, according to Dye, Graber, Burns and just about everyone else who examines this question, decidedly “LIBERAL” The media elite—executives, producers, reporters, and anchors—are moderately liberal or left-leaning in their political views. 1 study of news executives reported that 63% described themselves as “left-leaning”  Newsmakers describe themselves as either “independent” (45%) or Democrat (44%); very few (9%) admit to being Republican  However, if you are looking for more conservative news medium check out AM talk radio, FOX News on cable TV, newspapers like the WSJ and Washington Times, and Mags like the Weekly Standard and Ntl Review

YOU be the judge...

WHAT WAS SAID???

• The Internet - appears to be far more efficient - less costly

VS

• Traditional tools of politics- door knocking - telephone calls

Interesting finding!

• Candidates are actually studying popular Internet Social Networks like

TwitterFacebook

ways to reach groups of potential supporters with similar political views or cultural interests.

Rock the Vote

Founded nearly twenty years ago in response to a wave of attacks on freedom of speech and artistic expression, Rock the Vote has established itself as the premier organization representing the intersection of young people, politics, and pop culture.

Rock the Vote is able to translate the success of the brand into real results by running innovative and successful voter outreach and registrations efforts.

Rock The Vote was the first organization to introduce telephone voter registration as well as online voter registration and has run the largest young voter registration drives on record during the past 5 presidential elections.

Background on Background on Young VotersYoung Voters

The Millennial Generation is huge.

Young people are energized.

Young voter turnout is on the rise.

Young adults will vote when asked…

…and when mobilized, can make a huge impact on elections and the direction of our country.

The Millennial Generation is HugeThe Millennial Generation is HugeMillennial voters are more than one-fifth of the

electorate in 2008 - and growing.

The Millennial Generation is HugeThe Millennial Generation is HugeIn 2004, the number of 18-29 year old voters rivaled the over-65 vote.

The Millennial Generation is The Millennial Generation is DiverseDiverse

Millennials are far more diverse than older voters; for example, 81% of 65+ adults are white, whereas just 61% of 18-29 year olds are. (U.S. Census Bureau 2006)

Young People are Young People are Paying Attention…Paying Attention…

……are energized around elections…are energized around elections…

“Thinking specifically about this year’s election, how closely would you say you have followed the election– extremely closely, very closely, somewhat closely, a little closely, or not at all closely?”

Rock the Vote Poll, February 2008

……particularly to key issues.particularly to key issues.

Young Voter Turnout is on the Young Voter Turnout is on the RiseRise

First there was a big increase in 2004…

Young Voter Turnout is on the RiseYoung Voter Turnout is on the Rise

Then it happened again in 2006…

Young Voter Turnout is on the Young Voter Turnout is on the RiseRise

…and in the 2008 primaries, young voters surged to the polls, more than doubling their vote total compared to the previous primary season.

Young Voters are Trending Democratic…Young Voters are Trending Democratic…

• In 2000, 18-29 year olds split evenly, 48% for Al Gore and 46% for George W. Bush. • In 2002, 49% of 18-29 year olds voted for Democrats and 47% for Republicans. • In 2004, 54% of 18-29 year olds voted for John Kerry and 45% for George W. Bush.• In 2006, 60% of 18-29 year olds voted for Democrats and 38% for Republicans.

……although this hasn’t always been the case.although this hasn’t always been the case.

African Americans, Latinos, and young African Americans, Latinos, and young women identify heavily as Democrats.women identify heavily as Democrats.

Young married and white men and Young married and white men and religious youth lean Republicanreligious youth lean Republican

CONCLUSION

• Voting was on the decline until the 2008 election.

• The increase of 18-29 year olds was 1% (22% of the total voting population)

• The increase of total voters was 60.6% in 2004, and 61.1% in 2008.

Assignment

• Write a paper explaining what 3 things influence voters in their political decisions the most.

• Does not have to be in essay format, but must include factual information, as well as commentary. If you use facts from charts, you need to cite them.

• On the back of your political spectrum quizzes: Answer this: When you took the quizzes, what frame of mind were you in? Were you looking to be a certain type? Explain your answer.