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The Influence and Relationship of the Media in Politics, Campaigns and Elections - In an age of timeliness and demand for information

But while the public demands information from the media, there is also an underlying cynicism in the American culture against the media and politicians for negative campaign coverage and a perceived media bias.

Nixon on the other hand, did not have such a good relationship with the media and did not understand the importance of mass coverage. Just before Election Day, Kennedy visited northeastern states with large electoral votes and more importantly, major media outlets where he would be seen by a large audience. Nixon on the other hand, wanted to fulfill his promise of going to every state and went to Alaska. Wha

Nov 14, 2007

Television is the most influential medium in American society and has been for many years.

Americans perceive television primarily as an entertainment medium, but many Americans also depend on it as a source of information about many issues, including politics.

In 2004, the American National Election Study found that 86 percent of people said they followed the 2004 presidential campaign on television.

Television is perceived as more credible than print, according to studies by Journalism.org, the Pew Research Center, and others, and this is probably due to the visual nature of the medium. However, the same reports show that trust in both local television and national networks has steadily declined (as has trust in all media sources).

Reporters seem to be automatically suspicious of the motives of elected officials and politicians running for office.

Politicians believe that the time, money, and energy they devote to press relations will pay off in the form of reelection or support for their policy proposals.

While the public relies on the news media as a source of information about politics, politicians also depend on the press, both in elections and in governing.

Since the 1970s, Americans have become much more likely to identify themselves as independents rather than as Democrats or Republicans. The weakening of the political parties has made it possible for more individuals to run for office without spending years paying their dues in the parties. But it has also affected the ability of the parties to speak effectively to voters and mobilize them at election time.

As a result of the weakening of the political parties, candidates have to cultivate their own relationships with voters, and the way they do that is through the mass media.

In the early days of the nation, the press was blatantly partisan, as it still is in many other democratic countries.

Theodore Roosevelt, our first truly media-savvy president, tried to use the reporters who covered the White House for his own benefit. He gave them access that they hadn't previously enjoyed, but he also threatened to take away that access if their reporting displeased him.

Elected officials and candidates for office need to get their views out to the voting public, and the members of the press see their job as screening those views for truth. The result is that the press and politicians have very different imperatives that clash with each other dramaticall

The Kennedy-Nixon presidential debates of 1960 were another important series of events in the emergence of television as a political medium.

Today, thanks to the development of cable and satellite technology, television provides a twenty-four-hour forum of political news and information.

The equal time rule originated in the Radio Act of 1927, and it can also be found in Section 315 of the Communications Act of 1934. It requires that stations provide all political candidates the opportunity to appear. If a station sells or gives advertising time to one candidate, it must offer the same opportunity to the other candidates in that race.

Social media is playing an increasingly important role in the way campaigns are run and how elected officials govern. It allows candidates

Amina is a freelance journalist in Chicago. Her work has previously appeared in the Chicago Sun-Times, Chicago Grid and Popular Science, among others.

and officeholders to not only communicate more effectively to a larger audience, but it creates a two-way street for constituents to respond and interact with leaders,”

If there is anything recent elections have proven, it’s that reaching out to voters online is not only important, it’s essential. The first notable use of social media to rally the voting community was during the 2008 Presidential election, when the Obama campaign took to the web to draw out the young vote. According to research by the Pew Foundation, 83 percent of 18-24 year-olds had social networking accounts in 2008, and two-thirds of those used those sites for political activity at that time.

Though social media has certainly changed the face of political campaigns, it has not replaced other traditional forms of communication. “It’s additive,” says Greenberg. What she means is that having a social media campaign does not mean politicians can forego television and radio commercials. Greenberg also emphasizes that in-person rallies and town halls are an essential component of campaigns and that these venues won’t go away just because people spend more time online.

Nov 14, 2007

Laura Lane, Yahoo Contributor Network

CONCLUSION

But really, does anyone think that in 2020—or maybe even 2015—we'll still have big-money television ad buys, regardless of who's paying for them?