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Media Influence On Politics Research Paper

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The Influence of Media on Politics Throughout history and to this present day, we can see how media has made an impact on politics. For example, “[i]n 1993, the Health Insurance Association of America aired television ads opposing President Bill Clinton’s health plan… In 2009, Sarah Palin posted a Facebook entry attacking President Barack Obama’s health care plan…” (Morone and Kersh 227). We can relate to how the most recent presidential candidates, Hilary Clinton and Donald Trump, used media to promote themselves. Also, we can clearly remember how media portrayed certain aspects of each candidate. For example, media seemed to focus on Secretary Clinton’s emails and her role on the Benghazi attack and as well as, Trump being accused of sexually …show more content…

Priming is “[a]ffecting voters’ or poll respondents’ perception of candidates or public officials by raising issues that are perceived to enhance or diminish the candidates” Morone and Kersh 244). Priming is a subtle method of political bias due to the fact that media sources do not have to pick a side to be on. Instead, media outlets pick out stories on certain matters and these matters can play to be a strength or weakness of a political candidate or party. Then the people develop their own opinions based off what is presented on media outlets. For example, Newt Gingrich was blamed for using priming when he was “… running for the Republican presidential nomination in 2012, [and he] termed Barack Obama “the food stamp president,”: He hoped to diminish his rival by simply raising the subject of welfare programs, and by implication, race and poverty” (Morone and Kersh …show more content…

Framing is “[t]he way an issue is defined [and] every issue has many possible frames, each with a slightly different tilt in describing the problem and highlighting solutions” (Morone and Kersh 244). We have all has that one friend or family member that tells stories multiple of times and every time they slightly change it and that is basically what Media does. Different media outlets will explain a story in different ways. Basically, “… framing defines the nature of the problem, organizes potential solutions, and wipes out alternative policies” (Morone and Kersh 245). We as people are oblivious to framing in the media due to the fact that it imitates social conventions. For example, “[t]he issue of equality was once framed as a problem concerning white men: Could they achieve the American dream in an industrial system devoted to profits? Later, mass social movements rose up and reframed the issue as one that spoke directly to race, ethnicity, and gender” (Morone and Kersh 244-245). All in all, “the media plays a crucial role in setting the national agenda, priming voters to focus on issues that help or harm one side, and framing the way those issues are seen- and resolved” and in all of these ways media influences and shapes politics (Morone and Kersh 245). As time passes, new technologies are developed and this reshapes how media plays a role in politics. “Emerging new media forms are sparking a revolution that is changing

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