4.2 The influence of the media Flashcards
1
Q
how does broadcasting influence the public?
A
- broadcasting covers all TV stations such as the BBC, ITV, channel 4 and radio channels such as capital, UBC and regional radio stations
- all broadcasters in the UK are bound by law to remain neutral and to offer balanced reporting of election and referendum campaigns. this means they have no intentional influence on voting behaviour
- although the BBC has sometimes been accused of a liberal or left wing bias, nothing has been proved
- it is just as well there is a legal requirement as research indicates that TV and radio remain the main sources of information for voters
- the BBC, ITV and SKY and channel 4 all have held leadership debates in recent elections and do so under scrupulous conditions, overseen by the electoral commission
- however it is not at all clear that leadership debates have nay significant impact on the votes. we have already seen that Nick Clegg’s spectacularly good performance in the 2015 debates only led to a 1% increase in vote share
- similarly after a BBC challengers’ debate in April 2015, held just before the election and in which Cameron did not take part, the opinion polls suggested that Ed Miliband narrowly won, even over sturgeon, but Milibands’ standing in the polling did not change
2
Q
how does the press influence the public? (newspapers and magazines)
A
- following the 1992 election, when conservatives surprisingly won after most predicted labour, the sun newspaper famously proclaimed “it’s the sun wot won it”. certainly the sun had run a relentless campaign against against labour and its leader Nigel Kinnock, and the opinion polls, first predicting a comfortable labour victory, turned around near the election and Major’s conservatives secured a majority
- unlike TV and radio, there is no press regulation in terms of political bias and Uk newspapers are highly politicised, influenced in part by the ownership of the individual papers but mostly by the belief of their readership. (The sun and and daily mail support cons.)
- while large sections of the public believe that the press influences them, research suggests it does not, instead newspapers tend to reflect the typical political views of their readers, rather than leading them
- evidence of the Levison inquiry into press behaviour in 2012, the sun’s owner, Robert Murdoch, admitted that newspapers do not swing votes, but reflect reader opinions
- in 2017, Corby’s Labour Party received 40% of the national vote despite having only one paper supporting it (the mirror)
3
Q
how does social media influence the public?
A
- parties increasingly use social media as a way of communicating with the public and ‘listening’ to public opinions
- unlike the press and broadcast media, it is more difficult for any one party to gain any special advantage- although it does seem to be the case that this with access to large resources can use online ads and tools like Twitter bots to influence the outcome
- the web is unregulated so there are opportunities, especially for small parties like the Green Party, who do not have a lot of resources, to compete with the large parties in conventional campaigning, though they have not been able to use it to make a major breakthrough in electoral sucess
- increasingly, broadcast media and press report on debates and issues that have been raised on social media, which are subject to less scrutiny and accountability
- the publication of the report into Russian influence during the EU referendum does seem to indicate that social media provides a platform that groups with vested interest can use to influence the political debate in the UK, though not necessarily with the best of intentions
- the development of fake news have come more clearly into the mainstream of political discussions as a result of social media
4
Q
example of media influence in 1979?
A
- the sun’s “crises? what crises” caught the public imagination but polls showed that Callaghan remained personally popular but opinions about him had changed
5
Q
example of media influence in 1997?
A
- the sun switched from conservative to labour. it persuaded many former conservative voters to switch to labour but polls suggested that labour was going to win anyway and the sun was just reacting to this
6
Q
example of media influence in 2010?
A
- in 2010 Nick Clegg won the debate, raising his profile at the expense of Cameron, perhaps costing the conservatives the votes needed for an outright majority, but it was not overly influential because he lost 5 seats and only gained 1%
7
Q
example of media influence in 2015?
A
- the televised leaders debate, although Miliband appeared less ministerial than Cameron shouting “hell yes, I’m tough enough” opinion polls suggested that the debate made no real difference to voting intentions
8
Q
example of media influence in 2019?
A
- in 2019 the conservatives has 2500 live paid-for ads on Facebook, while labour only had 250 and the conservatives went on to steal a huge victory over labour but the Lib Dems had 3000 ads on Facebook yet lost its seats
9
Q
what is the traditional role of the media between the elections?
A
- report on events
- explain events
- act as a forum for debate and discussion
- democratic as it helps to keep an informed public
- also aids scrutinising the government (Mp expense scandal, Telegraph and media reporting of the Windrush scandal in 2018)
10
Q
since the 1980s how has the role of the media between elections changed?
A
- the tabloid press has always been partisan, but it has become more so with the rise of social media platforms
- tabloids more focused on scandal and mocking politicians they oppose
- prioritizes negative over positive stories (contributing to cynicism)
- focuses on leaders personalities instead of on their abilities as leaders
- politicians have become mass entertainment
- 24 hour news means over focus on issues to fill stories
- online media has led to uninformed debating and opinion being stated as fact. some traditional media has followed suit
- rapid growth of social media has helped spread awareness but often at a more superficial level
11
Q
why has the role of the media between elections changed?
A
- these changes have largely resulted from the commercial development of the media
- newspapers have always been about competition, but in the past they could rely on a high level of loyalty from their readership, but since the 1980s, competition between papers has become much fiercer
- the rise of social media has seen an even greater increase in competition between news agencies and forced the traditional media to respond. the result is that the media has become far more commercially minded and now seeks to engage the public by entertaining them as much as by informing them
- this has led to greater populism in the press and a focus on ‘catastrophes’, ‘scandals’ and ‘enemies’ as these are far more likely to attract consumers than news stories
12
Q
some examples of the new role of media between elections
A
- the war in Iraq reported ‘dodgy dossier’
- the expenses scandal in 2009 published by the daily telegraph
- ‘enemies of the people’; in November 2016 the daily mail published a headline claiming 3 high court judges were enemies of the people for ruling that parliament should trigger article 50
13
Q
what did opinion polls predict in the run up to the 2015 election?
A
- most opinion polls were predicitng close to a dead heat between the tow main parties, resulting in a second hung parliament
14
Q
if correct who would hold the balance of power?
A
in that event, it was widely suggested, the SNP, which was heading for a huge victory in Scotland would hold the balance of power. in other words there would probably be a labour-SNP coalition
15
Q
who took advantage of this prospect?
A
the conservative party began to campaign on that basis, hoping to gain votes and win an outright victory
