4.2 the influence of the media Flashcards
What is the oldest form of media?
newspaper press
How many people watched the first leaders debates in the 2010 election campaign?
9.6 million
How many people watched the first leaders debates on ITV in the 2015 election campaign?
7 million
How many people watched the opposition party leaders (conservative + labour) debates on the BBC in the 2015 election campaign?
4 million
How many people watched the leaders debate on the BBC in 2017?
3.5 million
What is the most read national newspaper?
The Sun
How many people roughly read the sun daily?
2,254,267
What do opinion polls aim to do?
gauge the popularity of political parties by asking a sample of people how they intend to vote
What didn’t opinion polls predict in 1992?
John Majors 21-seat majority
What is YouGov currently predicting for the following general election in opinion polls?
Conservative - 20%
Labour - 45%
What is BMG currently predicting for the following general election in opinion polls?
Conservative - 25%
Labour - 43%
Why were opinion polls incorrect in the 2015 general election?
did not survey a representative selection of the nations voters e.g. did not question enough retired people who are more likely to be Conservative supporters and interviewed to many politically engaged young people who were more likely to vote Labour
How many households had internet access in 2000?
26%
How many households had internet access in 2010?
82%
How much did the Conservatives spend per month on Facebook advertising in the 2015 general election?
£100,000
What percentage of 18-24 year olds relied almost totally on online sources to inform themselves on the eve of the 2015 election?
79%
Who was Tony Blair’s press secretary and why was he recruited?
Alastair Campbell, to cope with the arrival of 24-hour news in the 1990s
What did the inquiry held after the 2011 phone hacking scandal lead to?
- the creation of a new body to regulate the press more effectively, the Independent Press Standards Organisation, headed by a retired judge
What was the real reason Kenneth Clarke (member of David Camerons coalition cabinet) was taken off the BBC’s Question Time panel by the number 10 press panel?
Number 10 preferred to have a spokesman who could be relied on to toe the agreed government line and Clarke was independent minded
What was the 2011 phone hacking scandal?
- revealed that employees of Rupert Murdoch’s News International had been involved in illegal information gathering, reduced public trust in the press
How do popular newspapers tend to present political issues and why?
- tend to present unduly simplified interpretation of political issues focusing excessively on personalities
- newspaper owners are primarily interested in boosting their circulation figures
What did the 2011 phone hacking scandal lead to?
- led to the closure of the newspaper involved (News of the World)
- an inquiry into the culture, practices and ethics of the press headed by a senior judicial figure, Lord Justice Leveson
What parties has the sun supported and when?
1964 - started as Labour supporting
mid-1970s - Conservatives, owner liked Thatcher’s hard-line approach to the trade unions as it was in line with his business interests
1997 - Labour
2010 - Conservatives
What was the Sun’s headline after the 1992 election?
It’s The Sun wot won it
What newspapers do people often read?
ones that broadly reflect their outlook
What was the only major popular national daily that still backed Labour in 2010 and 2015?
Daily Mirror
How many respondents said that television was the strongest influence in helping them form an opinion in a survey done in the run up to the 2015 election?
62%
How many respondents said that newspapers was the strongest influence in helping them form an opinion in a survey done in the run up to the 2015 election?
25%
What may have prevented Corbyn from becoming established with the wider public?
the relentlessly negative coverage since his election as Labour leader in Sept 2015, which centred on his personality and appearance as on his policies
