Media

Question 1

broadcast

Answer 1

all broadcast must be neutral - educates the public - less influential on public opinion
- BBC is often accused of being left-wing liberal
- Rupert Murdoch said in the Leveson Inquiry that all PMs hated the BBC

has wide reach
TV debates
- Nick Clegg did well but LibDems lost 1%
- Miliband ranked ahead in opinion polls but still lost 2015
- Theresa May refused to be interviewed in 2017 - still won
suggests that TV debates are not that influential

Question 2

the Press

Answer 2

independent and not neutral

more conservative papers and more widespread - but research suggests people read what reflects their views and are not really influenced into a view

mostly owned by rich RW men who use it to push their agenda - cynical arugment

no concrete evidence of this

Leveson Inquiry looked into the ethics of the press - revealed that Murdoch had considerable connections and possible influence amongst politicians

overall papers are more negative about Labour and positive about Tories

influence on broadcast - broadcast follows up on press reports
- labour reports of anti-semitism
- Institute for Fiscal Studies trashed Labour manifesto 2019

Question 3

social media

Answer 3

difficult to access its influence - has not been around long enough
local groups more influential than targeted political campaigns
twitter often used to voice strong political opinions - issues of misinformation
Conservatives have twice branded themselves as a factchecking page - issues of the post-truth era
unproven foreign intervention - boy from leeds on hospital floor

it can however benefit smaller parties like Green and LibDem who have less funding - Greens recently won their first Council in Norfolk - but cannot access if social media played a part

Question 4

elections

Answer 4

1979
- first yr broadcast was used
- expertly times for evening broadcast for maximum reach - profiled Thatcher

in between
-1982 - Falkland Wars - positive news coverage and Thatcher re-elected
- 1992 - beginning of Tory sleaze

1997
- Murdoch backs Blair
- biggest increase in Sun readers voting LAB
- the Times did not back anyone but was more positive about LAB
- Alistair Campbell (spin doctor) - ‘wooed’ journalists with access

in between
- Blair - ‘Bliar’ and ‘US’ pet’ regarding Iraq
- 2009 expenses scandal

2019
- Brexit - backed by the Sun
- anti-EU rhetoric