media influence Flashcards
decline of print press
-newspapers are declining in influence as they face competition from other forms of media e.g. social
-during 2010, the sun saw its readership decline from 3m sales a day to 1.5m, evidencing the fact its influence on shaping the views of the electorate has declined
decline of print press evaluation
Increasingly the press is moving to a hybrid model with digital subscribers. For example, The Times has over 300,000 digital
subscribers in 2022, which was higher than its print sales. Hence, it is important not to simply dismiss the influence of newspapers via the data concerning sales. Via all of its digital platforms (website, Twitter, Facebook, podcasting), The Times had an average monthly reach of around 15 million adults in 2022 which may suggest its overall influence has actually grown despite its hard-copy sales declining
impartiality of broadcast media
-print media, unlike broadcast media, does not have to be non-partisan, impartial and neutral
-journalists from channels such as the BBC can critically interrogate politicians via specialist programmes such as Question Time, providing the electorate with trusted media
-2019 YouGov poll showed that 44% of respondents trusted the broadcast media, making it the most trusted source of information
impartiality of broadcast media evaluation
Faith in broadcasters such as the BBC has fallen over time. In 2019, YouGov polling showed that trust fell below 50% for the first-time. This is likely the result of endless attacks from right-wing print press such as The Daily Mail that suggest broadcasters are biased in favour of socially liberal politics.
reinforcement model/marginal impact
-the press has to sell copies to survive, and so publishes what its readers wish to hear
-the sun publishes socially conservative views on issues such as immigration and the EU in line with its readership to sell copies
-some readers choose to buy the paper to have their world view reinforced , suggesting the media can have a marginal impact on elections (Prof. Heffernan)
-1992 election, the sun shifted 3-4% of Labour’s voters after attacking Kinnock
reinforcement/marginal impact evaluation
When he researched it, the UK’s leading elections expert Professor John Curtice found that “the pattern of vote switching during the campaign amongst readers of The Sun or any other ex-Tory newspaper proved to be much like that of those who did not read a newspaper at all”. In relation to 1992, Professor Heffernan has argued that just 3-4% of The Sun readers changed from Labour to the Conservatives.
media is fundamental
-parties understand that the media is the key tool to harness for campaigns
-elections are increasingly ‘presidentialised’, with the UK having presidential style debates since 2010
-these can be detrimental e.g. Corbyn’s Andrew Neil Interview
-parties are now increasingly using social media to access younger voters too
media is fundamental evaluation
First, audience figures have dropped from 10m in 2010 to as low as 3m in recent elections. Second, many viewers who do tune in are
likely to have fixed political views and may be watching to see their chosen leader “win” the debate, as opposed to genuine interest in what each
party has to offer, argues Professor Dorey of Cardiff University.
echo chambers
-algorithms used by social media platforms pose threats to individual thought and democracy itself, these can guide users into ‘rabbit holes of reality’
-rather than being exposed to range of viewpoints, users have their worldview reaffirmed,this can radicalise users and polarise society
-a recent example of this is the 2016 referendum, which divided the nation into ‘Leave’ and ‘Remain’ camps
echo chambers evaluation
Perhaps even in the pre-social media era echo chambers also existed. Readers of tabloids had their prejudices mirrored back to them
deliberately to sell them newspapers. During the Leveson inquiry, Rupert Murdoch admitted this was his main tactic to improve newspaper sales.
This may suggest the impact of social media in terms of persuasion is nothing new: the electorate always seeks out confirming evidence to validate
their political outlook.
media is a source of information and opinion
-voters do not live in a vacuum, they absorb info from the media
-as the press is free to take partisan opinions, they often do so, producing propaganda in favour of one party e.g. 2015-19 little known Corbyn was portrayed as a far left ‘Marxist’ extremist in right wing media, despite being from the social democratic tradition of the Labour party
-2017, 74% Daily Mail readers voted Conservative as instructed to on the front page, voters can be injected (hyperdermic needle model) with partisan arguments
media is a source of information and opinion evaluation
The hyperdermic needle model of media is recognised as ‘absurd’ by media-expert Professor Heffernan. The effects of media are more
subtle: the media reinforces our existing beliefs (see the reinforcement model argument). We tend to seek out media that reflects and validates our
world view (e.g., left-wing voters may read The Guardian, or right-wing voters may watch GB News).
agenda setting role
-print broadcast media holds a disproportionate influence over what the British public think about, rather than what they think, the issues on the front pages of broadsheets,correlate with issues in media
-2019 election, broadcast and print media placed significant emphasis on Corbyn’s suitability as PM and Brexit,allowing the tories to turn the election into a referendum on Corbyn and Brexit, other issues e.g. NHS not discussed so much
agenda setting role evaluation
the media is limited in its influence on voters, 10% of the electorate is partisan aligned and unlikely to change their mind based on the media’s agenda, the same with valence voters
