the media

Question 1

through what methods can the media influence?

Answer 1

broadcast media (radio and tv), print media, social media

Question 2

how are newspapers influential?

Answer 2

All newspapers take a distinct political position, and share that with their readers.

Question 3

What stances do particular newspapers take politically?

Answer 3

The Sun - Right Wing (Conservative)
The Times - Right Wing (Conservative)
The Telegraph - Right Wing (Conservative)
The Guardian - Left Wing (Labour)
The Mirror - Left Wing (Labour)

Question 4

how can it be argued that newspapers have little impact on voting behaviour?

Answer 4

newspapers reinforce a readers view rather than change it. someone would read a newspaper as they agree ideologically

Question 5

how does broadcast media influence voting behaviour?

Answer 5

broadcast media report on all political events which influences option by showing a parties policy and leaders in an objective way

Question 6

why is broadcast media limited in influence?

Answer 6

all Tv and Radio must remain politically neutral as they are bound by law. e.g BBC, ITV, channel 4, channel 5

Question 7

What criticisms have been made of broadcast media?

Answer 7

Different sides of the political spectrum consistently accuse broadcast media, in particular the BBC, of favouring one side of the political argument over theirs. This ranges from not reporting certain stories or publicising them to a desired level or accusations of subjective reporting.

Question 8

what did the Sun claim in the 1992 general election?

Answer 8

The Sun claimed that ‘It’s the Sun Wot Won It’ for the Conservative Party after it had been expected that they would lose to Neil Kinnock’s Labour. This was after The Sun had run a campaign against Kinnock and Labour.

Question 9

When did the Sun switch political allegiance?

Answer 9

in 1997 The Sun supported Tony Blair and the Labour Party. it then switched to the Conservative party in 2010 following Tony Blairs personal relationship with Rupert Murdoch

Question 10

how can social media influence voting behaviour?

Answer 10

mostly used to influence younger voters. as the web is unregulated it often sees more extreme political views

Question 11

when has social media influenced voting behaviour?

Answer 11

• in 2017 the momentum movement in the Labour Party used radical left wing websites such as canary to access younger voters
• Social media was crucial in 2016 for the Brexit Referendum, with the company Cambridge Analytica used personal data to target advertising at a particular type of voter who may have previously been disaffected from Westminster politics.

Question 12

which is the most influential newspaper?

Answer 12

The Daily Mail

Question 13

what percentage of daily mail readers vote conservative?

Answer 13

74% vote conservative

Question 14

What % of the UK electorate approved of Boris Johnson and his government in December 2021?

Answer 14

Only 20% of the UK electorate approved of Boris Johnson and his government

Question 15

How was the role of the media important in the 2017 General Election? Why?

Answer 15

the media was crucial in reporting and following the wider campaign, as well as reporting policies and televising debates, showing Theresa may not turn up to tv debates

Question 16

How was the role of the media significant in the 1983 General Election? Why?

Answer 16

Prior to the election, Thatcher undertook 16 interviews in an attempt to boost her image and publicity. She was also the subject of the documentary ‘The Woman at No. 10’, with this all working to publicise her while Foot was a figure in comparative obscurity.

Question 17

what influence did Facebook advertising have on 2019 election?

Answer 17

in 2019 the conservatives had 2500 paid adverts on Facebook, while labour only had 250, the conservatives went on to win election.
however the Lib Dems had 3000 paid ads yet lost seats

Question 18

what effect has the media had on leaders?

Answer 18

the media has turned leaders into celebrities rather than focusing on ability and public service. Turing politics into a form of mass entertainment

Question 19

what effect has tabloid media had on politics? what example?

Answer 19

tabloid press often focus on scandal and mocking politicians it opposes rather than informed debate e.g the Sun mocked Ed Miliband with a picture of him eating a bacon sandwich
2019 conservatives more newspapers supporting than labour

Question 20

what influence had social media had on people?

Answer 20

social media had helped spread political education but is often less engaged than traditional forms of media. people often only Seek out opinions that match their own. social media is also unregulated which leads to extremist views being spread

Question 21

what is an example of television influence on leaders?

Answer 21

2017: Theresa may didn’t show up to TV debates, leaving opportunity to ridicule her
2015: Miliband fell off his chair and gave an excited Hell yes which led to people being unable to take him seriously

Question 22

what impact did the media have on the 1983 election?

Answer 22

• thatcher underwent 16 TV interviews and opened doors of No.10 to documentary. also popular in aftermath of Falklands with media ops to evoke memories of it
• labour failed to take advantage of TV with Michael foot being unsuited for modern style

Question 23

what impact did the media have on the 1997 election?

Answer 23

• the Sun backed labour in 1997 as the biggest increase in labour voters was among sun readers. however even without the Sun labour on track to win
• the impact of spin doctors with Alistair campbell and Peter mandelson putting across message of the day.

Question 24

what impact did the media have on the 2017 election?

Answer 24

• most newspapers had been positive about Theresa may and very hostile to Jeremy Corbyn as he wasn’t very well presented. the sun ran stories of Corbyn being terrorist sympathises
• labour had advantage on social media, due to enthusiasm of younger voters

Question 25

how can party leadership impact on voting behaviour?

Answer 25

in 1997 Tony Blair had strong and positive image of a fresh, young new leader, but had lost popularity by 2007 and was replaced by Brown who himself didn’t enjoy positive image based on negative media portrayals. in 2015 David Cameron enjoyed more positive portrayal than Ed Miliband

Question 26

how can leaders not be a determining factor in elections?

Answer 26

in 2010 Nick Clegg was most popular of party leaders, but his party share of vote fell by 1% and lost 5 seats

Question 27

how are opinion polls of leaders limited in voting impact?

Answer 27

UKIPs share of the vote shot up by 9.5% of vote in 2015 despite Nigel Farage being least popular leader. yet labours leader was less popular than David Cameron but their vote rose up Aswell

Question 28

How can policies of parties seemingly impact voting choices?

Answer 28

Policies on certain issues may influence voting as people weigh up the pledges of a party and use this to formulate a judgement on who they should vote in favour of. This can be seen to have worked against May in 2017 with the ‘dementia tax’ and Corbyn in 2019 with his Brexit stance.

Question 29

what did Rupert Murdoch claim about newspapers in 2012?

Answer 29

Rupert Murdoch admitted Newspapers didn’t swing votes to the Leveson Inquiry

Question 30

what are the negative impacts of social media?

Answer 30

development of fake news have caused harm e.g people have actively campaigned against health measures and vaccines and attacked 5G phones

Question 31

What issues are considered by voters when voting on the basis of valence?

Answer 31

Voters consider the competence of the incumbent government compared to that of a prospective one, the economic competence of each party, the unity of that party, the qualities and record of the party’s leader and other senior figures within that party.

Question 32

How do salient issues seemingly impact voting choice?

Answer 32

Particularly salient issues may often sway the electorate to approve particularly of one party or another based on their stance. This can be seen in 2019 with the Conservative and Labour Parties’ opposing stances on Brexit.

Question 33

How does governing competency impact voting choices?

Answer 33

An assessment can be made by the electorate of the qualities and abilities of each party, with this used to form an opinion on whether this will create a competent executive. This was used in 1997 when Labour was elected over the Conservatives and again in 2010, when they lost their mandate from the electorate after the 2008 Financial Crash.

Question 34

what impact do opinion polls have on voting behaviour?

Answer 34

they attempt to gauge an idea of the electorates voting intentions. parties then take this information and conduct their own polls .
voter may change their minds as they don’t want the outcome predicted

Question 35

what is an example of opinion polls not being accurate?

Answer 35

in 1992 most polls failed to predict John majors 21 seat majority, but predicted narrow labour victory or hung parliament
polls were wrong again in 2015 when they predicted both parties to gain about 34% of the vote each.

Question 36

what is an example of opinion polls being accurate?

Answer 36

in 2015 correctly predicted SNP would overwhelm labour in Scotland

Question 37

how can opinion polls affect the way parties campaign?

Answer 37

parties look at the data and then campaign on the basis of that. e.g conservatives in 2015 campaigned on the basis that there would be a labour-SNP coalition, which potentially led them to victory

Question 38

what is the biggest problem with opinion polls?

Answer 38

they are often wrong

Question 39

by how much have newspapers declined over the past two decades?

Answer 39

declined by 2/3 over past two decades

Question 40

by how much have the Sun and the Times circulation declined from 2010-2020?

Answer 40

the sun=58%

the Times=27%

Question 41

what percentage of adults got their news from the internet in 2019?

Answer 41

66% of adults