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MEDIA AS INTEREST GROUP.
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Examines mass media as an interest group with its biases, power, impact on voters & politics, story presentation, propaganda, polling.... More...
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Paper Abstract:
Examines mass media as an interest group with its biases, power, impact on voters & politics, story presentation, propaganda, polling.
Paper Introduction:
The Founding Fathers were concerned about the effect of special interest groups, which they referred to as factions. James Madison and the other Framers feared the influence of factions on the body politic, understandable given that they defined a faction as promoting something adverse to the rights of others. Madison chose to encourage and nurture the development of interest groups as a way for Americans to express themselves: "Madison's vision was of a large, diverse nation with so many differences of opinion that domination by any one group would be unlikely" (Schultz, Stowitts, Stewart, & Sunshine, 1998, 248). However, Madison could not have foreseen the development of the mass media that exists today or the ways in which special interest groups are able to use the media for their purposes. The mass media itself shapes public opinion, though many in the media
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Otherspoint out that lower-status groups are at a disadvantage when faced withthe power of the media: "Because the media is intimately connected with thecorporate world, the media necessarily is defensive of the free-enterprisesystem and unreceptive to lower-status movements that criticize any aspectsof that system" (Harrigan, 1993, 1 4). The mass media itself shapes public opinion, though manyin the media claim they only report on public opinion and do not shape it.In truth, they may believe this because they need not try to change publicopinion deliberately to do it. Theyfind that the press has numerous opportunities to make "choices forpublicity and suppression" and make them in favor of the established order(Herman and Chomsky, 1988, 3). The central issue for students ofpublic opinion concerns the responsiveness of government to popularpreferences, though this may not be the best measure of the value of publicopinion research (Ginsberg, 1986, 4-5). Advertising is a form of propaganda anduses slogans, euphemisms, and sometimes outright lies to sell a product.Political advertising does the same thing to sell a candidate. In his book withEdward S. (1986). Schultz, C., Stowitts, G., Stewart, T., & Sunshine, K.V. Bennett finds that the tone of the news only creates unrealisticexpectations about the world, and this seems to be the case whether thenews is considered good or bad. The news, notes Bennett (1988), is a consumer good and is thuspackaged and sold to the public like any other product. Chomsky (1988). Media control. Herman (1988), he notes how the media elite fits in with thebusiness and political elite to maintain the existing power structure andso tends to promote the interests of the elite as a matter of course. Harrigan, J.J. Washington, D.C.: CQ Press. Asecond form is the use of euphemism as language is twisted again to seem tosay one thing while creating a different meaning. Ithas the reputation, however, of being nefarious (Ginsberg, 1986, 3-4). New York: Basic Books. Hatry (1973). Polling the public. Bennett, W.L. Noam Chomsky has said much the same thing. However, Madison couldnot have foreseen the development of the mass media that exists today orthe ways in which special interest groups are able to use the media fortheir purposes. The typical poll surveys citizens about their views onpolitical issues, candidates, and incumbents, and especially the president;their preferences about possible courses of government action; and theirgeneral attitudes toward politics and the political process. The captive public. The press has a gatekeeperfunction that is supposed to serve the public by alerting the people toproblems. Chomsky, N. James Madison and theother Framers feared the influence of factions on the body politic,understandable given that they defined a faction as promoting somethingadverse to the rights of others. In ademocratic society, public opinion is widely sought as an indicator of whatthe people want, and politicians rely heavily on polls. Propaganda is usually defined as an attempt to influence publicopinion and public behavior through specialized techniques. The news broadcastis shaped not by events as much as by rules of how to please the public.The late broadcast always ends with an upbeat feature story that reassuresthe viewer, for example (Bennett, 1998, 5). Chomsky (1991) describes this as analternative vision of democracy, one that takes the view that "the publicmust be barred from managing of their own affairs and the means ofinformation must be kept narrowly and rigidly controlled" (Chomsky, 1991,6). He states, for instance, thatnews reports are rarely critical of authority. Public opinion polling, however, has become a major industry in theUnited States. (1988). Webb and Hatry (1973) note that regularsurveys of citizens can be an important means by which governments obtainfeedback on public services, but they also find that governments arelimited in their ability to get a balanced and comprehensive view of howthe people think in government issue at any level of government. 3) They are ritualized. One might thinkthat a poll could not be propaganda, since it reports what the peoplethink, but pollsters know that the way a question is phrased can influencethe outcome of the poll: Legitimate pollsters who seek accurate responses will go to great lengths to avoid bias in the wording of questions. There have long been complaints about the power of the media, andConservatives in particular have complained that the media has too muchpower and that such power is used to promote a liberal agenda. Ginsberg (1986) says that the central questions of democratic politicshave always concerned the relationship between the citizen and the state,but the role of the state has expanded greatly in this century, makingthese questions even more critical. New York: Pantheon, 1988. Just as the consumer is kept passive by the media, so is themedia kept passive by economic realities and the tendency to protect thestatus quo so as not to change the prevailing power of the news to attractan audience (Bennett, 1998, 17). This suggests one way of viewing public opinion, as feedback,gauging whether the people believe the country is moving in the rightdirection or the wrong direction. New York:Longman. 2) They are usually personalized. Looking againto television news, the structure of a story on the news mirrors theprevailing story structure in entertainment programs--by the end of theepisode, the problems are resolved, leaving the viewer feeling good abouthim or herself and the world. (1993). Propaganda is also not something that is found only in war situationsor in dictatorships, and we are surrounded by forms of propaganda all thetime in our media-driven society. The nature of story structure as perceived by the news media servesthe interests of the corporate and governing elite by reiterating indifferent ways again and again that the system works. Ginsberg points out that propaganda in and of itself may have apositive purpose, for propaganda can be used to further a worthy cause. Manufacturing Consent: ThePolitical Economy of the mass media. Those who seek to use polls for their own advantages--to convince people that everyone else supports their policy or their political candidacy--will not be so careful (Smith, 1992, 61). The American political system relies heavily on public opinion andseems to depend more and more on methods for ascertaining it. Empty dreams, empty pockets. News: The politics of illusion. Different types of propaganda are identified by Ginsberg (1986). and H.P. Madison chose to encourage and nurturethe development of interest groups as a way for Americans to expressthemselves: "Madison's vision was of a large, diverse nation with so manydifferences of opinion that domination by any one group would be unlikely"(Schultz, Stowitts, Stewart, & Sunshine, 1998, 248). Thepurpose of these forms is seen in political speech and writing which triesto influence people what to think about a given issue. A third form is theoutright lie, and this form was used by Hitler to demonize the Jews and byStalin to justify the murder or imprisonment of millions of Russiancitizens. Bennett further finds that the informationbiases that guide the development of the news have political effects andpolitical attitudes inherent within them. In the case ofeducation, this attempt is made through information, evidence, facts, andlogical reasoning, and educators show not what to think but how to think.Propagandists intentionally try to bias what people see, think, and feel(Zimbardo, Ebbeson, & Maslach, 1977, 156). References Asher, H. The mere fact thatthe story comes out is seen as proof that the system works, and inherent inthis is the fact that the news media is part of the system. 4) They almost always return the situation to normal by the end of thestory (Bennett, 1988, 53-54). Muslach (1977). Obtaining citizen feedback.Washington, D.C.: The Urban Institute. There aredifferent ways in which officials obtain feedback--through personalcontacts with individuals and groups, complaints, pressures from specialinterests, editorials and news columns, letters to the editor, and citizenorganizations (Webb & Hatry, 1973, 1). Rather than doing what they believeis right, they often take a poll and do what the poll says will make thempopular. The fact that the media reports so much on polls might suggest thatthe media is following public opinion, but in fact the act of reportingpublic opinion also helps shape it as it influences how people make uptheir minds in the future in order to be part of the majority. Ebbeson, and C. and N. New York: Seven Stories Press. Zimbardo,Ebbeson, and Maslach (1977) state that it differs from education, wherethere is also an attempt to change attitudes and behavior. Herman, E.S. There arealso major national polls on topics such as tax reform, social values,abortion, foreign policy, the Supreme Court, and other political andnonpolitical topics (Asher, 1992, 2-3). The news media itself should be seen as an interest group, with someseeing the media as having more of a stake in various issues than isclaimed. Wheaton, Illinois:Abigail. Ginsberg, B. (1992). New York:Macmillan. The first form isfound in the distortions brought to language in an attempt to divest wordsof their meanings so that slogans become a substitute for thought. Reading, Massachusetts: Addison-Wesley. When they are, there arecertain properties always in evidence: 1) They are rare. (1998).American government and politics in the new millennium. Polling hasbecome a substitute for political instincts and often for the moral senseby which a politician makes decisions. Zimbardo, P.G., E.B. The Founding Fathers were concerned about the effect of specialinterest groups, which they referred to as factions. Influencingattitudes and changing behavior. The way the media is structured and the wayit reports on news has the effect of changing public opinion as a matter ofcourse. (1997). Webb, K.
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