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January 13, 2005
Media Influence on 2004 U.S. Elections
American Idol, Who Wants to be a Millionaire, Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake—each of these catch phrases have in some way or form, impacted public opinion in the last few years with the advent of reality shows and constant change in pop culture. Whether it connote a positive or negative image, each American’s eyes or ears have stumbled across these poster-child faces or television programs on at least one haphazard occasion. Such facts lead us to question the powerful influence that lies in the hands of the media, and what possible effects media coverage may have on something as trivial as pop culture, to something as important as the next President of the United States. Whatever the case may be, we have all been able to make some kind of communal reference point to such images as the media, either consciously or subconsciously, accentuating the large influence the media has on the American public.
The media has long played a large role in influencing public opinion. It is not shocking that the 2004 U.S. elections were no different in its catalyst effect in swaying the public. An even deeper rooted question one must pose however, beyond the obvious effects the media has on public opinion, is precisely how the media is able to convince such large masses in either voting for or against certain engrained political party inclinations. The subtleties in molding public opinion can sometimes be so slight that those involved are not even aware of the influence enfolding.
The rally of American patriotism, first after George Bush, Sr., during the Vietnam War, and now with George W. Bush, Jr., in the ongoing Iraq War, the American public seems almost handicapped in sidestepping media coverage of presidential campaign agendas on foreign policy issues. News briefs in the New York Times and Newsweek Magazine alike cannot rid themselves of articles recounting the most horrid conditions of war for young American soldiers on the battlefields today, while CNN, Fox News, and NPR, detail the remainder of such dreary stories. Many times, the general public is unaware of the degree to which such images may effect the common viewer, resulting in an apathy that all too often distinguishes the youthful child from the desensitized parent. The great extent to which media has played a role in affecting the public has been seen time and again, not only with war coverage, but with election coverage as well. Unfortunately, the vast American public seems to act no differently in situations that seem quite pressing, such as the next Democratic or Republican President, as the media undeniably plays a large role in molding American public opinion and therefore, voter turnout in many respects.
However, it is interesting to note that reports which date back to January 2000 show that the percentage of campaign news and coverage actually fell “9% for daily newspapers, 10% for network news and 5% for news abroad.” At the same time, there was a slow climb of “4%, for cable news, the Internet and comedy TV shows,” in terms of average campaign coverage (11/13/2004: “US elections and media influence.” http://www.netlexfrance.com/weblogs/index.php?p=21407)
In attempts to make sense of such statistics, it appears as if the general public has proven to change with time, becoming more disinterested with American politics, in the thick of the ongoing election campaign. This has resulted in more regular attempts to cover election updates through other mediums by the media, particularly through comedy and late night humor.
Perhaps the American public has opted out of traditional forms of media when it comes to election coverage as it tries to find another way to make light of the present situation at hand. I find it personally disturbing to see the American public turn towards the funnies first, rather than try to understand the American politik. Though the media has always played a large role in determining the outcome of candidate information during election season, perhaps a more serious attitude towards the matter would make others abroad view the U.S. elections with less skepticism and more faith in its choices taken in determining the future of America.
Posted by Stephanie Marie Lowe at January 13, 2005 2:37 AM