Media Effects on Political Elections



Media Effects on Political Elections

Introduction

This paper intends to discuss the effects of media on political elections. Today, mass media have taken various forms like television, cinema, radio and most importantly, social media. All these different aspects of media contribute significantly towards shaping the atmosphere of political elections. This paper will focus on the significance of media towards the political elections. In today's modern society, no one has enough time to get involved in the election campaigns personally. People usually tend to experience the election campaigns through the electronic media. This paper will examine how various forms of media, specifically the increasing influence of social media, impacts the election campaigns and ultimately the results of political elections.

Discussion

People living in established democracies or the societies that are in transition to democracy usually experience the election campaigns through the electronic media. The increasing influence of media allows more voters to analyze the political campaigns of different candidates. The increasing trend and popularity of political 'talk shows' globally have established a fact that people like to see news anchors and political show hosts to provide opinions on politicians. People are now more skeptical to the opinions of others. All these talk shows provide the general people an opportunity to analyze the real faces behind the 'good' personalities of politicians. Further, media is playing a part in shaping the opinions of general public regarding the politicians (Hamm, Thomas, 1997).

In today's modern society, media influences public's opinions about the politics, politicians, political campaigns and ultimately elections. I believe that media is working with an agenda to create awareness in public regarding the hypocrisies prevailing in our political society. The United States politicians usually blame media for its biasness and providing negative views about the election campaigns. Basically, government and media both have significant influence on each other. Media tends to help voters analyze the various characteristics and past performance of the candidates which help voters to evaluate each candidate carefully. I believe media, public and politics possesses a cyclical relationship.

Media is known for having a characteristic to influence voters' opinions. Television political talk shows communicate the important issues to the voters regarding the elections and also possess the capability to convince a big number of voters to reshape their opinions. The television medium possesses a substantial power to impact the thinking of citizens in relation with the political elections. However, government also influences the role of media. Governments are usually blamed for directing the media's content through regulating the television's content and also through utilizing public officials in news sources. On the other hand, media tends to set the political agendas near the elections by focusing on the past performances and present issues of the governments. (John, 1995, Pp. 150-175).

Media and Elections

Media is responsible for highlighting the issues voters must consider at the times of elections. Media also spread out the criteria to judge different political candidates. Voters usually receive information about the election campaigns through the television ...