Media Information Sources

The following sample essay on: “Media”. Media consists of the many ways that we get our information these days ranging from magazines, newspapers, television shows, social media sites etc.

Media can impact society in a major way by how it displays or represents a story, person or place. Have you ever watched a news clip about an important policy and had your whole perspective changed? In this essay we will be exploring how the media plays a vital role in public opinion and interest groups and how together they are dependent on one another.

Before doing so it would help to define what interest groups and public opinion is. According to our textbook, public opinion is best defined as an individuals attitude about political concerns, leaders, events and institutions. An interest group is made up of people who get together to make an impact on our governments policies and programs. (Ginsberg, 2015) Media consists of the many ways that we get our information these days ranging from magazines, newspapers, television shows, social media sites etc. Now that we understand what these things are we can explore the relationship they have with the media and how they all intertwine together.

Interest groups are compiled of people who share the same interest as each other and feel strongly about wanting to bring change to or for a purpose. These groups claim that they collaborate for the interest of the public. They send representatives of the groups to capitals of the states and to Washington DC in order to place pressure on policymakers and the Congress.

Get quality help now

Prof. Finch

Verified

Proficient in: Media

4.7 (346)

“ This writer never make an mistake for me always deliver long before due date. Am telling you man this writer is absolutely the best. ”

+84 relevant experts are online

Hire writer

These groups also participate in lobbying, which is the complex process of influencing policy or legislation. Lobbyists engage in contacting government officials, communicating with the media, they present research that is developed by the groups and at times they may contribute to writing a legislation draft. Interest groups play a role in those being represented because they actively get involved with political campaigns, which is intended to help designate contenders that favor their positions or defeat the ones who do not side with them. This is typically conducted by PACs (Political Action Committees) who serve as the political arms of these interest groups. The amount of these committees has grown since the 1970s when laws called the Campaign Finance Reform were passed limiting individual contributions to operations. Now they have funders write checks for them explicitly for the purpose of campaign donations. Let us consider an example of this process; lets say that someone desires to financially support a candidate who opposes gun control. That person would then choose to donate to the PAC that is engaged with the National Rifle Association. From there the PAC would make direct donations to distinct campaigns of specific candidates. (US History) That is a huge role that interest groups play in the government. We live in a generation when all of this is readily available to us by various media outlets. We hear about who is running for the next president by reading the newspaper or watching news on the television. Or we read about new policies and procedures that interest groups, such as PETA, are trying to change on social media sites. All of this information can be discovered by us so much quicker than it use to in the past because of technology growing so rapidly.

Public opinion is crucial to political parties because it is their job to determine what it is that the people want so that they can utilize that to win the people over. Public opinion is the citizens attitudes regarding politicians, policies, events and political issues. These opinions of the people play a vital role in the government because it helps to shape the way policies and procedures are being developed by candidates and their parties. This can ultimately be dangerous because with technology being so rapid, the media can change a persons perspective or opinion quite easily. For example, many people had a change of heart about gun control after seeing all the reporting of shootings happening across the country. People dying from such horrific situations has a huge impact on a persons thought about people being allowed to own guns. However, that is one sided news reporting if you ask me. There are a variety of factors why these individuals act out in these extreme cases, one example being their mental health state. Not just the fact that it happened because they owned a gun. Another example of how the media can affect peoples opinions is when politicians are being slandered on television or radio stations. Once this happens it is hard for people to change their mind about an individual, their reputation is damaged whether the information that was shared was valid or not. Therefore, media has too much power over peoples opinions and their perception of politics. I believe that the media should be held accountable for reporting false accusations or stories and should be forces to report the facts or not to report at all. The media sways public opinion by what they choose to report and interest groups grow and get their ideas out by utilizing the media.

In conclusion, we explored the definitions of what a public opinion is, what interest are and how they function, and we discovered how they are all interlinked with each other in one way or another. We also examined some examples of just how powerful the media is and how it can damage someones reputation or persuade someones perspective about a topic. Technology has truly changed the way we hear about what is happening in our world, in our country and how we share information. Media should be obligated to report facts and not be for just entertainment. Our life and future depends on policies and procedures that are made, so before we make a decision that can make a huge impact we as individuals should make sure that we have all the facts.