Media and Politics in the Usa
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Media and politics in the USA
Media has a big role in politics, like in everything else. For very many people television and contents bills are the only source of information and some would not even consider if the news coming from these sources is maybe not the whole truth. This means that the media easily can manipulate with the truth and in that way manipulate with peoples political position. Very many adopts their political stances from television.
Media makes big demands on a politicians ability to talk to many people at once especially in the USA where there is such a big tradition for speeches. The speeches need to be communicated not only to the persons presented, but also to the receivers of a lot of different media.
The candidates can buy television- and radio-advertising time. The medias is a way of communicating more directly with the voters.
Television and radio can more or less decide which political issues to set on the agenda in the society. If you read the three biggest dailies in the USA Wall Street Journal, New York Times and Washington Post or watch the news on Fox or MSNBC you will see completely unhampered partial political manners, the republican Fox and the liberal democrats MSNBC.
Most likely people will watch the media they agree and sympathise with.
A thing that has been discussed the last years in USA as well as in Denmark is the medias use of “exit polling,” when the media asks voters as they leaves the polling place, how they voted and based on this predict a winner. One of the problems with this practice is that the voting places on the West coast closes hours after those on the East coast, the early predictions can influence those who have not voted yet.
One thing is for sure, if you want to succeed in politics, it will not hurt you to have the media in your corner.