Key Terms Public Affairs Public Opinion Mass Media Peer Group
Opinion Leader
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Introduction What is public opinion, and what factors help to
shape it? Public opinion consists of the attitudes held by a
significant number of people about public affairs matters of
government and politics. It is shaped by a wide variety of factors,
such as family, school, race, occupation, gender, mass media, peer
groups, opinion leaders, and historic events.
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Different Publics Public opinion in the United States is
typically divided. Any given public issue is likely to have
separate groups with their own points of view. In addition, people
disagree about which public issues are important. Few issues
capture the attention of all Americans. Most issues are of little
interest to the majority.
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Public Affairs Public affairs include events and issues
involving politics, public issues, and the making of public
policies. Examples include political parties, candidates, taxes,
unemployment, national defense, foreign policy, and so forth.
Technically, public opinion includes only those views that relate
to public affairs.
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Political Socialization What is it? Family Influence School
Influence Other Factors Occupation Race Gender Mass Media Peer
Groups Historic Events
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Mass Media The mass media includes radio, television,
magazines, and newspapers. More than 98 percent of the 115 million
U.S. households have a television, and most are turned on for eight
or more hours a day.
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Opinion Leader Some people listen to and draw ideas from
opinion leaders. Many opinion leaders hold public office, while
others are journalists or prominent members of society. What is the
cartoonist implying about the media?
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Historic Events Great Depression Economy Increased role of
government 60s and 70s Civil Rights Watergate Vietnam War
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Chapter Eight Section Two
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Key Terms Mandate Interest Group Public Opinion Poll Straw Vote
Universe Sample Random Sample Quota Sample
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Measuring Public Opinion Election results reflect public
opinion to some degree, but often express voters views only on a
few broad issues. The people also express their opinions in
e-mails, letters, phone calls, or public meetings. The media both
mirrors and helps shape public opinion. Interest groups share the
views of their members in hopes of influencing policy.
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Public Opinion Poll Public opinion is best measured by polls
that ask people questions, but scientific polling techniques are
needed to get accurate results. What do you think the cartoonist is
saying about pollsters here?
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Straw Polls Straw polls try to measure public opinion by asking
many people the same questions, often by phone, email, or mail.
This method is very unreliable, as there is no guarantee that the
people who respond represent an accurate cross- section of the
population. For example, a straw poll during the Great Depression
picked the wrong presidential winner because it overlooked the
large number of poor people who voted.
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Scientific Polls Scientific polls are more sophisticated and
accurate than straw polls. There are hundreds of polling
organizations in the U.S. today. Gallup and Pew Research Center are
two of the best known. Scientific polls have five basic steps:
Define the universe to be surveyed Construct a sample Prepare valid
questions Select and control how the poll is taken Analyze and
report the results
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Universe and Sample The universe is the group whose opinions
the poll tries to discover. Sample Random Sample Accuracy? Margin
of Error Quota Sample Accuracy?
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Interviewing and Analyzing Well-Drawn Questions The Mac
operating system rarely gets infected by viruses and therefore
Department of Education should only purchase Mac computers
(Yes/No). Pollsters use computers to analyze and publish polling
data and findings.
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Examples Gallup Poll: Daily Obama Job Approval Gallup Poll:
Daily Obama Job Approval Gallup Poll: Presidential Job Approval
Outlook Gallup Poll: Presidential Job Approval Outlook Pew
Research: Public Perceptions of Privacy and Security Post- Snowden
Era Pew Research: Public Perceptions of Privacy and Security Post-
Snowden Era
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Evaluating Polls When evaluating the intent of a poll, ask
yourself the following questions: Who is responsible for the poll?
Polls sponsored by political campaigns may try to mislead voters.
Why is the poll being conducted? Polls meant to boost a candidates
approval ratings are not reliable.
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Evaluating Polls When evaluating a polls methods, ask yourself
the following questions: What is the polls universe? Ask if the
sample is truly representative. How was the sample chosen? Samples
should be selected randomly. How were questions written and asked?
Leading questions can alter results. When was the data collected?
Opinions change quickly during elections.
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Evaluating Polls What is difficult for polls to measure?
Intensity: how strongly someone holds an opinion. Stability: how
likely an opinion is to change. Relevance: how important an opinion
is to the person who holds it. What are the dangers of polls?
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Chapter Eight: Section Three The Mass Media
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Role of Mass Media Five major types: Television Internet Radio
Newspapers Magazines Independent of Government Importance?
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Role of Mass Media
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Television Television news began to boom in the 1950s. TV
replaced newspapers as the main source of political information in
the 1960s and is the main source of news for 80% of Americans
today.
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Newspapers were it left to me to decide whether we should have
a government without newspapers or newspapers without a government,
I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter. (Thomas
Jefferson) Main source of news in colonies and early part of our
nation Influence? Decline
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Radio In the 1920s and 1930s, radio became a major source of
political news FDR Fireside Chats Talk Show Hosts Rush Limbaugh
Rachel Maddow Is radio still relevant today?
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The Internet Fast becoming major source of political news
Nearly 2/3 of Americans go online on regular basis Caters to all
political interests
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Social Media Fundamental to social media is the displacement of
traditional hierarchies by networks (Seib) Networks: interconnected
nodes Rewiring of the central nervous system of civil society, with
unprecedented empowerment of individuals who take advantage of
communication tools (Castells) Fundamental shift in broadcasting of
message
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2012 Election & Social Media
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Media & Public Opinion Shapes public agenda & social
problems People rely on media for most of information they receive
on public issues Nontraditional sources? Media as mirror/molder of
what policy issues public thinksmirror/molder Taking a look at news
siteslook sites
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Cartoon
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Limits on Media Influence Most radio and TV programs do not
cover news in-depth Few people follow media coverage of political
events closely People tend to self- select political news
