To determine whether a person engages in politics, a good indicator are their friends and family (p. 268). One reason people participate …show more content…
With the fall of newspaper and the quick rise of the internet, mass media is a huge part of society. Mass media influences many aspects of life, one of them being politics. Media helps shape politics. Media chooses the issues that are to be covered and gives it attention. As a result, the policy agenda influences the public’s views. (p. 334). In addition, the media frames issues a certain way for the public (p. 335).
The issues that everyone talks about and garners widespread attention are said to be on the policy agenda (p. 334). The policy agenda are the issues that are covered by the media, and are seen as important to the public (p. 334). Getting an issue into the policy agenda is considered, “the first step in political action” (p. 334). The reason being, once an issue is brought onto the national agenda by the mass media, political leaders will address those concerns (p. 334). The more media coverage, the more strongly it will stay on the policy …show more content…
The influence, known as priming, affects voter’s views on candidates or public officials with issues on the policy agenda that can either help or hurt them (p. 334). Priming is seen as a subdue type of partisanship, but the media does not clearly favor once side over the other. The media runs stories on a specific subject that can either strengthen or weaken a party or candidate, and then “candidates are evaluated on the basis of the kinds of issues that are featured in the news” (p.