MEDIA POLITICS, A CITIZEN’S GUIDE

MEDIA POLITICS, A CITIZEN’S GUIDE

The two main elements of democratic governance in any civilized nation are political engagements and democratic processes. Whereas engagement guarantees that democracies are sustained, it also strengthens the growing democracies around the globe. Studies indicate that media reporting effectively promote and influence political engagement by increasing the knowledge of politics while directing the judgment and attitudes of the citizens. Equally, the research findings from the two journals under review demonstrate that online news consumption via social media enhances participation and influences the expression of political opinion. In an attempt to identify the conditions in which individuals might have persuasion to change their positions on social and personal issues, a team led by Hovland was made to take a series of experiments.

The research program, which is still the backbone of media effects literature, was led by a central framework referred to as message learning theory. From my study on this theory, change of attitude depends on the source, the message, and the receiver. The social scientists from Michigan and Columbia University carried out a large-scale survey of attitude change throughout several presidential campaigns, expecting to find widespread political conversion. The media was assumed to be the gatekeepers selecting presentation issues and ignoring others rather than acting as advertisers of particular points of view. As scholars started testing and refining the idea of setting the agenda by the media, they came to discover that the act of defining political agenda contributed to attitude change and influence.

EXPLORING THE FORMS OF SELF-CENSORSHIP

Hayes specifies that research concerning the spiral of silence approach leads to a result variable of a person’s willingness to state his or her view or to involve others in discourse. The result variable has always been an individual’s stated desire to talk about his or her opinions or engage other people in a dialogue. According to Hayes, the current inquiry does not explain the methods that people can use to restrain them from communicating personal views when asked for by those who do not support that opinion. People who took part in the research were asked to tell how they can answer to a question on giving their views with those they do not agree with Feedback showed a diversity of unrelated methods individuals answered they could incorporate to repress personal views like being indifferent, attempting to alter the question. Hayes further explains that the experimental influence of climate opinion showed that an unfriendly climate provoked the act of using the strategy of expression avoidance than the environment that is friendly.

The Theory used

The spiral of silence concept much inspires research from faculty journalism and matters relating to public views. The theory stipulates that a person will not be comfortable expressing an opinion that he or she perceives to be uncommon for fear of isolation and negative evaluation. Consequently, the voices of the minority will be censored in situations where supporters of minority positions fail to communicate these standpoints in public through interpersonal discussion, television discussions and different polls are done in public.

My analysis of this theory through the lenses of Hayes indicates that the choice to make a personal view is partly based on critical pillars of a belief such as the perceived similarities in personal views and how people will generally view it. Comparatively, when someone fears to be isolated, or not being familiar with the subject matter and the confidence exuded by a person about the view gives rise to the dictates of the spiral silence concept. Additionally, another shared aspect of making an inquiry about is how the partakers in research are ready to state their standpoint instead of engaging in a conversation. Reviews that were done using these criteria differ significantly in context.

Research methodology and how the theory is supported

Respondents are asked to imagine that they are sited inside a bus or any gathering conversing with many people. If the aim is to find out what predicts the expression of opinion, the best thing is to ask the people being interviewed the extent at which they can air their views instead of engaging in a discussion since the spiral of silence concept resolves. In the experiment, equipment for doing the survey was given out to the ones who accepted to take part and in return would get additional credits in their course after completing exams planned for the same class. Immediately after being briefed on the study objectives but careful not to be told hypothesis and the questions to be researched, they were supplied with papers that described a hypothetical situation where a trial manipulation was attached and then given a task to answer to the position illustrated in the case. Evidence that the research methodology was successful is that the respondence gave feedback indicating a higher possibility of using the expression avoidance strategy.

To support his theory, Hayes draws parallels between existing studies on the topic and goes beyond to look into what influences the expression of certain opinions.  Despite being consistent with a section of critics of the meta-analysis, a change in the opinion situation caused an insignificant change in the willingness to give an opinion. My analysis of the findings in this journal is that perception of a given condition of opinion is likely to affect the willingness of a person to talk about a given subject or air their views publicly.

Significance of the Study

The theory of Spiral silence has been extensively examined since it augurs well with the everyday lives of communication researchers as well as appreciating the diverse opinion about the matter. The study recognizes the pressure to moderate opinions from the minority voices. On the other hand, the failure to communicate opinions that are perceived to be inferior can diminish certain viewpoints even though they may be necessary for the good of the public. Maintenance of harmony in the social spectrum reduces unfavourable evaluation by interaction partners while upholding positivity in the interactions among the groups with different opinions. Therefore the forces experienced have heightened the need for further study by communication researchers. Through this survey, climate opinion can cause several opinion expression avoidance strategies from people. Even though experimental manipulation has many advantages, just like the other survey research on the spiral of silence, it also suffers from using hypothetical situation of doing the research, instead of analyzing the real situation.

FRAMING THE WAR ON TERROR

A review of Reese and Lewis article on “Framing the War on Terror” shows how media reports the war on terrorism as a security policy. After the terrorist attack on the United States, news and press reports exceeded the expectation of transmitting the policy on terrorism to simplifying the policy as unchallenged and terming it a natural idea. The problem of political aggression has increased significantly due to the proliferation of deadly weapons. The article indicates the impact that the policy on the war on terror has had on the strategy on national security and the relationship on the world economies.

Theories Used

My critical analysis of the theories used in this article is informed by a view held by Reese and Lewis, stating that war is not solely caused by political elites with the assistance of public relations strategies. The existing cultural structures and predefined interpretation criterion to get leverage and make legal a political agenda. To express political authority, wars take place when lawmakers align objectives with positive social codes. The theoretical argument of framing defined in this article relates to a process of advancing ideas that fall under the overall political setting with the duty of analyzing more accurately how these ideologies are linked together to support defined interests.

According to Reese and Lewis, the trajectory taken by the war on terror invites a system that interprets it better. According to this article, the contrast is that other research studies present issues in a narrow spectrum within a single frame and suggest a specific definition of a problem and recommend a response strategy.

Research Methodology

A review of research methodology shows that the period that the research was done is immediately after the terrorist attack in the United States. The sampling units, as identified in the several combinations of terror and war or war against terrorism. To find out the frame throughout study a survey computation of the current United States news was done and measured against a related set of media reporting to ascertain that it followed the overall course of the leading media news. Accordingly, the findings indicated that after 9/11, the war on terrorism was mentioned with a higher frequency compared with the succeeding periods after the year 2003. The war on terrorism campaign strategy played a key role in the presidential election in 2004.

All the mentions on the war on terror both in editorial comments and news were looked into alongside the surrounding context. The data indicated that no media report took issue with the frame itself or any comments that distance itself from the frame on the terror war. A closer study of the structure indicates that it cannot be classified easily into predictable and mutually exclusive categories of coding. Further analysis shows that a more interpretive rather than definitive strategy is needed.

Significance of the Study

The study plays a vital role in shaping the policy for fighting terrorism and how the frame concept was taken up by the press. Through the study, we gain knowledge of how far professional practices and cultural conventions have resulted in media internalizing the frame. The meticulous scrutiny is important before major decisions are taken and public enlistment.

My analysis of the two journals indicates that their research on the role of media and its influence public opinion and the central theme of media politics is that they have risen to the challenge in discussing the subject of leadership and media politics while efficiently using relevant theories. Both journals are closely related in their approach, theories applied, and methodology and both contribute richly to the field of research the society while opening avenues for further research on the subject. I would recommend these journals without reservations to anyone who wants to advance studies in the broader field of politics and media.