...Chapter 6 The media, government accountability, and citizen engagement Katrin Voltmer The past two decades or so have seen an unprecedented spread of democracy around the globe. With the fall of the Berlin wall in 1989 and the end of the Cold War, the ‘third wave’ of democratization, which started in the early seventies, now encompasses countries in Asia and Africa.1 And even in states whose governments continue to resist a more open and participatory form of governance, such as North Korea, Burma or Zimbabwe, the idea of democracy is a powerful force that inspires people to take on a more active role in public life. However, many of the newly emerging democracies seem to fall short of some, often many, of the basic standards that define democratic rule, with irregular voting procedures, corruption, inefficiency and autocratic styles of government being but a few of the maladies. In addition, as many of the newly emerging democracies belong to the developing world, inequality and poverty remain severe obstacles to full self‐determination of the people. The experiences of the past decades have shown that democracy is not a one‐way road and that a viable democracy requires more than the implementation of the key institutions of government. Rather, an accountable and efficient government is embedded in a complex web of interdependent conditions that ...
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...AMERICAN POLITICS AND THE MEDIA A love story The impact of the media on American politics has several different outlets. Today people have a variety of choices in where they choose to get their news from, they can use the internet, evening news locally or internationally, and even read the newspaper. No matter the source they choose they still get a “version” of the story. The media is a force to be reckoned with for politics because it seems that the more money the Politicians have the more influence they have. What we see on television is not real, on some level it is all fabricated. From the set to the hair and make-up we see what they want us to see, and it’s no different for the stories the media chooses to highlight as the important topic. Politics is an organization of professional manipulation of the masses and will continue to be just that until people can make their own choices. Unfortunately for politicians...
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...in the Middle East, young activists used social media to spread dissident discourse, organize protests and transmit live footage of revolutions across the world. Simultaneously, stubborn autocrats clung to political survival tactics by blocking their citizens’ access to social media sites like Twitter and Facebook in order to disrupt the gathering momentum of a networked people determined to change their governments. Communication is essential to diplomacy, it always has been. As Nicolson (1954:2) wrote “The origins of diplomacy lie buried in the darkness preceding what we call the dawn of history. There came a stage when the anthropoid apes inhabiting one group of caves realized that it might be profitable to reach some understanding with neighboring groups regarding the limits of their respective hunting territories”. Information gathering, reporting, and sharing have been across the centuries the staple diet of diplomats. Communication is so crucial to diplomatic activity that, over history, virtually any advance in communication technology has affected the practice of diplomacy. Nickles (2003) in Under the Wire specifically examines the impact of the telegraph on diplomatic activities. He describes the acceleration of international relations‘ and obliteration‘ of distance resulting from the possibility for messages to travel via cable faster than people could until then by ship, horse, or train. Interrelated changes in politics, international relations, and mass communication...
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...source of political information that the general public is exposed to on a daily bases. Thus creating relationship that influences the political and voting behavior of the public. The studies done on the relationship of the media and voting (Hayes, 2009; Hopmann, Renes, Clases, & Albaek, 2010; Donatella, Pasquino, Vaccari, 2008) demonstrated that the strongest media impact was upon the politically unknowledgeable and the undecided voting public. However, a few more studies (Matthijs & DeVreese, 2008; Freedman & Goldstein, 1999; Hayes, 2009; Pinkleton, Austin, & Fortman, 1998; Tworzecki & Semetko, 2009) have been conducted looking at the impacts of negative campaign or political message content on the public’s voting...
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...Political Science 201 June 7, 2012 Media’s Negative Effect in Politics The media plays a heavy negative role in American politics. During the past few years, society’s judgment has been based on what was given to it through the media. People rarely specifically research on candidates or propositions anymore. Much of the mass media is biased by trying to persuade viewers into believing what they want them to believe are true. Media is created for consumption by a large number of people watching it. The media has a remarkable impact on politics, which is not always good or beneficial. The data collected from the media can either be used for or against a politician. If a politician is favored by a certain network, such as CNN, NBC, or FOX, then the network can help his or her career reach new heights; however, if a politician is disliked then the network is capable of destroying the politician’s career. The media has the desire to make decisions for itself and in return try to convince people of its rightness and distort its viewers’ perspectives. There are many different types of media that can have a different influence on society’s political view. The four biggest forms of media are radio stations, newspapers, the internet, and television. People could tune into radio stations or talk radios to listen to political candidates being interviewed. An example would be in 1992 when "President George H. Bush interviewed with conservative talk show host Rush Limbaugh" (Curl). Non-political...
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...For New Zealand’s democracy, the media plays a central role. Ideally, the media’s role is to inform the public with in-depth, accurate information about political decision-making, propose a forum for the exchange of opinions, experiences and perspectives, and act as a watchdog against the misuses of power. From both National to International level, these functions help the public to understand complex social and political issues. The media may act in a democratic role, but their ability to fulfil this role is affectedby many things such as laws protecting freedom of expression. The media had much greater freedom of expression in the 2000s. Though this was limited by a number of laws introduced to protect other rights like The Bill of Rights Act 1990 and the Human Rights Act 1993 had provisions designed to avert discrimination on the basis of race, ethnicity, age, gender or disability. Legal recognition of the media’s crucial watchdog role is found in the Evidence Act 2006, which banned the media from publishing anyone’s name who were granted name suppression in court. (McQuail, 1992,pg 123) The media is also affected by the media accessing government information. The Official Information Act 1982 is an essential tool for the media. This act allows all official informationto be made available upon request unless there is a genuine reason for withholding it. Journalists have complained that officials and ministers use a range of methods to delay or refuse such releases of information...
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...Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere--Martin Luther King, Jr. Alfred Charles "Al" Sharpton was born October 3, 1954, in Brooklyn, New York. A social and political activist and religious leader who also hails claim to being the President of the National Action Network also known as NAN. Al Sharpton began his ministry at the tender age of four, preaching his first sermon at Washington Temple Church of God & Christ in Brooklyn. Just five years later, the Washington Temple church’s legendary Bishop F.D. Washington licensed Al Sharpton, his protégé, to be a Pentecostal minister. Rev. Sharpton’s civil rights career began almost as early as his ministry. At thirteen, Revs. Jesse Jackson and William Jones appointed Sharpton youth director of New York’s SCLC Operation Breadbasket, an organization founded by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in 1971. SCLC Operation Breadbasket sought to encourage diversity in the workplace by applying social and economic pressure on businesses. In 1969, Sharpton became the youth director for the program and participated in protests against the A&P supermarket chain in the early 1970s. He went on to establish his own organization, the National Youth Movement (NYM) at the age of sixteen. National Youth Movement, organized young people around the country to push for increased voter registration, cultural awareness and job training programs. From 1994 to 1998, Rev. Sharpton also served as the Director of the Ministers Division for the...
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...Chapter 5 Corruption and the watchdog role of the news media Sheila Coronel The notion of the press as watchdog is more than 200 years old. Yet the idea of vigilant media monitoring government and exposing its excesses has gained new traction in many parts of the world. Globalization, the fall of authoritarian and socialist regimes, and the deregulation of the media worldwide have fuelled a renewed interest in ––as well as a surge in efforts by various groups to support–– “watchdogging” by the media. Since the late 17th Century, classical liberal theorists had argued that publicity and openness provide the best protection from the excesses of power. The idea of the press as Fourth Estate, as an institution that exists primarily as a check on those in public office, was based on the premise that powerful states had to be prevented from overstepping their bounds. The press working independently of government, even as its freedoms were guaranteed by the state, was supposed to help ensure that this was so. The 1980s and 1990s saw the revival of this centuries‐old notion and its application especially to “transition societies” then emerging from the ruins of socialist and authoritarian regimes. It had resonance among citizens facing pervasive corruption, weak rule of law, and predatory or incompetent governments unable to deliver basic services. Today even in countries ...
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...Chapter 5 Corruption and the watchdog role of the news media Sheila Coronel The notion of the press as watchdog is more than 200 years old. Yet the idea of vigilant media monitoring government and exposing its excesses has gained new traction in many parts of the world. Globalization, the fall of authoritarian and socialist regimes, and the deregulation of the media worldwide have fuelled a renewed interest in ––as well as a surge in efforts by various groups to support–– “watchdogging” by the media. Since the late 17th Century, classical liberal theorists had argued that publicity and openness provide the best protection from the excesses of power. The idea of the press as Fourth Estate, as an institution that exists primarily as a check on those in public office, was based on the premise that powerful states had to be prevented from overstepping their bounds. The press working independently of government, even as its freedoms were guaranteed by the state, was supposed to help ensure that this was so. The 1980s and 1990s saw the revival of this centuries‐old notion and its application especially to “transition societies” then emerging from the ruins of socialist and authoritarian regimes. It had resonance among citizens facing pervasive corruption, weak rule of law, and predatory or incompetent governments unable to deliver basic services. Today even in countries ...
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...Web. 17 Mar. 2014. ""Hollywood Likes to Point to The... - Miss Representation | Facebook." "Hollywood Likes to Point to The... - Miss Representation | Facebook. BBC, 12 Sept. 2013. Web. 17 Mar. 2014. "Jane's Quotes in Miss Representation." Missrepresentation.org, 2011. Web. American females have been struggled a constant combat for inclusive equality in a culture that maintains an accommodation for men. Despite the fact that remarkable paces have been created for women, until our present day we are still known as victims of distortion and social prejudice. Miss Representation film demonstrates the humiliating interpretations of females' association in media through the lack of women's power in culture. Miss representation is an intuitive documentary film directed by Jennifer Siebel Newsom, and Kimberlee Acquaro. It disputes the restrictive and hideous realities of female's image in American media, demonstrating the overall impact on women and girls' self assurance and their healthy body, while supplying to the largely depression of women in modern culture. Assemble from the principle, the medium of film forces the media producers to be more ethical through employing affirmative female role models. The message of the film clearly illustrates how observers are been overwhelmed by over-sexualized media representations of females in divergence with pictures of enormous matter and leadership roles of females. Although the media are considered dispensable and is brainwashing...
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...Running Head: Mass Media in Elections Mass Media’s Affect on Voting Trends Arthur Gibford California State University California In today’s world, the news media reaches and affects every person in the United States. The question now is does mass media such as newspapers, television, and the internet affect the voting trends of the voters? The ownership of the media (Djankov, Nenova, McLiesh, & Shleifer, 2003), targeting specific demographics (Clinton & Lapinski, 2004), the implications of the internet (DiMaggio, Hargittai, Neuman, & Robinson, 2003) and how candidates use media (Aarts & Semetko, 2003) are all important aspects in determining whether a potential bias exists (Eveland & Shah, 2003) on the part of the news media. It is hypothesized that when the mass media displays certain biases leaning towards one party over the other, the populace tends to vote in the direction of the media. The following five scholarly literature reviews will attempt to demonstrate and support the hypothesis. According to Eveland and Shah (Eveland & Shah, 2003, p. 101)there is “a large percentage of the public (that) believes that the news media are biased, and the majority of these individuals consider the direction of bias to be against their own viewpoint”. This drives the question this paper attempts to answer. This article looks at media’s credibility and integrity in the eyes of individual people. The author’s give several hypothesis to provide multiple...
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...adults and children who watch and listen to obsessive amounts of television, movies, news, and popular music and aggressive behavior, stress, dispositions, and sleep and eating habits. The case study observations supported this theory. Keywords: mass media, mass-media control, aggressive behavior, perceptions, adverse misconceptions, psychological adaptation, media nationalism, suggestive media, groupthink nationalism Mass Media Control Mass media can influence opinions, values and beliefs of the general public by controlling the language used to report and communicate information. Our minds, throughout life, become a playing field for the producers to influence the consumers to buy into their various services, trends, politics, and products. It was stated by Abraham Lincoln, during the Gettysburg...
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...The portrayal of the mass media is seen to neutral and unbiased. Media is an agent of political socialization, which has created an impact on politics. Mass media has operated in a way that can affect politics in America. Today, significant factors contribute to the workers of mass media as their reports can face a high chance of influence to politician. Such influences include big corporations or the government, primarily to manipulate the mass audience for their own advantage. Mass media has a great influence on the public opinion as they can fluctuate what individuals should think, know and feel about politicians. The media supplies the general audience with information that voters can base their decisions on. From this, the media is able to manipulate the general public on extreme issues that interfere with the general publics’ rights, such as important issues regarding health or even political interferences. Although one may believe what they learn from the media may be a from an objective point of view, but in truth all information from the media has many external factors that can influence stories for a purpose. This paper will argue how the mass media has a direct influence on the general audience’s perspective and the opinions of the opinions of our political candidates. One area to notice is how certain issues in the media are given more attention in comparison where others are not. What is determined to be on the agenda of the media is a continuous competition from...
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...Hitler's 'facts' were unfounded, so too were The Daily Star and what resulted from both incidents was, in effect, the persecution of two minority groups within society. Hitler's quote stemmed from the use of propaganda, and although it would be fair to say that the essence of what is termed 'propaganda' does not exist in such a force today, it is nevertheless evident that what was quoted from The Daily Star is tantamount to propaganda. Throughout history, the mass media industry has been utilised as a tool to appeal to the public at large, particularly in the field of politics, where people in a position of power can tempt society into believing what they want them to believe. As Eldridge describes "The media, wittingly or unwittingly, reproduce the definitions of the powerful." [Eldridge 1997: 65] This document will examine not only the essence and origin of the term 'moral panic' but the very important nature of the media's involvement in the whole process of creating a 'moral panic'. It was Stanley Cohen, in his work, Folk Devils and Moral Panics. (1987) who first coined the term 'moral panics'. He defined the concept as a sporadic episode which, as it occurs, subjects society to bouts of moral panic, or in other terms, worry about the values and principles which society upholds which may be in jeopardy. He describes its characteristics as "a condition, episode, person or group of...
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...THE ROLE OF THE MEDIA IN DEEPENING DEMOCRACY SHEILA S. CORONEL EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Since the 17th century, the role of the press as Fourth Estate and as a forum for public discussion and debate has been recognized. Today, despite the mass media’s propensity for sleaze, sensationalism and superficiality, the notion of the media as watchdog, as guardian of the public interest, and as a conduit between governors and the governed remains deeply ingrained. The reality, however, is that the media in new and restored democracy do not always live up to the ideal. They are hobbled by stringent laws, monopolistic ownership, and sometimes, the threat of brute force. State controls are not the only constraints. Serious reporting is difficult to sustain in competitive media markets that put a premium on the shallow and sensational. Moreover, the media are sometimes used as proxies in the battle between rival political groups, in the process sowing divisiveness rather than consensus, hate speech instead of sober debate, and suspicion rather than social trust. In these cases, the media contribute to public cynicism and democratic decay. Still, in many fledgling democracies, the media have been able to assert their role in buttressing and deepening democracy. Investigative reporting, which in some cases has led to the ouster of presidents and the fall of corrupt governments, has made the media an effective and credible watchdog and boosted its credibility among the public. Investigative reporting...
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