How can the media impact the public's opinion on public policy?

Answer 1

Newspapers can have a big impact on the public's opinion on social and economic views, The more people hear about causes and problems from the media, the more it leads them to form opinions on it.

Answer 2

In many ways there is a symbiotic relationship between politics and public opinion. Politicians try to take stands they believe with be popular with their constituents, or they promote policies they believe the public will be eager to support. Similarly, voters let their representatives know that they oppose a particular policy and do not want it to become law. We saw this during segregation-- there were certain political figures in the south who probably realized that segregation should end, but they knew their constituents still supported it, so in order to remain in office, these politicians did not take a strong stand on it, lest they be voted out.

On the other hand, politicians and public speakers have known for centuries that it is easy to stir people up and get them to oppose a particular policy, even if the policy itself is really not so bad. For example, when President Obama and congress passed health-care reform (called "Obamacare" by his political opponents), the public was told repeatedly by Sarah Palin and other Republicans that there would soon be "death panels" that would determine whether elderly people would live or die. In actuality, the law contained no such thing, yet the repetition of the "death panels" talking point on conservative radio and TV convinced many people that the new health care law was bad, even though most had never delved into what it actually said.

Politicians have also manipulated public opinion about such hot-button issues as Immigration, gay marriage, and even birth control. When certain misinformation is repeated so frequently that it becomes accepted as the truth, it leads to the public voting against certain laws or removing certain politicians from office. This is an example of how public opinion can be aroused in a negative way.

But it is also true that the public can be persuaded to make political changes for more positive reasons. Many people who voted for Franklin Delano Roosevelt were convinced that his predecessor, Herbert Hoover, had not done enough to end the Depression, and they came to believe that Roosevelt could make things better. Frequently, politicians will marshal public opinion to bring about social change or to persuade the public that a certain politician or a certain political party has the answer during difficult times. Similarly, there are times when the public is outraged by a particular event and will demand that their representatives do something about it.

Answer 3

The media can impact the public's opinion on public policy through agenda setting, framing, and priming. By choosing what issues to cover, how to portray them, and how frequently to report on them, the media can influence how the public perceives and prioritizes policy issues. Media coverage can shape public understanding, attitudes, and support for specific policies or political decisions.

Answer 4

by providing information to a large number of people