American Politics Today - Essentials (3rd Ed)

THE NEWS MEDIA| 145

tions in late 2009 and the continued reductions in troop levels in 2010 and 2011
were also consistent with public opinion during this period.
I n f a c t , it i s h a r d t o fi nd a major policy change that did not have majority support
at the time it was made. Consider 2011: eff orts ranging from the U.S. intervention
in Libya to budget reduction agreements and establishment of a debt supercom-
mittee all refl ected the demands of a majority of Americans. This is exactly what
we should expect if public opinion is relevant to what happens in politics.

The News Media

Closely related to our discussion of public opinion is the role of the news media,
for it is generally through the media that Americans receive political information.
This section describes the mass media, the many sources of political informa-
tion available to Americans. It also identifi es dramatic changes in new forms of
media and the way these changes aff ect not only the amount of political informa-
tion available and how it is delivered, but also how people use it. Finally, we con-
sider how the media may infl uence public opinion and politics.

Media Sources

There are many sources of political information—from mainstream media
such as newspapers, TV and radio stations, books, and magazines, to countless
Internet-based sources. As you will see, media sources are not interchangeable:
what you learn about politics depends on where you look. Here we consider each
major type of media before discussing how the Internet is changing the way Amer-
icans experience politics.

PRINT MEDIA

National newspapers, such as the New York Times, Wa shin gto n Post, Los Angeles
Times, and Wall Street Journal, cover American politics using a large, worldwide
staff. Of the many magazines that cover politics, national weeklies such as Time
and Newsweek often feature political events as front-page news. Smaller regional
and local papers serve medium- to large-size cities and smaller towns. Recent

DESCRIBE THE MAJOR

TYPES OF NEWS SOURCES

AND THE ROLE THEY PLAY

IN AMERICAN POLITICS

mass media Sources that provide

information to the average citizen,

such as newspapers, television net-

works, radio stations, and websites.

mainstream media Media

sources that predate the Internet,

such as newspapers, magazines,

television, and radio.

POLITICIANS READ PUBLIC OPINION

polls closely to gauge whether

their behavior will anger or please

constituents. Few politicians

always follow survey results—but

virtually none would agree with

Calvin’s father that polls should be

ignored entirely.