American Political Culture and personal ideology Ch 1

American Political Culture and personal ideology Ch. 1& 10

American Political Culture and the Basic Tenets of American Democracy 1. 4 ¤ Liberty and Equality ¤ Popular Consent, Majority Rule, and Popular Sovereignty ¤ Individualism ¤ Religious Faith and Religious Freedom

Popular Consent, Majority Rule, and Popular Sovereignty ¤ Popular consent n Governments derive power by consent of the governed ¤ Majority rule n Bill of Rights protects minority rights ¤ Popular sovereignty n Natural law 1. 4

Individualism ¤ Unique to American democracy ¤ Traced to Puritans ¤ Linked to unalienable rights 1. 4

Religious Faith and Religious Freedom 1. 4 ¤ Religious conflict motivation for immigration ¤ Colonists sought freedom of religion n Did not want to grant it to others ¤ Religious freedom enshrined in Constitution n Tolerance still more of an ideal

The Changing American Public ¤ ¤ ¤ Racial and Ethnic Composition Aging Religious Beliefs Regional Growth and Expansion Family and Family Size 1. 5

Racial and Ethnic Composition ¤ Immigration from Eastern Europe ¤ Growth of Hispanic population ¤ Minorities now the majority 1. 5

Figure 1. 2 How does population affect representation? 1. 5

Aging ¤ Strain on Social Security ¤ Impact on working Americans 1. 5

Religious Beliefs ¤ No longer so uniform ¤ Different political and social demands 1. 5

Regional Growth and Expansion ¤ North versus south ¤ Anti-government bias of West 1. 5

Family and Family Size ¤ Gender roles ¤ Declining marriage rate ¤ Same sex marriage 1. 5

Political Ideology ¤ What Is a Political Ideology? ¤ Finding Your Political Ideology ¤ Problems with Ideological Labels 1. 6

What Is a Political Ideology? ¤ Four functions of ideologies: n Explanation n Evaluation n Orientation n Political program 1. 6

Finding Your Political Ideology ¤ Conservatives n Social conservatives ¤ Liberals ¤ Moderates 1. 6

FIGURE 1. 3: What are Americans’ political ideologies? 1. 6

Problems with Ideological Labels ¤ Is left-to-right the only direction? ¤ Economic versus personal liberties 1. 6

Forming Political Opinions ¤ ¤ ¤ Demographic Characteristics Family, Peers, and School The Mass Media Cues from Leaders or Opinion Makers Political Knowledge 10. 3

Demographic Characteristics ¤ Gender n Women historically more liberal than men 10. 3

TABLE 10. 1: Do men and women think differently about political issues? 10. 3

Political Gender Gap

Demographic Characteristics ¤ Urban vs. Rural ¤ Race and ethnicity n Differences among and within races and ethnicities ¤ Age affects political socialization ¤ Religion shapes political beliefs 10. 3

Family, Peers, and School ¤ Family influence n Children learn political beliefs at early age ¤ Peers are influential in middle or high school ¤ Political socialization in school 10. 3

The Mass Media ¤ Traditional news sources n Americans are turning away from them ¤ Nontraditional news media n Talk radio, online magazines, blogs ¤ Cable and Internet n Often skewed 10. 3

Cues from Leaders or Opinion Makers ¤ Political leaders use media to influence public ¤ President uses media as a bully pulpit 10. 3

Public Opinion and the News Media 10

Political Knowledge ¤ Political knowledge and political participation n Have a reciprocal effect on each other ¤ Americans’ level of civic knowledge n Lower than 50 years ago 10. 3

Public Opinion Polling

The Earliest Public Opinion Research ¤ Polling to predict winner of elections ¤ Polling to discover public opinions n Walter Lippmann’s Public Opinion ¤ Literary Digest n Straw poll n Sample 10. 1

The Gallup Organization ¤ George Gallup n Dissertation on how to measure the readership of newspapers n Expanded research to study public opinion about politics ¤ Increased use of polling to market products and candidates 10. 1

FIGURE 10. 1: How successful has the Gallup Poll been? 10. 1

Conducting and Analyzing Public Opinion Polls ¤ ¤ Designing the Survey and Sample Contacting Respondents Analyzing the Data Shortcomings of Polling 10. 2

10. 1

Designing the Survey and Sample 10. 2 ¤ Determining the content and phrasing of the questions n Wording is crucial n “Push polls” ¤ Selecting the sample n Population n Random sampling n Stratified sampling

Contacting Respondents ¤ Telephone polls n Random digit dialing survey n Tracking polls 10. 2

Contacting Respondents ¤ In-person interviews n Exit polls ¤ Internet polls n Scientific polls versus unscientific Web polls 10. 2

FIGURE 10. 2: What does a daily tracking poll look like? 10. 2

Analyzing the Data 10. 2 ¤ Reveals implications for public policy and political campaigns ¤ Data analyzed by computers n Subgroups of population, such as men versus women, age groups, or political ideology, may be analyzed ¤ Margin of error n Natural errors in statistical measurement, typically 4% ¤ Sampling error n Small samples can be accurate IF drawn correctly

Shortcomings of Polling ¤ ¤ Limited respondent options Lack of information Difficulty measuring intensity Lack of interest in political issues 10. 2

Can polls measure intensity of opinion? 10. 2

Roots of the News Media in the United States ¤ Print Media ¤ Radio News ¤ TV News ¤ Online Media ¤ Current News Media Trends ¤ Citizen Journalists 10. 4

Current News Media Trends: Corporate Ownership and Media Consolidation ¤ Private ownership = independence n For-profit business n Pressure to consolidate, eliminate competition ¤ Risks of consolidation n Limit flow of information n Focus on what sells n Please advertisers 10. 4

Narrowcasting ¤ Targeting specific populations ¤ News audiences divided along partisan lines ¤ Appeals to preexisting views 10. 4

Infotainment ¤ Blending information and entertainment ¤ Political leaders use these shows Reach larger audiences Humanize politician ¤ Audience sophistication matters 10. 4

Increasing Use of Experts ¤ Talking heads fill airtime ¤ Who are these experts? Officials, consultants, former politicians, academics, etc. ¤ Influence on the public Lack of objectivity Weaken democratic deliberation 10. 4

Citizen Journalists ¤ Ordinary individuals n Collect, report, and analyze n Post content not covered n Provide on the scene coverage n Cheaper than hiring reporters ¤ Problems with amateur reporting n Lack of objectivity n Quality varies 10. 4

Government Regulations 10. 5 ¤ Libel and slander are illegal ¤ Prior restraint n New York Times v. U. S. (1971) ¤ Electronic media regulated more heavily n Airwaves are public property n Limited supply ¤ Media ownership n Telecommunications Act (1996) ¤ Content n Equal time rule

Covering the Presidency ¤ Receives most media coverage ¤ Prestigious post for a reporter ¤ Daily Q&A with press secretary 10. 6

Covering Congress ¤ Logistical challenge n 535 members ¤ Focus on party leaders n Majority and minority leaders in both houses n Whips ¤ Key committee chairs ¤ Coverage is negative n Focus on scandals and conflict 10. 6

Covering the Supreme Court ¤ Media vacuum n n TV cameras not permitted Few reporters cover Court Complex legal issues harder to present Justices rarely grant interviews 10. 6

News Media Influence ¤ Media effects n Influencing public opinion ¤ Agenda setting n Influence issues addressed by government ¤ Framing n How an issue is portrayed affects how it is perceived n Greater influence on foreign policy n Less personal experience 10. 7

News Media Bias ¤ Journalists are biased n Values, preferences, attitudes ¤ How are news media biased n Elite bias n Dramatic bias ¤ News media stardom 10. 7

Public Confidence ¤ Assessment unfavorable n Inaccurate n Biased n Rich and powerful influence coverage ¤ Valuable watchdog role 10. 7