Political Parties and the Media

Political Parties and the Media

By Mary Corrigan

Party of "less" government

People should choose to support programs​

Fewer taxes, fewer business regulations, fewer social programs, private healthcare

Right, conservative, elephant, red​

Republicans

Party of "more" government

​ Government should provide for the people

More taxes, more social programs, socialized healthcare​

Left, liberal, donkey, blue​

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Democrats

Political Parties

The US is considered a two-party system; while third parties don't hold a lot of power, they can influence elections by pulling voters

Multiple Choice

Which of the following is a reason why political parties are important to the political process of the United States?

• They allow one group to grow stronger than the other.

• They prevent one group from exercising total control over the government

• They prevent the public from having a voice in government

• They create a direct democracy and allow everyone to vote for major issues

Multiple Choice

What is the role of primaries and caucuses in the presidential election process?

• They are not important to the election process

• They prevent the states from having a voice in electing the candidates

• They encourage third parties to present candidates

• They allow the major political parties to narrow down to one candidate

​The Electoral College

State Electoral vote is determined by Senators + Representatives; Florida has 30 Electoral votes

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Each state will cast ballots to determine which candidate gets that state's Electoral Votes

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Candidate with 270 Electoral Votes wins

Some text here about the topic of discussion

Presidential Election Process

Multiple Choice

How do citizens votes play a role in the presidential election process?

• Citizens vote for representatives and senators who vote for the president

• Citizens do not play a role in the presidential election process

• The votes of citizens in each state determine how the state's electoral votes will be cast

• The Electoral College determines the voting and the citizens vote to pick their electors.

Political Action Committees (PACs) work to raise money for candidates on behalf of special interest groups

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Way of allowing clarity and accounting of money being used to support candidates

Political Action Committees

Special Interst Groups are a group of like-minded people who work to impact legislation

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Lobbyists represent Special Interest Groups to try to influence government officials

Special Interest Groups/ Lobbying

Influencing Government

Special Interst Groups can work with lobbyists or work directly with government officials to support their causes

Multiple Choice

How do lobbyists, interest groups, and PACs impact government?

• Interest groups raise funds through PACs to keep lobbyists from influencing government officials

• Interest groups can use lobbyists to engage with government officials and PACs to help support candidates who support their interest

• Lobbyists work with government officials to raise money through PACs to keep interest groups from influencing government

• The three things are not related and do not work to impact government

Media

The way in which we receive information; internet, tv, newspaper​

1st Amendment protects freedom of media and publications​

Media as a gatekeeper - media controls what information makes it to the public

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Media as an agenda-setter - media decides how information is presented

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Media as a watchdog - media monitors people and government and "barks" to alert us when something happens​

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Media serves an important role in informing the public but we need to be sure to consider the way information is presented

Multiple Choice

A local news station refuses to publish a story about one of its reporters getting arrested wanting to keep it under wraps. Which role of media does this NOT fall under?

• Media as a watchdog

• Media as an agenda-setter

• Media as a gate keeper

• Biased media

Media that is biased and works to convince of a specific point of view​

Propaganda

Having an opinion one way or another

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Everyone is biased​

Bias

Bias and Propaganda

When considering media, always take into account possible bias or the fact it could be propaganda

Multiple Choice

Which of the following is not a role of propaganda

• To influence the audience to feel a particular way

• To present biased information

• To catch the attention of the audience

• To present multiple sides of a situation