Public opinion
collection of views shared by a segment of society on issues of interest or concern
Who is 'the public'?
- the totality of the populacei.e. - all Americans
often opinions of this grouping are led by the actions of leaders
--or--
i.e. - female Americans; black Americans
often opinions of these groups drive the public agenda Why do we care about their opinions?
public opinion helps shape public policy in the United States
How do we know the opinions of 'the public'?
- writing letters to elected officials
- speaking at a public hearing
- public organizations
- voting trends
- public opinion polls
Political socialization
the process by which people acquire their political beliefs
Influences on an individual's political socialization
- family
- peer group (school/work)
- age
- race
- gender
- religion
- socio-economic status
(See Table 6-1 on p.219 of the text)
Impact of the media on public beliefs and opinion
- covers political happenings
- monitors and shapes public agenda by way of what it covers (and doesn't cover)
- entertain
- report the news
- identify public problems
- socialize new generations
- provide a political forum
- make profit*
Media used to be small. Now we have mass media.
Media used to be openly biased. Then objective journalism was en vogue. Today, shaded journalism.
News agencies used to engage in broadcasting. Now they engage in narrowcasting.
Common criticism of the media
- bias in reporting
- bias in story selection
- factual inaccuracy
- media consolidation
Measuring public opinion through polling
Straw polls have been used for years to gauge public opinion.
For an accurate measure of public opinion, one must conduct a scientific poll. This is done by:
- determining your sample universe
- selecting an appropriate-sized random sample
- using carefully crafted, non-leading questions
- measuring results and determining the margin of error (roughly 3-4% is acceptable)
