Roles of the Media in Politics/Elections

Professional Interest Groups

Advocates for people in a particular profession, such as doctors, lawyers, and teachers

Media as Agenda-setter

The media can be responsible for deciding what issues society discusses in the public sphere. Media can influence what is on the public agenda.

Single-Issue Interest Groups

focuses on one narrow topic, such as immigration or drunk driving.

Public Interest Groups

focuses on topics that affect the general public like education, the environment, and politics

Medium

is a method of communicating information, entertainment or other messages.

Media

is the plural form of the word medium

"B" is for Business

most media are for profit organizations looking to make money by selling space on air or selling more papers

Ideological Interest Groups

promotes policies based on a set of core political or religious beliefs

Economic Interests Groups

promotes the economic interests of their members in business, labor, and trade organizations

mass media

refers to the forms of communication to large numbers of people

Media as Gatekeeper

the media decides which stories and issues are important enough to receive public attention and which aren't.

Media as a Watchdog

the media keeps watch on the government and others in power. It speaks out to alert the public if something happens that shouldn't. Sometimes simply reporting the information is playing watchdog. Without the media we would not know what is happening behind closed doors

"the media"

usually it is referring to the sources of our news and information about current events.