What is polarization? Using lecture and assigned readings and podcasts, explain whether there is a relationship between social media use and polarization.
-Polarization• Definition for US politics: Growing distance between Democrats and Republicans• Can be in reference to policy positions or affective polarization-Polarization and Social Media• Notion that algorithms may contribute to polarization• Recall the idea of social sorting• If algorithms mostly show favorable content (e.g., content that aligns with your preferences) that might fuel sorting and polarization. Please use the source i included for this assignment.
2. A journalist receives four potential stories to write about a publish. They choose to only write and publish two of them. What type of media bias is this? How might this type of media bias influence public opinion? -Media Bias
• 1. Gatekeeping Bias= preference for selecting stories from
one party or the other
• People tend to focus on ideological bias
• The idea is that media figures are pushing a particular
political agenda
• Is there evidence of ideological bias?
• Focus on mainstream perspectives
• Neglecting certain types of issues
Chasing Ratings
3. What is the main mechanism in which media influences public opinion on a large scale? Is it more what people think about a topic or what topics people think about? Please explain what social science evidence we know to back this up.
Please use this as a basis for answering the question.
Media Influence
• How much can the media persuade public opinion?
• In the early days of media research, just after WWII,
scholars expected to find big media effects
• Hitler’s rise to power was thought to be largely based on propaganda
Propaganda?
• Minimal media effects
• Americans were resistant to persuasion
• Selective exposure vs. selective perception • Both are components of motivated reasoning
• This minimal effects model became the new standard
Selective Exposure
• Seeking out evidence that confirms your views
• Or avoiding sources that challenge them
• This is even easier in today’s media environment (Fox News, MSNBC, etc.)
Selective Perception
• Occurs after information has already been transmitted • Accept congruent information uncritically, without
thinking
• Counter-argue contradictory information
Media Effects?
• No evidence for persuasion effects/propaganda
• How does the media affect viewers? Does it?
• Less influence on what people think—more influence on what they think about
• Iyengar and Kinder—News that Matters
Agenda-Setting
• Can the news media influence which issues viewers think are important?
• Iyengar and Kinder
• “Methodological pluralism”
• Laboratory experiments
• Content analysis of the news • Public opinion polls
