POLI 2051 Lecture : Lecture Ch6
Document Summary
Mass media - technology that allows individuals to communicate efficiently with a large group and over distances. In political science we are primarily concerned with information media because it informs us as citizens. And from here on i will be using the term media to describe news sources. Controlled media - candidates control the content of the message. Positive (acclaim): self-praise, i will improve education , i will work for a prescription drug benefit . Negative (attacks): criticism of opponent, my opponent opposes tax cuts for americans . Defenses: responses to attacks, the accusation that i will raise taxes is simply false. Brief history of ads historically, most ads have been positive, but since 2010 (citizens united case applying rights to corporations), the percentage of negative ads has increased each year, with outside groups having the highest percentage. In the last three election cycles, the majority of the ads have been negative.
