campaigns, elections, and mass media unit 4. nominations definition: the official endorsements of...
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Campaigns, Elections, and Campaigns, Elections, and Mass MediaMass Media
Unit 4
NominationsNominations
Definition: the official endorsements of candidates for office by political parties
What is necessary for a candidate to win the nomination?– Momentum– Money– Media attention– Strategy
Competing for DelegatesCompeting for Delegates
Caucus Primary Frontloading
Competing for DelegatesCompeting for Delegates
Evaluating the Primary/Caucus System– Disproportionate attention to early ones– Prominent politicians do not run.– Money plays too big a role.– Participation in primaries and caucuses is low and
unrepresentative; 20 percent vote in primaries.– The system gives too much power to the media.
The Nomination GameThe Nomination Game
The CampaignThe Campaign
Why did the primary/caucus system change the role of national conventions?
Why is the media a deciding factor in who gets elected?
Who is involved in a campaign “organization”?
Money and CampaigningMoney and Campaigning
The Maze of Campaign Finance Reforms– Federal Election Campaign Act (1974)
Created the FEC and Presidential Election Campaign Fund Provided partial public financing for presidential primaries Provided full public financing for major party candidates in
the general election Required full disclosure and limited contributions
Money and CampaigningMoney and Campaigning
The Maze of Campaign Finance Reforms– What is “soft money”?– The McCain-Feingold Act (2002) banned soft
money, increased amount of individual contributions, and limited “issue ads.”
– What are “527s”?
Money and CampaigningMoney and Campaigning
The Proliferation of PACs– Political Action Committees (PACs): created
by law in 1974 to allow corporations, labor unions and other interest groups to donate money to campaigns
– PACs donate to candidates who support their issue.
What is the “doctrine of sufficiency”?
The Impact of CampaignsThe Impact of Campaigns
Campaigns have three effects on voters:– Reinforcement, Activation, Conversion
Why are campaigns sometimes ineffective at changing the outcome of elections?– Selective perception– Party identification– Incumbency advantage
Understanding Nominations Understanding Nominations and Campaignsand Campaigns
Does the nomination and campaign process promote democracy?
Do campaigns lead to an increased scope of government?– Candidates make numerous promises, especially to
state and local interests.– Hard for politicians to promise to cut size of
government
How American Elections WorkHow American Elections Work
Three types of elections:– Select party nominees (primary elections)– Select officeholders (general elections)– Select options on specific policies
Referendum Initiative
Voter ApathyVoter Apathy
Downs voting theory Political Efficacy Civic Duty Voter registration/Motor Voter Act
Who Votes?Who Votes?
Education – Most important factor Age Race Gender Marital Status Union Membership Cumulative effect
How Americans VoteHow Americans Vote
Mandate Theory of ElectionsParty IdentificationCandidate Image
How Americans VoteHow Americans Vote
Policy Voting– Basing your vote choice on issue preferences and
where the candidates stand on policy issues– Unlikely to occur because:
Candidates ambiguous “Horse race journalism” dominates
– How does the primary system serve to increase policy voting?
How the Electoral College How the Electoral College WorksWorks
– # of votes based on congressional representation– Winner-take-all system dominant in states– Electors vote in December, reported in January– If no candidate gets a majority (270 votes), the House
of Representatives votes for president (1 vote/state)
Small States Dominant?Small States Dominant?
Understanding Elections and Understanding Elections and Voting BehaviorVoting Behavior
How do elections promote democracy? How do elections impact the scope of
government?
Mass Media PoliticsMass Media Politics
How has technology changed politics? Why has the process of image making become
more important since the 1970s?
Print MediaPrint Media
Why is Print Media in decline?– Newspapers and magazines– Pecking order among newspapers
New York Times has largest impact
Broadcast MediaBroadcast Media
How did Broadcast Media change politics?– Brought government and politics into peoples’
homes– Politicians’ appearance and mannerisms more
important
Broadcast MediaBroadcast Media
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regulates the use of airwaves in three ways:
Prevent near monopoly control of market Reviews performance of stations Issues fair treatment rules for politicians
Narrowcasting: media programming on cable TV or Internet that is focused on one topic and aimed at a particular audience, e.g., C-SPAN
Cable News Channels report on news as it happens and offer choices
The Internet as News SourceThe Internet as News Source
The Impact of the Internet– Internet is purposive—people choose what to
learn about Why is the purposive nature of Internet a concern
for our democracy?
Media OwnershipMedia Ownership
How does private control of media outlets and the dependence on ad revenues endanger journalistic integrity?
Massive conglomerates account for over four-fifths of the nation’s daily newspaper circulation
Six companies own most of the broadcast media in this country
Reporting the NewsReporting the News
Finding the News– Beats– Trial Balloons
Presenting the News– Sound Bites: short video clips– Less time devoted to covering political candidates– Interesting pictures, negative reporting
The News and Public OpinionThe News and Public Opinion
How does television news shape public opinion? The policy agenda?
What is the theory of political entrepreneurship?
Understanding the Mass Understanding the Mass MediaMedia
How does media promote democracy? How does media impact the scope of government? How has media helped to increase the relative
importance of the presidency?