Media wins elections in America

Essay from the year 2004 in the subject Politics - International Politics - Topic: Globalization, Political Economics, University of Kassel, course: American Presidential System, language: English, abstract: In today's technological world, the media just like computers, atomic power,aircraft and automobiles is everywhere. The American political system hasentered a new period of high tech politics, a politics which the behavior of citizens and policy makers as well as the political agenda itself is increasingly shaped by technology. The mass media is the key to that technology, television radio, newspaper, magazine influence not only elites but masses (linebery et al 1993).Although the mechanism remains the same, the US election at the presidential have change drastically over the last 40 years. In terms of campaign, conduct of campaign, the contemporary US elections is virtually an ongoing process in a scale that few politicians from a pre war era would recognize. At the risk of over stating the power of the medium, these changes can largely be attributed to the development of the media. Television has made people better informed about the political process or more expose to it, fostering them to have a greater say in the choice of candidate. In turn, politicians have recognized the importance of voters and the volatility of their support and as a result have resorted to the persuasive techniques of television professional (Andy 1998).