How does the media industry influence political behavior?

By: Emily 

Before reading this article I had a pretty good understanding how profound the impact the media industry has on politics. This article describes a political scientist's point on how the media makes politicians less likely to indulge.

The media has always done a really good job, whether it’s wanted or not, at publicly exploiting people and topics. This article perfectly describes the relationship that media and politicians have. For example, Snyder states that “the model assumes that media commentators are unbiased and strive to present the news factually and that people act rationally in their best interests. Because these assumptions represent a best-case scenario for the media to reduce pandering, it is surprising that the media sometimes makes matters worse.”

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The phrase “there is no such thing is bad publicity holds true in most cases involving the media and politics. For example, in this year's presidential race, Donald Trump gains a lot of  press, mostly bad, but surely eye catching. This publicity is helpful in Trumps case due to the fact that he’s making headlines and capturing people's attention. In this youtube video, The Young Turks; the hosts of an online news media show, explain the link between campaign coverage and campaign performance. Highlighting the fact that media coverage has a profound effect on the success or downfall of a politician's campaign.

Although the media industry doesn’t always cover accurate information, there is no doubt that when it comes to politics the media does a great job at influencing potential voters.

Works Cited

"Ken Shotts: How Does the Media Influence Political Behavior?" Stanford Graduate School of  

Business. Web. 18 Sept. 2016.