Media Politics

Unit: Introduction to Politics and Policy

Word Count : 2,000

Topic : What roles do political institutions play in the development and implementation of public policy? Why is the implementation of public policy considered difficult?

Introduction

The news media's relationship with politics has led some scholars to advocate the concept of ' the news media as a political institution'. In Australia for instance, there is growing fear of journalists manipulating people's political perspectives in favor of parties they support. These journalists or editors have either in previous year employed as public relations officers by two of the main parties in the federal parliament or in some way had close contact with politicians in their electorates. This favourtisim attitude to different fractions of politics is noticeable in recent events such as the Labor leadership saga, Craig Thompson and the Health Services Union, Carbon and Mining Tax scheme, to name a few. Whilst many in the opposite side of politics continue to play down the private media's hidden agenda in favour of their policies, I will argue that based on the right wing attitude of the Murdoch press in Australia, the media is a political institution that is easily defined in two characteristics. First, it plays a crucial role in shaping and articulating the process of political issues, and second, they have particular political and economic interests to which they must attend.

Media Agenda or Public Opinion

The Australian media had for a very long time enjoyed the freedom to speak and report freely on issues of interests. This freedom however had afforded the media with the opportunity to become persuasive to the point where they shape the way we think and behave politically. Media scholars have long disagreed with the idea of the media dictating the way people think, largely due to the notion that propaganda have minimal effect on people as individuals regardless, hold strong...