Introduction
The power of media in determining the course that major political events take cannot be ignored. The Media has been instrumental in shaping up perceptions. Politicians and governments have used Media to influence and shape behaviors. Citizens rely on the media for information that enlightens, educates in a nonpartisan and factual format. Over the past century, politicians have been using the media to sell their different motives and strategies they hope to implement if elected in office. The fact that the mass media can reach thousands or even millions of people at the same time is what gives the politicians the zeal and urge to carry out their campaigns over that medium of communication mostly. Although the only role that any political party convention has is to nominate a presidential candidate formally, the convention also wants the candidate that is nominated to win votes during the general elections. That reason is what prompts them to go to the mass media with the sole aim of convincing the citizens to vote for the presidential candidate that they nominate. Ever since the year 1960, many changes have taken place in the field of mass media, and such changes have in different ways changed individual and societal thinking about politics and politicians.
Statement of the Problem
The main purpose of this research report paper is to determine the way in which changes in the mass media influenced both individual and societal thinking about politics and politicians.
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The Major Milestones in the History of Mass Media between 1960 and Today
The mass media has achieved several significant milestones ever since the year 1960. However, its evolution has been faced with significant problems and concerns. Many people have accused the mass media of poor quality, bias and mind control on a regular basis. Despite all that, one fact remains true- mass media enables too many people to find a lot of information with ease than it was before- in the previous generations. Mass media exists in various forms- television, internet news, radio or even print media. On top of that, mass media can either be local, national or even international. It can also be either limited or broad. Despite the fact that the first continuous form of print media was established back in the year 1704, much has been happening or the same since 1960. For instance, the print media started printing news about corrupt and practices of the government. This brought many corrupt business owners and the government officials in the limelight. By the year 2003, print media managed to earn $44.9 as revenue from adverts (Walsh-Childers, 2016) However, the increase in other forms of mass media led to a decline in print subscriptions, especially in the 21 st century. However, print media has become leaner over the years than the previous forms that it had.
Radios have also achieved major milestones since 1960. By the 1980s, talk stations had already begun to gain ground on both FM and Am. Frequencies and this made the radio an essential tool in politics. In the 1990s, national talk shows were taking place, and politicians had the chance to talk to the citizens through the radio stations. By the beginning of the 21 st century, the need for local towers had to be eliminated, and broadcasting was done digitally from satellites in orbit. This major milestone has exempted many people from being governed by FCC regulations. The television allows voters to see the candidate answer questions or speak during live or recorded interviews. In 1960, presidential campaigns used Hollywood style approach. In the same year, the first-ever televised presidential debate took place. Since then, televised debates continued being used on a regular basis for presidential campaigns (Webley, 2010)
In 1984, Ferraro, Democratic vice president, used the television to answer accusations held against him (Goldstein 2011). By the 1990s, presidents even used the television to comfort people during times of an emergency. For instance, Bill Clinton comforted the families whose members and children were killed during the bombing of Oklahoma City federal building.
Due to inventions of the cable in the 1980s, expansions of the internet in the 21 st century opened up many options for the lovers of the media. This gave viewers the chance to watch almost anything they want by a click of a button. As a result, many viewers may get bored with watching the news and resolve to other things that are of more interest to them (Dagnes, 2010). However, this brought about the possibility of politicians to bypass journalists and get in contact with their supporters more easily. For instance, Barrack Obama used YouTube to campaign and also respond to charges that he had beliefs on racism.
Use of Mass Media and Social Media during Presidential Campaigns
Nixon/ Kennedy campaign in 1960
The campaign between Richard M. Nixon and John F. Kennedy was mainly carried out through the use of the TV and radio. Throughout their campaign period, four presidential debates were held. The first-ever televised presidential debate took place on 26/09/1960 (Monica, 2014). It was broadcasted by all the major TV channels and radio stations all over the US. During the debate, John F. Kennedy won the battle against Richard M. Nixon simply because he appeared to be more telegenic. This is despite the fact that on radio stations, Richard Nixon won the people's hearts by the careful use of his words of mouth.
Bush/ Clinton campaign in 1992
Just as the 1960 presidential campaign, the 1992 election between Bush and Clinton was run mostly by the use of the TV, although a little knowledge of the internet was applied. Despite the fact that Bush deserved a win since the economic conditions were a bit better, he lost to Clinton since the mass media made the state appear to be too worse than it really was.
Obama/ Romney campaign in 2012
The campaign between Barrack Obama and Mitt Romney were in most aspects carried out through social media and some small aspect carried out through the mass media. The campaign was more about portraying the negative side of the opponent. Obama's side used social media especially Facebook and YouTube to persuade voters to vote for him. As was the norm, the presidential debate took place, and Romney performed better than Obama. However, through the use of social media, Obama was able to regain his lead, and he ended up being re-elected (Hwang, 2016) .
Impacts of Social Media on the Presidential Campaigns
Nixon/ Kennedy campaign in 1960
As discussed earlier, the main reason why Senator John F. Kennedy won the 1960 presidential race against his opponent- Vice President Richard M. Nixon was the impact on mass media on the citizens concerning the right candidate who should be voted in as the president of the US. Senator John F. Kennedy presented himself well during the televised presidential debate and answered all questions confidently. This made the viewers to approve him more than Vice President Richard M. Nixon who was still recovering from flu and thus looked pale since he had also resisted wearing makeup. No matter how convincing he sounded while talking, he could not beat Kennedy who seemed to be more appealing.
Bush/ Clinton campaign in 1992
During the year 1992, economic conditions in the country seemed a bit favorable. If it were not for the mass media, chances were that Bush would have been re-elected. This is due to the fact that when economic conditions are favorable, voters are more likely to re-elect incumbents. The media portrayed the economic conditions as worse than they actually were and this made the voters vote for Clinton with hopes that things would improve economically.
Obama/ Romney campaign in 2012
Contrary to the other elections where the mass media had been the main determinant on who won the election, social media determined the winner during the 2012 elections. For instance, President Barrack Obama had various social media accounts, and he used them to get in touch with the voters. Even though he performed poorly during the presidential debate, he still made it to the white house since he was able to interact with the voters and convince them to vote him in.
Difference between Social Media and Mass Media
The major difference between social media and mass media lies on how they treat their audience; mass media always puts the audience at a passive position while the audience of the social media is always put at the center of whatever is taking place. Viewers are not easily involved in mass media activities while in social media, viewers are fully involved in that is happening.
Influence of the Media on Individual and Societal Thinking
As seen on the effect of the media on the political campaign, the media has the ability to change the way in which both individuals and the society view different things and ideas. For instance, when marketing campaigns are carried out on the media by different companies, most people tend to buy depending on the quality of the advert that the companies have. This clearly depicts the fact that most of the thinking by individuals and society is determined by the media (Tsfati & Cohen, 2013) .
Conclusion
Impacts of the changes in mass media on individual and societal thinking about politics and politicians since 1960. Voters normally make decisions based on what the media has to say concerning a certain politician. They also rate politicians according to what they say during debates and other functions. The same happens for the society. Concerning individual and societal thinking on politics, both normally take the decision that the mass media has concerning the same. They always participate in events that the mass media says are right and believe in many things that the mass media says. Basically, changes in mass media since 1960 have made individuals and society to rely more on it and always concur with what the media says.
References
Dagnes, A. (2010). Politics on Demand: The Effects of 24-Hour News on American Politics (New Directions in Media). Colorado: ABC-CLIO, LLC.
Davey, M. (2014). 1960: The First Mass Media Election. Retrieved from https://www.tumwater.k12.wa.us/cms/lib/WA01001561/Centricity/Domain/605/1960%20The%20First%20Mass%20Media%20Election.pdf
Goldstein, J. K. (2011, May 27). Mondale-Ferraro: Changing History . Retrieved from Huffpost: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/mondaleferraro-changing-h_b_841186
Hwang, A. S. (2016). Social Media and the Future of U.S. Presidential Campaigning. CMC Senior Thesis , 1231.
Tsfati, Y., & Cohen, J. (2013). Perceptions of Media and Media Eff ects. New Jersey: Blackwell Publishing.
Walsh-Childers, K. (2016). Mass Media and Health: Examining Media Impact on Individuals and the Health. New York: Taylor& Francis Publishers.
Webley, K. (2010, September 23). How the Nixon-Kennedy Debate Changed the World. Time .
