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Reading II. Jigsaw reading. Before you Read. Student A. How do media affect public opinion?
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READING II
JIGSAW READING
BEFORE YOU READ
Agree or disagree with the following statements:
1. General public today is less dependent on the media.
2. Social media enable everyone to create news and disseminate it.
3. One cannot rely on media resources since they provide the public with biased
facts.
4. Media outlets are powerful sources of shaping voters’ political views.
STUDENT A
1. Read the following passage and get prepared to answer your groupmates’ questions on it.
2. Pick up useful topical vocabulary and share it with your groupmates
The group: ask the questions to the passage and write down the answers.
HOW DO MEDIA AFFECT PUBLIC OPINION?
1. Some of the main functions of mass media are to provide the general public with news, help people socialize by getting them accustomed with a country's customs, including its politics, culture and forms of entertainment, allowing political leaders to have a public forum to share their ideas and to hold other journalists and public leaders accountable for their actions. Another function is to change the opinions that people have through the use of polls and reporting. There are several types of reporting seen in mass media, including yellow journalism, objective reporting and interpretative reporting. Yellow journalism uses sensationalism to shape the opinion of the public, while objective reporting instead focuses on giving the people the facts as they are. Interpretative reporting, on the other hand, focuses on the analysis and interpretation of the facts rather than just the facts presented alone.
2. The media affect public opinion because they disseminate the facts and information about key topics that the public should be aware of. Inaccurate reporting means that people have the wrong information about various issues and may make uneducated decisions. Through newspapers, books, magazines and sound recordings, the mass media have been influencing public opinion for more than 500 years. In the 21st century, technology has made it easier to access the messages from the mass media. It has also created key opinion leaders, like Bill O'Reilly and Lawrence O'Donnell, that people may rely on to get their facts. However, just as the media can influence the public to make an educated decision, these public leaders may only report on part of the issue, affecting the way that people understand certain issues and propelling them to make uneducated decisions about topics.
3. Mass media help shape public opinion. It is a powerful force yet many people do not realize what effect media sources have in shaping their opinion. Mass media are intended to be informative. Public opinion depends on knowledge about what is going on in the country and the world. The media provides the public with this knowledge through a variety of means: radio, print journalism, television and the Internet. Thus, the media make national politics possible. Without mass media, candidates would only be able to run at the local level, where they could communicate personally with the electorate. Media make it possible for voters to familiarize themselves with candidates and platforms even when they are far away.
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4. One way that mass media help shape public opinion is to reinforce already shaped opinions. Sometimes someone can have a doubt about a topic. This means that they have an opinion that is not solidly grounded. When they tune into mass media such as the television, radio or newspaper, they may find their ungrounded opinion in these media sources. They then use these sources to reinforce already held beliefs.
5. Mass media have a way of awakening latent opinions. Someone may have opinions that are not active. It takes an event to awaken them and summon the person to take action, which is especially seen during an election year. During an election, mass media cause many people to take action on latent opinions. By broadcasting the news, mass media awaken many people to activate their political alliances and in some cases contribute money to these political causes. Without mass media, these same people may not be inspired to take any action at all.
6. One powerful aspect of mass media is that they let others know what their neighbors are thinking. Without mass media, the ubiquitous survey that shares public opinion wouldn't be as prevalent. Going back to the election example, mass media work by letting other voters know how their neighbors may vote. Sometimes knowing how others may vote sways opinion. There is no denying the fact that mass media play a powerful role in shaping election results. This is why, during election years, politicians spend an enormous amount of money on commercials, hoping to shape public opinion positively in their favor.
7. Mass media outlets have a positive influence on public opinion when they help those in need. Sometimes during a natural disaster, the public does not understand the breadth and depth of it. Mass media serve as a positive force by spreading the word and images of the full impact of the disaster. Without mass media, the public would not know how great the suffering is because they are not present in the midst of the natural disaster. They may know that there is suffering but the full extent is revealed to them only through mass media sources. This helps raise money and provide necessities for those who are affected by the natural disaster.
https: //www. reference. com/world-view/mass-media-affect-public-opinion-3c1236b2ef497896
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