Humans are not born with fully formulated attitudes about politics, so where do they come from? The answer is political socialization, which is the way in which people learn about politics . There are a number of elements or agents involved in creating our political awareness, but this paper will focus on the mass media¡¯s role (particularly forms of news media) in constructing political reality in Western society.
One way that the media shapes our political reality is by mixing facts with opinions and in doing so manipulates messages. The amount of time and emphasis allocated to particular types of stories can also have an influence on what issues viewers perceive to be significant, over reporting some issues, while neglecting others, positions some issues at an unmerited advantage to others. The mass media¡¯s persuasive power over Western Democratic government is in its ability to spotlight issues and events labeling them as politically significant. The media also sets a......

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Title: The Media's Influence On Public Opinion
Approximate Word Count: 2416
Approximate Pages: 10 (250 words per double-spaced page)

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