Influences on American Politics

Influences on American Politics Question 1: What are the two major types of interest groups and examples of each? Which of these types of interest groups tend to be more powerful? Explain your choice. Your response should be at least 200 words in length. You are required to use at least your textbook as source material for your response. All sources used, including the textbook, must be referenced; paraphrased and quoted material must have accompanying citations. Selected Answer: In the United States there two main types of interest groups that actively work to influence public policy. The main differences between the two are how they are organized, funded, and what their main purposes are (Patterson, 2013). Economic groups are the most common, most funded and most influential. They are comprised of businesses, labor unions, professional organizations, and agricultural groups that seek public policy that provides monetary benefits to their members. The funding of economic interest groups comes from the members that willingly contribute money in hopes of receiving political influence and/or profit that only they will benefit from. An example of an economic group would be businesses. Business groups are the most influential of any special interest group and all large businesses lobby the government. Many smaller businesses band together to form associations like the U.S. Chamber of Commerce to promote their interests by seeking tax cuts, regulatory changes, and other pro-business benefits (Patterson, 2013). The second type of special interest group, citizens groups, is comprised of single issue groups that work toward a focused goal that they believe in. They fight for causes instead of economic or material gain and for the good of society as a whole (Patterson, 2013). Though the number of citizens groups as increased sharply over the years, the total number still lags behind that of economic groups. One of the main reasons for this is that citizens groups have not nearly the same access to funds that economic groups do. Citizens groups do not generate profits or fees from their daily activity and their only incentive for membership are ones that everyone can take advantage of, member or not. Because of this, many people take advantage of the benefits but do not pay for them. References Patterson, T. (2013).The American Democracy (11th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill, Inc. Question 2: How has the news media evolved from the nations founding to what it is today? Discuss the various functions the news media has in American society. How well do you feel the media carries out these functions? Your response should be at least 200 words in length. You are required to use at least your textbook as source material for your response. All sources used, including the textbook, must be referenced; paraphrased and quoted material must have accompanying citations. Selected Answer: The founding fathers felt that a free press was crucial to the health of a successful democracy. That is why they gave us the First Amendment protecting the rights of a free and unrestrained press. Some of our founding fathers were themselves involved with the printing of journalistic newspapers. They understood the importance of keeping the populace informed of the workings of their government. The first press and newspapers were initially closely associated with the days political parties and helped them muster public opinion (Patterson, 2013). This was partly done because without party support and/or subsidization, the newspapers would never have survived; the cost to purchase was prohibitory for the average citizen. The drawback to this was that the newspapers themselves very partisan in the information that they imparted. Eventually, as printing methods improved and the cost decreased newspaper moved away from such partisanship. The height of newspapers power came around 1890-1900; during this time, reporters and editors number one goal was to increase sales of their papers (Patterson, 2013). They did so by sensationalizing the news in order to drive up circulation. This period was termed yellow journalism and thankfully was relatively short-lived by the advent of a new style of reporting: objective journalism. Objective journalism emphasized fair and accurate information and accounts of events. This new approach to reporting was the method that began being taught at newly established journalistic universities and is what still governs the news reporting of todays traditional media. The newest form of media today comes in the form of radio talk shows, cable talk shows, and internet blogs. This type of media has made news more accessible than ever before and has greatly increased the choice viewers have to what they hear. The problem with these outlets, as Patterson points out in The American Democracy, however, is the many address information through a partisan lens. Talk radio is a growing format for political information but is often imparted in a conservative manner, internet blogs lean primarily liberal, and the cable new networks split evenly between the two ideologies. Regardless of the manner in which the information is disseminated, the media performs four basic functions (Patterson, 2013). First, is to act as a signal, alerting and communicating information on breaking events and news developments to the public. Second, is to act as a common carrier of information from political leaders to the general public. Medias third function is as a partisan advocate to influence public response to a particular party, leader, or issue. Lastly, the press acts as a watchdog to the government to expose deceitful and corrupt officials. In my personal opinion, the news media does carry out these functions fairly well. The problem lies in ensuring that, as a citizen, you listen to and pay attention to multiple news outlets in order to get the entire story, not one with a particular ideological bent. As they say There are three sides to every story, his, hers and the truth. References Patterson, T. (2013).The American Democracy (11th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill, Inc. Question 3: Discuss how the news audience has changed from the 1970s until now. Do you feel that Americans can still find unbiased news anywhere today? Why or why not? Your response should be at least 200 words in length. You are required to use at least your textbook as source material for your response. All sources used, including the textbook, must be referenced; paraphrased and quoted material must have accompanying citations. Selected Answer: News audiences have changed considerably since the 1970s. Though there is more diversity than ever, cable television and the internet now reign supreme for news information in the lives of the average American, while the daily newspapers and traditional broadcasters are losing audiences by the droves (Patterson, 2013) These new forms of media behave quite differently than the media of the baby-boomers and their parents. News was received in regulated segments, in the morning through your newspaper and then in the evening by the network news. It was all relatively similar as well, owning to the fact that they both received their stories from the same sources. The news reported was objective and fair with little political spin. People received the exact same message regardless of what their own ideology was; it is at that point that people form their opinions on issues. The emergence of cables 24-hour news cycle, political talk shows, and internet blogs, where information is handed out already with partisan spin has made it harder to get just the facts, and also makes it is easy for citizens to only receive their news through the specific ideological lens of their choosing. All of this is leading to more and more polarization in political society (Patterson, T. (2013). Another change that has occurred is an overall decline in consumers of media. Young adults are less likely than older ones to pay attention to any type of news and when they do, it is often from less than reputable sources like social media, a.k.a. Facebook. All of these factors combine to a current generation that is considerably less informed politically than prior generations. References Patterson, T. (2013).The American Democracy (11th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill, Inc Question 4: Do you feel that special interest groups have too much power in politics today? Why or why not? Do you think we should allow these interest groups to continue to function as they currently do? Why or why not? What do you think would happen to our nation if we did not allow interest groups to continue to operate? Your response should be at least 200 words in length. You are required to use at least your textbook as source material for your response. All sources used, including the textbook, must be referenced; paraphrased and quoted material must have accompanying citations. Selected Answer: Special interest groups are an important way for people to show support or discontent for governmental policies and are an effective way for the average citizen to influence politics. They help keep their members informed of the current political issues they identify with, make sure policies are carried out effectively, help organize member activities in a more focused manner, and some even offer its members legal representation in grievances against the government, However, in regards to our current political system, I feel that many have grown too powerful. For every case of a SIG promoting the common good, there are cases highlighting the corruption that has eroded the quality of our democratic process, generally through corruption. A good example of what interest groups can achieve is the NAACP brought and won the case of Brown vs The Board of Education of Topeka (NAACP, n.d.). While at the same time you have examples of SIGs buying influence such as when during the 1973 Watergate hearings it was revealed that the milk industry had donated money to President Nixons administration and to members of Congress in exchange for favorable decisions by the Department of Agriculture (Torres-Spelliscy, 2013). The issue comes down to political influence vs. political power. I, along with the vast majority of Americans (Gallup, 2011), feel that lobbyist groups have gone beyond just influencing politicians and politics, and have moved into the realm of over-whelming political power. References Gallup. (2011, April 11). Americans Decry Power of Lobbyists, Corporations, Banks, Feds. Retrieved March 20, 2017, from http://www.gallup.com/poll/147026/americans-decry-power-lobbyists-corporations-banks-feds.aspx milk industry had donated money to President Nixons administration NAACP Legal History. (n.d.). Retrieved March 20, 2017, from http://www.naacp.org/legal-department/naacp-legal-history/ Patterson, T. (2013).The American Democracy (11th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill, Inc Torres-Spelliscy, C. (2013, October 21). Got Corruption? Nixons Milk Money. | Brennan Center for Justice. Retrieved March 20, 2017, from https://www.brennancenter.org/blog/got-corruption-nixon%E2%80%99s-milk-money