The document discusses the role of media in politics. It explains that the media plays a crucial role in democracy by serving as the primary source of political information for most voters. The media reports the news, acts as an intermediary between the government and citizens, helps determine the most important issues, and keeps people engaged in the political process. However, the media also influences politics through agenda-setting and some criticism that bias can shape which stories are covered. The document also examines how the government regulates different forms of media like print, broadcast, and cable television.

1. Prepared by:
Anum Chaudhary
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2.  Theme
The main theme is, role of media in
politics.
 Published for:
It is published for educational and
informational purposes.
 Title
“Media and politics “
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3.  In this, I will explain the role of media in
politics. The media is the primary source of
political information for most people, so it
plays a crucial role in democracy.
 Media affect people’s political behavior and
beliefs and, eventually, public policy. The
main purpose of this research paper is to
serve as an introduction to some of the basic
theories, insights, and debates about media
and politics.
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4.  In political system, the media perform a
number of functions important to the
democratic process. The media reports the
news, serves as an intermediary between the
government and the people, helps determine
which issues should be discussed, and keeps
people actively involved in society and
politics. Voters and politicians alike must pay
attention to the media
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5.  The most important role of the media in
politics is to report the news. As noted above,
the vast majority of people must trust the
media to provide them with information.
Democracy requires that citizens be informed
because they must be able to make educated
voting choices.
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6.  These days, politicians often complain of bias
in the media, usually a liberal bias against the
views of conservative politicians. They
complain that the media’s ability to decide
which stories to report often reflects its
partisanship. Although this is true to some
extent, most major newspapers and television
news stations report the same stories more or
less objectively. Bias is often restricted to the
media outlet’s commentary and opinion
pages.
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8.  Journalists cannot report on an infinite
number of stories, so they must choose
which are the most newsworthy. By choosing
which stories to present to the public, the
news media helps determine the most
important issues; in other words, the
journalists set the agenda.
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9.  Agenda-setting is crucial because it shapes
which issues will be debated in public.
Sometimes political scientists refer to
agenda-setting as signaling because the
media signals which stories are the most
important when they decide what to report.
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10.  The media plays a common-carrier role by
providing a line of communication between
the government and the people. This
communication goes both ways: The people
learn about what the government is doing,
and the government learns from the media
what the public is thinking.
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11.  The media sometimes acts as a public
representative by holding government officials
accountable on behalf of the people. Many
people argue that the media is ill equipped to
play this role because the media does not face
the same type of accountability that politicians
face. Serving as the representative of the public,
moreover, could undermine the media’s
objectivity because the act of representing the
people might require reporters to take a position
on an issue.
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12.  Even though the Constitution guarantees
freedom of the press, the government does
regulate some media. Print media are largely
unregulated, and newspapers and magazines can
print nearly anything as long as they don’t
slander anyone. The Internet has also gone
largely unregulated, despite congressional efforts
to restrict some controversial content. Broadcast
media, however, are subject to the most
government regulation. Radio and television
broadcasters must obtain a license from the
government.
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13.  Critics contend that media consolidation limits
consumers’ choices because a small number of
companies own all the media outlets. They argue
that consolidation is not competitive and that
corporate owners might restrict or manipulate
news coverage. Some critics also lament the
homogenization of American culture due to
media consolidation. Because radio and television
formats have become increasingly uniform,
people throughout the country receive the same
broadcasts.
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14.  It is not clear if the FCC has the authority to
regulate cable television. The FCC is entitled
to regulate those who broadcast over the
airwaves because the people (not the
broadcasters) own the airwaves. Cable
television, however, is not sent over the
airwaves: Cables transmit the programs
directly into people’s houses. Presumably this
means that cable television cannot be
regulated, but some members of Congress
have still sought to do so.
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15.  In democracy, almost all citizens get their
news and information from the media. Media
shape how we interpret and observe political
information, such as election coverage and
other political events. In democracy, the
media play an important role in the campaign
and election processes.
 In fact, the media play many different roles.
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16.  Let's first take a look at the media's most
obvious role. We all use the media to inform us.
Here, the media report news and information to
the general public. This is the most significant
role of the media in a democracy because
citizens play a crucial role in the political process
and must be informed in order to make educated
political choices. The media, therefore, must do a
thorough and impartial job when informing the
public on all government activities and political
events.
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17.  Elections pose a special challenge for the
media in this area. The media must remain
neutral and objective in order to properly
educate the public. Media coverage should be
unbiased rather than favoring any one
candidate or point of view in order for the
voters to make informed decisions.
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18.  Political journalists can be especially helpful
in this role. Many cover candidates and the
elections as a full-time assignment but can
provide both positive and negative glimpses
into the candidate's life.
 These journalists often use Twitter and other
forms of social media to send personal, up-
to-the-second campaign updates.
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