The Mass Media: Introduction
Television plays a very important role in American politics. During election years, candidates appear on television news shows to publicize their positions and gain support from viewers. Television also sets the stage by focusing attention on issues and placing them on the policy agenda.
The American political system has entered a new period of high-tech politics in which the behavior of citizens and policymakers, as well as the political agenda itself, is increasingly shaped by technology. The mass media are a key part of that technology. Historically, mass media have been magazines, newspapers, radio, and in more recent years television, internet technology and new popular communication that reach out to "the masses", hence mass media. How is news defined, presented and what impact does it have on politics?
