Every day we access the news media to see, hear and read about the latest political events and the opinions of public figures. For most of us, media exposure is a routine activity, a backdrop to our daily lives, and yet it is a vital means through which we stay connected to public life. The term “mass media” includes books, pamphlets and films, but is usually understood to refer to newspapers, radio and television. It could be argued that the UK probably has the largest representation of national newspapers in the world, read daily by millions of people. Added to this is the hugely popular national broadcaster “The BBC”, which is one of the most prolific news gathering operations in the world, employing more than a thousand journalists. The benefits of this strong national coverage presented to us by the BBC and newspapers mean that when they report political events and interview politicians, literally millions of voters are able to read up on or hear what is happening in the corridors of power. to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay The word “Media” is the plural form of “medium.” In a broad sense, a medium can be described as “an intermediate agent that enables communication” (O'Sullivan et al. 1994, p. 176). Since the 1950s, television has eclipsed newspapers and radio as the primary medium in today's world. Recent studies indicate that approximately three-quarters of people consider television to be the most important source of information about politics. Added to this, on average Britons now watch over twenty hours of television a week, and with 20% of television output covering news and current affairs, a fair amount of political content is absorbed. Furthermore, the audience for evening news programs regularly exceeds 20 million views, and polls also regularly indicate that more than 70 percent of viewers believe that television news is fair and accurate, while only a third trust newspapers. Broadcast television has had a hugely transformative impact on political processes across our British system. For example, two minutes of exposure on peak-hour television allows politicians to reach far more viewers than they might encounter in a lifetime of conference calls, handshakes, and meeting calls. With the rise in popularity of people in the UK preferring broadcast media as their main source of political information, we can only ask the question, "well, why do people trust broadcast television over newspapers?" One of the main dominant factors regarding why many people have become more fond of television news coverage over newspapers is due to the biased publishing that occurs within some newspaper articles. Partial publication or distortion and twerking of stories or gossip can have a seriously negative impact not only on the viewer's interpretation of their own personal views, but can also be seen as having a negative effect and influence on policy formulation within the British system. Another way in which the media can influence decision making within the British system is through journalists who are always looking for differences of opinion between politicians of the same political party and expose the failures of individual politicians and their policies. For example, any mistakes by politicians in interviews or speeches are broadcast over the air within minutes, and journalists love to talkof the idea that politics and politicians are in crisis because they know that it attracts a lot of public attention and could even alter the outcome of an adopted policy. Pressure groups also spend most of their time trying to influence government policy. Pressure campaigners like Outrage's Peter Tatchell and Friends of the Earth's TonyJuniper are adept at knowing and massaging the way the press and television like to receive stories. Because it has been so successful, much of the activity of pressure groups now revolves around the use of the media. Additionally, sometimes a certain topic or story may receive too much media attention due to the lack of major news available at that given time. This then results in deceiving citizens into overvaluing a less important story or piece of political information. Furthermore, news manipulation can often occur with the aim of gaining political advantage. Again, this also deceives the audience resulting in deception or lack of authenticity. The media can also have a huge influence on decision-making with their 24-hour news. For example, over the last decade or so, broadcast and online media sources have exploded, while in the 1980s and 1970s the UK had only a handful of television stations. Usually, you would have to wait until the next morning's newspaper or radio station before you could read or listen to the latest political information. However these days there are two 24 hour news stations; Sky News and BBC News 24. Add to that the proliferation of political websites, blogs and other modern media, and you have access to news and politics limited only by the speed and availability of your internet connection. In addition to this, political parties now use mobile phones and Internet technology to spread their message. For example, in the 2001 UK general election, the Labor Party sent text messages to individual voters' mobile phones trying to convince them to support them at the polls. This approach has expanded, with parties regularly emailing potential voters with newsletters from their leaders or criticisms of their opponents' plans. In 1989, when Sky launched its first national 24-hour news channel, it was unclear how big an impact it would have. have on reporting political information around the world. At the time, 24-hour television news was seen as a novelty, with many critics wondering how the time would be filled. When the BBC launched its rival channel, News 24, almost 10 years later, it was clear that the cut and thrust of party political debate would fill much of the time in the 24-hour news. It proved a broad success, with politicians always appearing talking about politics, the latest political scandal or simply blasting their rivals. Debates in parliament are often broadcast live on 24-hour news. The idea is to keep the public informed about what lawmakers are doing, and it's working. The advent of 24-hour news channels has helped greatly increase public awareness of politics and politicians. Audience figures for 24-hour news stations are often small; however, they increase when big political stories happen or crises occur. Another way you can influence decision making is through social media networking sites. The two main social networking tools for transmitting political information currently are Facebook and Twitter. With the rise of social media networking websites, this has.