Mass Media & Celebrity Influence on Political Issues & Public Opinion

The Effects of Mass Media and Celebrity Influence on Political Issues and how It Shapes Public Opinion
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The Effects of Mass Media and Celebrity Influence on Political Issues and how It Shapes Public Opinion
The new media environment is dynamic, and it continues to grow in fresh and often unexpected ways. These developments, which have severe implications for democratic government and politics, continue to occur. The use of new media has brought about profound changes to the functioning of governmental institutions, how political leaders connect with their constituents, how elections are fought, and the level of public participation. This chapter will begin with a short discussion of the development of new media and then investigate in more depth their role in political life, as well as the consequences of that involvement.
The phrase "new political media" refers to modes of communication that enable the creation, publication, and exchange of political material on platforms and within networks that allow for interaction and cooperation. These new kinds of media may also be referred to as "political, social media." They went through a period of rapid growth over the previous three decades, and they continue to do so in distinct and often surprising ways. The usage of democratic governance and political practices could be drastically changed due to the advent of new media. They have brought about a fundamental transformation in the operation of governmental institutions and the modalities of communication employed by political leaders. They have entirely redesigned the political-media system and rethought the purpose of journalists in the process (Flores, 2018). (Flores, 2018). They have wholly reviewed how elections are waged and how people engage in political circles.
The emergence of new media has made the political-media system more complicated. Legacy media, which are well-established mass media organizations that existed before the Internet, such as newspapers, radio shows, and television news programs, coexist alongside new media, which are the outcome of technical innovation. Examples of legacy media include radio broadcasts, television news programs, and newspapers. While conventional media continue to utilize essentially stable formats, new media such as websites, blogs, video-sharing platforms, digital apps, and social media are continually expanding and changing innovative ways. Niche sources that transmit exclusively to select people have begun competing with mainstream media sites meant to deliver news of broad interest to huge audiences. It is feasible for new media to communicate information directly to individuals, avoiding the editorial and institutional gatekeepers that are intrinsic to older forms of communication. As a result, political communication is now subject to a higher degree of volatility and unpredictability because of the proliferation of new media.
The relationship between traditional forms of media and emerging forms of media is mutual benefit. The reporting strategies of traditional media have been expanded to include those of new media. They disseminate the content across various traditional and emerging communication channels. They must depend on new media sources to keep up with the constantly rising demand for information. Despite the threat posed by new forms of media, conventional media continue to draw sizable audiences; nevertheless, these audiences are not nearly as formidable as they were in the past. According to the most popular political news websites, readers of the New York Times and viewers of the network's nightly newscasts exceed those who visit these sites. Cable and network television news remains the primary source of political information for those over thirty. Consequently, new media must rely on their more established rivals to establish their reputation and widen their audience.
In an ideal democratic society, the media would fulfill several crucial significant roles. The primary objective of these organizations is to disseminate information to the general public to empower individuals to make well-informed choices regarding matters of governance and public policy. The media perform the role of watchdogs by monitoring the government's actions. They determine the topics discussed in public and serve as a venue for people to voice their political opinions. It's also a tool for developing communities since they enable individuals to discover similar causes, identify civic organizations, and work together to find answers to social issues.
Political star power is a term that describes the use of fame by a well-known individual to influence public opinion on political problems or ideologies. "Celebrity politics" and "political star power" are other terms for this phenomenon. Celebrity plays an increasingly important role in self-framing, self-imagining, self-revision, and self-reflection, serving as a fundamental organizing point for individual and societal identity (Pease & Brewer, 2008). The fact that celebrities are always in public view is the reason. Celebs may be anybody with a large fan base, such as sports figures like athletes or actors like actors or singers like singers. Anyone who has a large fortune mi...