Media, Congress, and the President

Annotated Bibliography

“Peake, J. (2001). Presidential Agenda Setting in Foreign Policy. Political Research Quarterly, 54(1), 69-86. doi:10.2307/449208”
Peake’s book claims that the president is the chief agenda creator in most of the American political activities. The author, however, suggests that the modern-day presidential foreign policy agenda seem to respond to media coverage as well as global events quickly. Several chapters in the paper review the notion that having a lot of impact on policy agenda is the primary source of political power, particularly for presidents. Peake’s exploration of the traditional structure of agenda-setting has shown that “the president is the most influential official in policy determining cases in the federal government” (Peake, 2001). Thus, this book provides valuable insights on how and why the president is critical when it comes to policy setting instances. This also supports the thesis that the head of state holds a sound effect on the agendas of the media as well as congress. The report is reliable as the author has done a lot of politics-related studies that have been approved and published.
“Edwards, G., & Wood, B. (1999). Who Influences Whom? The President, Congress, and the Media. The American Political Science Review, 93(2), 327-344. doi:10.2307/2585399”
The authors suggest that the policy agenda is the most valuable source of political power in any nation. In the book, a review of other scholarly articles has shown that the commander still holds a critical position in the policy development in the US, but few studies are carried out to ascertain the leader’s scope of power. Several chapters focus entirely on the leader’s accomplishment while centering on the consideration of the Congress as well as mass media. This has been achieved through an analysis of a time sequence measurement of the “presidential, mass media, and congressional attention to five major issues: crime, education, healthcare, US-Soviet relations, and Arab-Israeli conflict” (George & Wood, 1999). The book claims that in most cases, the president reacts to media and international events. This material is valuable as it highlights the influence of the president on policy setting and how the top office impacts the congress as well as media. This book is reliable as the authors have achieved higher education degrees in the political science field.
“Larson, S. (1988). The President and Congress in the Media. The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science,499, 64-74. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/1045818”
Larson’s book focuses entirely on illustrating nature as well as the primary factors of diplomatic as well as congress media coverage. Several chapters have been directed towards exploring the concept that broadcasting has a substantial effect on political power, which implies that the head’s authority is, enhanced without considering the congress. Larson provides several examples to challenge the afore-presented notion by suggesting that there is “need to investigate the dynamic of media coverage in various political settings and promise of congressional hearings for counterbalancing presidential coverage” (Larson, 1988). This will help in the current research as it provides grounds for refuting the long-held idea of the president being the most powerful political leader in the US today. The book is reliable as Larson is a political science professor at the George Washington University for more than three decades and she specializes in the mass media and politics research areas.
“Kampelman, M. (1975). Congress, the Media, and the President. Proceedings of the Academy of Political Science, 32(1), 85-97. doi:10.2307/1173619”
    Kampelman argues that there is divided opinion regarding the group that should have the most significant impact on the policy agenda between the president, the Congress, as well as the media. In the book, it is suggested that policy deliberations are often done with a keen awareness of the opinions held by the members of the public. The media only serves as a communicating agent, and it is them that have a significant impact on the attitudes held by the citizens. Kampelman (1975) suggests that the “divide is based on the influence of the democratic community but is not an anathema to any democracy.” There are also concerns that if too much is granted to the president, it may result in the swing to the royal power in the executive branch. As such, this source will be of great aid in the current research study as it outlines the historical factors that have impacted the dominance of the head of state in a policy setting. The author has done a lot of research in politics, and most of the work has been published, making it a highly reliable source.
“Orman, J. (1985). Media Coverage of the Congressional Underdog. PS, 18(4), 754-759. doi:10.2307/419138”
Orman argues the benefits of the incumbency in various congressional races have attracted a lot of attention from researchers. In the book, Orman seeks to establish the factors that contribute to over ninety percent of the incumbents getting easily reelected. It is suggested that most of them have access to a significant amount of electoral resources that are funded by revenues collected through taxation. They also have access to constituent media outlets such newspapers as well as postage that help them to attain higher political score in the electorate. Orman argues that the trend is bound to continue little regulation is put in place to direct what the media relays to the people. As such, the media has been known to glorify the incumbents and poorly present the opponents to the people. Orman’s work is resourceful to this study as it helps explain the effect of media in the political field. Lastly, the resource is reliable since the author is a professor of politics at Fairfield University, which implies that the content is relevant.
“Arnold, R. (2004). Congress, the Press, and Political Accountability. Princeton University Press. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt4cgbtb.”
The book presents insightful information on the part played by the press in different democratic systems in the nation by reporting the actions of politicians in their respective offices. They also provide an updated performance evaluation of the leaders to help the people make informed choices when it comes to reelections. In chapter two, the author addresses the level to which the local newspapers cover their political leaders and the factors that influence their representation on these media outlets. The author has presented legislators as “position takers by referring to recorded votes that have a lot of influence on American politics as they are constitutionally protected” (96). As policymakers, the Congressional Representative cast their votes on vital bills to allow them to be passed or rejected. However, this is dependent on another decision made by the conference committee, senate, and the house. The resource is valuable as it presents information on how congress affects policy agenda setting, which directly answers the study question.
“Mann, Thomas E., and Norman J. Ornstein, eds. (1994). Congress, the Press, and the Public. Washington, D.C.: American Enterprise Institute and Brookings Institution.”
The authors explore the relationship that exists between “Congress, the press, and the Public.” It is suggested that most of the public opinion researchers have specialized in assessing historical information to determine the source of general hostility towards the legislature. On the other hand, media experts review congressional coverage trends in various federal communication platforms and the attitudes held by the press towards congress. In the book, the authors have discovered that there is has been a lot of misunderstandings in the Congress that can be explained by negative attitudes held by the people towards it to a level that it has become perverted into destructive cynicism. However, the growing skepticism is based on the development of policies regarding minimum wage, massive budget deficits, and scandals. The authors have paid a lot of attention to how the legislative branch is presented and understood by the members of the public. Thus, the material will be helpful in the current research as it provides insights on how the media impacts the perception of Congress in the eyes of the people.
“Larson, Stephanie Greco (1992). Creating Consent of the Governed: A Member of Congress and the Local Media. Carbondale, IL: Southern University Press.”
In this book, Larson has reviewed part played by communication channels in different US political arenas, particularly the influence of the news platform on voter’s assessment of the elected representatives in the nation. The most predominant question posed in this is a book is whether the society or the members of the public are to blame for the community’s inability to focus on the central issues. A case study involving Bill Nelson of East-Central Florida has been presented. Larson analyzes the leaders associated with the local news team and the public to determine the effect of the press on his representation. A follow-up survey has been presented by the author to ascertain the case, and she believes that the media enlightens the people on political issues by they often do not use such data to assess their leaders. Thus, the media has little influence on representation. Larson has done a lot of research in political subjects and has vast experience dealing with such topic something that makes her work reliable. Lastly, the paper is authentic as it focuses primarily on the influence of the media, which will help in ascertaining the thesis for the project.

References

Arnold, R. (2004). Congress, the Press, and Political Accountability. Princeton University Press. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt4cgbtb
Edwards, G., & Wood, B. (1999). Who Influences Whom? The President, Congress, and the Media. The American Political Science Review, 93(2), 327-344. doi:10.2307/2585399   
Kampelman, M. (1975). Congress, the Media, and the President. Proceedings of the Academy of Political Science, 32(1), 85-97. doi:10.2307/1173619
Larson, S. (1988). The President and Congress in the Media. The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science,499, 64-74. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/1045818
Larson, Stephanie Greco (1992). Creating Consent of the Governed: A Member of Congress and the Local Media. Carbondale, IL: Southern University Press.
Mann, Thomas E., and Norman J. Ornstein, eds. (1994). Congress, the Press, and the Public. Washington, D.C.: American Enterprise Institute and Brookings Institution.
Orman, J. (1985). Media Coverage of the Congressional Underdog. PS, 18(4), 754-759. doi:10.2307/419138
Peake, J. (2001). Presidential Agenda Setting in Foreign Policy. Political Research Quarterly, 54(1), 69-86. doi:10.2307/449208

Supreme Court Justice Outline: Justice Neil Gorsuch

Introduction:
Neil McGill Gorsuch is the symbol of what a modern U.S. Supreme Court judge should look be. His exemplary performance and firm stance on religious and political issues inspire many law scholars. The motivation behind studying Gorsuch is his defense of religious freedom and position on physician-assisted suicide. This paper discusses Neil Gorsuch’s career and his role in developing American political and judicial discourse.
Early Life and Family:
Neil Gorsuch was born on August 29, 1967, in Denver, Colorado, U.S. Gorsuch’s mother served as an administrator of the United States Environmental Protection Agency, EPA in 1981 (PBS Newshour, 2017). Having been raised in a typically privileged family, Gorsuch managed to acquire the best education as he grew up to join his childhood career. Gorsuch’s uniqueness arises from his religious affiliation since he identifies as a mainline Protestant although most of his family members are Roman Catholics.
Early Education:
        Born into a conservative family, Gorsuch joined Christ the King, a Catholic school for his primary education. In 1985, he graduated from Georgetown Preparatory School before advancing to his University.
College, University, Post Graduate:
        After graduating from Georgetown Preparatory, Gorsuch joined Columbia University for the Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science. While studying for his undergraduate, Gorsuch partnered with other friends to author the Federalist Paper (PBS Newshour, 2017). He graduated with distinction and enrolled for his doctorate at Harvard Law School. Gorsuch also worked as an editor on the Harvard Journal of Law and Public Policy while studying at Columbia University.
Legal Profession:
Neil Gorsuch has worked as a clerk for Judge David Sentelle, Justice Byron White, and Anthony Kennedy. He has also served diligently in private law practice, where he worked for Kellogg and delivered several class-action lawsuits. Furthermore, Gorsuch has performed in the U.S. Department of Justice as Principal Deputy to Robert McCallum, an Associate Attorney General between 2005 and 2006. While serving in the position of Principal Deputy, Gorsuch assisted in civil cases such as antitrust, tax divisions, and environmental concerns. His exploits at various legal positions gave him great opportunities to connect with members of the political class and the establishment hence forming the foundation of his future career.
Federal Court Experience:
Neil Gorsuch worked as a U.S. Circuit Judge from July 20, 2006, until his appointment to the Supreme Court. He was so successful in his role as judge inspiring most of his clerks to work in the Supreme Court.
Supreme Court:
Neil Gorsuch’s appointment to the Supreme Court was the result of a political process in which President Donald Trump promised, as part of his presidential campaign, to deliver to the people of the United States. Trump and his advisers particularly preferred Gorsuch for his firm stance on various conservative agenda such as religious freedom, the death penalty, criminal, and administrative law. On April 7, 2017, the Senate Judiciary Committee approved the nomination of Neil Gorsuch as Judge of the Supreme Court amid persistent opposition from Democratic Senators (Federal Judicial Center, n.d.). As Associate Justice, Gorsuch has participated in key landmark rulings on banking regulations, freedom of speech, vagueness doctrine, and Second Amendment.
Conclusion:
        Neil Gorsuch has significantly influenced the development of American political discourse, especially in the Trump era. His preference for conservative politics favored Trump’s political approach and it continues to change the judicial landscape of the country. Gorsuch is a modern revelation of the traits of a typical Supreme Court judge who is willing to defend the U.S. Constitution while uplifting the lives of the people.
 

References

Federal Judicial Center. (n.d.). Gorsuch, Neil M. Retrieved from https://www.fjc.gov/history/judges/gorsuch-neil-m
PBS Newshour. (2017). What to expect from Neil Gorsuch’s confirmation hearings? PBS.org. Retrieved from https://www.pbs.org/video/what-to-expect-from-neil-gorsuch-s-confirmation-hearings-1497230471/

Media and Presidential Election

Annotated Bibliography: Media and Presidential Election

Borah, P. (2016). Political Facebook use: Campaign strategies used in the 2008 and 2012 presidential elections. Journal of Information Technology & Politics, 13(4), 326-338.

One of the most notable trends in the online domain currently entails an increase in the utilization of social media sites (Borah, 2016). Social networking sites are part and parcel of people’s daily communication and tend to account for a considerable amount of time that is spent online globally. Even with the extensive research that has been conducted regarding the impact of political utilization in social media sites on the audience, only a few studies have taken the initiative of examining the content present on candidate pages. In fully comprehending the effect of political directions presented online, there is an essence of analyzing the messages themselves. This source utilizes theoretical ideas from the functional model, emotional pleas as well as social endorsement in conducting content scrutiny of the certified Facebook posts. These are from United States presidential nominees in 2008 as well as 2012 campaigns. As per the results, Mitt Romney and John McCain were more attacked, but Barack Obama was highly praised. The Republican contenders utilized a high percentage of fear petitions while in the case of Barack Obama, humor and eagerness are applied.

Conway, B. A., Kenski, K., & Wang, D. (2015). The rise of Twitter in the political campaign: Searching for intermedia agenda-setting effects in the presidential primary. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 20(4), 363-380.

One of the most critical subjects in the research of political campaigns revolves around the influence of social media on the political communication landscape. Scholars have been trying to comprehend the impacts of social media on the numerous categories of agenda-setting. As such, there have been queries regarding the degree to which social media content could evade, follow, or entice the concentration of traditional media. This resource examines such type of underlying forces by researching on intermedia agenda. This entails estimating impacts on the 2012 Twitter feeds on primary presidential contenders, Twitter posts regarding Republican as well as Democratic parties and journals that have been printed in the state's leading newspaper. Time series exploration was utilized in the analysis of daily issue occurrences on material media. An interdependent association was identified amongst agendas in Twitter feeds and traditional broadcast with variable degrees of strength and discrepancy time intervals by issue (Conway et al., 2015). Traditional media tends to follow candidates on precise subjects, but when it comes to other media, there is the capacity to forecast the political agenda through Twitter.

Hong, S., & Nadler, D. (2012). Which candidates do the public discuss online in an election campaign?: The use of social media by 2012 presidential candidates and its impact on candidate salience. Government Information Quarterly, 29(4), 455-461.

The impact that novel communication technologies tend to have on election campaigns, as well as the efficiency of the media-focused campaign methods mostly continue to be debatable subjects in political science. The source reveals some of the first empirical proof regarding the probable effect of social media on the United States presidential elections in 2012. The study is done by measuring the link between candidate salience and the degree of candidate involvement in online social media scope. Candidate salience has been described as the magnitude by which candidates tend to be discussed in the online platform during an election campaign and the number of times presidential candidates have been mentioned on Twitter (Hong & Nadler, 2012). This is done as an approach to computing their salience. The method permits people to scrutinize if social media has the aptitude of transforming the outdated dynamics of United States election campaigns, not forgetting that media is broadly described as disruptive in the broader economic as well as social domains. The resource makes it known that social media has the facility to enlarge the probable modes and techniques of election campaign significantly. There exist high degrees of social media activity when it comes to presidential candidates, and this has presently led to reduced impacts on the level of public attention they are given online.  

Kelley, S. (1962). Elections and the mass media. Law and Contemporary Problems, 27(2), 307-326.

This source exposes the role that mass media tends to play in the electoral procedure. It tries to stipulate the character as well as scopes of these functions and outline its consequences and possibilities. Considering that the activities that take place in social media are numerous, the source begins the task by stating and categorizing the type of actions that go through media during elections. Primarily, the media tend to convey election propaganda to a high number of users. When it comes to news broadcasts as well as news column, people report directly or paraphrase the words of candidates.

The campaigners consequently have the time and space to conduct advertisements. As such, it is made possible for politicians to get to large numbers of people fast and cheaply than it could have through other means. Secondly, the media has a way of transmitting propaganda selectively. Thirdly, the media conveys propaganda in specific conventional formats. The fourth one is that the media tends to give election propaganda in the framework of materials from which they originated. 

Larreguy, H., & Marshall, J. (2019). The incentives and effects of independent and government-controlled media in the developing world. The Oxford Handbook of Electoral Persuasion. doi:10.1093/oxfordhb/9780190860806.013.13

The increase of broadcast followed by digital media has shown crucial political inferences in the developing world (Larreguy & Marshall, 2019). By first noting the independent media openings, there is evidence confirming that social media's reporting content, exposure of data regarding the candidates as well as the aptitude of providing a political platform has considerably molded electoral results and mobilization. Contrary to the developed democracies, the media is, in most cases utilized in buttressing and opposing automatic governments. Following government regulation on the media, this source has reviewed the following: proof of media discrimination, as well as the elements and efficiency when it comes to minimized opposition. Following the media's liberation potential, an aspect that has been emphasized relates to how broadcasted, as well as internet-dependent technologies are presenting new opportunities for enabling opposition and change. There is a highlight of methodological innovations, the difficulties of segregating theoretical tools as well as avenues for prospective investigations.

Liu, Y. I. (2019). Online and Offline Communication and Political Knowledge and Participation in Presidential Campaigns: Effects of Geographical Context. International Journal of Communication, 13, 24.

Political campaigns tend to utilize segmentation as well as targeting approaches in reaching out to voters. This results in a differential supply of campaign resources in the entire nation. This source reveals the resulting modifications in how information obtainability impacts a person's political guidance and conduct in relation to geographical vicinity. Three separate studies which were conducted in the 2004 United States election have been used as sources of data for the research.

According to the results from a variety of multilevel modelling investigation, the use of newspaper had a more significant influence on political data as well as contribution in neighbourhoods whereby these appeared to be less prevalent. The effect of the offline political debate did not go through the same design. The results associated with the Internet were varied. The resource validates the essence of geographical settings when it comes to comprehending communication impacts.

McLaughlin, B., & Macafee, T. (2019). Becoming a Presidential Candidate: Social Media Following and Politician Identification. Mass Communication and Society, 1-20.

The use of Twitter by Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential election demonstrated how social media networks have fundamentally changed political campaigns in America. Media has permitted politicians to avoid the news platform and convey campaign information direct to the voting public. Political candidates highly utilize social media in telling their stories, sharing their thoughts and emotions as well as recording an unfolding election (McLaughlin & Macafee, 2019). It has been argued that the idea of identification can assist in illuminating how campaigns upsurge the support of citizens. The source used a two-wave study with a United States nationwide sample done before the 2016 presidential election. According to the results of the analysis, being followers of Donald Trump as well as Hillary Clinton results in an amplified identification with the contender, thus affecting candidate support. 

Stier, S., Bleier, A., Lietz, H., & Strohmaier, M. (2018). Election campaigning on social media: Politicians, audiences, and the mediation of political communication on Facebook and Twitter. Political Communication, 35(1), 50-74.

Substantial studies have been conducted on online campaigning, but the issue of how politicians utilize diverse social media platform when it comes to political communication remains unclear. By concentrating on the German state election campaign in 2013, this source examines if candidates address subjects that are most crucial to the mass. The resource will help in revealing the extent to which the features of Facebook and Twitter has shaped the communication of candidates. Depending on the open-minded reactions from a descriptive study that was conducted in the course of election campaigns, a human-interpretable Bayesian language structure has been trained for purposes of identifying political themes (Stier et al., 2018).

After using the model to social media messages of candidates as well as their direct audiences, it is found that both tend to prioritize diverse subjects in comparison to the mass audience. According to the analysis, politicians utilize Twitter and Facebook for various purposes. The numerous findings have been linked to the mediation of political statements on social networks prompted by specific features of audiences as well as socio-technical settings.   

References

Borah, P. (2016). Political Facebook use: Campaign strategies used in the 2008 and 2012 presidential elections. Journal of Information Technology & Politics, 13(4), 326-338.

Conway, B. A., Kenski, K., & Wang, D. (2015). The rise of Twitter in the political campaign: Searching for intermedia agenda-setting effects in the presidential primary. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 20(4), 363-380.

Hong, S., & Nadler, D. (2012). Which candidates do the public discuss online in an election campaign?: The use of social media by 2012 presidential candidates and its impact on candidate salience. Government Information Quarterly, 29(4), 455-461.

Kelley, S. (1962). Elections and the mass media. Law and Contemporary Problems, 27(2), 307-326.

Larreguy, H., & Marshall, J. (2019). The incentives and effects of independent and government-controlled media in the developing world. The Oxford Handbook of Electoral Persuasion. doi:10.1093/oxfordhb/9780190860806.013.13

Liu, Y. I. (2019). Online and Offline Communication and Political Knowledge and Participation in Presidential Campaigns: Effects of Geographical Context. International Journal of Communication, 13, 24.

McLaughlin, B., & Macafee, T. (2019). Becoming a Presidential Candidate: Social Media Following and Politician Identification. Mass Communication and Society, 1-20.

Stier, S., Bleier, A., Lietz, H., & Strohmaier, M. (2018). Election campaigning on social media: Politicians, audiences, and the mediation of political communication on Facebook and Twitter. Political Communication, 35(1), 50-74.

Mass Media and American Politics

Mass Media and American Politics

Social media influence is drastically increasing in our lives as social networking sites are becoming part of our daily lives. The utilization of social media is growing in different parts of our lives; more people are embracing it for their communication needs (Liu, 2019). One area in which social media is gaining more use is in the field of politics, especially during electoral campaigns. According to Liu (2019), political campaigns use two strategies that are critical in their communication process. The first strategy is segmenting, which involves dividing the population into different groups based on various variables, such as party affiliation and demographics. Targeting is the next strategy, which focuses the campaign resources and efforts voter segments which are only sought after by the candidate.  Achieving these two critical factors in the election communication process has been made extremely easy with the use of social media (Liu, 2019). The campaign teams are easily able to go online and target the segment of people that they want and send information. The communication applies explicitly to the targeted people, therefore, making social media a very critical instrument in American politics.

Borah (2016) explains that apart from the effect of using politics on social networking sites, it is vital to analyze what effect the content candidates post on social media sites has on elections. Analyzing messages posted by candidates during the 2008 and 2012 elections, the paper concluded that different politicians used different types of messages to communicate with their intended audience (Borah, 2016). Ultimately, the tone of these messages played a massive part in determining the electoral results.

The study conducted by Borah (2019), showed that presidential candidates such as Mitt Romney and John McCain’s electoral campaigns mostly used messages that applied fear and anger to appeal to their audiences’ emotions. On the other hand, the post made by Barrack Obama showed patterns of humor to appeal to the readers' emotions. The study discovered that the posts that showed negativity and fear were less likely posted and shared as compared to the humorous, enthusiastic ones. Observations revealed that social media played a large part in determining how a candidate’s message was spread across the country. Thus the content shared on social media sites, should be well regulated by the candidates.

As social media is growing to become a large part of political campaigns, many researchers have tried to determine how it integrates with the traditional forms of media. According to Conway, Kenski, and Wang (2015), a new trend is coming up where social media platforms which include twitter and Facebook are acting as sources of journalistic content for the mainstream media such as newspapers and TV stations. Conways et al. (2015) study shows that the relationship between twitter and the top newspapers in the USA is reciprocal. Even though most political leaders are reliant on the various forms traditional media, they cannot avoid the fact that social media still has the influence to get them the results they want. Twitter posts in some electoral campaigns have been able to foretell the agenda for the newspapers in certain topics (Conways et al., 2015). Therefore, social media influence is a force to be reckoned with when it comes to politics in the USA.

Hong and Nadler (2012), carried out a study to determine social media use by the 2012 presidential candidates and how the new technology affected the elections. Relationship between the candidate's salience, which was defined as the number of times the candidates were discussed in social media platforms and the candidates amount of engagement with followers in the social sites was measured (Hong & Nadler, 2012). The study discovered that social media use was able to enlarge the methods of election campaigns. The results also showed that presidential candidate activity on social media platforms did not have much effect on the amount of attention they got in online conversations (Hong & Nadler, 2012). Meaning that whether the candidates were engaged on social media or not the platforms still played a significant role in determining the election process.

Kelly (1962) in her paper aims to examine how mass media affects the campaign and the entire electoral process. She states that mass media is critical in the campaign process because it allows the transmission of campaign propaganda to large groups of people. It enables politicians to reach their target groups in a quicker way that is more cost-effective (Kelley, 1962). Mass media outlets have the power to select what agenda they will transmit. Therefore, they get to choose the content that they feel is most appropriate to reach the audience. This could be a disadvantage to the small candidates who are not as popular as the others.

 The media transmits information from politicians in different ways, therefore, politicians must master the art of saying things differently in various forms of media (Kelley, 1962). Lastly, the media presents data in the context that they originate, meaning that they could present data based on their opinion of who might win and their view of the personality of the candidate. Mass media has been found to have a direct and powerful force in shaping and changing voter behavior. Thus, as social media is a form of mass media, its influence on American politics cannot be undermined.

Larregu and Marshall (2019), in their study view social media platforms as independent sources of information that are capable of changing political news broadcasting. They state that Government-controlled press outlets are often used to oppress the opposition and are characterized by high levels of biases in the reports they give, thus limiting its potential for effecting change. However, on the other hand, Larregu and Marshall describe independent media as being an avenue that can change the voters’ behaviors and the electoral process ( Larregu & Marshall, 2019). This is because such news outlets are fair in their editorial content, the information they reveal about candidates, and they provide a platform for every candidate to express their self equally. The study showed that such forms of media have the opportunity to change electoral outcomes and mobilizations significantly.

Social media is often used as a tool where people can express themselves and showcase their identity. It is this feature of social media platforms that has specifically been advantageous to presidential candidates who want to be close to their voters (McLaughlin & Macafee , 2019; Liu, 2019). Social media applications have cut the middle man who used to be the new outlets, and now candidates can easily converse with their followers and interact with them, thus gather more support. By carrying out a two-wave study in the USA before the 2016 election, McLaughlin and Macafee (2019), discovered following Donald Trump, or Hillary Clinton increased their identification by their voters, therefore increasing their support. The study showed that social media was essential in campaign elections as it helped the candidates get closer to their intended audience affecting the amount of support they received.

Social media mostly shape political communication in today's age. According to Stier, Bleier, Lietz, and Strohmaier (2018), as more politicians are using social media platforms to advance their goals, it has now become a question of how they should structure their message when addressing their followers. Candidates are left to decide whether they should discuss topics that are important to the mass audience or to tailor messages based on the specific habits of their audience on social media platforms (Stier et al., 2018). Through concentrating on a 2013 German state campaign, Stier et al. (2018) found that candidates focus more on diverse subjects rather than on what appeals to the mass audience. Numerous findings show that politically motivated statements posted on social media sites are mostly as a result of specific features of audience habits and also the social issues that they face. Therefore, this showed that social media has a tremendous influence on how politicians structure their messages and how they communicate to their people.

All of these papers have revealed that mass media and specifically social media play a crucial role in affecting political and electoral outcomes. The papers have shown how social media platforms play a huge role in influencing candidate support, candidate messages, candidates’ popularity, and candidate proximity to their voters. All these factors show that social media has a significant part in presidential elections, and therefore, it should be considered as a very vital factor during electoral campaigns.

References

Borah, P. (2016). Political Facebook use: Campaign strategies used in the 2008 and 2012 presidential elections. Journal of Information Technology & Politics, 13(4), 326-338.

Conway, B. A., Kenski, K., & Wang, D. (2015). The rise of Twitter in the political campaign: Searching for intermedia agenda-setting effects in the presidential primary. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 20(4), 363-380.

Hong, S., & Nadler, D. (2012). Which candidates do the public discuss online in an election campaign?: The use of social media by 2012 presidential candidates and its impact on candidate salience. Government Information Quarterly, 29(4), 455-461.

Kelley, S. (1962). Elections and the mass media. Law and Contemporary Problems, 27(2), 307-326.

Larreguy, H., & Marshall, J. (2019). The incentives and effects of independent and government-controlled media in the developing world.The Oxford Handbook of Electoral Persuasion. doi:10.1093/oxfordhb/9780190860806.013.13

Liu, Y. I. (2019). Online and Offline Communication and Political Knowledge and Participation in Presidential Campaigns: Effects of Geographical Context. International Journal of Communication, 13, 24.

McLaughlin, B., & Macafee, T. (2019). Becoming a Presidential Candidate: Social Media Following and Politician Identification. Mass Communication and Society, 1-20.

Stier, S., Bleier, A., Lietz, H., & Strohmaier, M. (2018). Election campaigning on social media: Politicians, audiences, and the mediation of political communication on Facebook and Twitter. Political Communication, 35(1), 50-74.