Role Of The Media:
- To report accurately on political events
- Provide a commentary on political events and policies
- Act as a check and to scrutinise the government
- Investigate controversies and bring them to the public attention
Criticisms
Of The Media:
- Press has become overly partisan and they mock and ridicule rather than providing debate
- Creates national mood of cynicism towards politics by focusing on a scandal
- They focus on the leaders and the personalities by turning politicians into celebrities
- Make entertainment of politics
- Focus on crisis has led to negative point of view
- 24-hour news means minor issues are more prominent
- Online media has led to partisan and uninformed debate where the electorate are more aware but less engaged in the issues.
Examples of the Media:
- War Reporting – Jingoistic and patriotic reporting creates a good public impression of leaders
- Sleaze – Reports of sex and corruption scandal with the Tories, made the public think they are “nasty party” and people said they had abused their time in power.
- Bliar – Dodgy dossier and ‘sexing up’ the need for an Iraq war became a political scandal. David Kelly also died. Idea that the media said Blair was a liar and was a ‘poodle for President Bush’
- Expenses – Daily Telegraph used the freedom of information to obtain the record of MPs expenses. Wrongful claims and abuse where one MP claimed expense on a duck house and a moat.
- The EU - Fairly low down the list of priorities. Press reporting against the EU is now more prominent. The issue of the EU to immigration became popular and UKIP forced this issue.
- Satire – Means a decline in popularity, programmes like the Thick Of It and Mock The Week are mocking politicians but they provide scrutiny for politicians. Politicians are trying to get more and more onto these kind of shows to show they aren’t.