1. Mass Media, Public Opinion &
Politics

2. Unit Topics
• Bias
• Print Media
• Radio
• T.V.
• Political Cartoons
• Internet
• Public Opinion Polling

3. Today’s Objectives
• You will know all of the vocabulary.
Backward. Forward. Upside down.
You’re going to be an expert.
• You will analyze the role the media
plays in your own life. I’m going to do it
too, it’ll be fun.

5. Types of Mass Media
• Make a list. You’ve got 2 minutes.
Write down every type of media you can
think of.
• Mass Media= ways of transmitting
information to many people at the same
time

6. • Public Opinion: attitudes held by a
significant number of people in matters
of government and politics.

7. • Public agenda
– What sorts of things are on the United State’s
public agenda?
• Immigration, health care, war(s), gun control, gay
marriage, economy, marijuana, alternative fuel sources,
global warming
– Does that reflect what is important to you?
– How does an issue get on the public agenda?
• People start talking about it

8. • Bias: being partial to one
side of an argument
– Are TV news stations
biased?
– How can you tell if
something is biased?
• Only tell one side of story
• Only focusing on the good
or bad aspects of a certain
story
• What they deem as
newsworthy
– What biases do certain
news stations have?
• Fox?
• MSNBC?
• CNN?

9. What role does media play in
your life?
• List the mass media on the board in
order of least important to most
important in your own life.
• Pretend it is 1960, what would your list
look like then?
• What about in 1860?

10. Next Time…
• Bias!

11. Wrapping Things Up…
• Take out your vocabulary/guided notes sheet
• Here’s what you’re going to do:
• Using the three words on your sheet and
three of the types of mass media, write a
couple sentences using them together on the
back of your notes.
• Don’t give me definitions, just use them in
such a way that shows you know what they
mean.
• Hand it to me on your way out or finish it for
homework.