Media and the Presidency

Emilio P. Uc-Tun
Ms. Gummere
English 1000
20 April 2012
Media and How It Affects The Presidency

Media is an important part of our daily lives. One aspect of our lives that media has a major impact on is politics, especially the presidency. The media (TV, newspapers) affects the president from his campaign all the way through his term; the media is vital to helping the president shape his image and communicate with the public, and set agenda. The media is an essential tool in becoming a successful president. When a president interacts with the media he will soon benefit from this interaction, unless the media favors him in a bad light then it usually goes the opposite direction.

The effects the media has on the president begin when the president is campaigning. The president has a staff that helps the president form an image that is appealing to the voting public. The staff works with the media to communicate the image of the presidential hopeful to the public. The staff attempts to “(1) control news coverage by controlling media access, setting the media’s agenda, creating pseudo event; (2) blur the distinction between news and commercials in order to increase the credibility of the commercial’s message; (3) exploit the linguistic categories reflecting criteria for newsworthiness and conventions of news presentation through which journalists view campaigns; (4) insulate the candidate from attack; and (5) enlist the help of journalist in responding to attacks” (Jamieson229) If the staff uses the media wisely then it can help to ensure that the presidential candidate will have a good image with the public. It is difficult for candidates to travel to every city in the country so the media is the only opportunity the public has to become familiar with the candidates. The media also sees the campaign for president as an important news even drawing in an audience of people interested in the elections. In other words, the media and the candidates “need” each...