Dr.

West

November 30, 2018

POLI-2110-FAO

How the Media Affects Politics in Canada

It is often that when we think of media, Twitter, CNN, or Buzzfeed comes to mind. This

is a very narrowed view of the broad range of media that exists and affects politics, which is an

even broader view of what, how, when, and why things happen in Canadian politics. The reality

is, is that media has an enormous effect on Canadian citizens, as do citizens on the media itself.

There are many more hidden tricks, manipulative skills, and conditioned responses of the media

that gives it the ability to have the kind of effect that it does. Media includes news broadcasts,

live streams, tweeting, pictures, and even titles of articles or headlines. Each type of media and

each use of it is a depiction of our thoughts, feelings, and experiences, which is all reflected in

our political decisions and opinions. It is a form of expression and can make a bigger difference

than we expect when it is widely used. Each type of media and each use of it is important, and

that cannot be denied. Politicians, political candidates, parties, and citizens themselves all use,

observe, and pay attention to the media. It is an absolute essential to today’s politics, whether

anyone likes it or not - it has because one of the largest and most important influencers on

Canadian politics.

Media is a way that citizens share their opinion through any desired platform. It

symbolizes our true feelings and emotions about political issues and policy, and makes private

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issues public. It can be perceived as a type of language. The language the media uses is

symbolic, and is intended to send a message, thought or feeling, to the viewers/readers. It is

important to look behind this “language” and analyze what is really there, what is really trying to

be said, and why. Media is the best way citizens can be represented - with the variety of

platforms and diverse ways that opinions can be noticed, using media is being involved as a

citizen and being involved in Canadian politics.

Not often are emotions realized as one of the major influencers of specific media, when

truthfully, there is emotion in every type of media. Often we see movements online, hashtags that

encourage the prime minister to analyze a certain issue many citizens are unhappy with, or

backlash over a certain policy or law in place. In addition to media being used as a tool to make

people more aware of a topic or issue, it is also used as an outlet to express anger and

dissatisfaction to grab the attention of government officials. All of these actions happening

through or in the media are fuelled by emotions of citizens. Those emotions can be satisfaction,

pride, or disappointment - either way - media makes all of us more aware of how people are

feeling and the hopes that people have for the government.

Despite the fact that media is helpful for expressing feelings and opinions and for

drawing attention from specific people, it is often used ignorantly. Research has shown that the

pressures of society affect individual’s participation in politics - such as voting or even posting

the same hashtag against the sentencing of a federal offender since everyone else is posting it.

This conformity often happens unknowingly, and therefore it unknowingly affects political

values and opinions. The titles that are the most exciting, are usually the ones that grab the most

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attention. Individuals tend to gravitate towards these articles/stories with these exciting titles,

even if they are less informative. This social pressure affects political opinion because it proves

that the delivery of the information itself has a larger effect than the actual information. Some

individuals look for the stories that give the most information in the title - and read no further.

Premeditated opinion can also be affected by information from family members, friends, and

work environments. All of these external factors are important in how this conformity affects

political opinion. Conforming to what is the most popular issue of topic in a certain period of is

not proper political participation, and does not have always have the right effects. It is important

to know the difference between advocating for what is important and what is a pressing issue,

and joining in on whatever everyone else is doing in order to seem involved.

The media pays attention to the time that their stories and articles are being released as

they have an extensive influence on the people listening during that time period. For example,

during an upcoming debate, the news may provide information about what candidates have been

doing leading up to the debate, what their predictions of the candidates’ main points will be, and

what each candidate stands for. Discussions on television channels post-debate, tweets about a

certain phrase that was said that caught the attention of viewers, or any feelings about that debate

could be posted online or talked about in the media. The media’s relay of information is a

primary source of information about upcoming political events, candidates, predictions for

elections, and facts about policy. The media helps to provide and analyze stories to make the

public known and informed, which in turn affects how individuals opinions form and change.

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 Social media is arguably the most used media source, but also the least studied. Although

the stories and information on social media can often be naive, ignorant, or a bit of a stretch,

denying its importance in politics would be completely wrong. The popularity of social media is

so influential that it has become more than a daily activity - it has become a lifestyle and a

platform that people rely on more than trusted news sources such as Global News or CTV. Social

media has transformed how we receive and perceive information about politics, even though it is

rarely an accurate representation of what is actually happening. This transformation has brought

benefits, as individuals opinions are more open and honest (although sometimes hostile), and

easily accessible by almost everyone to choose which platform they would like to use and how

they would like to use it. It is a tool that allows people to openly express their political opinions,

follow the most recent news and events, and, if desired, explore more into politics to find out

more information. There is an ongoing battle between writers on social media and politicians to

have dominance over one another. To rely on social media as the sole provider of political

information is not ideal, but if used properly, it can be extremely useful. On the other hand,

social media is undoubtedly one of the best ways to draw attention, create support, or express an

issue or topic. Either way, these factors make it arguably one of the most influential forms of

media on Canadian politics.

The electronic media includes all information conveyed electronically. The rise of

electronic media brought faster speeds of relays of information, therefore leading to faster

responses to this information. There is an extremely wide variety of how electronic media can be

used and who uses it. For citizens, electronic media is useful to be up to date and on time with

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the latest political events, dates, and news, while also being useful to share information that they

have found out, to express their opinions and feelings, and to interact with political figures and

other citizens. For political figures, social media is a way to interact with citizens, see their

opinions on what is going on, and to convey their own thoughts and plans. Electronic media is a

very helpful tool for all kinds of groups of people, and makes it easier to communicate and

interact. The sharing and use of electronic media can influence and change public opinion, cause

support for an issue to grow or change, bring attention to the government and public and provide

information about an issue, and cause pressure on policy makers. All of these effects of the use

of electronic media make it a significant part of the process of gaining attention and advocacy to

a certain topic. The attention gathered from this advocacy is what grabs the government’s

attention and sometimes, makes a change. The longer a story is talked about or featured in the

news, the more pressure the government has placed on them to address or fix the position, which

will keep it out of the news. The more cooperative and communicative the government’s

activities are with the media, the greater the impact on on the political community.

It has now seemingly become a requirement for political parties and politicians to have

and use social media - without it, it makes the individual or group at a disadvantage. In an article

by CTV News, the use of “AskAndrea” by NDP leader Andrea Horwath during the 2018

provincial election was used as an example of the use of media by political parties. From her

office in Toronto, Andrea Horwath had a half hour question and answer session on Twitter,

answering questions about student debt, taxes, and more. This is an example of the essential uses

of the media by politicians and the benefits it can bring. Before social media was this prominent,

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it was only seen as a simple feature to have. Now political parties have ways to communicate

with voters and citizens through Youtube, Facebook, and other platforms. Information is easily

shared and gives voters the opportunity to respond and share their opinion, since voters also have

an expectation of how political figures use their social media platforms.

Overall, media is arguably the most influential in Canadian politics, because of its broad

range of uses and forms, and its popular use by all of society. Each type of media represents and

affects a different group of individuals, whether that is through a news broadcast, a livestream, or

a tweet, every type of media is important. It tells us why, when, and how the things in politics

occur and the relationships that citizens, journalists, and political figures have with each other.

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