Political Communication: The City of Philadelphia - Term Paper Example

These needs include health, education, security and social well-being. In this paper, I will discuss the role that political communication has played among residents aged 18-25 years from the city of Philadelphia. Philadelphia is the capital city of Pennsylvania and it is ranked the sixth largest city in the United States of America. It is located at the southeast of the state at the junction of Delaware and Schuylkill Rivers. The city bears a total area of 369.4 km?, which includes both water and land.

Philadelphia is a cosmopolitan city with a population of about 1,547,297 people. Out of this, 41.4% are African Americans, 39.5% are whites, 11.7% are Hispanic, 5.6% are from Asia, 1.3% of the population belongs to other races. American Indians make up 0.1% of the population while 0.01% are inborn Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander. In Philadelphia, the mayor of the city is the most powerful political figure and most of the decisions made pass through him (Philadelphia, web). In the olden days, youths had little or no interest in voting or politics because they believed that voting was for the old people.

Democracies did not see the need of involving the younger generation in voting or making political decisions. . The mass media has played a vital role in political communication since time immemorial. Through mass media, the public officers have used means like the television and newspapers to carry out their campaigns. The media can either build or destroy the political ambitions of an aspirant. Most people rely on the media while making vital decisions concerned with voting. This makes most aspirants to treat media companies with lots of respect especially on matters involving their agendas and objectives on issues that affect their voters’ well-being.

To communicate to the youths, the politicians have used youth friendly slogans with promises such as job creation, good health care, and better education systems. The politicians have also used radio shows and commercials that help them reach to the younger generations by giving them useful information. Civic education is a significant factor of political socialization. The public officials through their policies have introduced the Student Voice program in the learning curriculum across schools in the city.

This program helps the youths learn about their voting rights, the constitution and other things that help them make wise decisions when voting. Through civic education, the students get an opportunity of self-governance. They also get the chance to participate in projects that are community based which help them interact with the citizens within their communities and other public officers. Such programs help them mature in the policy making process and in turn, help in building and developing the community.

These programs help the community change from activities that affect the well-being of the youths such as engaging in criminal activities and drugs. Proceeds from these projects finance the campaigns and