Digital Media and Politics - Research Paper Example

 Digital Media and Politics Introduction A recent media representation can be witnessed in the political process in terms enhancing political participation and raising political involvement by availing crucial information. Just like in the Arab Spring Revolutions, digital media in the United Kingdom (U.K) and the United States (U.S) has provided a platform for civic engagement, citizen journalism, political support, and self-expression. In addition, the digital media has revolutionized electoral process and democracy globally by raising political awareness and enhancing the freedom of speech. The digital media has also acted as a source of information, which has encouraged a participatory culture. This is by ensuring that the political process is more democratic and less elitist (Bennett and Strange, 2011). Political campaigns usually capitalize on new means of communication in order to reach voters. This was evident in the 2008 U.S presidential elections whereby candidates used internet technologies to conduct their campaigns. Many political analysts liken the way President Obama used the internet in 2008 presidential campaigns to President Kennedy's first use of television in presidential campaigns in 1960 (Bennett and Strange, 2011). Utilization of new media in political processes has mostly been viewed as a tool of reaching voters, especially the youth who are always reluctant to turn out and vote. Some digital media analysts have maintained that the effect of social sites like Facebook on political behavior of young voters is still largely unknown The proportion of candidates using digital media for electoral processes has been increasing since 1996 when the internet was initially used in the U.S during campaigns, but the use was extremely limited. The first substantial use of the internet for political campaigns occurred in 2000 during the presidential campaigns of Bush and Gore; these campaigns had sophisticated websites (Bennett and Strange, 2011). By 2008, features of digital media were more advanced and widely used in political processes than in previous years. Political analysts observe that the failure to include new media in campaign strategies can adversely affect campaigns. This is because social media has become relevant and cost effective tool for political mobilization and support. For instance, candidates who fail to utilize digital media may forego a chance to mobilize certain votes, or raise money (Bennett and Strange, 2011). Despite the existence of several social media platforms, Facebook has gained grounds as the most influential forum for political support. Digital media has enabled a more direct communication between voters and their leaders. It has facilitated the participation of millions of individuals in political processes like never seen before (Bennett and Strange, 2011). The way Facebook was used in the 2008 U.S presidential elections indicated its capability to be utilized as a means of political communication.The candidates who participated in 2008 primary elections as Hilary Clinton, Barack Obama, Mike Huckabee, and John McCain had a personal Facebook page (183). Analysts have observed that Obama campaign particularly succeeded in using digital media as a tool for fund raising and political support. The campaigns achieve this objective by using the new media to revitalize the Democratic Party and make it attractive to young voters. Research on Digital Media and Politics Before the 2008 presidential election, statistics indicated that 30% of United States internet users visited Obama's campaign website, while 21 percent of internet users visited McCain's campaign website. On the Election Day, McCain had 219,404 friends on MySpace compared to Obama's 844,927 (Howard, 2011). On Facebook, more than 2 million people identified themselves as Obama supporters, while McCain had 600,000 supporters on Facebook. In a study that analyzed over 1,000 Facebook pages focusing on McCain and Obama with an aim of establishing how the two candidates were portrayed on digital media found that Obama had a more positive portrayal than McCain. The digital media also played a role in the 2010 general election, in Britain (Howard, 2011). Digital media also played a central role in enabling active political expressions which took the form of demonstration against corruption, unemployment, government repression and poverty. The occurrence of violence in the UK, in 2011, was also fueled by digital media like Facebook and twitter (Bennett and Strange, 2011). The demonstrations in Egypt and Tunisia that led to ousting of Presidents Ali and Mubarak are examples citizen-led engagements facilitated by the new media, and demonstrated the impact of digital media as a forum increasing political participation. The events of Arab spring revolution have made some analysts conclude that the new media has the potential to bring about active political engagement necessary for political change in Africa (Howard, 2011). The digital media has a high potential of bringing collaborative political participation. Social media forums provide ordinary citizens with a chance to interact directly with political systems. Digital media also enhances political participation by allowing people who live in the diaspora to participate in social and political processes in their mother countries (Bennett and Strange, 2011). Current research has established that digital media platform like social media, blogs, and the internet enhances political support by increasing voter turnout and shaping public opinion. With reference to the role of digital media on political participation, there are three schools of thoughts that have emerged. The schools of thought include mobilization/optimism theorists, the reinforcement/pessimists theorist, and skepticism theorists (Bennett and Strange, 2011). Social networks have been known to assist young voters who are unlikely to turn to traditional sources of news to share political information. In terms of electoral processes, the internet and the digital media has played an important role in availing campaign information. The preference of the new media as a source of campaign information is brought by the fact that it enables candidates to convey the latest information to their supporters and it is also cost effective (Vaccari, 2013). The new media not only provide information to the public but also allow interaction between the electorate and political systems a factor that may increase citizen's interest in the political process. Studies conducted in the U.S have indicated that the number of people who rely on new media for their political news has been steadily increasing over time. For example, statistics indicates that, in 2000, 17 percent of Americans used the internet to obtain election information and political news. By 2004, this number had increased to 30 percent, while, in 2008, it stood at 2008 (Vaccari, 2013). Findings The digital media also allow citizens to set the political agenda through social media sites like YouTube and blogs. Moreover, because the new media is present at any given time, political leaders who misspeak can have their reputation badly damaged. Digital media also gives the average citizens the power to contribute to political discourse and control content (Vaccari, 2013). Digital media also enhances political participation by quickening the flow of information to the public. Digital media ensures that stories that have real political implications are not swept under the carpet. Social media and the internet enable citizens to check past utterances by political figures and compare them with the current one, and in case there are discrepancies, they can raise an alarm. In this respect, the digital media and the internet improve political participation by enabling citizens to play the part of a watchdog (Howard, 2011). In the 2008 U.S elections, analysts noted that YouTube was used as a major tool for political marketing, which in turn influenced the American news cycle. In addition, six out of the seventeen candidates who were running for president announced their interest to run for president on YouTube, and all the presidential candidates posted messages on YouTube. Studies indicated that 60 percent of internet users went online to watch videos related to elections or politics (Boler, 2008). American citizens also participated in the 2008 presidential primary debates through digital media like YouTube whereby people asked questions to both democratic and republican candidates via YouTube. YouTube significantly improve citizen participation in the 2008 presidential elections (Eko, 2013). For example, statistics indicates that Obama's speech on race got watched by 6.7 million Americans, and by Election Day, 85 percent of Americans had watched it. The video was watched 5.3 million times within one week, and this surpassed the number of all people who watch all the capable channels in a week. Experts have noted that the popularity of new media as a source of political information among young people is brought by the fact that young people prefer original political information as speech transcripts and videos, as opposed to second-hand sources of information (Eko, 2013). YouTube also provided a platform for citizens to attack several political candidates; for example, a political activist named Robert Greenwald posted several videos that depicted senator McCain as contradicting himself in different occasions (Howard, 2011). Another video that circulated on YouTube was that of Mitt Romney and it portrayed him as supporting gay rights and taking a pro-choice stance on abortion; this video negatively affected Romney's campaign. Apart from YouTube, blogs also served as a platform for citizen support and assisted in setting political agenda. For example, a blogger affiliated to the Washington Post wrote that McCain said that he would win one of the presidential debates hours before it took place. Another example of how blogging impacted the 2008 presidential elections was seen in Sarah Palin's pregnancy story. Rumors from Alaska had indicated that the real mother to Palin's daughter who was months old at the time was her daughter Bristol. This rumor circulated in the digital media, and this forced McCain to set issues straight by revealing that Bristol was pregnant at the time this allegation was being made. Another incident in the 2008 presidential campaign where digital media set the political agenda is seen the blog that was posted at the Huffington Post. This blog criticized senator Obama for planning to appear in public with a church minister that was perceived to be hostile to gay people. The Clinton campaign conveyed the blog post to journalist who in turn forwarded it to the national media. The above examples are an indication that the new media not only increases citizens’ participation in political processes, but also set political agenda and influence news cycle (Howard, 2011).. The new media can act as an introductory platform for various political candidates and can help them in creating a personal connection between them and the voters. This is shown through research carried out by Pew Research Center in 2008, which indicated that 28 percent of Americans who use the internet reported that digital media makes them feel a personal connection to election campaigns (Hindman, 2009). Another 22 percent reported that they would not have been involved in political campaigns were it not for the internet. The study revealed that one in every ten people who are text messaging users received direct text messages from a political party or candidate, while another 37 percent received a direct email from a political party or candidate. This direct communication between citizens and politicians encourages citizen participation and help in building public support (Hindman. 2009). Studies have also shown that personalized messages on digital media platforms like YouTube and Twitter enable the public to know politicians better and make informed decisions. A study found that Twitter makes the public have a better connection to political representatives. Social sites make candidates more accessible to the public and personalize them; the sites transcend the simple act of communicating campaign information and themes; they make a candidate look more authentic (Hindman 2009). For example, when a candidate claims that he/she is conservative, consistent and principled, voters can easily tell this by examining his/her posts on facebook or twitter. In the 2008 U.S presidential elections, candidates used the digital media as a tool of building rapport with their supporters and increasing awareness. Digital media platforms like Yahoo even took a further step and sponsored online conversations between average citizens and candidates like McCain, Obama and Clinton (Hindman 2009). Discussion For decades, the media fervently denied the claims of political bias in their reporting. When summarily questioned concerning the media coverage of Ferraro in 1984, many of the major networks at that time laid the blame on the Republicans instead of themselves. They stated that the Republicans saw her finances as "genderless" problem that they could use to attack Ferraro without creating a backlash (Vaccari, 2013). While the truth of the matter cannot be established true, their incessant reporting on the subject of her and her husband's finances only served to distract the attention away from the Republicans and place it squarely on themselves. During the final 2008 Democratic Candidate Debate hosted by ABC News, moderators Charlie Gibson and George Stephanopoulos came under fire almost instantaneously on many blogs for asking questions seen as being too lenient on Obama and too tough on Clinton. In doing so, they were labeled as "clearly being in the tank" for Obama. In September 2008, Keith Olberman and Chris Matthews of MSNBC were “booted” from their nightly political anchor spots for what network executives cited as poor ratings. The truth beyond this, however, was that their biased political commentary was responsible for their decline in viewer ratings during the Republican National Convention (FoxNews; The Associated Press). These are a number of examples of how the media can subtly, and sometimes overtly, manipulate public opinion. In August, 2008, Republicans nominated female Governor Sarah Palin to be John McCain’s presidential running mate. Her nomination triggered an outpouring of admiration and hope from males and females alike; one which stretched across party lines. Within two days of her nomination, radio and television networks that support the Obama/Biden ticket condemned Palin for her unmarried daughter’s pregnancy, her religious preferences, and her husband’s arrest in 1986 for driving while intoxicated (Boler, 2008). Left-wing bloggers have claimed that her youngest child belongs to her daughter, Bristol (Eko, 2013). Others condemn her for deserting a Downs Syndrome child for the sake of political gain. While there may be evidence to support Governor Palin’s lack of experience for the office of Vice President, such vicious personal attacks on her and her family are aimed at destroying her personal credibility instead of questioning her political beliefs. Some argue that all is fair during a presidential election year. However, no one has ever questioned a male nominee’s capability to lead because of his parental abilities. Conclusion Digital media has changed the political landscape in a big way. The majority of the citizens especially the young generation are so fond of digital media. YouTube, Facebook, Twitter among others have been on top of the list. The young generation has over decades been ignored by politicians. However, recent presidential campaigns demonstrate that politicians are aware of the impact that the young voters can make. This has resulted to most campaigns being carried out through digital media where the both the young and middle-aged people can access the information. Politicians create their fan pages on Facebook, Twitter and other sites to advertise their political strategies. This has bore fruits for a number of politicians as they are able to interact with their supporters through the digital media platform. The political fans are able to raise issues of concern and they get feedback. Through the interaction, supporters are able to establish a strong connection with their candidate of choice. The supporters are able to evaluate the policies and manifestos of various candidates and make an informed decision. Politicians are also able to record video footages of their campaigns and interviews on talk shows. The videos can be posted on YouTube for their supporters to view. The digital media also been used to spread propaganda in politics (Eko, 2013). Politicians always use propaganda to tarnish the names of their rivals or give them an unpopular public picture. This works well in digital media where imposter accounts can be created on Facebook and other social media. These accounts only focus on the negatives of the rival candidate. It is apparent that the digital media significantly impact political support. Studies have shown that the new media increases political participation by providing relevant information and ending monopoly of political information. The new media encourages citizen participation in various political processes; however, experts have observed that the electoral process is the mostly impacted by the new media. The new media provides an opportunity for candidates to connect with their supporters and enables these supporters to interrogate their candidates on policies. Apart from influencing the electoral process, a new media has also played a central role in political activism, and this is evident in how the new media fueled the Arab Spring revolution. In a nutshell, the new media increases political support and experts have argued that it has changed the modern political process in a way that cannot be ignored (Bennett and Strange, 2011). References Bennett, J., & Strange, N. (2011). Television as digital media. Durham, NC: Duke University Press. Boler, M. (2008). Digital media and democracy: Tactics in hard times. Cambridge, Mass: MIT Press. Eko, L. S. (2013). American Exceptionalism, the French Exception, and Digital Media Law. Lanham: Lexington Books. Hindman, M. S. (2009). The myth of digital democracy. Princeton: Princeton University Press. Howard, P. N. (2011). Castells and the media. Cambridge: Polity. Vaccari, C. (2013). Digital politics in Western democracies: A comparative study. Read More