Title: Six ways the media influence elections | School of Journalism and Communication
Headings: Six ways the media influence elections
Six ways the media influence elections
1. To cover or not to cover
2. Bias, scripts and the polarization of America
3. Social media: Echo chamber and direct line to the masses
4. A picture is worth 1,000 words
5. Data journalism: Fact-checking, polls and the self-perpetuating cycle
6. Watchdogs of democracy

Content: Again, this phenomenon is motivated by business: Since today’s news consumers can get the basic facts from a quick internet search, many publications have differentiated themselves by shifting from straight news to context and analysis
Photo by Karly DeWees. Unfortunately, the media’s growing political schisms seem to be driving polarization in the populace as well. “Selective exposure is the tendency many of us have to seek out news sources that don’t fundamentally challenge what we believe about the world,” said Lawrence. “ We know there’s a relationship between selective exposure and the growing divide in political attitudes in this country. And that gap is clearly related to the rise of more partisan media sources.” Aside from ideological bias, according to Lawrence, journalists across outlets also perpetuate biased views by distilling complex campaigns and issues into simplified “scripts.” One popular election-coverage script is the “horserace” or “ game frame ” narrative. “ We know from decades of research that the mainstream media tend to see elections through the prism of competition,” said Lawrence. “ Campaigns get covered a lot like sports events, with an emphasis on who’s winning, who’s losing, who’s up, who’s down, how they are moving ahead or behind in the polls.”