Title: Media: What is their impact? | United States Government
Headings: Media: What is their impact?
Media: What is their impact?
Learning Objectives
Media Effects and Bias
Coverage Effects on Governance and Campaigns
Questions to Consider
Terms to Remember

Content: Viewers in a study were left believing African Americans were the majority of the unemployed and poor, rather than seeing the problem as one faced by many races. [ 4]
The misrepresentation of race is not limited to news coverage, however. A study of images printed in national magazines, like Time and Newsweek, found they also misrepresented race and poverty. The magazines were more likely to show images of young African Americans when discussing poverty and excluded the elderly and the young, as well as whites and Latinos, which is the true picture of poverty. [ 5]
The Center for American Women in Politics researches the treatment women receive from both government and the media, and they share the data with the public. Media coverage of women has been similarly biased, leading to uneven coverage of women candidates for public office. Early coverage was sparse. The stories that did appear often discussed the candidate’s viability, or ability to win, rather than her stand on the issues. Clearly, the coverage of the 2016 Hillary Clinton candidacy reflects a change. [ 6] Word choice may also have a priming effect.