Today’s political world and media world are locked in constant battle debating what’s “fake news” and what isn’t. Instead of spending time reading the news for information about a politician’s platform, the public is now spending time trying to decipher who is telling the truth and who isn’t.
Crooked Hillary Clinton now blames everybody but herself, refuses to say she was a terrible candidate. Hits Facebook & even Dems & DNC.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 1, 2017
The agenda setting function by McCombs and Shaw is all about how mass media provides the public with information on politicians and can shape readers’ opinions based on how they display them. Most voters receive information about candidates through the news, so politicians need to be aware of the character they display and stay up to date on what is being said about them.
As a journalism student, I’m encouraged by my professors to read news outside of my political beliefs, so I’m not stuck in a biased echo chamber. McCombs and Shaw found that early in a campaign, voters who are not strongly invested in one candidate will pay attention to all news. If a politician wants the best coverage, then it is imperative they stay out of the name calling game and the finger pointing game. Instead of giving the media something negative to cover, politicians need to focus on the most important part of their platforms and leave nothing but the best for the media to pick up on.
People in covfefe houses shouldn't throw covfefe. https://t.co/M7oK5Z6qwF
— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) June 1, 2017
Clinton referencing one of Trump’s Twitter typos in response to his above tweet.
In the current day and age, where Republicans seems to be moving further right and Democrats seem to be moving further left, a clean campaign that is not derogatory of the other party could be key to convincing voters who have not yet decided on a candidate.