Constructing Public Opinion: How Politicians & the Media Misrepresent the Public (2001)

Subscribe $5/mo
Become a patron to watch
License
For classroom or public use

The media regularly use public opinion polls in their reporting of important news stories. But how exactly do they report them and to what end? In this insightful and accessible interview, Professor Justin Lewis demonstrates the way in which polling data are themselves used by the media to not just reflect what Americans think but instead to construct public opinion itself. Addressing vital issues (e.g., the role the media play in "manufacturing consent" for political elites, what polls really tell us about public opinion, what Americans actually think about politics), Constructing Public Opinion provides a new way to think about the relationship between politics, media and the public.

Exploding the myth that most Americans are moderate or conservative, Constructing Public Opinion demonstrates the way in which political elites help to promote the military-industrial complex and how the media sustains belief in an electoral system with a built-in bias against the interests of ordinary people. Well illustrated with graphics and many examples of media coverage, it is the first film of its kind to present a critical analysis of media and public opinion.

Sections: Political Perceptions | Economic Forces | Media Coverage | The Phantom Liberal | Military Omissions | Democratic Ideals

shop.mediaed.org
Media   Media Literacy   Politics
Rate this video 
Media
Human Potential and the Path Back to Indigeneity
Documentaries that Inspire Ecological Consciousness
Trending Videos
Anonymous Issues DIRE WARNING To MAGA | The Kyle Kulinski Show
11 min - Anonymous has released a new video warning about the growing threats posed by Trump, JD Vance, and Elon Musk. They outline how economic policies, mass firings, and regulatory rollbacks are...
Carl Sagan's Cosmos: A Personal Voyage (1980)
780 min - Astronomer Carl Sagan's landmark 13-part science series takes you on an awe-inspiring cosmic journey to the edge of the Universe and back aboard the spaceship of the imagination.The series was...
Sicko (2007)
123 min - The words "health care" and "comedy" aren't usually found in the same sentence, but in Academy Award winning filmmaker Michael Moore's new movie 'SiCKO,' they go together hand in (rubber)...
Tearful Trump Voter HORRIFIED After Getting EXACTLY What She Voted For
21 min - A Trump voter named Mayra Aluna is going viral on TikTok after uploading a video where she tearfully explains that she fears for her family’s safety now that Trump is instituting the mass...
You Need To See This Incredible 17–Minute Film Set Entirely On A Teen’s Computer Screen
17 min - Noah, a short film that debuted at the Toronto International Film Festival, illustrates the flitting attention span and lack of true connection in digital culture more clearly than anything else...
The REAL Waste That Elon's DOGE Should Cut
4 min - DOGE is a trojan horse for Elon Musk to gut labor, consumer, and environmental protections. If he actually wanted to cut waste, he'd look at the massive tax loopholes, government contracts, and...
FASCISM: An In-Depth Explanation
43 min - "We have created our myth. The myth is a faith, a passion. It is not necessary for it to be a reality. . . . Our myth is the nation, our myth is the greatness of the nation! And to this myth, this...
Trending Articles
The Economics of Happiness
Humanity is NOT the Problem. A Cultural Paradigm Based on Domination Is.
Subscribe for $5/mo to Watch over 50 Patron-Exclusive Films
Subscribe $5/mo View All Patron Films

 

Your support keeps us ad-free and financially independent

Our 10,000+ video & article library is 99% free, ad-free, and entirely community-funded thanks to our patron subscribers!


Want to donate extra? You can subscribe and donate an extra $5/mo or more.