Criminal justice
Dominica
politicalpolarizationandmediaconsolidation.pptxWeek 2 How we view and address social problems
Media consolidation
Political polarization
Media consolidation/concentration/conglomeration
Over the past 40 years, the number of corporations controlling the majority of US media has gone from 50 to 5
Fairness Doctrine
1949 – Federal Communications Commission (FCC) required broadcasters to present controversial issues of public importance and that news must be presented in ways that are honest, equitable, and balanced
1987 – FCC eliminated this policy
many argue removing this rule has led to increased political polarization
Intergroup contact theory
the most effective way to rid people from majority groups of bigoted ideas about racial, ethnic, or sexual minorities is to have them interact with people from those groups
Political polarization
Political sorting – increasingly, since the 1970s, liberals identify as Democrats and
conservatives identify as Republicans – thus, ideological overlaps
between conservatism and liberalism are diminishing
Ideological consistency – increasingly, people consistently support liberal or
conservative positions when presented with policy-related questions
Consistently liberal or conservative 1994 – 10% 2014 – 21%
Things to think about – Reflection paper #1
