The mass media as political actors.

PS: Political Science & Politics, March, 1996 by Page, Benjamin I.

Substantial evidence reveals that what is published or broadcasted has had a significant effect on how citizens think and what they think about. Evidence also suggests that what the media expresses often has direct effects on what policymakers do, and that major political values published in news stories is sometimes closely linked to political stands taken by overt editorials. More systematic research is needed to study the relation of news organizations' policy stands to their published news stories, as well as how media indirectly alters public political perception, which in turn affect policy decision-making.

One can imagine several ways in which media organizations - that is, individual media outlets, chains, networks, or umbrella corporations - might pursue policy...

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