COM3707 - Political and Government Communication
and Media Ethics
ASSIGNMENT 02 2024
SEMESTER 02
POLITICAL COMMUNICATION (Part B)
ALL QUESTIONS ANSWERED
PASS WITH 75%+
,TABLE OF CONTENT PAGE
1. INTRODUCTION............................................................................................3
2. THE MEDIA, THE PUBLIC SPHERE AND THE DEMOCRATIC PROCESS............3
The integral role the media play in facilitating debate within the public
sphere...........................................................................................................3
How public opinion is formed and proliferated through the media...............5
How the media gives a voice to one or more of the constituent parts of the
public sphere................................................................................................5
Pressure groups.........................................................................................6
Political parties...........................................................................................6
3. THE MASS MEDIA IN MODERN POLITICS.......................................................7
The relationship between the media and the political process.....................7
The importance of the mass media in the process of modern politics,
including how the media transform political messages, as well as how the
media behave as agenda-setters..................................................................8
How the media participate in mobilising consent by supporting the
hegemonic position of political elites............................................................9
THE DIFFERENT FORMS OF POLITICAL JOURNALISM WITH EXAMPLES...........11
Political communication and influences the political process in a variety of
different formats.........................................................................................11
Media formats.............................................................................................11
The editorial article..................................................................................11
The journalist as pundit and the column or op-ed....................................12
The journalist as pundit.........................................................................12
The feature article....................................................................................13
The Bard...................................................................................................14
Debates and Talk-shows..........................................................................15
The political interview..............................................................................17
CONCLUSION..................................................................................................19
SOURCES CONSULTED...................................................................................19
, SELF-ASSESSMENT AND SELF-REFLECTION...................................................20
1. INTRODUCTION
The media plays a critical role in the functioning of democratic societies by serving as a
channel for the free flow of information and public debate. It is through the media that
citizens gain access to knowledge and discussions that allow them to participate
meaningfully in decision-making processes that impact their lives and communities. In
the public sphere, where diverse social groups engage in discussions, the media helps
to shape public opinion by informing, facilitating discourse, and presenting differing
viewpoints. Additionally, the media interacts with the political process by influencing how
political messages are transmitted and perceived by the public. This assignment will
critically explore the role of the media in facilitating debate within the public sphere, its
relationship with modern politics, and the various forms of political journalism that shape
public discourse.
2. THE MEDIA, THE PUBLIC SPHERE AND THE DEMOCRATIC
PROCESS
The integral role the media play in facilitating debate within the public
sphere
The public sphere refers to the area of our social lives where opinions can resemble the
general publics (McNair, 2018: 17). When citizens interact freely, that is, within the
protection of the rights to assemble and associate freely as well as the ability to voice
and publish their opinions, they act as a public body (McNair, 2018: 17). Habermas
places the emergence of the public sphere in eighteenth-century Britain, when the first
and Media Ethics
ASSIGNMENT 02 2024
SEMESTER 02
POLITICAL COMMUNICATION (Part B)
ALL QUESTIONS ANSWERED
PASS WITH 75%+
,TABLE OF CONTENT PAGE
1. INTRODUCTION............................................................................................3
2. THE MEDIA, THE PUBLIC SPHERE AND THE DEMOCRATIC PROCESS............3
The integral role the media play in facilitating debate within the public
sphere...........................................................................................................3
How public opinion is formed and proliferated through the media...............5
How the media gives a voice to one or more of the constituent parts of the
public sphere................................................................................................5
Pressure groups.........................................................................................6
Political parties...........................................................................................6
3. THE MASS MEDIA IN MODERN POLITICS.......................................................7
The relationship between the media and the political process.....................7
The importance of the mass media in the process of modern politics,
including how the media transform political messages, as well as how the
media behave as agenda-setters..................................................................8
How the media participate in mobilising consent by supporting the
hegemonic position of political elites............................................................9
THE DIFFERENT FORMS OF POLITICAL JOURNALISM WITH EXAMPLES...........11
Political communication and influences the political process in a variety of
different formats.........................................................................................11
Media formats.............................................................................................11
The editorial article..................................................................................11
The journalist as pundit and the column or op-ed....................................12
The journalist as pundit.........................................................................12
The feature article....................................................................................13
The Bard...................................................................................................14
Debates and Talk-shows..........................................................................15
The political interview..............................................................................17
CONCLUSION..................................................................................................19
SOURCES CONSULTED...................................................................................19
, SELF-ASSESSMENT AND SELF-REFLECTION...................................................20
1. INTRODUCTION
The media plays a critical role in the functioning of democratic societies by serving as a
channel for the free flow of information and public debate. It is through the media that
citizens gain access to knowledge and discussions that allow them to participate
meaningfully in decision-making processes that impact their lives and communities. In
the public sphere, where diverse social groups engage in discussions, the media helps
to shape public opinion by informing, facilitating discourse, and presenting differing
viewpoints. Additionally, the media interacts with the political process by influencing how
political messages are transmitted and perceived by the public. This assignment will
critically explore the role of the media in facilitating debate within the public sphere, its
relationship with modern politics, and the various forms of political journalism that shape
public discourse.
2. THE MEDIA, THE PUBLIC SPHERE AND THE DEMOCRATIC
PROCESS
The integral role the media play in facilitating debate within the public
sphere
The public sphere refers to the area of our social lives where opinions can resemble the
general publics (McNair, 2018: 17). When citizens interact freely, that is, within the
protection of the rights to assemble and associate freely as well as the ability to voice
and publish their opinions, they act as a public body (McNair, 2018: 17). Habermas
places the emergence of the public sphere in eighteenth-century Britain, when the first
