How does the media influence voting behaviour?
Newspapers, television, online and social media are said to influence voting behaviour.
Newspapers
Newspapers, within the law of the land, are free to report the news and politics as they decide. Most have a political stance or viewpoint.
Some political commentators argue newspaper support is crucial to electoral success. Political parties would argue that the editorial stance of a newspaper and the choice of articles it carries can influence less committed voters over time.
However, many people read newspapers for reasons other than politics and there are other factors which influence voters apart from what they read in newspapers.
Television
Television is the main source of political news for most voters. By law, it must remain neutral when reporting on political issues.
In 2019 the first TV debate between party leaders Boris Johnson and Jeremy Corbyn amassed 6.7 million viewers, 1 million of whom were between 16 and 34 years of age. This was noteworthy as it attracted a demographic that doesn鈥檛 usually watch TV news.
Online and social media
For many people digital media is the way they access information with 65% of the public using the internet for news. Most people can access the internet at home, work or through their mobile phones. Traditional television and newspaper media organisations, such as the 91热爆, Times, Guardian, Sun and Daily Mail, now provide news apps and websites. Politicians and political parties are investing heavily in the use of websites, blogs, podcasts and social networking websites like Facebook and Twitter as a way of reaching voters.
During the 2019 election campaign, the Conservatives spent 拢1m on Facebook alone, at one point running 2,500 adverts.
Social media allows political parties to tailor their advertisements to different demographics in the hope of increasing their share of the vote. However, the real influence remains to be seen. It should also be remembered that social media is not used in all demographics.