The Press and Media Cause Rampant Swaying of the Election Votes Through Their
Opinions and Reports
Today, the press and media cause rampant swaying of the vote through
their own opinions and reports. People are often misled with half-truths and
believable rumors that can aid or ruin an election. Journalists and the
newspapers often print things too hastily, without first investigating the truth
or at least both sides of a story. Candidates abuse the media, using money as a
pass to publicly slander and deface the character of their opposition, his
ideals, and even the innocent people related to him. These concepts did not
start recently, or even in our century. The press and media's views affected
the early presidencies too. Let's start with the first president elected by
vote, John Adams.
John Adams took the office of president in the year 1797. He was a
close admirer of Washington and was sometimes said to be Washington's shadow
(Presidency of John Adams, Ralph Adams Brown 1975). He and the Federalists
believed that nothing the Anti-federalists and their supporting press could say
would be enough to shake their control. Yet it was Adams who, in spite of his
undoubted intelligence, made a mistake of such proportions that it brought about
his own downfall and the party's (Press and the Presidency, John Tebbel 1985).
This mistake would be the Sedition Act, which tested the first amendment and the
freedoms of the press. This obviously did not please the press and its opinions
were generally shifted to that of the Anti-Federalist. This was a deadly blow
to John Adams' presidency and the Federalist party. He himself was no stranger
to the press, he worked together with the Sons of Liberty and "cooked up
paragraphs" while "working the political engine" in the Boston Gazette (Brown
1975). Adams experience with the press had convinced him that it was a primary
source of political persuasion, and the thought was intriguing to him. He is
quoted as saying in... [continues]
Opinions and Reports
Today, the press and media cause rampant swaying of the vote through
their own opinions and reports. People are often misled with half-truths and
believable rumors that can aid or ruin an election. Journalists and the
newspapers often print things too hastily, without first investigating the truth
or at least both sides of a story. Candidates abuse the media, using money as a
pass to publicly slander and deface the character of their opposition, his
ideals, and even the innocent people related to him. These concepts did not
start recently, or even in our century. The press and media's views affected
the early presidencies too. Let's start with the first president elected by
vote, John Adams.
John Adams took the office of president in the year 1797. He was a
close admirer of Washington and was sometimes said to be Washington's shadow
(Presidency of John Adams, Ralph Adams Brown 1975). He and the Federalists
believed that nothing the Anti-federalists and their supporting press could say
would be enough to shake their control. Yet it was Adams who, in spite of his
undoubted intelligence, made a mistake of such proportions that it brought about
his own downfall and the party's (Press and the Presidency, John Tebbel 1985).
This mistake would be the Sedition Act, which tested the first amendment and the
freedoms of the press. This obviously did not please the press and its opinions
were generally shifted to that of the Anti-Federalist. This was a deadly blow
to John Adams' presidency and the Federalist party. He himself was no stranger
to the press, he worked together with the Sons of Liberty and "cooked up
paragraphs" while "working the political engine" in the Boston Gazette (Brown
1975). Adams experience with the press had convinced him that it was a primary
source of political persuasion, and the thought was intriguing to him. He is
quoted as saying in... [continues]
Cite This Essay
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(1999, 10). The Press and Media Cause Rampant Swaying of the Election Votes Throug. StudyMode.com. Retrieved 10, 1999, from http://www.studymode.com/essays/Press-Media-Cause-Rampant-Swaying-Election-3434.html
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"The Press and Media Cause Rampant Swaying of the Election Votes Throug." StudyMode.com. 10, 1999. Accessed 10, 1999. http://www.studymode.com/essays/Press-Media-Cause-Rampant-Swaying-Election-3434.html.
