Mass Communications and the 1976 Presidential Election

Major changes are sweeping the American political system, and the mass media are a powerful force behind many of them. Elections are now waged through the mass media, which have supplanted political parties as the major intermediary between office seekers and the electorate. Greatly increased campaign costs and more frequent and direct exposure of the public to its potential leaders have accompanied this development. Activists have turned more and more to the media, and less to traditional grassroots organizations, to mobilize support for their causes. From the stance of the Indians at Wounded Knee to the pleas of antiwar demonstrators in the streets to the demands of organized labor in the factories, the media are increasingly a major instrument of advocacy. Public policy is also being created more and more through the media. Elected officials have increasingly turned to the media to mold and activate public opinion and, by this means, to gain support for their policy goals both from the mass public and from elites in the public and private sectors.