Chapter 13, Student Web Activities, Sociology and You, Glencoe, 2003

Chapter 13: Political and Economic Institutions
"Politics and the Media"

Introduction
In this chapter you learned about various political and economic institutions around the world and about political power in American society. Like all other democracies today, the United States emphasizes political power through voting. Most attitudes and beliefs that are expressed as political opinions are gained through a learning process called political socialization. The major agents of this include the family; the mass media; and a person's level of education, economic status and occupation, and age and gender. While television remains the leading source of political and public affairs information for most people, the face of traditional political advertising is about to change forever. In this activity you will take a closer look at the emerging role of new creative media in elections.

Read the entire article
"How New Media Could Force Creative Races."

Use what you have learned to answer the following questions.

1. Why are political campaign advertisements being forced to be more creative? How will they succeed?

2. What is meant by the terms “viral marketing” and “viral distribution?”

3. What are the pros and cons of political campaigning on the internet?

4. Why does television, despite stiff competition from campaign sponsored websites and user created videos on YouTube, have “the advantage over all other media”?

5. Imagine that you are running for governor of your state. Devise a campaign strategy that you think will help you win the election. What type of advertising will you use? When and where will you advertise? What do you think your ads should focus on? How will you respond to your opponent's advertisements? What is your budget? Write up a one-page strategy and present your ideas to the class.