The News Media Reportage - Essay Example

Nеws Media Rероrtаgе Аnd Рubliс Dеbаtе Of Political Opinion Polls On Marriage Equality Student’s Name Institution Affiliation Nеws Media Rероrtаgе Аnd Рubliс Dеbаtе Of Political Opinion Polls On Marriage Equality The media are recognized as a major component of the human life. Media is cumulative term that denotes different channels of communication. It forms a bridge between the human lifestyle and the surrounding as well as providing a means of interaction between people in a varied scope of coverage. For instance, people learn about other cultures through various media like the internet, magazines and television. In a way, the media seem to determine human communication and interactions. Various scholars including Craig (2004) acknowledge that the media play an essential role in the politics, economic as well as social life of a nation. The media present a link between the public’s opinion as well as provide politicians with a means of communicating to the populace while at the same time influence the economic development of the nation. It helps to structure the political culture and lifestyle of people by presenting various agendas. In most cases, public opinions are usually achieved through the use of public opinion polls on marriage equality. Currently, the issue of politics in Australia has gained much focus from the Australian populace. This forms the basis of this discussion, which will be focusing on the news media rероrtаgе and public dеbаtе of political opinion polls on marriage equality (Craig, 2004). The news media has been distinctively distinguished from entertainment media based on the type of stories aired in such media. For example, the television, press, radio and online media according to Craig (2004) tend to impact on politics in a different way. Whereas the television appears to be a more popular source of political news in Australia, newspapers are mostly considered to contain information that brings about most public debates. This is probably because of the perception that newspapers form the agenda for the day as well as states the central interpretation of essential news issues. Consequently, the radio is considered to offer contemporary news. This provides the politicians with a platform of directly interacting with the public. For instance, the Australian Broadcast Corporation provides Talkback shows, which a unique characteristic as compared to the newspaper is. Thus, making it an easier means of influencing public debates. The graph below retrieved from Ian McAllister and Juliet Clark (2008) presents an overview of the percentage impact of various news media on politics in Australia since 1967 to 2007. Opinion polls denote a survey technique mostly used to determine the public’s view and feelings about certain issues. This type of survey mostly covers political issues. Opinion polls according to Renka (2010) constitute much information and at times misinformation about issues. It is thus important for the public to know how to discern what is true from what is not. News media like the internet forms a major platform for the dissemination of wrong opinions which tend to misinform the public as well as one for which people can access a lot of information on various issues which could be beneficial. Prior to utilizing online political opinion polls, it is important to access the novel origin material. This is because; whereas most of the information may seem credible, a number of polls may not be legit. Considering that this is a survey technique, it is essential for the poll to have all the relevant aspects of a survey to make it legit. For instance, it should indicate the dates, partakers to the survey as well as the sampling styles used (Renka, 2010). Politicians normally place major importance to opinion polls. This is because they are able to assess the public’s view and reactions to them and to what they advocate for. Consequently, the media influences the political behavior of the public. For instance, it tends to direct the public’s actions especially during political campaigns like the recent campaigns on advocating for same sex marriage by the Australian Marriage Equality (AME). Marriage according to the Marriage Act has been denoted as a union between a man and a woman. The media tend to influence the way people will vote in relation to the issue at hand. Essentially, political opinion polls tend to present political candidates in different ways. For example, if one candidate receives more media coverage and seem to be presented highly in the opinion polls, there are high chances that he or she will receive more votes from the populace and this will also determine the public’s response to what they are advocating for, mostly this is attributed to the way the media presents the individual and their respective opinions. However, there are times these political opinion polls vary from the actual facts on the ground (Kenny, 2013). Currently, the issue on marriage equality appears to be receiving major support from the public as well as from politicians. Following major amendments on the Marriage Act in Australia requiring the Federal Officials to rephrase the definition of marriage in the Bill has raised various public debates. Despite the rephrase, this amendment will however not obligate churches to execute these marriages if they do not want to. The media has taken interest in this issue. Numerous media reports have been published and presented in respective media. For instance, there are reports on the internet mostly touching on the public opinion of same sex; this is in an article titled “The slippery slope of homophobia”. Additionally, political leaders are overly covered through the television and radio as well to present their stands on the same. For example, the presidential aspirant, Tony Abbott was interviewed on his beliefs and opinion of allowing same sex marriage (Kenny, 2013). Same sex marriage campaigns began in 2005 under the leadership of Luke Gahan. This was after the ban on same sex marriages by the Federal Liberal party at the time. Recently, the public has been seen to take up these campaigns. During a public address by Julia Gillard, the Prime Minister in 2011, a group of young people demonstrated by protesting the Minister’s stand concerning the issue. This protest initiated a number of campaign strategies to advocate for same sex marriages in Australia. Different workshops were held by the youth across the country (McAllister & Clark, 2008). The Australian Broadcasting Corporation offers a clear stand of the statics being presented from various sources. It holds that despite the increased support for the same sex marriage, this opinion poll representation does not represent the onion of the whole Australian populace. According to the Australian National opinion polls on marriage equality, a study conducted in 2009-2012, on the same issue reveals that most of the populace is in favor of same sex marriage. This is evidenced by the graph retrieved from the Australian Marriage Equality database. The AME is known for conducting survey studies in relation to the public opinion on marriage equalities within Australia. These studies are usually aimed at determining the level of reforms. According to the AME findings, majority of the female populace in Australia believes that reforms on same sex marriages is inevitable whereas a few are of the opinion that this cannot be achieved (AME, 2011). Rodney Croome, a scholar and member of AME in an article published in the ABC, acknowledges that there is increasing resistance on this issue by the Australian House of Representatives. However, majority of the populace seem to be in favor of same sex marriage and thus, this puts pressure on the Federal Government to make major adjustments that would allow people to marry freely from the same gender (Croome, 2012). Hughes Ron (n.d) recognizes that this matter generally carries much weight in relation to politics and the social life of people. Whereas a number of politicians support this practice, various Liberal Members of Parliament still hold reservations for the passing of same sex marriages. This has led to a notable delay in the Federal ruling on the same issue. According to the recent political opinion polls, Tony Abbott seems to hold an upper hand in winning the upcoming elections. Thus, this would probably mean that the populace will have to be re-motivated to progress with the campaigns for same sex marriage (Iqbal & Evans, 2013). According to The Age National Times, various gay movements have decided to push for their right to be allowed to marry from the same sex during this election year, 2013. Mark Kenny (2013), in his article on gay marriage rights notes that the Greens are taking advantage of the election pressures to set in motion their campaigns. This is aimed at changing the stand of various politicians who still hold reservations for gay marriages. These movements are trying to make this a major issue for the elections as they would like the political officials to revolutionize their opinions in the same way the US president did. This push for gay marriage can be considered as a need for the Australian populace to want to be similar to other nations that have already legalized same sex marriages. Other media like the Online Opinions present varied views from the public about the same matter. Majority of the populace seem to be against the passing of amendments to allow for same sex marriages in spite of the increased support for the same by different political leaders. This is probably because they hold different beliefs and consider this as a means of advocating for incestuous relationships which could also lead to an inter-species marriage. Overly, the media plays a major role in determining how people react and respond to issues. Opinion polls provide a basis platform for presenting these views and ostensibly help politicians to identify what the public feels and think. Same sex marriage is a national as well as global issue that seems to have taken the interest of many people. Whereas various American States have taken to allowing this practice, the Australian Government is still facing a number of challenges in trying to allow people to marry from same sex. The reasons for resistance seem to originate from the religious beliefs as evidenced by the stand taken by Julia Gillard as well as Tony Abbott. In spite of this, the majority of the populace seems to be changing their opinions about the same. Statics indicate that, the number of people in support of marriage equality is increasing as the country nears its general elections. Most of the advocates for same sex marriage like the AME group are taking advantage of the election pressure to push the political leaders into changing their opinions and stands to support for the legalization of same sex marriages. The youths are also taking major steps by organizing demonstrations as seen in 2011 and planning for workshops that would enable them to motivate other people into supporting the Federal amendment on the Marriage Act. References Asher, H. (1988). Polling and the public: what every citizen should know. CQ Press. ISBN: 0871874024, 9780871874023 Australian Marriage Equality. (2011). Marriage equality and public opinion. Retrieved from http://www.australianmarriageequality.com/wp/wpcontent/uploads/2010/10/AMEpollfactsheet@Jun11.pdf Craig, G. (2004). Media, politics and public life. Allen & Unwin. ISBN: 1741141249 Croome, R. (2012). Marriage equality: we are closer than you think. The Drum Opinion. Retrieved from http://www.abc.net.au/unleashed/4270072.html Hughes, R. (N.d). Marriage equality campaign pushes on. Gay News Network. Retrieved from http://gaynewsnetwork.com.au/news/northern-territory/10725-marriage-equality-campaign-pushes-on.html Iqbal, F., & Evans, R. (2013). Australian parliament must stop dragging feet on marriage equality. Retrieved from http://www.greenleft.org.au/node/53373 Kenny, M. (2013). Greens to push gay marriage rights. Retrieved from http://www.theage.com.au/opinion/political-news/greens-to-push-gay-marriage-rights-20130314-2g1gq.html McAllister, I., & Clark, J. (2008). Trends in Australian political opinion: results from the Australian election Study, 1987-2007. Retrieved from http://assda.anu.edu.au/aestrends.pdf Neilsen, M. (2012). Same sex marriage. Retrieved from http://parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/download/library/prspub/1409734/upload_binary/1409734.pdf;fileType=application/pdf Read More