Does the press prior to elections manipulate the general public?

Résumé du document

Does the response of the general public change due to the influence of the press? We often observe a difference in the opinion (polls) of the general public where press plays a major role in publicizing a particular event. One can assume the Royal's partisans and their reaction when the press announced she had some patriotic views! But in reality it's not the fact that the press divulges some news (because it is its job!) but the way the press deals with some kinds of subjects.

Extraits

[...] At last, I wanted to conclude saying that the press has, in fact, a real power in our society. Olivier Duhamel called the media the “fourth estate”. However we mustn't generalize, accusing the press to cause currents events! Bibliography * “French riot boosts vote for right”, Alex Duval Smith in The Guardian Unlimited, Sunday April * Courrier International, n°854 (from March 15 to March 21). [...]

[...] The press is an essential instrument to help the general public to make choices. For generations and generations people had fought to defend the freedom of the press. In theory, the press is an independent element from politics, and it seems to be the only way to have an external point of view. The press is impartial insofar its role is to reveal information that official sources want to hide. We could say the press isn't an objective indicator, because right or left newspapers want to defend their own vision. [...]

[...] The press has the power to create polemics, which can accentuate problems Prior to elections, we see that the press is a real instrument of control for the main candidate. Politics are under a lot of pressure: each word they will pronounce can be used later by the press, which can give it another sense because there are no more contexts. Royal and Sarkozy suffer from that, as we can see in the survey after a meeting, for instance So we can't deny the essential power of the press; just by choosing this subject and not another, the press influences the evolution of public opinion. [...]

[...] I wanted to show what the responsibility of the press in opinion polls is prior to election. Generally we accuse the press in the case of surprising results after some event which was given a lot of media coverage. I sought relativise its role, showing on the first hand that the press, me mustn't forget it, is an impartial instrument that can help the general public to make their political choices. On the other hand, I recognized that the press can use some ways to transmit the information which can really influence the general public. [...]

[...] So the press, in this case, is not a way to manipulate the general public, but to propose different angles to understand the world. Another argument could be added to show that the press doesn't influence opinion polls: the press is also a commercial instrument. I mean the press must adapt to people's will. Finally the press doesn't manipulate the general public but the general public put pressure upon the press, which must satisfy what people want to know about their candidates. [...]