Karen M. Kedrowski’s article, How Members of Congress Use the Media to Influence Public Policy, speaks to the goals of what she calls “media entrepreneurs”. The media entrepreneurs the author identifies are those members of Congress who avidly use the media to promote their views regarding certain policies and to spur action from interest groups, party leaders and constituents and the general public to ultimately influence decision makers. Most media entrepreneurs fall into the same set of demographics; they are usually non-Southern, young, liberal Democrats from the House instead of the Senate. These entrepreneurs most often use the media when their party is the minority and has less influence on policy matters.
The number of media entrepreneurs in Congress will probably continue to grow as a new generation of technologically-savvy senators and representatives enter the legislative branch. In order to keep up with trends in public opinion and societal goals, one needs be familiar with the media and all of its available outlets that are consumed by millions of Americans every day. The media entrepreneurs will continue to use the various media outlets to promote their views and gain attention and support for policy initiatives, but should also consider using their entrepreneurial skills to find new ways to reach their target audiences. Increasingly, internet users are being informed of issues via social networks, such as Facebook. Members of the network are able to state which political party they belong to, write a “note” to express their views or thoughts, post news articles and videos, and join “causes” which enable members to donate or just show that they support an issue. With all these applications showing up on one’s friend’s main page, it would not be unwise for a member of Congress to use this avenue to his/her advantage. Many people – students especially – probably check their Facebook page more often than they consume the news in any form, so it could be a good idea for a Senator or Representative to bring the news to them by making a “cause” known or writing a “note” about their take on an issue. In this capacity, media entrepreneurs could really own up to their titles, not only using the media, but creating new media outlets. Social networks would be a good place to start.
Lindsey Simon, Reflection #5
You need to summarize the other two readings also.