Changes in Political Culture Between 2004 and 2008 Essay

After reading all of the lecture notes and spend quite some time browsing the internet, I found trinity things that dramatically changed betwixt the 2004 and 2008 Presidential alternatives. Media influence, technology and the change in demographics contend major roles in the 2008 elections. Media influence was the number one change amid 2004 and 2008. Although the media played a big part of the 2004 elections, that election does not discriminate to the media frenzy of 2008. In 2008, television became the primary medium for conveying the electioneering to Americans.The television channels devoted hours a day to observing every small item, almost all of it live. Little was said back and away between the campaigns that were not reported quickly by a media outlet. crosswise the medium, 67% of the time on cable came from talk format or live standup. Only 23% came from reported pieces in which correspondents fix encounter of the message. (2) What press stories make a difference in 2008? There was more(prenominal) reporting on the background and character of candidates during the primaries, when the process of discovery was red-hot and went on longer.Yet arguably, the two most important stories about Obama came from a church DVD (the sermon by the Rev. Jeremiah Wright Jr. ) and a word picturetape made by a blogger doubling as a service (Mayhill Fowler) ,working for Huffington Post, who recorded Obamas producement about bitter small-town electors. The reporting on Sarah Palins background in Alaska by various news organizations in all probability represents the most memorable example of first-hand, pro-active reporting into candidate backgrounds during the general election in 2008. 2) These are just a few of the examples of how the media bandwagon was so prestigious during 2008. It does not matter the party affiliation or beliefs, we all followed a certain media outlet of choice during that time. The second change between 2004 and 2008 was that Ameri cans dogged to get out and vote. Mainly due to the media frenzy, Americans stormed the ballot boxes none the less. Demographics were a very close second to the media during this time of change. The change in numbers game is almost unbelievable.The electorate in tolerate years presidential election was the most racially and ethnically diverse in U. S. history, with nearly one-in-four votes hurl by non-whites, according to a new analysis of Census position data by the Pew Research Center. (3) The unprecedented diversity of the electorate last year was driven by increases both in the number and in the turnout rates of minority desirable voters. Much of the surge in black voter participation in 2008 was driven by change magnitude participation among black women and younger voters.The voter turnout rate among eligible black female voters increased 5. 1 percentage points, from 63. 7% in 2004 to 68. 8% in 2008. Among all racial, ethnic and gender groups, black women had the highest voter turnout rate in Novembers election a first. Overall, whites made up 76. 3% of the record 131 million people who voted in Novembers presidential election, while blacks made up 12. 1%, Hispanics 7. 4% and Asians 2. 5%. The white share is the lowest ever, yet is still higher than the 65. 8% white share of the total U.S. population. (3) The third and final thing that changed between the 2004 and 2008 Presidential elections was technology, especially the internet and social media sites. According to a vision conducted by Complete and released by Cisco about the influence of online video and social media applications on Americans governmental engagement, the network was cited by 62 percent of respondents as a regularly used describeded player for 2008 presidential election information and coverage, which was surpassed moreover by television (82%).well-nigh a quarter of Americans (24%) says that they regularly learned something about the campaign from the Internet almost doubl e the percentage from a comparable point in the 2004 campaign (13%). (4) The Internet has, and has forever, changed the role of how presidential campaigns are fought, and how Americans attain their governmental news and information. Were it not for the Internet, Barack Obama would not be president. Were it not for the Internet, Barack Obama would not have been the nominee, said Arianna Huffington, editor in chief of The Huffington Post, at a group on How Politics and Web 2. Intersect, at the Web 2. 0 flower in San Francisco. (4) The tools changed between 2004 and 2008. Barack Obama won every single caucus state that matters, and he did it because of those tools, because he was able to move thousands of people to organize, Joe Trippi said. (4) In finale I can definitely see the major changes in political culture between the 2004 and 2008 Presidential elections. I also believe these changes started approximately the 2006 general elections and continued to progress for the next 2 years.It will be very interesting to watch the 2010 general elections and 2012 Presidential election to see how much influence the media and internet have. I think it will only progress until there is literally a live camera round anytime a candidate is in a public setting. Hopefully the contract of people getting out to vote is here to stay. For as Louis LAmour said To make democracy work, we must be a notion of participants, not simply observers.