es when they reason about national affairs. Theirexplanations of issues like terrorism or poverty are critically dependent upon the particularreference points furnished in media presentations." (Iyengar 1987,p.828) It is animportant issue among the media because all people are concerned with there safety. Itwill be put on the agenda because there are strong incentives for the media and for thepoliticians, which are to gain mass appeal and to facing the public in elections. (Edwards1999,p.341) There have also been an increasing number of women running for public office andgender has now become a common ground for the news media about certain voters,candidates, leaders, and issues. The question is whether or not the media advances orholds back women's participation in politics. Many news stories about politics tend to bepresented in masculine terms, but there is good news, women receive about the sameamount of news coverage as men in comparable positions. Over the years the number ofwomen in the mass media has increased. There are many more women journalists, whichhas resulted in expanded coverage of women's issues and women as public officials. Bypublicizing and raising certain issues, this has helped women candidates gain credibilityand support among voters. (Pippa 19-41) The Media Dependency Theory is very important to think about when it comes topolitical communication. The three main aspect of the theory are the Social system, Mediasystem, and the Audience. The three lead up to and produce the last aspect which is theEffect or what the final product. The social system, which is the government, has goalsthat have to be met and they are publicity and support. There resources are public fundsand legislation. The media system, which is television, newspaper, radio, etc., also hasgoals which are to make money through the public. Their resources consist of gatheringinformation and dispersing it to the public. The audience is ...
