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1. How does the media connect people to the political process?

The media provides a constant onslaught of information about both political parties and what’s going on in the world. While most are biased towards one party or another, they still provide a way for citizens to get a general idea of the situation and for their own beliefs on the subject. This would be very useful to Xlandia, as they're used to not having any say in the government. Newspapers and other media outlets with help citizens to make educated decisions about their government.

1. What impact does having many sources of media influence political institutions and behavior?

Many sources of media means that there is a good chance that no two sources will have the same view on a topic. Almost all of them are biased, putting emphasis on an issue in different ways to make it seem like members of the party that they support look better and force any blame or problems on the other parties. This form of media coverage will possibly persuade voters to vote in one direction or another.

1. Does the consolidation of media outlets have an impact on the way elections are conducted?

Yes. If a media outlet is owned by a company, then that outlet will show the news how that company wants them to.

1. What impact does the length of the presidential campaign have on process?

On one hand, the extensive presidential campaign gives U.S. citizens the chance to learn more about the candidates and the issues that they support. They truly have the time to get to know their candidates and the issues that will affect them personally. However, the longer the election campaign goes, the more exhausted people become- resulting in a lower voter turnout. Additionally, at least in the United States, the candidates use more “low-blow” tactics, discussing personal lives and scandals rather than their actual campaign.

1. How has the increase in spending during campaigns influenced the election process and how the government operates?

Anyone is able to donate money to campaign processes, which does allow candidates to effectively campaign. However, if the candidates accept money from large groups, conflicts of interest can easily be created. If, for example, a fracking group donated a large amount of money to a campaign and that candidate wins, they may feel obligated to pass laws that favor the fracking industry. This would ensure that this group continues to fund that party’s campaigns in the future.

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1. How does the media connect people to the political process?

2. The media connects to the people through social media sites and television. The media connects to the people through the news which can be found on websites and channels kinda like CNN or Fox in the United States. The people of Xlandia can have similar platforms in their country assuming that they are up to date like the United States. The country also can have access to the newspaper which will have people aware of the candidates and who’s running and when election day is and when debates are. The internet and television will also have this information.

3. What impact does having many sources of media influence political institutions and behavior?

4. This impacts the country in many ways. By having a variety of media sources more people can have access to information. This would make the voters more educated and can fully participate in the election and make the best decisions based off of the information they can find. Also having the different types of media means that elections and political processes are everywhere and people will be able to feel that they have a big part in the process and will have more of a say. They also have an impact on leaving bias or untrue information to voters or the people because different media sites or articles have different authors and different opinions. Often times that can persuade a reader into voting for a different person and often make issues seem worse than they actually are. The behavior may be heightened and possibly make things worse in the fact that now certain political figures will kinda have to put on a show.

5. Does the consolidation of media outlets have an impact on the way elections are conducted?

6. Maybe this will have an impact because then less people may have the opportunity to vote and hear information the right information and create their own opinions. By allowing media outlets to be owned by a small number of companies the public is cannot see more views and will true to be influenced on what the companies want. True information may not provided.

7. What impact does the length of the presidential campaign have on process?

8. I think the length of the presidential campaign enables the public to have enough time to make decisions on the election and allows the people to see who is running for certain positions. This allows the people to not only gather information but also think about their choices and make the best choice that they think should happen. The length of the election can also build  tension and make people more interested or maybe even bored with the election because it’s so long to the point that they don’t care.

9. How has the increase in spending during campaigns influenced the election process and how the government operates?

10. PACs are accountable for 57% of the campaign funds for House candidates and 67% for Senate candidates. PACs tend to support incumbents a lot more than challengers because incumbents are more likely to win. They try to get the winning candidate to support the issues important to the PAC with their contributions. Because PACs tended to have much more influence than did individuals in the outcome of the elections, restrictions have been set to curtail some of their power. With these restrictions, PACs no longer remain a bad aspect.

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1. How does the media connect people to the political process?

The media is the source most people go to for their election needs, and for good reason, as the media provides information for most facets of the election, like what the candidates are and what the parties stand for. This would be good for Xlandia, as they would have no idea what anybody’s platform was , due to not knowing what a platform is.

1. What impact does having many sources of media influence political institutions and behavior?

The existence of many sources of media will give the people many different choices, but some will be biased or aligned to a particular party in the election, meaning that it will likely paint their party in a much better picture, while villainizing the other parties in an effort to swing the election in their favor.

1. Does the consolidation of media outlets have an impact on the way elections are conducted?

It does have an impact as whatever the company that owns it wants to show, it will show. This could be particularly true if the company is aligned with a particular party, and it will do anything to get their party into, including slandering th opposing party.

1. What impact does the length of the presidential campaign have on process?

The length of an election has a pretty big impact on the process of the elections. The shorter a campaign, the more people will vote, but the less they know about the candidates. The longer the election, the less people will vote, due to losing interest, but the ones who do will generally be set on one candidate. It is up to the party to find the middle ground.

1. How has the increase in spending during campaigns influenced the election process and how the government operates?

Increases in spending can lead to many things during a campaign. The increase might make the campaign more effective at spreading the candidate message during the election process, but can end up putting them in debt to who financed the campaign, and as such, vulnerable to corruption and other underhanded things during the presiden

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1. How does the media connect people to the political process?

2. The media’s role is to provide unbiased information such as recent primary results, caucus statistics, or current events surrounding the campaigns. While the media should remain unbiased when presenting information without interpretation, the media should explain the voting process to the people, encouraging a higher voter turnout. Capturing political debates and interviews on TV is essential to relay the policy platform of candidates to the people. In order to focus on relevant information, broadcasters need to emphasize policy and events that occur in a candidate's’ campaign. However, the media can improve by not interpreting news information. Xlandia should strive for unbiased and uninterpreted information.

3. What impact does having many sources of media influence political institutions and behavior?

4. Political institutions tend to get and publish information from media sources that are biased towards a specific political party. Also, political behavior of candidates is geared towards earning media coverage, “TV time.” Many sources of media influencing and supporting any political institution of candidate can blur biased media from unbiased media. For example, Fox News has segments that are clearly biased and opinionated towards Republican ideals. Xlandia should aim to cut ties between media and party deals.

5. Does the consolidation of media outlets have an impact on the way elections are conducted?

6. Yes, a consolidation of media outlets can focus relevant information. People get their information from a wide range of sources. For example, while opinions and thoughts on news and the democratic process should be encouraged, news on social media should be filtered or eliminated if news published by private groups or individuals is clearly slanderous and false. Therefore, election cycles are corrupted with false media outlets, influencing the decisions and actions of candidates and citizens. Xlandia should have a consolidated media where credible and reliable news sources vet and review the material published on social media and other insecure places for news.

7. What impact does the length of the presidential campaign have on process?

8. The length of a presidential campaign affects the public’s view of a candidate. The candidate is in the public eye for, in many cases, 1-2 years. This is exhausting for each campaign, for the media, and for the public. This long process can have an effect on voter turnout, as many people grow tired of the intense political process and choose not to vote. Xlandia should condense the length of campaigns to about 6 months to focus on policy and keep the public’s interest.

9. How has the increase in spending during campaigns influenced the election process and how the government operates?

10. The increased amount of spending in campaigns can lead to corruption from the federal government of the United States and influence from foreign governments, an issue in this most recent election cycle. The dependence of campaigns on external funds from either interest groups, lobbyists, or the federal government can be a hinderance for candidates because the public tends to dislike monetary influence on candidates. Xlandia should a form restrictions on campaign financing to eliminate excess waste of funds and corruption within campaigns and their finance services.