Perhaps one of the most commonly discussed and analyzed political issues as of late has been the health care bill that President Obama and the Democrats have been attempting to write into law for the last several months.  This bill was a cornerstone of Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign and would eventually be supported by presidential candidate Barack Obama.  Although the American economy cannot afford to completely eliminate the health insurance industry, this bill has attempted to address many of the negative issues surrounding poor care that is granted to individuals with little to no health care coverage in the United States.  The bill directly provides health care coverage by extending and duplicating the Medicare and Medicaid plans for individuals that were not previously awarded health care by any provider.  Millions of individuals were unable to pay health care costs due to having no health insurance coverage, which directly forced many individuals to never seek health care when they needed it the most.  While this issue has been thoroughly discussed and debated by all sides of the political spectrum, the mass media has played a critical role in utilizing media theories to present the information directly to the viewing public.

The first, and perhaps most obvious, theory that has been utilized by the media for this political issue has been the cultivation theory.  Cultivation theory essentially states that viewing television is a primary factor in cultivating cultural beliefs that individuals within a society may have about the everyday world.  This theory has been utilized in both a positive and negative light regarding this issue.  First of all, the media has framed the health care issue in a way that posited that President Obama and the Democrats are dedicated to helping the weak individuals that are victims of the big, bad health care industry.  This promotes a notion of hope and a more positive attitude is instilled in individuals viewing this type of framed information by the mass media.  On the other hand, the media has used this theory negatively to argue against the health care issue.  Many of the minority Republicans in Congress voted against the health care bill because it would essentially increase taxes and the overall deficit of the country.  A typical television viewer would view this scenario as the Democrats are the good guys and the Republicans are the bad guys that do not have the common man’s best interests at heart.  Depending how the information is framed, the use of cultivation theory for the health care bill could have been a positive or negative viewing experience in cultivating the American belief and views on the issue.

The second theory that has been utilized by the mass media on the political issue of health care has been the social learning theory.  This theory essentially states that by viewing programming, the viewer’s attitudes, beliefs and even behaviors can be shaped and molded over time.  For instance, the health care bill initially met much opposition by both parties simply because there was not a clear plan on the implementation of such a plan and the elements that would be involved in creating a detailed plan.  Many news sources believed that this was a lost cause battle by President Obama and political commentators opined as much on media programming.  Therefore, the viewers’ beliefs and behaviors may have been shaped to believe and express little hope in Obama’s presidential actions and the possibility for a health care bill to exist.  Furthermore, the negative belief that the bill would further increase the national deficit also likely molded viewers’ beliefs in a negative light.  On the other hand, as soon as the bill became a reality, the media began to change its tone and frame information in a different way.  The information became more positive and was meant to give individuals faith and hope in the bill.  Millions of individuals would benefit from the bill, and the positive impact of the bill became the main focal point of the media message as opposed to the negative impacts it would create.

It is clear that both of these theories have been used in a positive and negative way by the mass media to alter and mold public opinion based on a specific agenda or framework.