The author models the discussion of each topic in this text on the social scientific process by asking if theories exists to explain personal observations in politics and the media and if there is evidence to support the theories end of chapter active learning exercises provide real world examples of important concepts and ask students to collect and analyze data from various print and . Mass media and politics a social science perspective new directions in political behavior by leighley jan e and a great selection of related books art and collectibles available now at abebookscom. Mass media and politics a social science perspective the new directions in political behavior by jan e leighley isbn 13 9780395925461 isbn 10 0395925460 paperback boston massachusetts houghton mifflin company march 2002 isbn 13 978 0395925461. The mass media plays a very important role in everyday life it is often the only form of education which is available to some and as such has a very powerful influence over peoples beliefs and opinions this influence is never more evident than when analysing the relationship between the media and politics. After the relationship between politics and mass media is more fully understood we will look at the difficulties of using mass media as a means of informing the public about scientific findings in the early decades of the us media outlets were very outspoken about their political affiliations