Graber claims that individuals recreate reality in their minds by giving meaning to the news information to make up for the lack of background and context in the news stories. Priming refers to the selective coverage of only certain events. The media focuses on events that will increase its ratings, such as scandals and corruption stories. Political Parties, Interest Groups, and Political Consultants Political parties seek to influence policy by developing issue platforms and campaigning for candidates that will create policies in their favor if elected. Cahn mentions that the dominant party determines the direction that policy will take and that membership in committees and chairs in Congress are still determined according to party affiliation.
Interest groups facilitate collective communication between citizens and policy makers.
Cahn argues that they have influence and power because their collective pressures may determine policy outcomes. Cahn also mentions that political consultants have the political expertise and skills needed to win at the policy games. Their services and advice are costly and, as a result, the wealthier players have a political advantage. In the games of government, the players often have clashing motivations and goals, and they compete for the prizes using different strategies. The policy process determines who gets what, but it is not necessarily a fair process.