EOTO: Overton Window

 

Overton Window

News in this ever-changing world is important to keep up with. What we see on main stream medias contain the same news on the same topics that we see almost every day. What determines what the political news covers? We do.

The Overton window is the theory that current news topics are being covered as they are acceptable, popular, and demanding toward the audiences. 

What is the Overton Window?

Overton window is the concept that was introduced  by Joseph P. Overton in the 1990s, and it is a model of the range of all the political ideas that are accepted by the public during a period of time. There are certain issues and policies that were once accepted or not accepted in the past that have changed up to the present political ideas that we focus on in the media today. This applies to news topics in the mainstream media as well as political topics that are used in debates and campaigns to help gain the publics vote on a candidate. 

Overton Window Range

How does it Change?

Shifting the Overton window will most definitely be ever changing, but it cannot be forced upon politicians since this concept is based on what the public accepts. Typically the Overton window typically does not change quickly, although it is possible. Politicians that are seeking election use the Overton window to determine key policy issues that are important to the public so they can be in accordance with it. 

Overton Window Scale

There are many factors that can cause shifts within the Overton window, all of which really depend on the current state of government. For example, Covid has been, and still is a topic of news, it would have been included in the Overton window all of 2020 as well as majority of 2021 and even 2022. Policies about social distance and wearing masks would have been unthinkable prior to 2020, and since then, these policies have become major topics for political debates and campaigns. 

How does it Affect Society?

The Overton window is not a good or bad thing, it simply only describes the range of possibly political ideas that society will accept. However, this can affect society because the politicians become more like followers than leaders in the sense that we ultimately determine what types of policies they are to get behind and address.

Why its Important to Understand the Overton Window

Most people don't even know that the Overton window exists, mostly because we are used to hearing the same things on mainstream media and typically don't question the topics that we're hearing. It is important to understand the impact that we as a society have on the information that is being covered by the news. We have power to influence what type of news is being covered by the media as well as issues that are being addressed by politicians. It is also important to understand in order to maintain literacy and understanding of the news. 

There will always be shifts to new topics and focuses of political parties and the Overton window proves just that.