AP Gov midterm #2 (chapter 7) Flashcards
what are media trends
1) Decline of newspapers: readership shrinking and survival of many papers in doubt
2) Rise of the Internet: more people are getting their news from websites
3) Growth of cable TV: multiplicity of news programs provides range of choices unavailable previously
what is investigative journalism
Investigative journalism is a form of journalism in which reporters deeply investigate a single topic of interest, such as serious crimes, racial injustice, political corruption, or corporate wrongdoing (political scandals). An investigative journalist may spend months or years researching and preparing a report.
media bias
The bias or perceived bias of journalists and news producers within the mass media in the selection of events and stories that are reported and how they are covered.
bias by ommision
Leaving one side out of an article, or a series of articles over a period of time.(reports story from one political view)
bias by selection of sources
Including more sources that support one view over another.
bias by story selection
A pattern of highlighting news stories that coincide with the agenda of either the Left or the Right, while ignoring stories that coincide with the opposing view.
bias by placement
The editorial staff decides the importance of a topic by its placement in an article. A story can be “buried” by placing it in a section that is less read.
bias by labeling
Bias by labeling comes in two forms. The first is the tagging of conservative politicians and
groups with extreme labels while leaving liberal politicians and groups unlabeled or with more mild labels, or vice versa. The second kind of bias by labeling occurs when a reporter not only fails to identify a liberal as a liberal or a conservative as a conservative, but describes the person or group with positive labels, such as “an expert” or
“independent consumer group”.
bias by spin
Bias by spin occurs when the story has only one interpretation of an event or policy, to the exclusion of the other; spin involves tone – it’s a reporter’s subjective comments about objective facts; makes one side’s ideological perspective look better than another.
most common type of bias in the media
almost all stories have a sensational bias to them (high drama that will attract peoples interest instead of analysis of complex issues) many journalist also have a liberal bias to their writings though this is not as common compared to the sensational bias
what is yellow journalism
yellow journalism is journalism that is based upon shock factor and exaggeration
what is narrowcasting
media programming on cable TV or the internet that is focused on a particular interest and aimed at a particular audience, in contrast to broadcasting
what is tabloid culture
driven by rating (like those magazines at the grocery store by the checkout)
watchdog
the role played by the national medias in investigating political personalities and exposing scandals
informer
provide public with current and accurate information of what is going on
