ch 11 (vb) ON FINAL EXAM Flashcards
cockroach theory of politics
The idea that politicians do not want to be spotted anywhere they might be stomped on; thus, when they see others caught by the media in a scandal they try to avoid getting noticed for a similar indiscretion
cognitive frameworks
The set of instinctual and learned filters the human mind uses for sorting the mass of incoming information and selecting which bits it will recognize and pass on to the thinking parts of the brain
dramatic imperative
The need for commercial news outlets to focus on rare and unusual events that have a tremendous impact on people in order to draw an audience.
framing
The way an issue is posed; how an issue is framed can significantly affect decisions and judgments.
mediated reality
Reality that comes to us through channels of information flow, primarily through the news media, and our understanding of how information is selected, sorted, and presented to us through the news media.
mutual exploitation model
Elites benefit from the exposure they receive, while the media get marketable stories.
spin
the way politicians spin information on them to make them seem better or not as bad
Spin takes the truth, the facts, and changes them, or selectively uses them, so that the perception of that truth or of those facts is changed. There is always an agenda behind spin. It is not an accident. It is done with purpose.
experiental reality
included those things we knew because we had directly experienced them ourselves.
agreement reality
was composed of things we believe are real even though we have not actually experienced them ourselves. We agree on the reality of them instead.
ex: china. we never been been to china but we agree its real
MOST OF POLITICS FALLS INTO THIS
self-deception
We look for cause-and-effect relationships. However, sometimes, we “find” relationships that don’t actually exist. One of the most well-known examples of this is the “lunar effect” or the belief that the full moon causes people to act strangely
is the media (big media outlets) biased?
There is perception by both liberals and conservatives that the media is biased against their respective positions. However, studies have revealed that the media is actually more biased towards the middle. So, why do both sides think the media is biased against them?
what is the media selling?
We are to assume the correct answer is the news, but that is wrong. The media is selling our attention, to advertisers. As they point out, television news is free. We don’t pay a penny to watch it. Yet, the media is making money. How? By selling airtime to advertisers.
Therefore, the media is going to look for stories that bring in the greatest number of viewers, because that means they can charge higher advertising rates.
what is laws of soap opera
laws for understanding media behavior
stories have to involve conflict
sex sells
the news has to be something unusual; commonplace stuff is not news
tragedy sells; human impact makes a story more relatable and more interesting
what is the fallacy of the media?
the media equates equal airtime with fairness. In trying to present both sides of a story “fairly”, they will give each side equal time. However, balance does not always equal accuracy. Like, if they presented a debate about evolution, you might think that the sciences are split 50/50 on evolution, because both sides got equal coverage.
