Ch.7: THE MEDIa

Question 1

what are the 3 key roles of media

Answer 1

Supply information to the citizenry
Nongovernment sources of information
Give the public opportunity to evaluate issues to form reasoned opinions and actions

Question 2

Media formats include

Answer 2

Print: newspapers, magazines, books

Radio: broadcast and subscription service

Television: broadcast and subscription service

Online: professional journalism, blogs, social

Question 3

Print media

Answer 3

oldest method for the dissemination of the news
no longer the primary news source for most Americans
Newspapers, however, remain important because they are influential among the political elite.

Question 4

Broadcast Media

Answer 4

reach more Americans than any other single news source
serve the extremely important function of alerting viewers to issues and events
however, cover relatively few topics and provide little depth of coverage; time limits and ratings constrain content

Question 5

Politicians and others often seek to manipulate the news by providing the media with sound bites

Politicians generally consider local broadcast news a friendlier venue than the national news.

National reporters are often inclined to criticize and question, whereas local reporters are more likely to accept the pronouncements of national leaders at face value.

Answer 5

Television news

Question 6

Repeat headlines (their audience changes hourly)

Answer 6

radio news

Question 7

Opinion about news topics

Dominated by conservative national and local shows

Answer 7

radio talk shows

Question 8

News and talk show content

Strong journalistic work, gathers and reports news across the United States and the world.

Answer 8

national and public radio

Question 9

with political content attract millions of television viewers.

Use humor, sarcasm, and social criticism to cover major political events.

Have become increasingly important sources of political news, especially for younger viewers.

Americans who get political news from these shows are well informed about politics.

Answer 9

comedy talk shows

Question 10

ability to participate in society and politics online

Answer 10

digital citizenship

Question 11

Types of online journalism

Answer 11

Niche journalism
Citizen journalism and blogs
Facts and temperament can be dicey
Nonprofit
Social media

Question 12

Gathering and reporting to public
On location, source interviews, data collection
Write and publish original material

Answer 12

original reporting

Question 13

Link, repost, or comment on the original work other reporters have written.
Perfectly legal and legitimate, but a significantly different type of work and business costs.

Answer 13

News aggregation

Question 14

Benefits of online news

Answer 14

the convenience of getting the news online

(2) the up-to-the moment currency of the information available online
(3) the depth of the information available online
(4) the diversity of online viewpoints

Question 15

Limitations to online news

Answer 15

Less investigation and watchdog work
High production costs in low-revenue business
Quality
Conflating popular and viral with factual information
Narrow lens
Many websites specialize in single point of view.
Public has less exposure to more than one perspective

Question 16

Cues the public something is important

Answer 16

agenda setting

Question 17

Three ways media influences public opinion

Answer 17

Agenda setting: direct attention to specific topics

Framing: influence how events are interpreted

Priming: shaping how the audience evaluates leaders, events, or issues

Question 18

Helping people understand events using carefully chosen words and images.
Few people read legislation and rely on media frames to form opinions.
Example, what word follows: housing, financial, banking?
Crisis

Answer 18

framing

Question 19

Shaping how the public evaluates leaders

Determines who will get media attention, who will be taken seriously, who will be viable candidates

Candidates try to manage this by appearing on a variety of venues to maximize positive perceptions.
Talk, comedy, sports, and morning shows highlight personality traits hard to convey on serious news shows.

Answer 19

priming

Question 20

the disclosure of confidential information to the news media.
XXXX may emanate from a variety of sources, including whistleblowers, lower-level officials who hope to publicize what they view as their bosses’ or the government’s improper activities.
Most XXXXX, though, originate not with low-level whistleblowers but rather with senior government officials, prominent politicians, and political activists.

Answer 20

leak

Question 21

Media are more adversarial than ever before

Answer 21

Partisan and ideological
Some candidates and elected officials give more interviews to outlets that share political perspective.

Focus on scandals, corruption, and conflict
Leads to cynicism about government and politics
Potentially negative consequences for voter participation
New media news sources
Many not partisan, ideological, or scandal-focused

Question 22

Broadcast TV and radio stations need licenses to operate as such.

Answer 22

Federal Communications Commission (FCC)

Question 23

Federal government regulates broadcast media. but

Does not regulate most media such as

Answer 23

print, online, any paid cable or subscription television or radio

Question 24

if a station sells air time to one candidate, it cannot refuse to sell to opponents

Answer 24

equal time rule

Question 25

individuals have opportunity to respond to personal attacks made on radio or television broadcast.

Answer 25

right of rebuttal

Question 26

used to require broadcasters to give equal time to opposing views of controversial topics

Answer 26

fairness doctrine