Chapter 10 Terms Flashcards
The sum of government’s goals and actions made in response to public issues.
Public Policy
Opinions held by the public that the government responds to through the development of public policy.
Public Opinion
A political philosophy that seeks through government action to change the political, economic, and social status quo and to encourage the development and well-being of the individual.
Liberalism
A political philosophy that defends against major changes by the government to the political, economic, and social institutions of society, but rather seeks nonbureaucratic solutions to political issues
Conservatism
A middle-of-the-road political philosophy that tends to use a pragmatic approach to political issues rather than principles of a firm ideology
Moderates
The principles and activities that constitute a government’s public policy regarding issues within the nation.
Domestic Policy
The principles and activities that constitute a nation’s public policy regarding issues abroad.
Foreign Policy
Those issues the government decides to deal with.
Agenda
Surveys of public thought on particular subjects.
Opinion Polls
An accurate representation of the population involved in an opinion poll.
Representative Sample
Do not attempt to use valid sampling techniques, but are conducted for a variety of purposes, especially to liven up boring news stories.
Straw Polls
Also called pressure groups; a group of individuals that share like opinions on a political issue or group of issues and that unite in some organization to influence government officials and further their views
Interest Groups
The largest labor union, has over thirteen million members in its affiliated unions; and despite declining membership, unions remain powerful voices in American politics.
AFL-CIO
Concerned with a particular issue such as abortion or gun control.
Single-Interest Groups
Tactics used by interest groups to influence public officials.
Lobbying
Committees formed by special-interest groups that raise money and make contributions to specific individuals’ campaigns or causes.
Political Action Committees (PACs)
“friend of the court”
Amicus Curiae
The major forms of media (radio, television, newspapers, magazines, Internet) and the news organizations associated with them.
Mass Media
A public service network created by the American cable television industry.
C-SPAN
An international computer network originally developed by the U.S. Department of Defense as a means of decentralizing information.
Internet
Principle that the government may not suppress a story prior to its publication
Prior Restrain
Gives the media (as well as private individuals) broad powers to investigate files of the federal bureaucracy.
Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)
Laws protecting the journalist’s right to refuse to divulge the identity of a secret source.
Shield Laws
Public opinion polls taken by various polling agencies as voters leave their polling place; used to predict election outcomes.
Exit Polls
