Chapter 6

Question 1

Sources that provide information to the average citizen, such as newspapers, television networks, radio stations, and websites. (page 203)

Answer 1

mass media

Question 2

Newspapers sold for one cent in the 1830s, when more efficient printing presses made reduced-price newspapers available to a larger segment of the population. (page 203)

Answer 2

penny press

Question 3

An organization that gathers news and sells it to other media outlets. The invention of the telegraph in the early 1800s made this type of service possible. (page 203)

Answer 3

wire service

Question 4

A style of newspaper popular in the late 1800s that featured sensationalized stories, bold headlines, and illustrations to increase readership. (page 204)

Answer 4

yellow journalism

Question 5

Reporters who dig deeply into a particular topic of public concern, often targeting government failures and inefficiencies. (page 204)

Answer 5

investigative journalists

Question 6

A government agency created in 1934 to regulate American radio stations and later expanded to regulate television, wireless communications technologies, and other broadcast media. (page 204)

Answer 6

Federal Communications Commission (FCC)

Question 7

Communications technologies, such as television and radio, that transmit information over airwaves. (page 204)

Answer 7

broadcast media

Question 8

An FCC regulation requiring broadcast media to present several points of view to ensure balanced coverage. It was created in the late 1940s and eliminated in 1987. (page 205)

Answer 8

fairness doctrine

Question 9

An FCC regulation requiring broadcast media to provide equal airtime on any non-news programming to all candidates running for an office. (page 205)

Answer 9

equal time provision

Question 10

The trend toward single-company ownership of several media sources in one area. (page 206)

Answer 10

concentration

Question 11

The trend toward single-company ownership of several kinds of media outlets. (page 206)

Answer 11

cross-ownership

Question 12

Companies that control a large number of media sources across several types of media outlets. (page 206)

Answer 12

media conglomorates

Question 13

Media sources that predate the Internet, such as newspapers, magazines, television, and radio. (page 207)

Answer 13

mainstream media

Question 14

Evening hours when television viewership is at its highest and networks often schedule news programs. (page 207)

Answer 14

prime time

Question 15

The time between the release of information and its publication, like the twenty-four hours between issues of a daily newspaper. (page 207)

Answer 15

news cycle

Question 16

An event at which a politician speaks to journalists and, in most cases, answers their questions afterward. (page 216)

Answer 16

press conference

Question 17

or off the record Comments a politician makes to the press on the condition that they can be reported only if they are not attributed to that politician. (page 216)

Answer 17

on background

Question 18

Legislation, which exists in some states but not at the federal level, that gives reporters the right to refuse to name the sources of their information. (page 217)

Answer 18

Shield laws

Question 19

The idea that many Americans acquire political information unintentionally rather than by seeking it out. (page 218)

Answer 19

by-product theory

Question 20

The influence of media coverage on average citizens’ opinions and actions. (page 221)

Answer 20

media effects

Question 21

The influence on public opinion that results from journalists’ and editors’ decisions about which of many potential news stories to report. (page 222)

Answer 21

filtering

Question 22

The imbalance in a story that covers one candidate or policy favorably without providing similar coverage of the other side. (page 222)

Answer 22

slant

Question 23

The influence on public opinion caused by the way a story is presented or covered, including the details, explanations, and context offered in the report. (page 222)

Answer 23

framing

Question 24

A type of increasingly popular media coverage focused on political scandals and controversies, which causes a negative public opinion of political figures. (page 228)

Answer 24

attack journalism

Question 25

A description of the type of election coverage that focuses more on poll results and speculation about a likely winner than on substantive differences between the candidates. (page 228)

Answer 25

horse race

Question 26

Media coverage that aims to entertain or shock, often through sensationalized reporting or by focusing on a candidate or politician’s personality. (page 228)

Answer 26

soft news

Question 27

Media coverage focused on facts and important issues surrounding a campaign. (page 228)

Answer 27

hard news

Question 28

The influence on the public’s general impressions caused by positive or negative coverage of a candidate or issue. (page 222)

Answer 28

priming