Chapter 7

Question 1

high tech politics

Answer 1

a politics in which the behavior of citizens and policymakers and the political agenda itself are increasingly shaped by technology.

Question 2

mass media

Answer 2

this term encompasses radio, television, magazines, the internet, newspapers, and other means of communication

Question 3

electronic/broadcast media

Answer 3

tv, internet and radio

Question 4

print media

Answer 4

newspapers and magazines

Question 5

investigative journalism/adversarial press

Answer 5

the type of reporting that unearths scandals, scams, schemes, and otherwise underhanded situations that may cause reporters to have adversarial relationships with political leaders

Question 6

narrow casting

Answer 6

media programming that is focused on one topic and aimed at a particular audience

Question 7

chains

Answer 7

newspapers published by massive media conglomerates that account for almost 3/4 of the nation’s circulation

Question 8

beats

Answer 8

specific locations from which news frequently comes from, such as Capitol Hill or the White House

Question 9

trial balloon

Answer 9

an intentional news leak for the purpose of assessing the political reaction

Question 10

talking head

Answer 10

a shot of a person’s face talking directly to the camera

Question 11

sound bites

Answer 11

short video clips about 15 seconds; typically a small part of a politician’s speech

Question 12

media events

Answer 12

actions that are staged for the media that are made to look spontaneous

Question 13

selective exposure/attention

Answer 13

the process through which people consciously choose to get the news from information sources that have viewpoints compatible with their own

Question 14

policy entrepreneurs

Answer 14

people who invest their political “capital” in an issue, whether the one in question is in or out of government

Question 15

press conference

Answer 15

meeting of public officials with reporters

Question 16

policy agenda

Answer 16

the issues that attract the serious attention of public officials and other people actively involved in politics at the time

Question 17

blog

Answer 17

a series, or log, of discussion items on a page of the internet

Question 18

equal time rule

Answer 18

an FCC rule that if a broadcaster sells time to one candidate, it must sell equal time to other candidates

Question 19

horse-race journalism

Answer 19

news coverage that focuses on who is ahead rather than on the issues

Question 20

routine stories

Answer 20

media stories about events regularly covered by reporters

Question 21

feature stories

Answer 21

media stories about events that, though public, are not regularly covered by reporters

Question 22

insider stories

Answer 22

media stories about events that are not usually made public

Question 23

load language

Answer 23

words that imply a value judgement, used to persuade a reader without having made serious argument

Question 24

background

Answer 24

a public official’s statement to a reporter given on condition that the official not be named.