Chapter 7 Flashcards
high tech politics
a politics in which the behavior of citizens and policymakers and the political agenda itself are increasingly shaped by technology.
mass media
this term encompasses radio, television, magazines, the internet, newspapers, and other means of communication
electronic/broadcast media
tv, internet and radio
print media
newspapers and magazines
investigative journalism/adversarial press
the type of reporting that unearths scandals, scams, schemes, and otherwise underhanded situations that may cause reporters to have adversarial relationships with political leaders
narrow casting
media programming that is focused on one topic and aimed at a particular audience
chains
newspapers published by massive media conglomerates that account for almost 3/4 of the nation’s circulation
beats
specific locations from which news frequently comes from, such as Capitol Hill or the White House
trial balloon
an intentional news leak for the purpose of assessing the political reaction
talking head
a shot of a person’s face talking directly to the camera
sound bites
short video clips about 15 seconds; typically a small part of a politician’s speech
media events
actions that are staged for the media that are made to look spontaneous
selective exposure/attention
the process through which people consciously choose to get the news from information sources that have viewpoints compatible with their own
policy entrepreneurs
people who invest their political “capital” in an issue, whether the one in question is in or out of government
press conference
meeting of public officials with reporters
policy agenda
the issues that attract the serious attention of public officials and other people actively involved in politics at the time
blog
a series, or log, of discussion items on a page of the internet
equal time rule
an FCC rule that if a broadcaster sells time to one candidate, it must sell equal time to other candidates
horse-race journalism
news coverage that focuses on who is ahead rather than on the issues
routine stories
media stories about events regularly covered by reporters
feature stories
media stories about events that, though public, are not regularly covered by reporters
insider stories
media stories about events that are not usually made public
load language
words that imply a value judgement, used to persuade a reader without having made serious argument
background
a public official’s statement to a reporter given on condition that the official not be named.
