Chapter 7 - Mass Media and the Political Agenda Flashcards
High-Tech Politics
A politics in which the behavior of citizens and policy makers and the political agenda itself are increasingly shaped by technology
Mass Media
Television, radio, newspapers, the Internet, and other means of popular communication
Media Events
Events purposely staged for the media that nonetheless look spontaneous. In keeping with politics as theater, media events can be staged by individuals, groups, and government officials, especially presidents
Press Conferences
Meetings of public officials with reporters
Investigative Journalism
The use of detective-like reporting to unearth scandals, scams, and schemes, putting reporters in adversarial relationships with political leaders.
Print Media
Newspapers and magazines
Broadcast Media
Television and radio
Chains
Groups of media which controlled more than 80% of newspapers by 1994
Narrowcasting
Media programming oh cable TV or the Internet that is focused on one topic and aimed at a particular audience. Examples include MTV, ESPN, and C-SPAN.
Beats
Specific locations from which news frequently emanates, such as Congress or the White House. Most top reporters work on a particular beat, thereby becoming specialists in what goes on at that location.
Trial Balloons
An intentional news leak for the purpose of assessing the political reaction
Sound Bites
Short video clips of approximately 15 seconds; typically all that is shown from a politician’s speech or activities on the nightly television news.
Talking Head
A shot of a person’s face talking directly to the camera. Because this is visually unappealing, the major commercial networks rarely show a political taking one-on-one for very long
Policy Agenda
The issues that attract the serious attention of public officials and other people involved in politics at the time
Policy Enyrepreneurs
People who invest their political”capital” in an issue
