Chapter 7: Media Flashcards
Penny Press
lowered costs of newspaper across the US
extremely political w/ ideology
ex. New York Sun
Yellow Journalism
- style of newspaper that feared sensationalism stories, bold headlines,and illustrations to increase readership
- New York Journal (Hearst), New York World (Pulitzer) The Jungle (Sinclair)
Investigative Journalists
reporters who dig deeply into a particular topic of public concern, often targeting gov fails and inefficiencies
Federal Communication Commission
- authorized to regulate broadcast media via the Communications Act of 1934
- assumed airways were public property, so no one had a right to operate a radio or tv station
- fairness doctrine & equal time provision
Fairness Doctrine
- news coverage
- FCC regulation requiring broadcast media to present several points of view to ensure balanced coverage
equal time provision
- non-news
- FCC regulation requiring broadcast media to provide equal airtime on any non-news programming to all candidates running for an office
Telecommunications Act of 1996
- act to promote competition and reduce regulation in order to secure lower prices and higher quality service for American telecommunication consumers and encourage rapid development of new technologies
- gives FCC ability to reset everything prior to 1996
- two trends: concentration and cross-ownership
concentration
single company owns several media sources in one area
cross-ownership
single company owns several kinds of media outlets
filtering
results from journalists’ and editors’ decisions about which of many potential news stories to report (horse race)
slant
story gives favorable coverage to one candidate or policy w/o providing balanced favorable coverage of other sides
priming
occurs when media coverage of a story affects the important people place on the issues or events mentioned in the coverage
framing
refers to how the description or presentation of a story, including the details, explanations, and context, changes the reaction people have to the info
Hostile Media Phenomenon
idea that supporters of a candidate or issue tend to feel that media coverage is biased against their posit, regardless of whether coverage is actually fair
Third-Person Effect
when individuals see biased news, they are more concerned w/ how the media will influence others rather than themselves; in this way, they are resistant to news biases, but others are not
Lyengar
partisan polarization
issue public
attentive public
partisan polarization
people prefer to encounter info that supports their beliefs and avoid info that is inconsistent w/ those beliefs
issue public
people seek out info about subjects that are particularly important or interesting to them, tune out info about other subjects
attentive public
people interested by politics tune in to all forms of news, while the apolitical majority pays very little attention to news in any medium
Klein’s “Theory of Least Objectionable Programming”
when deciding to watch TV you make 2 choices:
- you decide to turn on tv
- you select which channel you prefer most
Prior
low-choice
high-choice
by-product theory
low-choice
accidental exposure
high-choice
accidental exposure is unlikely
by-product theory
the idea that many Americans acquire political info unintentionally rather than by seeking it all out
hard news
media coverage focused on facts and important issues surrounding a campaign
soft news
media coverage that aims to entertain or shock, often trough sensationalized reporting or by focusing on a candidate or politician’s personality
Baumgartner & Morris
those that viewed the Daily Show
- viewed Bush & Kerry more negatively
- more cynical towards politics (not trustful)
- more confident in political knowledge
