Comm 160 Exam #3 Flashcards
What was the main story surrounding Edwards and how did it relate to politics?
Edwards was allegedly cheating on his wife with a mistress and they kept following him until they figured out that it really was his mistress and he had a son with him. Initially Times people were asked not to talk about this because only the Enquirer had published it and no one even made a serious effort to investigate it. Once it came out, his affair pretty much ruined his campaign.
What is objectivity?
It is seeing the world as it is, not as how you wish it was.
Resurgence of partisanship in the press
Many reject objectivity in favor of overt bias which they believe to be the correct side
What is bias?
A person’s incline to favor one side versus the other (both in an attitude or in news)
What are cognitive biases?
Distortions in ways that humans see reality
What is disconfirmation bias?
Tendency to avoid and scrutinize information that contradicts preconceptions
What is pack journalism?
When reporters are homogenous in their prior beliefs, other reporters’ stories are likely to confirm and strengthen the same beliefs . It shoes that most reporters reach each other’s work
Example of a dramatic Confirmation Bas in a magazine
Rolling Stone’s Rape on Campus
Unknowns Unknowns problem
Things that cannot be anticipated and we know little about
How to solve the unknown unknowns problem
- get it seconded
- rely on common news values
- plan news in advance
- rely on beats
What are appointment stories
stories that are planned out long before, such as the caitlyn jenner story
What are some of the different type of beats
national: white house, congress, crime, judiciary, iraq, death penalty in Texas
local: different areas, government
What was the typical campaign day?
morning policy speech, afternoon photo ops, evening live rally, and night fundraisers
What do sources want?
Help themselves and hurt their enemies
Sources and journalists fight for control of what stories
timing of release, content, attribution, spin of the story, emphasis, wording,
Why would anyone want to be anonymous?
To avoid consequences, politically incorrect information, and avoid fingerprints on the dagger, not really allowed to be a source
Official AP Source Rule Definitions; on the record
information with no caveats, quoting the source by name
official ap source rule definitions: off the record
information cannot be used for publication
official AP source rule definitions: background and deep background:
published with conditions- no name, but position or title
Why does Obama often go off the record?
He wants to win the columnists over and get his point of view printed, it is not scripted, can focus on preferred issues instead of the current events
Who has the power in few media, few souces
unknown
who has the power in few media, many sources
media has more powers
who has the power in may media few sources
sources have more power
who has the power in many media and many sources
uncertain
what is opposition research
when the other party does deep and intense research on their opponent in order to figure out information that they can spin negatively to attack him. they give these stories to reporterd
advantages for opposition research
easy, cheap, some information may not have been made public
disadvantages in opposition research
media may be manipulative and report the stories as their own
Bush National Guard Memos in Opposition Research
Alleged that bush’s family connections allowed him to serve in the national guard instead of in the front lines and had authentic documents, but CBS did not authenticate them and they were fake
The president as a source
the president will often come out and release stories and talk about topics they feel are important, he appeals directly to the people on a regular basis, we know everything about them like what they like to eat if they have a dog and if they like a celebrity
Nightline and Clinton
showed his trip to a small town in Wisconsin where they would for sure be excited to have the President there
How does congress control the media?
it doesnt, there is no it because they are too large of a group and if you think about it, there are very few movies about them
what are some congressional media tools
CSPAN, local news, hearings, and their own PR teams
supreme court and coverage
not much, only reporting on decisions, there are no cameras allowed, dump all decisions at one time, jargon is too difficult to understand, and judges are not available for interviews
What are some spin strategies
dont lie, talk about things you want to talk about
4 D’s in a spin strategy
Deflect and tell them to ask someone else, dismiss and move on, defuse so make a joke and then move on, duck and say you cannot talk about it
what is a brand
it is the intangible sum of a product’s attributes: its name, packaging, and price, its history, its reputation and the way it is advertised THIS IS THE SAME WITH POLITICAL PARTIES
Why do parties brand
clear choice for voters, presidential communication more effective when backed by voters, parties can spread information more effectively, failure to unify party weakens the incentives to get things done
problems with brainding
some may want to free ride off of the band, can customize the branding into something else “tea party republicans”, there is no CEO who can hire and fire people, no binding contract with that party, hard to screen like trump, very easy to break down
central question in the Groeling book
What stories will the nonpartisan press focus on when covering partisan news?
Groeling book assumptions
- journalists prefer novelty, conflict balance, and authority
- politicians prefer to help themselves and hurt the party
- nonpartisan journalists rely on sources to provide reaction
Why should you use free media in a campaign
Its free, imparts credibility, voters have more influence over selecting candidate, increasing role of the press as a voter, such as the invisible primary
what are the disadvantages to the free media
they cant really only rely on it, they lose control over the message, downticket races are not covered and it becomes harder for the challengers than the incumbents
typical voter response to news coverage
discovery, scrutiny, and decline
Groelings solution to what stories the nonpartisan press should cover
look at the presidential approval polls to observe news decision and see peoples feelings on them
Hearing the message (guest)
what is the message, why should people listen, whose support do you need, what will persuade the, how and when will you reach them, who are your best messengers
good messaging
know your audience and target accordingly, pick 3 key messages, repeat it so it will stick in people’s mind, use stories
an example of the good messaging
obama’s yes we can
