Mass Media in the U.S. Flashcards
Mass Media (U.S.)
Mass media consists of any means of communication intended to reach a general, public audience. Note that mass media is widely used to reference the entire public communications industry, including: Newspapers, Magazines, Flyers, Billboards, Automated telemarketing, Radio broadcasts, Television broadcasts, Internet articles, Social media posts.
State Media
In countries such as China and Russia, the national government controls the mass media. This is known as state media. In contrast, in the United States, corporations control most mass media.
Print Media (U.S.)
Print media includes books, newspapers, newsletters, and magazines and was the dominant form of media throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries. It can be traced back to the revolutionary period with the publication of The Federalist Papers.
Yellow Journalism (U.S.)
Yellow journalism is journalism that exploits, distorts or exaggerates in order to attract readers. It particularly existed in the late 1800s. Widespread support for the Spanish-American War can be attributed to yellow journalism. President McKinley wanted to avoid a war, but sensationalized articles portrayed him as weak and encouraged the war in order to give Cubans independence.
Muckrakers (U.S.)
Our nation’s first investigative journalism, Muckrakers were a group of journalists who exposed injustices and political corruption in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. In fact, the muckraking tactics of two young Washington Post reporters exposed the Watergate scandal of the 1970s, and muckraking is common today.
Broadcast Media
Broadcast media includes radio, television, and Internet. It’s any audio and/or video communication intended for the general public.
Internet Media
Information gained from an Internet website is known as Internet media.
Social Media
Social media describes social interaction between users in which they share and exchange information. It’s hosted through the Internet. Social media includes popular websites like Facebook and Twitter.
Propaganda
Information that is biased or misleading in order to promote or publicize a particular political point of view.
Political Attitude
Political attitude describes the way you think or feel about our government and related social and economic issues.
Political Decision
A political decision is any choice dealing with government affairs, structure, or politics. We make our political decisions based on our political attitudes.
New Media
New media includes Internet and digital-based forms of mass communication, including social media. New media is wide-ranging and offers: Immediate connection, news you can choose, sharing, liking, and donating.
New Media - Immediate Connection
This allows protests or political gatherings to be scheduled last minute and widely publicized through tweets or Facebook posts.
New Media - News You Can Choose
Meaning the Internet allows voters to look at the sources and stories that appeal specifically to them, while ignoring other points of view.
New Media - Sharing
This allows voters to distribute news themselves, as through ‘retweeting’ or reposting. When news comes from a friend or trusted colleague, voters are more likely to support the same point of view.
New Media - Liking
This allows voters to simply click a ‘thumbs up’ in order to publicize their support of a candidate or issue.
New Media - Donating
This allows multiple donors to give smaller individual amounts to raise large overall totals.
Media Criticism
Media criticism is the act of closely examining and judging the media.
Media Bias
Media bias is the perception that the media is reporting the news in a partial or prejudiced manner. The most common include: Bias by omission, Bias by selection of sources, Bias by story selection, Bias by placement, Bias by labeling, and Bias by spin.
Media Bias - Bias by Omission
- Leaving one side out of an article, or series of articles, over a period of time.
- This can happen with one story, or a series of stories as a news outlet reports one set of events, not another.
- Be aware of major perspectives on current events to find this type of bias.
- ‘Bias by Story Selection’ seems to be different than ‘Bias by Omission’ in that the latter is omitting without highlighting.
Media Bias - Bias by Selection of Sources
- Includes more sources that support one view over another.
- This can be found when reporters use such phrases as “experts believe” or “observers say” or “most people believe”.
- Look for equal representation of both sides to find this type of bias.
Media Bias - Bias by Story Selection
- A pattern of highlighting news stories that agree with the agenda of one side and ignoring the other side.
- To identify this bias, one needs to be aware of all perspectives involved.
- ‘Bias by Story Selection’ seems to be different than ‘Bias by Omission’ in that the latter is omitting without highlighting.
Media Bias - Bias by Placement
- Story placement is a measure of how important the editor considers a story.
- Many people only read the headlines, and therefore only see the larger stories.
- To identify this type of bias, look for where a newspaper places political stories.
Media Bias - Bias by Labeling
- There are two types of labeling - one in which one side of the political spectrum is given an extreme label, while the other side is not addressed with a label or given a more mild label.
- The other type is when one side is given a label, and the other is identified as an “expert” or “independent group.”
- When looking for this type of bias, remember labeling in and of itself is not bias. It is when one side is labeled and the other is not.
