mass media pt 2 Flashcards
what are the 2 major factors that effect political opinions
family and school
public opinion in the united state is typically
divided
def of public opinion
the attitudes held by a significant number of people regarding public affairs
def of political socialization
the proccess by which a person gains his or her political views
4 other key factors that influence public opinion
mass media, peer groups, opinion leaders, historical events
mass media consits of what 4 things
radio, TV, magaizines, and the newspaper
what percentage of US housholds own a tv
98%
the great depression shifted population support towards what political party
democratic
what 6 events caused americans to loose respect for the government
assassination of nixon
assassination of mlk
resignation of pres nixon
watergate scandal
civil rights movement
vietnam war
how is public opinion measured
election results, polls, personal contacts, and media reporting
most common form of polls
straw polls
most accurate form of polls
scientific polls
how do straw polls work
asking many people the same question (often unreliable)
definition of the universe
the group whos opinion the poll is trying to discover
the concrete number that polls must use to represent the population is
1500 people
def of interest groups
groups of people who share the same opinion
public opinion is best measure by
polls, specifically scientific polls
2 best known polling organizations
gallop and pew
5 steps of taking a poll
1) define the universe to be surveyed
2)construct a sample
3)prepare valid questions
4) select and control how the poll is taken
5) analyze and report results
typical number for margin of error in a scientific poll
+or- 3%
a less complicated but less accurate sample is a
quota sample
quota samples are hard to be accurate because
try and show the characteristics of a certain category however many people are apart of multiple categories
most polls today are through
telephone surveys
when evaluating a polls METHODS ask yourself the following 4 questions
what is the universe
how was the sample selected
how were the questions written and asked
when was the data collected
when evaluating a polls INTENT ask yourself the following 2 questions
who is responsible
why is it being conducted
scientific polls have difficulty measuring what 3 things
intensity, stability, and relevance
stability
how likely an opinion is to change
intensity
how strongly someone holds to an opinion
relevance
how important is the opinion to the person who holds it
polls are best at
focusing attention on public questions and stimulating discussions about them
5 major types of mass media
TV, internet, radio, newspapers, magazines
what percent of americans use TV as their main source of news
80%
what type of media covers news in the greatest depth
newspapers
what is another name for sensational journalism
yellow journalism
talks that FDR gave durring the great depression over the radio
fireside chats
mass media is ______ of government control
indepedent
the main source of news in the colonies and early nation was
newspapers
what source of news became the most popular in the 20s and 30s
radio
what does pbs stand for
public broadcasting system
what percent of the nations adults read a newspaper daily
45%
what source of news began to boom in the 1950s and replaced newspapers as the main source of political info
TV
what fraction of americans say they go online/ the internet on a regular basis
2/3
the 2nd leading source of political news is
the internet
order of news sources by most used
TV
The internet
radio
newspapers
3 major national TV networks that dominated early TV news
ABC, CBS, NBC
independent broadcasting groups that have challenged the major networks are
CNN and PBS
people tend to follow _____ _____ that agrees with their own opinions
political news
few people follow media coverage of ______ ___ very closely
political events
2 news sources that do not have in depth news coverage and often dont cover public affairs
TV, Radio
2 ways candidates for public office control their media image
stages events, sound bites
the media tells people
what to think about
