Unit 4 - Chapter 7

Question 1

high tech politics

Answer 1

a politics in which the behavior of citizens and policymakers and the political agenda itself are increasingly shaped by technology

Question 2

mass media

Answer 2

television, radio, newspapers, magazines, the internet, and other forms of communication

Question 3

media events

Answer 3

events that are purposely staged for the media and that are significant just because the media is there (politicians use in campaigns a lot)

Question 4

investigative journalism

Answer 4

the use of in-depth reporting to unearth scandals, scams, and schemes, at times putting reporters in adversarial relationships with political leaders

Question 5

print media

Answer 5

newspapers and magazines, as compared with electronic media

Question 6

electronic media

Answer 6

television, radio, and the internet, as compared with print media

Question 7

press conferences

Answer 7

meetings of public officials with reporters

Question 8

media tends to focus on the __, not the ___

Answer 8

why, what (want to know who’s winning campaigns rather than their policies, part of increasingly negative political coverage)

Question 9

three major events that made political media coverage more cynical:

Answer 9

vietnam war, watergate, monica lewinsky scandal

Question 10

net neutrality

Answer 10

a former FCC policy saying that Internet service providers must provide equal access to broadband for all websites to their customers (Dems approve, Reps don’t, reversed when Trump was president)

Question 11

narrowcasting

Answer 11

Media programming on cable TV or the internet that is focused on a particular interest and aimed at a particular audience, unlike broadcasting (think Fox News)

Question 12

FCC

Answer 12

Federal Communications Commission, initially made to regulate airwaves, but now does everything media related but internet

Question 13

selective exposure

Answer 13

the process which through people consciously choose to get the news from information sources that have viewpoints compatible with their own

Question 14

candidates who communicate with supports via the internet ___

Answer 14

help with strengthening voters’ predispositions

Question 15

chains

Answer 15

groups of newspapers published by media conglomerates and today accounting for over 80% of the nation’s daily newspaper circulation

Question 16

beats

Answer 16

specific locations from which news frequently emanates, such as Congress of the White House. Most top reporters work a particular beat, thereby becoming specialists in what goes on at that location

Question 17

trial balloons

Answer 17

policy ideas floated to the media for the purpose of assessing the likely political reaction

Question 18

sound bites

Answer 18

short video clips of approximately 10 seconds, typically all that’s shown from a politician’s speech on the nightly news

Question 19

talking head

Answer 19

a shot of a person’s face talking directly to the camera, and since such shots are visually not stimulating, the major networks rarely show politicians talking very long

Question 20

policy agenda

Answer 20

the issues that attract the serious attention of public officials and other people actively involved in politics at a point in time

Question 21

policy entrepreneurs

Answer 21

people who invest their political “capital” in an issue, either in or out of government, in interest groups, elected positions, etc. (aka political activists)

Question 22

gatekeeper

Answer 22

agenda setting, the media determining what people pay attention to

Question 23

scorekeeper

Answer 23

the media keeping track of whose raised more money or who’s ahead in an election

Question 24

watchdog

Answer 24

the media exposing things like scandals and schemes

Question 25

photo op

Answer 25

staged picture which is done to receive a particular reaction from the people

Question 26

hyperdemocracy

Answer 26

because of the explosion of technology there’s excess information, gov. can’t find out who to listen to, leads to gridlock

Question 27

fairness doctrine

Answer 27

a law many states still follow where news have to give opportunity for equal media coverage for both sides

Question 28

horse race coverage

Answer 28

media explaining who’s ahead in election, but not focusing on policy issues

Question 29

adversarial press

Answer 29

adopting a stance of opposition to expose perceived wrongdoings

Question 30

symbiotic relationship

Answer 30

what the president and media have, they need each other even if they don’t like each other

Question 31

trends in modern news:

Answer 31

outlets bought by large corporations, increase in fragmentation in news outlets, people turn more to TV and trust it more, increase in information access so credibility is hard to find

Question 32

coverage of branches by media

Answer 32

executive branch covered most (good for business, easy to cover), judicial gets least (legal stuff, seen as boring), legislative gets some (prioritize stories because of its size)

Question 33

spin vs. bias

Answer 33

intentionally making someone look good vs. telling story based on own viewpoint (could be intentional or not)