American Politics and the U.S. Constitution: Lesson 6, Unit 42-46 (WGU)

pack journalism

A method of news gathering in which news reporters all follow the same story in the same way because they read each other's copy for validation of their own.

political spectrum and the location of various ideologies

Communism, Socialism, Liberalism, Conservatism, Fascism

horse race journalism and examples

Election coverage by the mass media that focuses on which candidate is ahead rather than on national issues.

sunshine laws

Law requiring agency meetings and decision-making process to be open to the public. One way of making agencies more accountable to Congress and the public.

How the media uses the 1st amendment

the press has a right to publish secret information the public needs to know. They act as informants and messengers, proving the means for citizens to become informed and serving as a venue for citizens to announce plans to assemble and protest actions by their government.

equal time rule

the rule that requires broadcast stations to sell air time equally to all candidates in a political campaign if they choose to sell it to any

The role of the media as a political watchdog organization

the media monitors the conduct of government officials and reporting on the ethics of the political process.

Framing and examples

the way an issue is posed; how an issue is framed can significantly affect decisions and judgments.

The media's role in shaping opinion and political discourse

they shape our perceptions of the world by framing and priming or through choosing which stories to cover (agenda setting).

media

various methods for communicating information

How people rely on heuristics to form an opinion on a given candidate

voters join a political party whose platform aligns most closely with their political beliefs, and voting for a candidate from that party simply makes sense.

public opinion

what the public thinks about a particular issue or set of issues at any point in time

How people rely on research to form an opinion on a given candidate

candidates, parties, and campaigns put out a large array of information to sway potential voters, and the media provides wide coverage, all of which is readily available online and elsewhere.

bandwagon effect and examples

"Copy-cat" behavior. People often do things just because other people do them. In primary elections, it is when people support the candidate everyone else seems to be supporting (poll leaders). Leads to Primary Frontloading (states want to have the most impact in the primary process)

mass media

Television, radio, newspapers, magazines, the Internet, and other means of popular communication.

Libel and examples

a published false statement that is damaging to a person's reputation; a written defamation.

Several types of demographics used to measure public opinion

geographic location, workplace, political elites, age, gender, race, and religion.

Theories relating to bus media

hypodermic theory, minimal effects theory, and cultivation theory.

analyze variations between public opinion and different demographic groups

it is not uncommon that the shared experiences of employees of a workplace can affect public opinion, and important leaders in the community, government, and media can shape public opinion by serving as a shortcut to information, helping voters to make decisions.

How political actor and policy are influenced by public opinion

majority of Americans agree on a policy or issue before the court, the court's decision is likely to agree with the public opinion, also public opinion is more likely to affect ignored cases than heavily reported ones.

list several socialization agents and their impact on political attitudes

parents, schools, families, and social groups.

Political socialization is the process by which

political values are passed to the next generation

Slander and examples

the action or crime of making a false spoken statement damaging to a person's reputation.

Priming and examples

the activation, often unconsciously, of certain associations, thus predisposing one's perception, memory, or response

The conditions that must exist for a mandate to occur

the declared winner has won with more than 50% of the popular vote.

How the media handles classified materials included the use of prior restraint.

the government can impose prior restraint on the media, meaning the government can prevent the publication of information, that right is very limited. The court gave the newspapers the right to publish much of the study, but revelation of troop movements and the names of undercover operatives are some of the few approved reasons for which the government can stop publication or reporting.

Public Relations

the marketing function that evaluates public attitudes, identifies areas within the organization the public may be interested in, and executes a program of action to earn public understanding and acceptance