"How the Mass Media Divide Us" by Diana Mutz

What does it mean to say that the media "brackets acceptable opinion"?

By defining the boundaries of acceptable controversy, the media define the range of legitimate opinions that the public may adopt.

What does Mutz mean when she notes that "television provides a uniquely intimate perspective on conflict"?

In the literature on human proxemics, the distance deemed appropriate for face-to-face interactions with public figures in American culture is more than twelve feet.37 Yet exposure to politicians on television gives the appearance of being much closer. When people are arguing, the tendency is to back off and put greater space between those who disagree. Instead, when political conflicts flare up on television, cameras tend to go in for tighter and tighter close-ups. This creates an intense experience for the viewers, one in which they view conflict from an unusually intimate perspective.

What does Mutz say about "the demands of incivility on human attentional processes"? How is incivility related to polarization?

Psychologists are correct about the demands of incivility on human attentional processes. An experiment showed that people tend to feel more negatively towards the opposing view when the person who agrees with their opinion also portrays them in a more negative light.

What does she mean by the term "selectivity" or "biased assimilation of information"?

The idea that people select news sources that reinforce and intensify their preexisting views