AP Gov. Ch. 6

Political Agenda

A list of issues that need government attention

Infotainment

A mix of information and diversion oriented to personalities or celebrities, not linked to the day's events, and usually unrelated to public affairs or policy; often called "soft news".

Media Event

A situation that is so "newsworthy" that the mass media are compelled to cover it. Candidates in elections often create such situations to garner media attention.

Dependent on advertising revenues.

Private ownership of the media in the United States makes the American news industry...

Telecommunications Act of 1996

Relaxed/scrapped limits on media ownerships.

Concentration of Ownership

is a process whereby progressively fewer individuals or organizations control increasing shares of the mass media.

1. Reporting the news 2. Interpreting the news 3. Influencing citizens opinions 4. Setting the agenda for government action 5. Socializing citizens about politics

5 Functions the mass media provide the political system

Age, Level of education, Gender, NOT race

Attentiveness to the news is closely related to...

Independent Regulatory Commission

Among types of bureaucratic entities, the Federal Communications Commission is an example of an...

Federal Communications Commission

An independent federal agency that regulates interstate and international communication by radio, television, telephone, telegraph, cable, and satellite.

- Gov. can't censor private media companies - 2 way flow of communication, private ownership with the flow of info, private companies more likely to speak openly and criticize the government - Bias, private companies can use their freedom to be biased and promote an agenda.

Argue in 3 specific points the merit of private as opposed government ownership of the media... (FRQ)

Market-Driven Journalism

Both reporting news and running commercials geared to a target audience defined by demographic characteristics

Congress has many members and is thus difficult to personify.

Congress receives much less media coverage than the president does because...

Decrease government restrictions.

Court rulings regarding "freedom of the press" have tended to...

Horse Race Journalism

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

Print Media

Ex. Magazines, newspapers, internet

Broadcast Media

Ex. Radio, Television

increase the risk that a few owners could control the news flow to promote their own political interests, much as political parties influenced the content of the earliest American newspapers.

Explain private ownership aspects of the media

a two-way channel of communication between the people and the government.

In the United States today, the mass media provide...

Attentive Policy Elites

Leaders who follow news in specific policy areas

Gatekeepers

Media executives, news editors, and prominent reporters who direct the flow of news

Television Hypothesis

The belief that television is to blame for the low level of citizens' knowledge about public affairs

Newsworthiness

The degree to which a news story is important enough to be covered in the mass media

"On Background"

The information can be quoted, but reporters cannot identify the source.

Mass Media

The means employed in mass communication; often divided into print media and broadcast media.

Two-step Flow of Communication

The process in which a few policy elites gather information and then inform their more numerous followers, mobilizing them to apply pressure to government.

Communication

The process of transmitting info from 1 individual or group to another is the definition of...

The Equal Opportunities Rule (Fairness Doctrine)

Under the Federal Communications Act of 1934, the requirement that if a broadcast station gives or sells time to a candidate for any public office it must make available an equal amount of time under the same conditions to all other candidates for that office.

agenda setting.

When the media regularly focus public attention on violent crime, political corruption, or economic woes, they are engaged in...

Reasonable Access Rule

required that stations make their facilities available for the expression of conflicting views on issues by all responsible elements in the community.