POLI COM MIDTERM 1
. According to lecture slides, what are two solutions that TV producers have created to combat the issue of consumers generally not knowing the quality/content of the news they are consuming? (1 point) Hint: Lecture 10, Slide 5
-Cutting staff and bureaus everywhere -More focus on soft news;less on hard news
According to Martin & McCrain in the Washington Post article "Yes, Sinclair Broadcast Group does cut local news, increase national news and tilt its stations rightward," list the four things that generally happened to a station once it was bought by Sinclair.
-Increases its coverage of national politics -by roughly 25 percent, -Decreases its coverage of local politics by roughly 10 percent, -Shifts significantly rightward in its coverage's ideological slant, and -Loses a very small share of its viewers.
What are three political implications of the advent of the internet?
-Mass media tools widely available & super cheap -Peer-to-peer communication & organization -Even more diffusion of mass media power
Describe the political implications of local news.
-Still large audience that watches and relies on local news -Politicians can bypass national broadcasting -Expansion of role and prominence: Local news devotes more coverage time to stories
In Ladd (2012), he characterizes a period of time as the 'commercial era.' What time period was this era and why did Ladd classify the era as commercial? Provide examples in your response.
-The 1800s. There was a decline of partisan papers and the rise of independent and sensational papers. It deemphasized policy and ideology and moved to coverage of things lke sports, theatre, crime etc.
In the Jonathon Ladd (2012) reading he describes how the press has typically been viewed with hostility by elites (political leaders), but he classifies that there were several periods of time where the relationship between the two improved (only slightly though). What were two of those periods of time? Answer: Page 38 of the Ladd reading last paragraph
-The American Revolution (the country and press were both against England) and -The Era of Good Feelings (not much political party tension), commercial newspapers (less focus on politics)
Hamilton argues that news is an experience good, but McManus disagrees. Explain the central problem with news as an experience good. (1 pt) see Lec 9, slide 24
If you were able to tell what news was right or wrong, you already "know" the news and shouldn't be wasting your time viewing it. Thus, experiencing news does not allow you to determine its quality.
What is chicken-and-eggs economics?
No content without audience; no people buying radios without content
Explain two vulnerabilities specific to social media platforms according to "Tactics of Spreading Disinformation through Online Platforms"
Optimization algorithms are designed to prioritize and reward engagement which is often on emotional news stories. 2 Registration requirements vary across platforms, some are more vulnerable to cheats such as fake phone verifiers (Twitter especially)
According to the "Covering President Trump in a Polarized Media Environment" article, how do left and right-leaning media outlets differ in their coverage of the president? (3 pts)
Outlets with a right-leaning audience differed more from outlets with a left-leaning or mixed audience in that they gave more favorable assessments of Trump, cited fewer sources in their reports, and less likely to criticize or challenge statements from the President
According to David Neuman's lecture about "How The Digital Revolution Brought Us Donald Trump," he explains that one of the major shifts in media was a change from adhering to the fairness doctrine to partisan approaches. Can you explain these concepts and how they impact the quality of news we receive today? Hint: See 10-19, Guest Speaker (David Neuman) google doc notes
Since there is SOS, need to give time to the other side of the issue to respond, cannot only share one point of view → in the same broadcast Led to balance in coverage, needed this to keep broadcasting license, big emphasis on fairness/civilness Partisan approaches Emphasis is on getting numbers/getting viewers, shift in approach Echo chamber
How were single paper and multi-paper markets different? (Hint: How did their content differ?
Single Papers: (Non-partisan) -as long as ppl don't have an alternative your incentive to remain non-partisan is strong because you want to appeal to your mass audience. MultiPapers: (Partisan) -papers become more partisan in order to stand out in the crowd and gain advertisers.
While readers dislike paywalls, alternate forms of newspaper funding may threaten press objectivity. Using the Washington Post op-ed by McArdle as a reference, list these alternate forms of funding and why they are unsuitable funding models for news organizations. ( 3 points) ANSWER: not my question, got straight from the reading, double check
Some journalism can function as a sort of a loss leader for a conference business, or another associated product, like books or package tours. Some opinion writing can be produced by people who use it as a personal loss leader for their brand as a "thought leader" or "public intellectual" — or simply use it as a hobby to blow off steam. Outside of the "loss leader model," there are a few other options: Some reporting can be financed by donors as a philanthropic project; some consumer product journalism can support itself through affiliate programs that provide rewards for selling merchandise; and some writing can be supported by "native advertising" sprinkled among the journalism so that it's hard to tell them apart. You need a pretty affluent demographic and a highly prestigious brand for the "loss leader" strategy to work. And while opinion writing is very important (she said, modestly), it's not the only important work we do; academics and business executives are largely not going to pick up the unglamorous but necessary job of beat reporting. Philanthropic journalism can take up some of that slack, but it will be narrow in another way: Donor-funded journalism tends to largely be ideological, with donors looking for stories that flatter their opinions and produce measurable political "impact" beyond just keeping readers informed
54. 1 point question: In Mitchell, Gottfried, Stocking, Matsa & Grieco's (2017) paper, they said that news didn't focus on policy. What did they said news focused on?
They focused more on character and leadership rather than policy.
In the "Covering President Trump in a Polarized Media Environment" article , mention any three measures that the study looked at while examining stories covered by news outlets? (3 pt)
Trump tweets, refutations, topic, source type, trigger, frame, assessment of the Trump administration
In Gottfried, Barthel and Mitchell's article, what was the trend noticed among Trump and Clinton voters in terms of their "main" sources of election news according to the Pew Research Center survey? (1 pt)
Trump voters used Fox News as their main source of election news, while Clinton voters didn't have a particular source, although 18% used CNN.
What was the relationship between radio news networks and network TV during the "Old" News Era (1960-70)?
Tv and radio shared the same news sources, meaning they could express the same message through two media forms
95. Compare & Contrast British TV and Newspapers to American Local television and newspapers in the 1990s. (1 point) Hint: Zaller "Theory of Media Politics" pgs 60-61 or Lecture 10, slide 16
US: local TV more competitive, newspapers less competitive Britain: TV less competitive, newspapers very competitive Main point is that journalist are more professional when there is less competition.
What does Jonathan Ladd (2012) list as one of the reasons for large-circulation papers becoming more widespread in the late 19th century? (1 pt)
Urbanization. Increase to moving to cities
Who was Walter Cronkite, and what news market conditions led to him being referred to as the "Most Trusted Man in America"? (Lecture 6)
Walter Cronkite was a CBS News anchorman and broadcast journalist during the 1960s and 1970s that was known for his great reporting skills and trustworthy tactics that led him to being referred to the "Most Trusted Man in America."
In response to when information is actually turned into news, Hamilton came up with five key questions. What are three of the five questions and how do they relate to the locks of love news video example we watched in class ? (3 point question, can be found in lecture 9 slide 8 and 9)
Who cares about a particular piece of information? What are they willing to pay to find it, or what are others willing to pay to reach consumers of it Where can media outlets or advertisers reach these people? When is it profitable to provide the information? Why is this profitable? -It isn't news. In a way, it is fake news. They had already cut their hair, this was just a feel good story. It goes to show how newspapers and broadcasters choose the info in a vast pool and what can become news through Hamilton's key questions.
What is yellow journalism? Give an example.
Yellow journalism is the practice of bold sensationalist news. It typically features more flashy, eye-catching stories, rather than factual and important news. Example: A brightly colored magazine featuring a celebrity sex scandal
What was the main way the Catholic Church, French, and British censored print media 1500s?
banning and burning them
Why did cafes and other small businesses invest in their own newspapers in the 19th century? (Lecture 2, slide 10)
because they already had their own equipment, so sometimes they would use this to diversify their income stream on top of their printing business
What were Thomas Jefferson's beliefs on the press at the beginning of his career as a politician versus near the end of it? (
beginning: hated it and through it excluded people. End of term: gave direct money to a national newspaper as president but still hated the press because he wished they would just relay politicians' messages
According to "Yes, Sinclair Broadcast Group does Cut Local News, Increases National News and Tilt its Stations Rightward" it is economically convenient for news stations to switch from local to national news coverage. However, this strategy might be dangerous for society. Why? (1 point)
society is exposed to politicized, right-leaning news broadcast with less local coverage every night, communities know less about local politics — and are less likely to vote. If Sinclair continues to grow and changes its stations' coverage in the ways we document in our research, citizens may lose their chances to hold elected officials accountable.
Detail the two-sided market that created revenue for newspaper companies.
"sold subscriptions to you and once you'd subscribed, we sold your eyeballs to our advertisers... necessary because subscription dollars often didn't cover the cost of printing and delivering the physical pieces of paper."
In "Competition and Truth in the Market for News," Gentzkow and Shapiro argue that competition in news markets actually promotes truth. Describe two of their reasons (3 pts). HINT: pages 138-139 are two of the three reasons.
1) Can increase press independence against government attempts to manipulate news 2) Diversity can help overcome risk of info suppression when news organizations might want to manipulate public 3) Might push firms to invest in timely & accurate coverage
William D. Cohan's article "How Arianna Huffington lost her Newsroom," notes two cardinal rules of the newsroom that Huffington breaks. What are the rules? (1pt)
1. "to always seek a comment from a subject about whom a negative article is being written" 2. A story she posted was entirely based on anonymous comments posted on the internet.
In The Rule of the Market, what were Zaller's five deductive inferences regarding the relationship between market competition and news quality? (1pt) Can be found under the "A Look at Two Professions" section.
1. Journalists make their highest quality news when they are insulated from market pressures 2. Increases and decreases in competition are associated with increases and decreases in news quality 3. When a news program enters a previously non competitive market, it will downmarket because the existing entrant had already been producing higher quality news than the market can sustain 4. Journalists will resist efforts to lower the quality of news 5. When programs are in the same time slot, the program with lower quality news will win the share of the audience
Over time, various mass medias have evolved in order to fill different niches of the news market. Each mass media has unique characteristics that have provided unique advantages to news companies over the past 100 years. Name three of these mass medias and compare and contrast their characteristics and how they have impacted the news market as a whole.
1. Newspapers (print media): - 2. Radio allowed instant communication without wires Chicken-and-egg economics: No content without audience; no people buying radios without content Cheap to set up small station; expensive to generate content for any period of time; cheap to "deliver" to anyone within broadcast range (low marginal and unit costs) Regulation: Interference-->scarcity -->regulation More personal than print More limited in carrying capacity than print (spoken word vs. text) More regulated than newspapers: 3.TV Didn't really take off until the 1950s, but by the 1970s more widespread than indoor plumbing Chicken and egg, again; but also fights over standards and patents slowed adoption. Unlike radio's beginning, TV was dominated from the start by a few major companies (huge capital investment required) Being able to "see it yourself" made TV especially credible. Advertiser's dream. Didn't have to work very hard Until relatively recently, market was dominated by three networks (ABC, CBS, NBC)
Why does "the marketplace of ideas" as motivation for free speech bring us closer to the truth? Explain each. (3 pts. Lecture 10) ANSWER: 3 reasons:
1.Can increase press independence against the gov't attempts to manipulate news (bribe costs, easier to bride 1 company that serves 1000 ppl then many companies) 2.Diversity can help overcome risk of info suppression when news orgs might want to manipulate public 3.Investment: might push firms to invest in timely and accurate coverage
What was named the most helpful type of source for learning about the 2016 presidential election for 30yr plus? What source did 18-29 year olds name? (1point) Answer: Class 07 Slide 6 chart
30 yr plus: Cable TV News 18-29 yr:Social Media
What is a cue score and how can these be used to help explain Donald Trump's election, according to David Neuman?
A cue score is the percentage of people that list a TV show as "one of my favorites" and represents the proportion of people that passionately love a show. Donald Trump's election can be looked at with this same framework. Even if he has a high negative cue score, a large proportion of people that passionately dislike him, he can follow the narrowcasting model and target a small but large enough proportion of people that love him in order to secure enough votes to get elected.
Which three networks dominated the television market until relatively recently?
ABC, CBS, NBC
According to McManus, what are the three types of goods consumers consume? How do consumers discover the quality of each good? 1 pt See : Lecture 9 Slide 15
ANSWER: The three types of goods consumers consume are Inspection Goods (tell quality before consumption), Experience Good (tell quality after consumption), and Credence Good (cannot tell quality even after consumption).
How have Google and Facebook affected the way newspapers acquire revenue? (Lecture 7, 1pt)
Advertisers are ditching print in favor of digital platforms.
Differentiate radio and newspaper in terms of push and pull mediums: What is each medium characterized as and why? (Lecture 4, Slide 29)
Advertising in radio: Especially powerful on radio (Paley). "Push" medium. Have to listen in broadcaster's sequence.
With the rise of broadcasting, why was advertising considered powerful on the radio? (1point) Answer: Class 4 Slide Radio as a Medium
Advertising: Especially powerful on radio (Paley). "Push" medium. Have to listen in broadcaster's sequence.
In the reading "Who Cleans Up When the Party's Over" by Groeling and Engstrom, what (suggestive) evidence was found of the correlation between partisanship of newspapers and the consistency of electoral outcomes?
As newspapers became more independent and *non-partisan, split-ticket voting began rising and Congress and Presidency had more discrepancy in party dominance. "Based on these data, we describe the decline of explicitly partisan newspapers over time and find evidence that the rise of non-partisan news helps explain the rise of ticketsplitting and decline of consistent partisan voting." pg. 1
What news medium did older people (Baby Boomers) prefer and which did Millenials prefer?
Baby Boomers preferred local TV, Millennials preferred Facebook
Why do stations acquired by Sinclair significantly increase their coverage of national politics while decreasing their local coverage? How have they affected communities as a whole? -1pt. (answer can be found either in the reading "Yes, Sinclair Broadcast Group does cut local news..." or in lecture 5 slide 13)
Because reducing the local news coverage helps news stations to reduce costs. By making use of the same nationalized news, news stations can provide the public with news material without having to invest time and money in covering local news. Communities are affected because people are not aware of local politics and as a consequence are less likely to vote.
In A Theory of Media Politics, what does Zaller conclude about the relationship between competitive pressure and the quality of news of various media sources in the past fifty years? 1 pt See : A Theory of Media Politics - John Zaller, Concluding Remarks
Best evidence of kind of product journalists would like to produce comes from markets in which they face relatively little competitive pressure to cater to mass tastes. we find a relatively high-quality news product and a determination to keep it so. But from markets in which competition is greater, especially local TV news, we find a lower quality news product that is, one must assume, closer to what mass tastes in news actually are.
What is the evolution of partisan news from the broadcasting era to post-broadcasting era?
Broadcasting era showed a decline of newspaper competition and rise (nonpartisan) local monopolies, while Post-Broadcast era showed commercial providers hyper-competitive again, adding dimension of direct elite and peer-to-peer partisanship through new media sharing.
Explain how the government acted both offensively and defensively once the printing press was introduced at the start of the mass media era. (Lecture 2, First several slides)
Censored heavily, search and seized, then content restrictions, Seditious Libel Act,tax and fees
What are the 3 disinformation tactics highlighted by Sanovich, Sergey, and Stukal in their 2018 study? (1 pt)
Censorship Hacking & sharing Manipulation of search algorithms Bots & trolls
Under what circumstances did early newspapers do best?
Central government was weak or divided, or Government was tolerant
In Mitchell, Gottfried, Stocking, Matsa & Grieco's (2017) paper, they said that news didn't focus on policy. What did they said news focused on? (1 point)
Character and leadership
According to the "Trump, Clinton Voters Divided in Their Main Source for Election News" article, how can the differences in media sources for Clinton-supporting Democrats versus other Democrats best be explained? (1 pt)
Clinton-supporting Democrats were more likely to rely on Cable TV (such as MSNBC and CNN) and print media as their main source of General Election news than supporters of other Democratic candidates. The main difference was age--Clinton supporters tended to be in the "older" demographic.
What are three out of four conditions for a mutually beneficial exchange? (1 point) Lecture 9 slide 26
Consumers act in rational self-interest Consumer is knowledgeable about the product and market (big problem if news is a credence good) There's competition in the market (see concerns re: media consolidation, especially in news gathering) No negative externalities (like consequences for society of decisions made based on bad info)
According to Downs, what four functions do people desire information for? *found in Lecture 9, slide 6
Consumption, production, entertainment, and voting
What makes a good rival? What makes a good excludable? Define and provide an example of each.
Does my consumption of a good interfere with your consumption of a good? Excludable: Is there any way to make sure you don't get the good if I do?
3-pt Question What are some ways in which English Queen Mary and King James I do in order to censor the news? And why did they censor the news? Class 2, Slide 10 - Censorship and Licensing
English Queen Mary gave the Company of Stationers the exclusive rights to own/operate all printing presses, form a publishing organization, and deal books (profitable business). Search and seize unauthorized presses & books King James I banned all unlicensed newsletters
How did the CBS job posting about seeking an environmental reporter support Hamilton's position about product differentiation in the news? Hint: Lecture 10, Slide 10 and 13
Firms may stress the personalities of reporters since these can remain constant even as story topics change, so that readers and viewers can know what to expect from a media product even though they may not know the facts they are about to consume. Reporter "super stars" This use of celebrity to create brand positions in the news also relates to product differentiation."
What are some different features between early Germany newspapers and early American papers? (3points)
First native-language newspapers in Germany in 1609. *Did best where: Central government was weak or divided, or Government was tolerant. -Often distributed through private mail networks. -Redistributed content across papers -Often banned in favor of "official" papers Early American Papers: 1690's- 1790s -Content: Old, old news. Ships arriving and departing; foreign news; aimed at merchant elites. -Economics: Printing as a sideline to other businesses (coffee shops,postmasters, copy shops) First Continuing Paper: Boston News- Letter: Started as hand-written letter distributed by Boston's postmaster. -Note "Published by Authority" meaning authority of governor: Implied the governor routinely read, approved, and subsidized the paper. -Most early papers (until 1730s) followed this model: Approved by Authority, mailed free using gov't franking, covering distant events without challenging local officials
In the Washington Post op-ed by McArdle, she refers to ways in which people pay for papers struggling to stay afloat. One of the ways she presents is called "donor or philanthropic journalism." What is donor/philanthropic journalism and what is the main problem with its usage?
Funding papers by donors as a philanthropic project is exactly what it sounds like → wealthy people feel like they're doing a service by putting money towards a paper, to help it continue its journalistic duty to the public. However, this funding can be problematic because it is narrow in one way: Donor-funded journalism tends to largely be ideological, with donors looking for stories that flatter their opinions and produce measurable political "impact" beyond just keeping readers informed
In the Washington Post op-ed by McArdle, she refers to ways in which people pay for papers struggling to stay afloat. One of the ways she presents is called "donor or philanthropic journalism." What is donor/philanthropic journalism and what is the main problem with its usage? I think this could be used for a one point question and to find the answer you should look at paragraphs 13 and 14 of the "A Farewell to free journalism" article.
Funding papers by donors as a philanthropic project is exactly what it sounds like → wealthy people feel like they're doing a service by putting money towards a paper, to help it continue its journalistic duty to the public. However, this funding can be problematic because it is narrow in one way: Donor-funded journalism tends to largely be ideological, with donors looking for stories that flatter their opinions and produce measurable political "impact" beyond just keeping readers informed
Name and describe three of the four hypotheses created by Baum & Groeling for assessing partisan skew on political blog sites.
H1 —Liberal Media: Ceteris paribus, left-leaning Websites will be more likely to feature stories harmful to Republicans or helpful to Democrats, relative to the opposite types of stories. H2 —Conservative Media: Ceteris paribus, right-leaning Websites will be more likely to feature stories harmful to Democrats or helpful to Republicans, relative to the opposite types of stories. H3 —Nonpartisan Media 1: Ceteris paribus, nonpartisan Web sites, such as the wire services, will be equally likely to feature stories harmful to Democrats and Republicans. H4 —Nonpartisan Media 2: Ceteris paribus, the wire services will be more likely to cover partisan news stories featuring costly communication (i.e., party members criticizing fellow party members or praising the other party) than those featuring cheap communication (i.e., party members criticizing the other party or praising their own party
Describe the penny press business model.
Hard part of making a newspaper was doing first copy; extra copies after that (marginal costs) keep getting cheaper, especially with steam presses which were themselves expensive. Advertisers preferred to have ads in one large paper vs. a lot of small ones. Incentive was to maximize circulation, so less incentive to follow party because you want to appeal to more appeal and you don't want to alienate potentially half of your audience.
How did the penny press change print technology?
It made printing newspapers super cheap, allowing further dissemination of information and generating more advertising revenue
In "Niche News: The Politics of News Choice. New York: Oxford University Press." Natalie Stroud describes a magazine experiment in order to test correlations between political alignment and choice in news source. Briefly describe the methods used in this study as well as the conclusions drawn from it. Hint: pg. 81 course reader
In the magazine experiment, participants believed they were initially participating in another experiment. They were told to stay in a waiting room, where they were presented a variety of magazine choices that were considered either left, right, or neutral leaning. The participants were then secretly observed by an assistant who recorded what type of magazine they chose to read and how long they spent with it. Additionally, participants were offered a free magazine subscription post-experiment, of which were also politically oriented. The main conclusion drawn from this experiment was that people are likely to choose media that closely aligns with their beliefs, even when they are given choices otherwise. Those who aligned more conservative, typically spent more time with conservative magazines and chose a conservative subscription afterwards. And vice versa with left-leaning and independent individuals.
What is the difference between an inspection good, experience good, and a credence good, and what type of good is news? Why? (3pts)
Inspection good: Can tell quality before consumption Experience good: Can tell quality after consumption Credence good: Can NOT tell quality even after consumption News is a credence good.
What happened in the Zenger Trial and why was it important (what were its implications?
John Peter Zenger was accused of "seditious libel" for publishing criticisms of the New York governor. He was freed after the jury agreed he published the truth. Paved the way for the right to free speech/free press in the first amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
In the Washington Post article, "A Farewell to Free Journalism," why does the columnist argue that the previous model of "free online news" is no longer viable? -1pt.
Journalists don't make money & many news companies do not get enough funding to continuously create free content
List three of the four characteristics of the radio (Lecture 4). ANSWER: (pick your 3)
More personal than print (rise of demagogues like Adolf Hitler); more focused on entertainment vs. news. More limited in carrying capacity than print (spoken word vs. text) Advertising: Especially powerful on radio (Paley). "Push" medium. Have to listen in broadcaster's sequence. More regulated than newspapers: Network editorial policies and FCC regulation explicitly prohibited from taking partisan positions (Mayflower decision)
What does it mean when to describe news as a double commodity? (1pt)
News is bought by consumers through their attention, News is paid for by advertisers
How are infotainment and partisan news solutions to the credence good problem?
People who select for infotainment know they are being entertained, and people who select for partisan news can choose the source based on political preference, which allows them selection and competition based on factors you can see, instead of not knowing the quality of the good/news product they are consuming.
Explain the streetlight analogy and how it relates to news consumption? (3 points)
People will consume news only if they can distinguish what they are consuming (inspection/experience good). It explains why consumers are more willing to consume partisan news because at least they can tell the values align with their ideological beliefs.
1-pt Question What is the printing press and what are some of its positive outcomes? Class 2, Slide 7 - Early Printing
Printing press (after 1450s) vastly increased speed and flexibility of printed news (although word of mouth was still faster) Cast moveable metal type + printing press + cheaper paper=big impact Print cost plummeted Reformation and Counter- Reformation used print to mobilize supporters
The spread of information changes. Further expand on this by discussing professional mainstream journalism and compare it to now. (3 points)
Professional mainstream journalism previously acted as a filter on what information sources could pass to viewers; viewers could only redistribute information to a small group (interpersonal) Now, sources (including foreign governments, companies, and indivduals) can reach a mass audience and the audience can redistribute information directly.
What is selective censorship?
Removing some content from online media (allowing preferred content to remain) or burying with unrelated info.
What was the main benefit of using telegraphs? What effect did this result for chains/syndicate papers and partisan news?
Telegraph allowed rapid transmittal of news. Before telegraph, news traveled at same speed as a human traveler. It was difficult for chain papers/syndicates to be picked up because no one wants old news. With the telegraph, a single newspaper had the ability to invest money in reporters and gathering news in Washington. You would pay one person and then print copies to distribute across the country. Allowed economics of scale in news writing: could pool content across many papers.Necessity to sell same story to different partisans led to objective/neutral coverage.
Why is the Broadcasting Era considered an odd time in news history? Hint: class 8, slide 8
The broadcasting era was a time of very non-partisan news, beginning post WW2 and tapering off in the late 20th century. Typically news has always been very partisan, so it was abnormal to see a rise in more neutral news.
Where was the first early newspaper distributed and where did these types of newspapers do best?
The first newspaper distributed was in Germany in 1609. These types of newspapers did best when the central government was weak or divided OR when government was tolerant. Additionally, these newspapers were often distributed through private email networks and oftentimes early newspapers would copy stories from other newspapers and redistribute them. Lastly, these newspapers were often banned in powerful jurisdictions.
What are the loss leader model and native advertising and what roles do they play in the newspaper business? (McArdle, 1 pt)
The loss leader is a common strategy used in marketing and advertising where products or services are sold at, or often lower to the wholesale cost to the business or supplier. Native advertising refers to a form of paid media where the ad experience follows the natural form and function of the user experience in which it is placed. Together, the loss leader model and native advertising plays an important role in the newspaper business as it helps pull in readers however, an affluent demographic is needed for these strategies to work.
According to "Post-Broadcast Democracy: How Media Choice Increases Inequality in Political Involvement and Polarizes Elections" What group of Americans benefited the most from TV news and why? (1 point).
The lower class benefited the most because even though they were not seeking any political information they were exposed to it. People were not picky with regard to content. Without a remote control, switching channels took effort, even if they did not like what they were watching people were likely to keep watching it. Passivity of most people helped to make TV an important source of political information.
What do scholars consider to be the first true modern mass media?
The penny press
What is franking?
The privilege of sending mail without paying for postage; free for government officials
What were the two events as to why the growth of TV slowed down in the 1940s-1950s? (1pt.) HINT: "Post-Broadcast Democracy" (Prior, 2007)
The two events that slowed the growth of TV in the 1940's and 1950's: World War II and the TV freeze of 1948 which stopped licensing of new stations until 1952.(P.61 Second and Third paragraph)
In the Jonathan Ladd (2012) reading he describes how the press has typically been viewed with hostility by elites (political leaders), but he classifies that there were several periods of time where the relationship between the two improved (only slightly though). What were two of those periods of time? (1 point)
The two periods of time where the relationship between the press and the elites improved were the American revolution and the Era of Good Feelings.
1 point question: Why did our American founders support the free press? "Early American Press"
Their support occurred in the context of not only enlightenment political thought but also a recent history when newspapers either eschewed politics or were useful subordinate tools of the farmers' own political movement. (Ladd reading p.21 and 22)
What does it mean for a newspaper to be a "partisan cheerleader"
it must have an editor that is supported financially by some type of political party and the editor of the newspaper must be skillful at supporting his or her side rather than finding stories than nobody else could find. Additionally, although, these newspapers didn't take orders directly from their side; they did depend heavily on their financial aid.
. Name and describe the three traditional spamming tactics that have been adopted for the purposes of computational propaganda through social media. What is the purpose of these tactics?
keyword stuffing: has been used to make posts with predefined keywords/hashtags to promote specific messages (ie. adding popular keywords to promote websites in search engine rankings) link bombs: similar or identical posts pointing to specific websites (ie. using anchor text in links to relate specific search queries with required websites) mutual admiration societies: are groups of accounts that follow and repost/retweet each other (ie. groups of websites with links pointing to each other). Purpose: To Manipulate Search Algorithms- to basically make certain news stories more likely to appear. Pg 30 EFFECT-during 2016 U.S. presidential and senatorial elections "up to 30% of [...] national candidates had their search results affected by potentially fake or biased content." pg 31
What was one reason radio was so appealing to advertisers?
radio advertising was more personable; It was a "Push" medium → you had to listen to the broadcaster's sequence, including the advertising that was included. -Radio signal was limited and changing from one station to another required a lot of effort, thus people preferred to passively listen to anything that was in the radio, including commercials.
How do newspaper organizations like the Washington post make most of their money and what do reporters/writers do to get a decent paycheck?(1 point) Hint:Washington post: "A Farewell to Free Journalism"
through piles of investor money as they hunt for a viable business model and advertisers. Most get their money through subscriptions and "because we controlled a valuable pipeline to reader eyeballs — a pipeline advertisers wanted to fill with information about their products"
