PS 4120 exam 2

4 main functions of media for the executive branch

1. Inform them about current events 2. Keep them informed about what the public concerns are 3. Convey messages to those inside and outside government 4. The media keeps their humanistic qualities on public display

Carl Hovland

1. he found that the impact of a message depends on factors having to do with both the source of the message and the recipient of the message, such as perceived level of expertise of the sources, the quality of the information being presented, and the circumstances in which the recipient gets the information. 2. also discovered something he and his colleagues called the sleeper effect, which showed that, people receiving information from sources considered less credible would initially discount that information but, after the passage of time, they came to be more accepting of the information, regardless of the source.

Contract with America campaign

1994 Republicans coordinate effort in midterms, leads to Newt Gingrich becoming speaker of the house

According to the Graber book, why does indirect transmission, the framing of news presentations by media personnel, lie at the heart of the tensions between media and government?

According to the Graber book, the way journalists frame news presentations or events is what created tensions between politicians and journalists. They often cut official statements to one- or two-sentences that leave out major points. Stories about presidential pronouncements often include information from sources who are hostile towards the presidency

According to the Graber book, there are two major effects of the various kinds of biases they discuss in Chapter Twelve. What are these two major effects?

According to the Graber book, two of the main kinds of biases are political and structural bias. One of the effects of structural bias is that it can affect people's perceptions about campaigns, especially when reporters have limited access to certain candidates. When newspaper editorial boards endorse candidates, the Graber book says that they can have a huge positive effect on promoting the election of the candidates they endorse

What is the court case that allowed cameras into state courts? What reason did Chief Justice Burger cite for the Court's decision?

Chandler v. Florida is the ruling that allowed cameras in courts. Supreme Court Chief Justice Warren Burger ruled that cameras in the courtroom weren't inherently prejudicial to a defendant's right to a fair trial or due process

Roger Ailes

Current president of FOX News, came up with the idea of a town hall meeting

At what stage of their careers do federal judges receive the most public attention?

Federal judges, especially Supreme Court justices, get the most attention when they're going through the nomination and appointment process. Often times, they get scrutiny from the press and public

Nancy Pelosi, John Boehner

Former Speakers of the House, but never got or get the the same media attention as the president.

thematic framing

Framing political coverage in a broader context, rather than treating it like an isolated event.

How do freshmen members of Congress behave differently today than they did several decades ago? Give two examples of freshmen who have behaved this way.

Freshmen members of Congress are often the congressmen and congresswomen who are speaking with the national media, when that was not the case 50 years ago. One example is former president and senator Barack Obama, who spent very little time serving as a senator, as he campaigned for president. He used his platform to criticize the Bush administration and the wars, elevating his presidential campaign. Ted Cruz, a Republican senator from Texas, played a similar role. He was a vocal critic of the Obama administration during television appearances

Samuel Kernell

He argues that when presidents go public, they are behaving in a way that was never intended by the framers. He further suggests that there are negative consequences to going public. When presidents go public, other politicians are forced to go public as well. Policy becomes overly simplified for public consumption, which results in policy that is too simplistic to deal with complicated situations and in policy makers hardening their bargaining positions, making compromise less likely.

democratic accountability

If federal judges are, in essence, making laws when they make decisions, shouldn't they be as accountable to the public as our elected officials are?

While JFK may be considered the first television president, in what sense was Richard Nixon the television president?

JFK is considered the first television president because of his performance during the 1960 presidential debates. After that, however, Nixon became the television president because of the way he was able to repair his image using appearances on late night television. During most of those appearances, Nixon was relatable and relaxed, something that he didn't show on the campaign

What does political scientist Jeff Tulis mean when he says Americans have had two constitutional presidencies? What are the obligations of presidents in the era of the rhetorical presidency?

Jeff Tulis argues that a president begins "writing" a new Constitution when they go public and sell their policies directly to the American people. Presidents now must be popular and have a duty to defend themselves, promote policy and inspire the American people. This is called the rhetorical presidency. Tulis argues that the American presidency has two stages: restrictions through the separation of powers and the second stage, providing active and continuous leadership

Why is John F. Kennedy referred to as the first "television president"?

John F. Kennedy was the first president to take advantage of and appreciate the power of television. He realized that he could use television as a way to promote his image by learning about camera angles and how to look as good as possible on television

Minimal Effects

Lazarsfeld and Berelson concluded that the media doesn't alter people's partisan tendencies, but instead it tends to reinforce partisan tendencies that people already have. The media's influence on people's political beliefs is unlikely and even if there is any influence it is indirect because interpersonal influence plays a mediating role in the mass media's effect on political attitudes and behavior.

Spiro Agnew

Nixon's VP. Gave first speech that openly criticized the media. First president to try to control the media by critiquing it

There are two disadvantages of using surveys when conducting media effects research. What are they?

One disadvantage of using surveys in conducting media effects research is that they are not accurate representations of the population. Another disadvantage is that surveys cannot lead to concrete conclusions about causality. After a survey is conducted, it is easy to make inferences about the survey topic, but very difficult to make a causal connection

Why are members of Congress more independent today than they were several decades ago?

Part of the reason why members of Congress are more independent is the trend towards attention-seeking behavior. Since we are now in an era of permamanent campaigning, members of Congress are constantly seeking ways to gain a platform for themselves and their ideas. This trend towards seeking attention has led to a breakdown the number of public officials who listen to Congressional leadership

partisan selective exposure

Partisan selective exposure is when citizens only seek out the news that confirms and strengthens their own viewpoints. According to Graber, the rise of the internet, social media and cable television has contributed greatly to the rise of partisan selective exposure. We should worry about it because experimental studies have shown that one-sided partisan exposure could lead to increasing dislike or hostility between the two political parties and strengthen partisan identities

Episodic Framing

Portrays an event as isolated rather than taking all contextual information into account.

What made radio America's first national medium, and how did Franklin Delano Roosevelt use it?

Radio was America's first national medium because it could reach a national audience rather than a regional audience, like newspapers. FDR used radio to go public with his "fireside chats" which were his way of trying to win support for some of his New Deal policies. He would later use his chats with the American public to soothe, encourage and rally Americans for World War

What did Richard Nixon do that no one had done before?

Richard Nixon gave several televised speeches with the intention of improving or repairing his image. The most famous speech he gave the "Checkers" speech, designed to address the nation that he was being paid off by lobbyists. The speech forced Eisenhower to keep him on his ticket

Why do Supreme Court justices sometimes attempt to make their decisions unanimous and easily understood? Name two cases as examples. (

Supreme Court justices try to make their decisions unanimous because the amount of scrutiny a decision gets can depend on the public's understanding of the decisions. If a decision isn't unanimous, critics can point out flaws in the reasoning of the majority. If a decision is unanimous, the decision indicates that the law is unmistakable. One case that was unianimously decided was Brown v. Board of Education. Chief Justice Earl Warren wanted to make the decision as understandable for the public so they would accept. Another case, United States vs. Nixon, the court ruled that Nixon could protect Oval Office tapes by claiming executive privilege

Priming

TV news affects viewers' political choices by emphasizing certain aspects of national politics and ignoring others. Refers to the media's ability to affect the judgments we make about people and issues by focusing on certain issues and not others.

In what ways does public opinion affect the behavior of the justices on the Supreme Court?

The Supreme Court doesn't have the power to enforce their decisions, so they need to be keenly aware of the public's opinion of them and their decisions. They need the public to comply with their decisions for them to have any effect. One case that public opinion came into play was in Lawrence v. Texas. Justice Kennedy knew that public opinion on same-sex marriage had changed and he took that into account into his ruling

Presidency centered government

The framers never intended for the president to have the most power.

What does it mean to say that American political culture became more presidency centered throughout the twentieth century?

The framers originally intended for Congress to be the dominant branch of government. However, the American political culture became more presidency centered due to the long periods of crisis that faced the country during that time. Events like the Great Depression, World War II and the Cold War shifted the power from Congress to the presidency

What is the main argument presented for allowing cameras into federal courtrooms?

The main argument for allowing cameras is that federal judges are essentially making laws when they make decisions. Because of this, some feel that federal judges should have to face some sort of accountability for their actions

How does the Social Security case study reflect the problems Kernell sees with going public?

When Bush when public with his plan to overhaul the Social Security program, he basically declared "war" on Congress. He also put Democrats and members of his own party under a lot of pressure, by turning Social Security into a political issue rather than a point of negotiation

Press conference

Woodrow Wilson was the first president to hold these regularly, which made him an important innovator in the presidential use of the media.

Van Orden v. Perry

a case regarding the posting of the Ten Commandments in a public place, specifically on the grounds of the Texas state capitol. The Court declared it constitutional, with Stephen Breyer being the swing vote in a 5-4 decision. Breyer said that the Commandments had been posted primarily to reflect their place in Western legal tradition, meaning that it was constitutional.

McCreary County v. ACLU

a case regarding the posting of the ten commandments in public places, specifically in a Kentucky Courthouse. The Supreme Court declared it unconstitutional, with Stephen Breyer being the swing vote. He stated that because the ten Commandments were posted to send a specific religious message, it was unconstitutional.

Political Bias

a conservative or liberal bias in the media

leaks

a kind of presidential media strategy. Officials give statements to reporters that appear in the news without any mention of who made the statement. They are the perfect way for administrations to get a message out, see the reaction, and either take credit for it if it is well received or deny all knowledge of it if there is a negative public response.

Political Socialization

a lifelong process by which people form their ideas about politics and acquire political values.

Salience

a more advanced kind of agenda setting. It refers to how important people think an issue is. If the news media covers tax cuts more often than they cover Medicaid, people will be more aware of tax cuts. Many factors can influence salience, including the sheer volume of coverage or how many stories about a certain issue appear in print and on the air.

Imperial Presidency

a period in the 1970s where there was a backlash against what Arthur Schlesinger called this and some people argued that the presidency needed to be scaled back. It was a temporary change in opinion motivated by the Vietnam War and Watergate.

bully pulpit

a phrase coined by Teddy Roosevelt to describe the public relations power of the presidency. Bully means "good" and "pulpit" implies that the presidency gave him an opportunity to preach to the public.

political capital

a president's popular approval provides this kind of resource that he/she can "spend" to buy public support for a policy initiative. In theory, he/she can use that support to pressure members of Congress and government bureaucrats to go along with his wishes.

talking point

a topic that invites discussion or argument; same line of attack. Democrats were able to stick to the same line of attack during Bush's plan for social security reform.

Partisanship

allegiance to one party or another. Lazarsfeld and Berelson concluded that partisanship is much more important in determining a person's political views than anything he or she reads in the media.

Political Efficacy

amount of faith and impact citizens feel or believe they have upon their government. The amount of impact citizens feel they have on a government. When it is low, it indicates the citizens of a country have little faith in their government and feel like their actions have little or no impact upon the actions of their political leaders. Higher levels of efficacy, however, tend to indicate that citizens believe their government is doing what is best for them and that the actions they take on a common basis can have a positive impact on the government.

Political Participation

any activity that shapes, affects, of involves the political sphere. Ranges from voting to attending a rally to committing an act of terrorism to sending a letter to a representative.

Democratic accountability

being accountable to the public because you are elected; those who argue that the courts are policy-making bodies suggest that federal judges need more of this

Newt Gingrich

career was both made and destroyed by television. He initially got a lot of attention because of his charismatic, controversial demeanor. But eventually, he was hurt by overexposure and a tendency to make controversial remarks that came back to haunt him.

Rhetorical Presidency

coined by Jeffrey Tulis and states that it is assumed that presidents have a duty to defend themselves publicly, to promote policy initiatives nationwide, and to inspire the American people. Tulis sees it as a profound development in American politics. Before the twentieth century, political leaders strongly opposed the idea of an outspoken president. The emergence of rhetorical presidents marks a change in the meaning of governance. Tulis suggests that the American presidency has had two stages: in the first, restrictions were imposed on the president through the separation of powers, and in the second, current stage, presidents provide active and continuous leadership of public opinion.

Gore v. Bush

concerned the disputed electoral votes from Florida in the presidential election of 2000. Court took special pains to address the concerns of the public. The presidency of the United States hung in the balance, and the Court decided the case quickly and went out of their way to grant instant access to the decision. Showed that justices are people too and may be moved by their own political feelings as much as they were by the law. One important case in which the Court failed to send the country a strong message through unanimity. Justice Stephen Breyer broke with long-standing tradition by speaking publicly on several occasions about his anger with the way the Court decided the case. Fortunately for the Court as an institution, such incidents are few and far between in its history.

prioritizing

coverage of issues in the media causes people to set priorities - to rank issues in level of important. This level is the focus of most agenda-setting research.

Warren Court

dominated the 1950s and 1960s and made many significant decisions, Court became a focus for newsgathering.

Bowling Alone (Robert Putnam)

essay written by political scientist Robert Putnam in which he argues that American culture is changing, social involvement is declining, individuals are becoming more isolated, and technology (TV and computers) contribute to this culture of isolation. Putnam points to a decline in voting, faith in government, as well as falling church and/or union membership. He says there is a decline of social capital and describes the reduction in all the forms of in-person social intercourse upon which Americans used to found, educate and enrich the fabric of their social lives. He believes this undermines the active civil engagement, which a strong democracy requires from its citizens.

Markus Prior research

examined the learning potential of "soft news" (things such as Entertainment Tonight, The Daily Show) and concluded that there is no benefit from such shows. He further found that, even though there are many more sources of information available now, in the form of many television networks, than there used to be, people who were inclined to be uninformed decades ago still are uniformed because they choose entertainment over information.

Gold Clause Cases

example of Court making efforts to address the public in a case that had a high public profile. Chief Justice Charles Evans Hughes permitted President Roosevelt to run a phone line from the White House to the Court in order to learn immediately the Court's decision. The decision, upholding Roosevelt's removal of the gold standard and the devaluation of the dollar, was vital to the New Deal. The decision was not popular with everyone on the Court, however. In Justice Frankfurter's view, Hughes "established the very bad precedent of pandering to journalistic impatience" by pushing for quick decisions and brief opinions.

knowledge gap

explains that knowledge, like other forms of wealth, is often differentially distributed throughout a social system.

Clement Haynsworth

federal judge that President Nixon nominated him to replace Justice Abe Fortas in 1969. At Haynsworth's hearing, two sets of charges arose. The first were related to alleged conflicts of interest, suggesting that he had profited as a stockholder in companies whose cases he'd had a hand in deciding. The second set of charges came from civil rights groups that accused him of voting repeatedly to uphold segregation during his time on the Fourth Circuit. Although the Judiciary Committee approved Haynsworth, the full Senate defeated him by fifty-five to forty-five—the largest margin by which any Supreme Court nominee had yet been defeated. It was the first time a nominee had been defeated since 1930. Clearly, the harsh glare of the spotlight, shone on Haynsworth by dedicated interest groups, did him no good. It didn't help, of course, that he was accused of conflicts of interest when he was seeking to replace a justice who had resigned under a cloud of suspicion.

Anita Hill

former employee at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission who accused Clarence Thomas of repeated incidences of sexual harassment during her time there.

Delli Carpini and Keeter

found that a large percentage of Americans was quite ignorant about politics. They also found that age, ethnicity, and income had a strong influence on one's level of political knowledge, suggesting a knowledge gap for those who are younger, less wealthy, and from ethnic minorities.

Terri Schiavo

her case played a role in a 2005 bill requiring televising proceedings of federal courts because people were angry about the federal courts' role in the case. As you will probably recall, she was a Florida woman who was in a coma and whose husband and family fought each other for many years in the courts over whether her life support should be removed. The federal courts ultimately allowed life support to be removed, making many conservatives angry. When the courts make controversial decisions, the people on the losing side often argue that judges effectively decide policy and should therefore be accountable to the public. One way to make them accountable, in theory, is to allow public access to what goes on in courtrooms. Thus, a bill was introduced in Congress to mandate television coverage of federal courts. So far, the bill has not progressed very far.

Candidate image

how a political candidate looks and speaks has a significant impact on that candidate's chances of being elected. Style shapes image and image affects the vote.

Advise and Consent

judging a candidate on his skills as a jurist. The Bork hearings were precedent-setting in the sense that Senate Democrats broke with the long standing tradition of this in the case of presidential nominations and instead made it a fight over political ideology.

Interest group

like politicians, have also learned the benefits of going public. During George Bush's campaign for social security reform, conservative groups lined up to support the president's plan. Progress for America, a group that sponsored independent ads during the 2004 presidential campaign, spent millions of dollars on an election-style campaign to support the plan. The Club for Growth also pledged millions, as did the National Association of Manufacturers, numerous Wall Street firms, and other companies. These companies and interest groups cooperated with White House officials who were in charge of promoting the plan.

Brown v. Board of Education

made segregation in schools illegal. Chief Justice Earl Warren knew what a controversial decision it was going to be, and he wanted as many people as possible to accept it. He pressured all of the justices on the Court to agree with the decision. It took months of back-and-forth negotiations, but they finally ended up with a 9-0 decision in favor of Brown. Warren believed a unanimous decision was necessary to avoid giving any legal arguments to the supporters of segregation. If a justice wrote a dissenting opinion that in any way supported segregation, it would greatly damage the precedent set by the case.

Antiauthority bias

many researchers argue that the media has a bias against anyone in power. It is not a matter of opposition to Republicans or Democrats but opposition to anyone in power.

bargaining

means negotiating with other policy makers to arrive at a solution everyone can live with. This kind of negotiation is traditionally not done in public; only the final policy decision becomes public. By keeping their bargaining low profile, politicians have the freedom to change their positions and compromise without looking politically weak to the public.

Profit Bias

media outlets' news judgment is somewhat in question because the types of stories they run will be calculated to attract as many viewers or readers as possible. Content decisions may or may not be made based on the actual newsworthiness of a story.

sound bite

members of Congress have learned to speak in these in order to adapt to television. As television news has evolved, reports have gotten progressively shorter, largely to keep viewers from getting bored and changing channels. The length of time devoted to individuals interviewed for a story has also gotten shorter. A politician who doesn't make short, concise statements runs the risk of being excluded from the story completely.

Policy Entrepreneur

members of Congress have more freedom to speak out on their own about policies instead of being controlled by the political parties

Harriet Miers

nominated by President Bush to replace Sandra Day O'Connor. Very controversial nomination because of inexperience (never served as a judge), accusations against Bush for cronyism, and accusations that she wasn't conservative enough. After weeks of embarrassing coverage, she realized she would not be confirmed and asked President Bush to withdraw her nomination, which he did. Charles Krauthammer, a conservative columnist, played a role in the withdrawal of her nomination.

Robert Bork

nominated by Reagan to fill the vacancy created by Powell's retirement; became the focus of intense media attention. Powell was a centrist who often made the deciding vote and Reagan was determined to make the court more conservative. During the hearing, much was made by his opponents of his conservative views and the fact that they were they same views held by Reagan, who, it was claimed, was trying to remake the federal judiciary in his image. Bork was portrayed to the public as unfair, insensitive to women and minorities, and an extremist. These messages struck a chord and public opinion ran against Bork. The hearings were televised nationally, and many senators on the Judiciary Committee complained about the public pressure they were feeling. Warren Burger, breaking the tradition of silence from former Supreme Court justices, testified on Bork's behalf, as did former President Gerald Ford. On the other side, former President Jimmy Carter sent the committee a letter urging it to reject Bork. Bork himself testified for four and a half days—at the time, a record for a Supreme Court nominee. Ultimately, he was rejected by the Senate Judiciary Committee by a vote of nine to five, and he was defeated in the full Senate by an even larger margin than Haynsworth, fifty-eight to forty-two. The Bork hearings were precedent-setting in the sense that Senate Democrats broke with the long-standing tradition of advice and consent—judging a candidate on his skills as a jurist—in the case of presidential nominations and instead made it a fight over political ideology.

Douglas Ginsburg

nominated by Reagan, had only been a federal judge for a year, questions about his lack of experience. There were also charges of conflict of interest in a cable television case and questions about several aspects of Ginsburg's personal life; his wife had performed abortions and he had admitted to marijuana use, embarrassing Reagan. He was encouraged to remove his name from consideration, which he did.

G. Harold Carswell

nominated to the Supreme Court by Nixon after Haynsworth's defeat. He was accused of being racist and incompetent. The American Bar Association even judged him unqualified to serve on the court. He was narrowly approved by the Judiciary Committee but defeated by the full Senate. Following his defeat, Nixon nominated Harry Blackmum, who was confirmed unanimously by the Senate.

Plessy v. Ferguson

one of the most unjust Supreme Court decisions of all time. The Court found that segregation is not a violation of the concept of equal protection under the law so long as the separate facilities for blacks and whites are equal. Even though it became apparent fairly early in the twentieth century that this was a poor decision, the Court was reluctant to overturn Plessy because of the perceived importance of precedent in upholding the prestige of the Court.

Clarence Thomas

only controversial Supreme Court nominee who actually made it to the bench. He was nominated by the first president Bush and was very conservative. He was accused of sexual harassment by a former employee, Anita Hill. The allegations were made public by reporter Nina Totenberg which sparked a national debate about sexual harassment. He was ultimately confirmed but his reputation was battered and he has kept a very low profile.

Chandler v. Florida

opened the doors of state courts to cameras. Chief Justice Burger wrote in this case that it was not inherently prejudicial to a defendant's fair trial or due process rights to broadcast trials.

attention and retention

people are easily distracted and rarely pay full attention to what they are doing, including consuming the news media. Much of what is printed or broadcast is likely to pass by people unnoticed. Even when we are paying attention, much of what we read or hear is likely to be forgotten as newer information comes along.

Selectivity

people aren't blank slates, open to any and all communication that comes along. Rather, they are selective in what they consume. They choose which radio and TV stations to tune into, which newspaper and which articles to read. This concept implies that people are likely to consume things that are already in line with what they think and are much less likely to consume material contrary to what they think.

District of Columbia v. Heller

recent controversial decision by the court that was made all the more controversial by the fact that the court was split 5-4. In this case, the court dealt with the hot-button issue of gun control and the Constitution's second amendment. In this decision, the court found (for the first time) that the right to bear arms applies to individuals (not just states) and that a Washington, D.C. ban on handgun ownership was unconstitutional. The decision established a legal precedent, but the dissenting opinion gave plenty of ammunition (pun intended) to gun-control advocates and did little to quiet public debate on the issue.

framing

refers to the context in which a news event is placed. The way in which the media does this may influence how it affects the public. Seeing what resonates best with the target audience. Refers to how political leaders and the media can affect our interpretation of an issue by the way in which they present it to us.

correlation

says that two things occur at the same time, not that one causes the other

causality

scientific research seeks to prove that one thing causes another

Abe Fortas

served on the Court for only a short time when Lyndon Johnson, in one of his last acts as president, nominated him for chief justice. During the ensuing hearings, several charges of conflict of interest were made against Fortas, and his nomination was defeated. Shortly after the vote, more charges were made against him, and he resigned from the Court.

Apprenticeship

several decades ago, it was traditional for newly elected members of the House and Senate to stay in the background, allowing more senior members of their parties to have the spotlight. During this period, newer members were expected to be neither seen nor heard. The job of new members was to learn how the House or Senate functioned. This period no longer exists and it is not uncommon for newer members to seek media attention.

Frank Luntz

strategist who suggested calling the estate tax the "Death tax" to generate public support for the issue. Using this term helped make getting rid of the tax a popular idea. He also helped with framing for healthcare reform. He bases his advice on extensive polling and focus group research.

C-SPAN

television production facility that airs House and Senate proceedings. Signal broadcast on the nonprofit Cable-Satellite Public Affairs Network.

Lawrence v. Texas

the Court declared state sodomy laws to be unconstitutional, reversing a relatively recent decision, Bowers v. Hardwick (1986). In the majority opinion, Justice Kennedy acknowledged public opinion directly, noting that public opinion on gay rights had changed significantly over the past twenty years and that it was appropriate for the Court to take that into consideration. It was very controversial and many people were angry that the Court considered public opinion.

Public Information Office

the Court has expanded this, which helps reporters follow cases through every step of the process: filing with the Court, acceptance by the Court, oral arguments, and decision.

Agenda setting

the ability of the news media to influence the salience of topics on the public agenda. It functions on three different levels: awareness, salience, and prioritizing. Refers not to the media's ability to tell us what to think but its ability to tell us what to think about

town hall meeting

the campaign has control over who is in the audience. A panel asks questions of the candidate and, while not all of the questions are friendly, the panelists are usually screened by the campaign in advance. The most important part of the format is that while reporters may be invited to cover the town hall meeting as an event, they do not have the opportunity to ask questions of the candidate. The purpose of this type of event was to put the candidate, Nixon, fully in charge of his own media and to take reporters out of the loop as much as possible.

Civic engagement

the encouragement of the general public to become involved in the political process and the issues that affect them.

Presidency centered

the media has become more presidency-centered in part because our government has become more presidency-centered. This can be seen as a result of changes in the relative power of political institutions. Long periods of crisis generally result in the enhancement of presidential power in relation to Congress. The beginning of this trend began with the Great Depression and FDR's New Deal programs.

awareness

the most basic kind of agenda setting. If the media reports on an issue, we will know about it. If they don't, we may not know about it.

Brown v. Board of Education II

the most famous example of ambiguity in the name of compromise. The decision in Brown I did not include any suggestions for how to remedy the problem because the justices couldn't agree on how to get rid of segregation and they put off the question to preserve unanimity. So, there were two opinions in Brown v. Board of Education: Brown I and Brown II. The Court issued its opinion in Brown I and then asked the parties involved for further legal arguments on how to respond to the finding that segregation was unconstitutional. A year later, in 1955, the Court issued Brown II. Unfortunately, a year of further legal arguments did little to resolve the disagreements among the justices, and the Brown II decision contains one of the most ambiguous statements in the history of the Court. It says that segregation must be eliminated with "all deliberate speed," which is an oxymoron—a combination of words that contradict each other.

Two-Step Flow

theory that the media's influence, if any, is indirect - that interpersonal influence plays a mediating role in the mass media's effect on political attitudes and behavior. The idea is that there is a two-step flow in communication: messages flow from the mass media to opinion leaders and then from opinion leaders to voters. It reduces the direct effects of the mass media on voters because the messages transmitted by the media are filtered by an intermediary who puts his/her own spin on them. Opinion leaders (teachers, bosses, politicians, prominent people) are more attuned to media messages than are the general public and thus are more influence in affecting voting decisions than journalists themselves.

Social Networks

this refers to the people one knows and interacts with, including family, friends, and coworkers. We talk with these people, argue with them, and are probably influenced by them. Discussions with people in social networks have a moderating effect on what is reported in the press. Through discussion, people put their own spin on what they read and hear.

Samuel Alito

was nominated after the Miers nomination failed & was a more controversial choice than Roberts, and liberal interest groups tried to start a Bork-like movement against him. Alito was an experienced circuit court judge with well-established conservative credentials, and he was popular with conservative interest groups. He refused to answer most questions about specific issues during his hearing. The Alito nomination process was similar to Bork's in that many liberal groups opposed him, for similar reasons. The tide turned in Alito's favor, however, when during his testimony before the committee, his wife left the chamber in tears, apparently upset about accusations being made against her husband. This caused the media to speculate that the Democrats had crossed a boundary, and the momentum that was building against Alito quickly evaporated. Many liberal critics suggested that Democrats had dropped the ball and that Alito should have been defeated just like Bork. The fact is that Alito's opponents succeeded in making their case to the public, but there was a critical difference between the Bork and Alito nominations. The Senate was controlled by Democrats at the time of the Bork nomination, but it was controlled by Republicans during the Alito hearings.

Permanent Campaign

we now live in an era in which members must begin preparing for subsequent campaigns as soon as they take office

Sonia Sotomayor

when David Souter retired from the court in 2009, President Obama nominated her, a circuit court judge from New York, to replace him. She approached her hearing at the Senate Judiciary committee with a determination not to answer questions about controversial subjects.

going public

when politicians seek public support for their policy initiatives by appealing directly to the public in a variety of ways - through speeches, campaign-style rallies, public appearances, interviews on local media, and participation in town-hall style exchanges with "regular folks".

Jeffrey Tulis

wrote a book called The Rhetorical Presidency and says that when presidents began to assert themselves publicly to sell their policy proposals to the American people, it had the effect of "writing" a new Constitution. Since Teddy Roosevelt, he argues, mass rhetoric has become a principal tool of presidential governance. Presidents regularly go over the heads of members of Congress to speak directly to the people, seeking support for legislation and other initiatives. More importantly, he argues, it has become an unquestioned premise of American political culture that presidents need to be popular.