Unit II: Chapters 6-10

An individual can donate how much per election during election cycle to candidates?

$2,700

A basic reason for the existence of so many interest groups in the United States is

- America's federal system of government. - the extent of diverse interests in American society. - the American tradition of free association. - the separation of powers in American government.

Members of the ________ generate more mail to Congress than any other group.

AARP

The elimination of the _____ meant that radio stations no longer had to air a conservative talk show if they aired a liberal one.

Fairness Doctrine

T/F: Rupert Murdoch originally intended Fox News to be an objective, nonpartisan news channel.

False

Of the following television networks, which is typically considered the MOST partisan?

Fox News

Which of the following broadcast news sources has seen its audience grow since the early 1990s?

NPR

Yellow journalism contributed to public support for the

Spanish-American War

Members of the Electoral College are selected by

State political parties

Historically, the American press has shifted from

a political to a journalistic orientation

An interest group that focuses on policy benefits for senior citizens would be an example of

a single issue group

The research conducted by David D'alessia and Mike Allen showed that television news has

a slight but insignificant bias in the Democratic direction.

Which of the following functions do news media perform?

act as a watchdog and scrutinizes official behavior, provide political information, provide a channel through which political leaders communicate to the public

The news media's partisan function means that it

acts as an advocate for a particular viewpoint

Unlike CNN, MSNBC and Fox News chose to

adopt a partisan approach to the news.

What development brought about a dramatic reduction in television's capacity to generate an interest in news?

an increase in newspaper circulation

Much like political parties and interest groups, the news media, or press,

are a key intermediary between Americans and their leaders

Which of the following media are subject to content regulation by the government?

broadcast television, broadcast radio

The most numerous economic groups are

business groups

Which of the following are reasons why the amount of news the typical American watches has declined since the 1970s?

cable television and other high-choice media became available, children stopped watching the dinner-time news with their parents.

A few decades ago, the media system centered on broadcast news networks, but Americans now have a high-_____ media system, where they can pick from a wide variety of outlets.

choice

In the early decades of the twentieth century, the press responded to yellow journalism by

committing to objective journalism.

The media carries out a ___-____ function when it disseminates information from political leaders to the public.

common - carrier

Most successful radio and television talk show hosts promote a _____ viewpoint.

conservative

The news media operate as gatekeepers, which means that they

determine which events will be covered and which will not.

During the era of objective journalism, the commitment of newspapers to two-sided news reporting

did not extend to their editorializing

The most fully organized interests are those that have which of the following as their primary purpose?

economic activity

The news provides a refracted version of reality because it

emphasizes dramatic and compelling news stories

An individual can donate as much money as they choose to a candidate, T/F?

false

T/F: Retired lawmakers cannot become lobbyists because they are forbidden by law to take a lobbying job

false

T/F: Thanks to the internet, the typical American watches more news on today than in the 1970s?

false

The general election is also commonly defined as a party election, T/F?

false

The general election is held

first Tuesday following the first Monday in November

A person as a ____ rider derives a benefit without contributing to its achievement

free

The situation in which individuals are tempted not to contribute to a cause because they will get the benefits even if they do not participate is called the

free-rider problem

Most successful Internet blogs

have a liberal bias

Most lobbyists receive support from elected officials in direct exchange for

information

The traditional media have "softened" their news by

infusing it with more stories about celebrities, crime, and the like.

Adults under 30 years of age are ____, those over 50 to follow the news.

less likely than

All of the following tend to decrease voter turnout, except

major differences between the major parties

In the 2012 presidential election, the majority of campaign spending was on

media

Why is the news shaped by news organizations' need to attract and keep viewers?

news organizations choose coverage that will draw an audience for advertisers.

Which of the following resulted from the invention of the power-driven printing press in the late 1800s?

newspapers were less dependent on government financial support, newspaper advertising generated more revenue, newspaper readership increased because they could be sold at a lower price

Although the American press originally had a political orientation, it eventually shifted to a journalistic orientation, which emphasizes

newsworthy information and events.

Which of the following would be considered outside lobbying activities used by interest groups?

organizing a protest on the steps of Congress, creating public service announcements to be aired on television, having group members send letters to their legislators

American newspapers were originally

partisan

The newspapers of Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson, each of which openly backed a specific political party, were examples of the _____ press.

partisan

The rise of partisan news outlets in the past few decades has contributed to an increase in

party polarization

The Watergate scandal illustrates the

power of the media to serve as watchdog to safeguard against abuses of power

When the media use framing, they are

presenting a selective version of reality

Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson felt that newspapers should

promote partisan viewpoints on political matters.

One special contribution of Internet-based news is that it

provides the ordinary citizen with an opportunity to be part of the news system

Effective inside lobbying is based upon

providing useful and persuasive information to key officials

An interest group may form a political action committee, whose main goal is to

raise and spend money to influence the outcome of elections

"Agency capture" occurs when

regulatory agencies side with the industries they are supposed to regulate rather than with the public.

The invention of the telegraph resulted in newspapers

replacing opinion commentary with more news reports

Yellow journalism featured _____ stories.

sensationalized

The media's ability to function as signalers and influence what people are thinking about and discussing is called agenda _____.

setting.

The media's function called ____, serves to alert the public to important events in a timely fashion.

signaling

When Ted Turner started CNN in 1980, he instructed his correspondents to

strive for partisan neutrality

In recent decades, lobbyists in Washington, D.C. have increasingly

targeted the executive branch in efforts to influence policy decisions

Which of the following rules requires a broadcast station to provide a "reasonable opportunity for the discussion of conflicting views of public importance"?

the Fairness Doctrine

Which of the following media has had the biggest role in making politics more participative?

the Internet

Sensational and largely inaccurate newspaper reports on the cruelty of Spanish rule in Cuba may have helped spark

the Spanish-American War

In Texas, the primary is held

the first Tuesday in March

One of the reasons the reporting of national news is relatively uniform among news sources is that

the government dictates much of what is reported

Which of the following does NPR serve as an example of?

the one true success story of public broadcasting

Using the caucus and convention method to select candidates gave who power?

the parties

Occupy Wall Street's main issue was focused on

the political power and benefits received by the wealthiest Americans

The federal government's licensing of broadcasting is based primarily on

the scarcity of broadcasting frequencies

Which of the following inventions revolutionized newspaper journalism in the early 1800s?

the telegraph

T/F: In Belgium, those who do not vote may be denied employment in the public sector

true

T/F: Political polarization occurs when party members will not crossover vote

true

An issue network is comprised of

various actors that all have interest and expertise in a particular policy issue even though they may disagree on what the outcome should be

The media serves a ____ function when it alerts the public to unethical or illegal activities by the government.

watchdog