AP Gov Chapter 7 Quiz

TV encouraging individualism

Candidates appeal to people directly through TV Voters feel up close and personal Personality is vital 2008-2009- media coverage of President= 65%, Congress= 29%, Supreme Court= 6%

Radio

1930's each home had radio for updates on WWII

Print Media

Newspapers and magazines

Electronic Media

TV, radio, Internet

Methods used to decide agenda?

What is important and affects most citizens Agendas far ranging consequences... - Increases public attention to specific problems - Media can impact how public perceives events

Columbia News Survey

What people looked at 11% of time- written/ edited stories Reporters just talked, looped stories, spotty coverage of news, inaccurate reports Selective exposure- which way leant towards- what you watched- Fox= conservative , MSNBC- liberal

Coverage of Persian Gulf War

1941- US government took camera crews from 15 organizations- 500 reporters reporting from front lines as combat happened.

Decline of Newspapers and solution

1960- 1/2 adults read news 2008- 1/5 adults read news To modernize, some newspapers converted to online subscription

Change in Major Nightly News Views

1960- 40% 1980- 15%

Media has liberal bias

42% liberal, 25% Conservative Studies show reporting is not biased to a particular ideology or party Due to major networks in cities, cities are more liberal so shows may be as well.

High tech politics

A politics in which the behavior of citizens and policymakers and the political agenda itself are increasingly shaped by technology.

Talking Head

A shot of a persons face talking directly to the camera. Visually unstimulating so most major networks rarely show politicians talking for very long like this.

Adhominan Attack

Don't attack argument but attack person making argument

Importance of Internet

Easy access to info 2008 more pop culture searches than politics 12% internet trafficking is related Huffington Post- 796th top visited but MOST POPULAR POLITICS WEBSITE Political campaigns- Facebook/ meet up Blogs- 2004 Bush skirted responsibility with national guard and bloggers corrected CBS.

Media Events

Events that are purposely staged for the media and that are significant just because the media are there

Chains

Groups of newspapers published by media conglomerates and today accounting for over 4/5 of the nations daily newspaper circulation.

How does news and presentation of news effect public

If it's not entertaining, people do not watch.

Trial Balloons

Intentional news leaks for the purpose of assessing the political reaction.

Broadcast Media

Networks that send signal to broad audience. Deals with various subjects with widespread public appeal such as government and politics.

News Weekly vs News Week

News Weekly- Covers events every weak- Time, US News, World Report News Week- Covers weeks worth of news in single show

Why is print media important?

News readers are more engaged and knowledgeable because paper has 100,000 words vs the 3600 words of the average show

When did TV gain importance?

Nixon/ Kennedy debate- Viewers said Kennedy won Listeners said Nixon won Vietnam War- People would watch TV and actually see fighting. Also, reports on home front.

"Information society" has not made informed society

People are not likely to watch news and if they do, the news is fast paced and not in depth Evening news balances entertainment with information Network executives blame - Capitalism- profit - People (for choosing to watch certain things)

Policy Entrepreneurs

People who invest their political capital in an issue $$$. Can be in or out of government, elected or appointed positions in interest groups or research organizations.

Media as linkage institution

Policy entrepreneurs buy what they want done an use $$ to promote issues- can be in or out of government Weapons- Press releases/ conferences, letters, convincing reporters to tell side, trading personal contacts, staging dramatic events

Difference in media coverage of Obama and Reagan and explanation

Reagan- 1981- State of Union had rating of 60%, then 38% watched nightly news covering speech Obama- 2009- State of Union had rating of 32%, then 16% watched nightly news There are so many networks people can avoid politics; however, Democracy needs informed citizens to work which is fleeting. Only a fraction of people pay attention to current events despite all sources newspapers, magazines, online, 24 hr news, Google

Beats

Specific locations from which news frequently emanates such as Congress or the White House. Most top reporters work a particular beat, thereby becoming specialists in what goes on at that location.

How has the Internet changed news reporting? How has it changed political campaigns and elections? What effect does the Internet have on other news media?

The Internet allows easy access to information through blogs and websites and facilitates communication from news to people. Political campaigns and elections have been changed because candidates can post information and communicate with supporters easier through campaign websites. Also, activists can be brought together from all over the nation to help campaigns. The Internet effects other news media by making communicating a message easier through things like blogs and promoting certain issues and people.

Policy Agenda

The issues that attract the serious attention of the public officials and other people actively involved in politics at the time.

Describe how the media shapes public opinion. What are the consequences of the media's influence on public opinion?

The media first sets the political agenda which are the issues that are seriously addressed by politicians. What issues Americans think about is based on what issues the media covers. The consequences of the media's influence on public opinion are the media influencing the criteria by which the public evaluates leaders such as low inflation and interest rates of Bill Clinton, effects how public evaluates events based on emphasis of some events over others such as Ford's error in 1976 debate.

Investigative Journalism

The use of in-depth reporting to unearth scandals, scams, schemes, at times putting reporters in adversial relationships with political leaders.

Should we be concerned by Americans' habits regarding consumption of the news? Should we be troubled by the fact that more Americans use the Internet to research popular shows rather than to learn about political issues or campaigns, or elections? Why or why not?

Yes because people are uninformed and electing people blindly without knowing politician's views. Also, even people who watch the news are not in the loop because the news is so entertainment and pop culture rather than the important facts. People are becoming too obsessed materially and need to learn about politics to help the nation grow, especially the young.

How is news found?

beats- reporters who focus on one thing more in depth with more sources trial balloons- Bill Clinton leaked story to learn public reaction

Presenting News

Jodi Powell- Name of game is skinning off cream Dan Rather- Citizens cant be well informed from just watching the news Sound bites Lots of information on candidates but always biased or one sided.

Who said " If I lost Walter I lost the people?"

LBJ when Walter Kronkite discussed Vietnam.

Explain the term "narrowcasting". Describe how narrowcasting can be both a good and a bad thing.

Media programming on cable TV or Internet that is focused on a particular interest and aimed at a particular audience in contrast to broadcasting. Examples- MTV, ESPN, C-SPAN. Good because the public is informed on certain issues more, there are dozens of channels, it stimulates political involvement, and clarifies policy. It is bad because there is a decline in newspapers/ broadcast media as a news or information source, selective exposure, shows only one side, and leads to politicians simply making up a catchy line rather than carefully crafted case.

Narrowcasting

Media programming on cable TV or Internet that is focused on a particular interest and aimed at a particular audience. Examples are MTV, ESPN, or C-SPAN.

Press Conferences

Meeting of public officials with reporters.

How does profit effect media?

Most coverage are not broadcasts to attract specific audience So You Think You Can Dance showed before President Obama's health care address for more profit Sweeps Month- when the ratings come out so before are big stories

linkage institution

Political channels through which people's concerns effect policy. Examples- Elections, interest groups, parties, and media

How media keeps government big?

Press are reformists, crusaders who once they find a problem, they push the government to fix it. Media portrays the government responsible for handling all major problems.

How media keeps government small?

Public says press criticism does more good than harm 58% say press criticism keeps leaders in check Press has poor view of public officials such as self serving and lacking integrity.

What are sound bites? How does their use influence the nature of the news?

Short video clips around 10 seconds long that are typically all the information from a politician's speech included in the news. This influences the nature of the news because politicians are unable to present issues but also can easily avoid other issues. Though the speed is faster, the news is less thorough.

Sound Bites

Short video clips of about 10 seconds that are typically all that is shown from a politician's speech on the nightly television news.

News is politically neutral

TV reporters can be anything but boring People turn into certain networks for personalities People are more fascinated by violence, conflict, disaster and scandal So much coverage of disaster (Katrina) Talking heads- not god- Iran Contra Affair UN fist fight showed 3x without mentioning cause

Mass Media

TV, radio, newspaper, magazines, Internet, and other means of popular communication.

What effect did the events surrounding the Vietnam War and Watergate have on the news media and their relationship to politics and the American people? Was this a good development? Explain.

The TV took nation to war during Vietnam, exposed government lying about progress of war. Ever since Watergate, news media has regularly sent reporters on beats to expose the uglier side of government corruption and inefficiency to get lucky like the local reporters from The Washington Post who uncovered important evidence about Watergate. Media became more scandalous and investigative. News people began to assume that politicians rarely tell the whole story and became skeptical and wanted to figure out the truth! This is a good development because the people are getting the actual facts rather than what the government things the people should know; however, often media gets too caught up in the scandal of news that is not that urgent or important.

Selective Exposure

The process through which people consciously choose to get the news from information sources that have viewpoints compatible with their own.

What is newsworthy and why?

Things that will get the highest ratings. The average American is uninformed so news must be tailored and interesting to the average