AP US Govt

Ch. 6 The Media Questions

1. The three things that people on both sides agree that traditional journalism
challenges remain (1), the media continues to be a huge part in the democratic
process (2), and this critical role demand the study of the impact of the rapidly
changing media.
2. Mass media the means employed in mass communication; traditionally divided
into print media & broadcast media.
3. A linkage mechanism is an agent of socialization that promotes communication
b/e citizens & govt.
4. Attentive policy elites are leaders who follow news in specific policy areas.
5. Two-step flow communication the process in which a few policy elites gather
info and inform followers to apply pressure to govt.
6. I think listeners of talk radio tend to be Republican because those who listen to
talk radio tend to be more traditional, and want to keep traditions.
7. Research indicates that viewers tend to view partisan shows if interested in
politics. Those who arent interested tend to avoid news programming.
8. The internet began in 1969 in the United States.
9. The World Wide Web began in 1991; I was not born yet or you could say I was
negative six years old.
10.P.J. Crowley resigned because he felt that his opposition speech to the
Pentagons arrest caused a distraction for the president, state department and
the pentagon.
11.In China, searches related to democracy movements because the govt
controls/owns media.
12.Newsworthiness the degree to which a news story is impt. enough to be
covered in mass media.
13.Market-driven journalism reporting news & running commercials targeted
toward audience defined by demographics.
14.TV news hook-and-hold approach consists of beginning with alarming stories,
middle of broadcast is informative, and to hold viewers to the end soft topics are
promised.
15.Infotainment is a mix of info & diversion oriented to personalities, usually
unrelated to public affairs; also known as soft news.
16.Media owners profit from a larger audience by acquiring additional media
publications. The Gannett chain owns about one hundred newspapers. Murdochs
corporation is one of the worlds largest media companies. Thus, they both
demonstrate concentration of media ownership.
17.FCC is the Federal Communications Commission an indpt. federal agency that
regulates interstate & international communication through various types of
mass media.
18.The Telecommunications Act of 1996 relaxed limitations on media ownership
allowing the Clear Channel Corporation to acquire over eleven hundred stations.
19.I think the govt censors military strategic info and not online pornography
because they view the military info as necessary to protect citizen safety but
view porn as an individuals moral issue.
20.The fairness doctrine obligated talk radios to cover all views on public issues.

AP US Govt
21.The Office of Press Secretary coordinates the medias relationship w/ the
president.
22.The White House Press Corporation is a group of five thousand journalists that
are admitted into the White House briefing room during presidential news
conferences.
23.Photo op photo opportunity
C-SPAN Cable-Satellite Public Affairs Network; feeds to most cable systems in
the US
Trial Balloon leaked ideas from officials guaranteed anonymity
Pack journalism tendency of journalists that share the same environment to
adopt similar
viewpoints
Gatekeeper media executives who direct the flow of news
Horse Race Journalism mass media election coverage, focuses on candidate
ranking
Media event a newsworthy situation compelling mass media coverage; often
created by candidates
24.The television hypothesis is the belief that tv is to blame for low citizen
knowledge of public affairs
25.Soft news is general entertainment programming that often includes political
affair discussion.
26.When news focuses on historical & factual background, socioeconomic
differences in political knowledge diminish.
27.Contextual information gives meaning to unfamiliar events and reduces
knowledge gaps.
28.Political agenda is a list of issues that need govt attention.
29.Local news cover crime twice as much as other topics b/c because it is the
easiest, cheapest and laziest news to cover. Crime provides good visuals.
30.Going public is a presidential strategy to influence policy elites & gain media
coverage by directly appealing to American people.
31.Medias role in political socialization is contradictory because many political
leaders go to friendly media outlets to criticize the rest of media as an
institution. Thus, the public tends to develop more skepticism of the press.
32.News stories in the 2008 election, when there was no incumbent, were found to
have 68% positive stories on Obama. Only 33% of news stories on McCain were
considered positive.
33.Fox respondents had the most misconceptions concerning the Iraq war (45%)
compared to that of the least, PBS and NPR (4%). I think this is because
commercial television networks executives tend to lean toward their political
biases.
34.Watchdog journalism scrutinizes public and business institutions & publicizes
misconduct.
35.