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Media and Politics
flash cards
98
Political Studies
Undergraduate 4
10/16/2013

Additional Political Studies Flashcards

 


 

Cards

Term
The discussed, important ways in which news media can contribute to the democratic process.
Definition

1. Provides a forum for candidates and political parties to debate their qualifications for office before a national audience.


2. News programs can contribute to informed citizenship by providing a variety of perspectives on the important issues of .the day.


3. Acting as agents of citizens, the media can monitor the acts of public officials, thus helping deter them from violating the public trust

Term

 

 The two key factors affecting media performance.

Definition

1. Regulatory policy

2. Market forces. The FCC is in charge of regulating the media

Term
       Average population of a US House of Representatives district & US Constitution comparison.
Definition
Average population of a US House of Representatives district is 647,000 & US Constitution comparison suggested 1 to every 30,000 citizens.
Term

Influence primaries had/have on the candidate nomination process.

 

 

Definition

 

 

1. The adoption of primaries meant that, instead of cultivating party activists and leaders, candidates had to appeal directly to the public.

Term

Impact television had for candidates reaching national audiences (Fig. 2.2)

 

Definition

1. Technological developments in particular, the widespread proliferation of television made it possible for candidates to reach statewide and national audiences.


 

2. Fig. 2.2 by 1963, 91% of American households had at least one television setup from only 45% just ten years earlier

-Shift from party based campaigns to candidate based campaigns on television

Term

In focus: What’s different about American Media?

Definition

  More private ownership – media entities in the US are almost entirely privately owned and operated.

 

·      Less regulation -  Us has a more laid back approach when it comes to governing the media  whereas other democracies are more strict.

 

Term

        In Focus: Public Broadcasting and the BBC

 

Definition

·      Public broadcasting refers to systems in which television and radio receive funding  from the public  funding can come from the public in the form of licensing fees or indirectly through state subsidies a.k.a taxes.  Some public broadcasters run also run commercial   advertising to supplement their revenues.


·      BBC was the model for many public broadcasting systems around the world. Principal funding source is the television licen. bbc does not carry ads

 

Term

The Fairness Doctrine

·

Definition
  • broadcasters to present opposing sides on controversial issues.
  • it was repealed in 1987 and 
  • now broadcasters  with a partisan slant have increased in frequency and scope.
Term

OECD comparisons

     Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development

Definition

In all member countries (except for US) political parties are granted blocks of free airtime for “political party broadcasts” during campaigns

-In up amount of airtime is based on number of candidates being fielded by each party

-In France broadcasts most grant equal airtime

Term
   Examples of antitrust legislation
Definition

 

  • ·      Antitrust legislation has been invoked to block the acquisition of one newspaper by another, in cases where it has been considered that such mergers would lead to a decrease in competition in the media market, thus potentially harming consumers.

  • Ex. US v.s Times Mirror Co.1967 - The court blocked the acquisition of the San Bernardino County Sun by the larger Los Angeles Times on the basis of the government’s argument that the deal would harm competition.
Term

Three Major TV networks and emergence of cable networks:

 

Definition

Abc, cbs, nbc are the three major TV networks, in late 1980s approx. 25 million more tuned into network newscasts than subscribed to the top twenty daily newspapers combined

 

CNN was the first all news network in 1980. Followed by FOC, CNBC and MSNBC. By 2009 90% of American households had cable news

Term

Newspaper circulation trends:

 

Definition
A chain owns most American newspapers. There is a total circulation of 48.7 million. Between 1990 and 2008 circulation numbers dropped.
Term

Nielson Rating points:

 

Definition

GRP-gross rating points

-Television news audiences are measured by the AC Nielsen Company.

1 rating point translates to 1% of viewing audience.

Two sources of data: television diaries by a large sample of households (5,000) and 24 hour monitoring of TV sets (among smaller subset).

 

Each TV program is identifiable by a unique digital fingerprint.

Term

Operation Desert Storm:

 

Definition
After operation desert storm in January 1991, CNN reporters Bernard Shaw and John Holliman and Peter Arnett found themselves the only American TV correspondents in Baghdad. When us bombing of city took place they broadcast live from Al-Rashid hotel. They had a worldwide audience of over 1 billion people, including George HW Bush and Saddam Hussein.
Term

Table 3.2 Top ten rated TV broadcasts

See figure in book.

 

 

Definition

 

TOP ever is Super Bowl 44 Saints vs. Colts.

MASH final episode

Dallas “who shot JR?”

Term

National Opinion Research Center Confidence Levels:

 

Definition

General Social Survey asked a representative sample of Americans for their level of confidence in the media. In 1973 (1st year) only 10% replied “hardly any”

In 2008 this number had jumped to 45%.

 

Although confidence in every public institution has declined by some 8% since 1973 news media surpassed this trend.

Term

In focus: The Hostile Media Phenomenon:

 

Definition
In general, people who are highly committed to a point of view (strong democrats or republicans) tend to perceive impartial news stories to be biased in favor of their opponents.
Term

Define mediality:

 

Definition
The “reality” portrayed by the media
Term

LA TV violence coverage:

 

Definition

Study on LA news coverage.

Total of 3,014 news stories on crime during 1996 and 1997. 83% focused on violent crime.

 

Murders were 1% of crime, but 17% of stories.

Term

Hillary Clinton Combat Story Coverage:

 

Definition
During 2008 primary Hillary described herself landing in Bosnia in 1996 under sniper fire. Video was later released that showed her calmly walking down the tarmac and even stopping to listen to a poem from a little girl. This damaged her reputation.
Term

Pack journalism:

.

Definition
Refers to tendency of high prestige news organizations to define the daily agenda
Term

1974 Cover up:

 

Definition

“Watergate” is a general term used to describe a complex web of political scandals between 1972 and 1974. The word specifically refers to the Watergate Hotel in Washington D.C.

Nixon resigned

 

 

Term

Indexing:

 

Definition
Indexing is the process of adjusting coverage of an issue according to the level of disagreement. Indexing the news means that the press can represent an adversarial posture only when the opponents of the government policy outnumber the proponents.
Term

Patterns of Global terrorism report: (2003)

 

Definition

In an April 2004 news story CNN suggested that Bush was winning the war on terrorism. Washington post op-ed found flaws in state departments report.

 

Terrorism was not down in ways people thought. Non-significant events had decreased but large mass killings had increased.

Term

USA Patriot Act:

 

Definition

In times of national crisis people tend to agree with president on matters of national security so they do not seem unpatriotic.

 

When Bush proposed the patriot act (which eroded Americans rights) in the aftermath of 9/11 it passed the senate by a vote of 99 to 1,

Term

Challenging Official Briefings/Accounts:

 

Definition

In the beginning of the Vietnam way media did little to question the administrations account

 

Finally in 1969 indexing kicked in a people started fighting against the war and anti war news coverage began.

Term

Senator McCarthy primary record:

 

Definition

Challenged President Johnson for 1968 democratic nomination.

 

-In New Hampshire primary got 41%

Term

Approval Ratings and 1983 invasion of Grenada:

 

Definition
During Reagan Administrations invasion of Grenada to rescue students from the Medical School, military restricted press access. Only allowed positive images (like students kissing American soil) to make it through. In days that followed Reagan’s popularity increased by some 5 points
Term

Patriot Missiles and Misinformation:

 

Definition
During war in Iraq (operation desert storm) administration claimed that its patriot missiles had intercepted and destroyed 41 of 42 Iraqi scud missiles. Which was false.
Term

Embedded Journalist Viewpoint:

 

Definition

No longer feasible to deny reporters first hand coverage after 2003 invasion of Iraq.

Journalists are embedded with invading forces.

Press couldn’t counter official accounts

 

They must follow rules or they will be expelled from war zone.

Term

·      Traditional forms of communication.

 

Definition

o   Point-to-point (single sender and recipient)

o   Broadcast (single sender, multiple recipients)

 

o   Traditional forms of communication limited to single form (print, audio or video)

Term

 

Definition

- in 1995 14% of adult americans said they used the internet

- Between 1999 and 2010 the share of online population reached 79%

- In the span of a decade, self reported internet use increased by a stunning 560%

- In 1995, only 2% of internet users regularly read news online, 15 years later that is number is 46%

Term

·      Online news audience composition. (Fig 5.3).

 

Definition

-This figure shows differences among various groups in the percent that report getting news online.

- Poor and less educated are much less likely to report accessing news online than are the rich and more educated.

-73% of White-non Hispanic households have home internet access and only 50% of black households do.

Term
• Optimists/Skeptics

 

Definition

1. Optimists- are individuals who see technology as a means of revitalizing the public sphere→ by providing direct and immediate access to diverse political perspectives.


2. Skeptics- Are individuals who warn that information technology is no panacea for the limitations of conventional news programming and weak demand for political information.

Term
• Fig. 5.6.

 

Definition
- the graph shows evidence that online activist, like their offline conunterparts, are drawn disproportionately from high- status groups.
Term
attentive public hypothesis
Definition

1. Attentive Public Hypothesis- The act of seeking out political information, online as elsewhere, is simply a matter of generic political interest.

- People captivated by politics tune into all forms of news whereas a political majority tunes out politics in favor of online bargain hunting or keeping up with friends.

 

Term
Partisan Polarization
Definition
Partisan Polarization- people prefer to encounter information that supports their beliefs and avoid information that is inconsistent with those beliefs.
Term

 

issue public hypothesis.
Definition
Issue Public Hypothesis- People seek out information about subjects that are particularly important or interesting to them and tune out information about other subjects.
Term
• Review the use of new media in Obama’s 2008 campaign

 

Definition

- Impact of new media has been the greatest on the goal of mobilization.

- New media has lowered the cost of communication

- Also allows an assembly of network supporters

- Obama had an online campaign, website, online videos, and he used social media

- He developed a vast network of supporters and volunteers

- Campaign Broke new ground→ the use of online campaign communication through YouTube.

- He also raised money online as well.

Term

Know the difference between free media and paid media key examples

.

Definition

o   Free media is news coverage, Paid media is advertising.


o   Ex. 2002 race for governor of California less than 1% of all local news broadcast in the month of October focused on the election.


o   Ex. 2010 race for governor of California, Meg Whitman, the Republican candidate, spent more than 150 million dollars of her own money, most of it on television ads.

Term

Strategies That Candidates Use to Manage the Press

 

Definition

o   Avoid behavior that calls into question your stability for office.

o   Don’t waffle or flip flop on the issue.

o   Make sure journalists have low expectations concerning your chances of victory.

o   Schedule events strategically to maximize their newsworthiness.

o   When leading in the polls, restrict journalist’ access.

o   Go local to avoid critical coverage from national news organizations.

 

o   Feed the press titillating but critical information concerning your opponent.

Term

·      Understand what playing the expectations game means.

 

Definition

o   In the early stages of the primary campaign, favorable coverage of  the candidates position in the race can prove pivotal; candidates though to be doing well can use their standing to attract more financial contributions.

o   Candidates who “beat the odds” and surpass journalist’s expectations benefit from electoral momentum.

Term

o The rise of negative advertising.

 

Definition
o   Negative campaign advertising has become a growth industry. Candidates run ads dwelling on personal or substantive flaws and question their opponent’s fitness for office. Some themes of the negative ads include: the flip-flop theme, where an opponents voting record is called into question.
Term

·      What are GRPs?

 

Definition

o   Gross Rating Point

 

§  Basic unit of exposure to advertising

Term

·      The difference between image ads and issue ads.

 

Definition

o   Image ads

§  Maintain thematic continuity with the biographical message by presenting the candidate as a likable human being with a strong sense of pubic service

o   Issue ads

 

§  Either focuses on the candidate’s past experience and record in public life, or outline the candidate’s positions on major policy issues

Term
Issue ownership
Definition

  The fact that the public considers each party to be more capable on different issues. Candidates tend to campaign on issues that their party owns because their message is more credible when consistent with the stereotype of the party.  

§  Ex, republicans are thought to perform better in the area of military and defense policy

 

§  Meanwhile, the democrats are considered more favorably on issues such as education and Social Security

Term

·      Wedge Appeals – immigration.

 

Definition
o    Wedge appeals are based off of race or ethnicity are aimed at capturing white voters by depicting the candidate as taking a stand against threatening demands against the blacks or hispanics
Term

·      Campaign Advertising Strategies.

 

Definition

o   Target voters who may be pivotal to the outcome of the race

o   Advertise during programs watched by those likely to vote

o   Ride the wave by connecting advertising to issues or events in the headlines

o   Use biographical spots early in the campaign to introduce the campaign; then move on to image and issue ads

o   Take advantage of issue ownership

o   Use wedge appeals when necessary

o   Go negative to generate media coverage and be credible to voters, and use surrogates to deliver the most controversial claims

 

o   When attacked, mount a comeback

Term

·        * What going public means.

 

Definition
Going public is a strategy used by presidents and other politicians to promote their policies by appealing to the American public for support.
Term

Details of last govt. shutdown.

 

Definition
Longest shutdown in history. Involved 800,000 federa; lmployees, essential gov. services were unavailable for twenty-two day because of issues between Clinton and Congress (Republican) about raising the debt ceiling.
Term

Reagan’s planeside statement.

 

Definition
Attract coverage from local and network newscasts. Reagan made it plain and he would personally campaign against any Democrats who might vote against his budget
Term

Jimmy Carter carrying item.

 

Definition
Jimmy carters communications director, instructed the president to carry his own bags when disembarking from air force one. To project a “man or the people image
Term

Daily press briefings.

 

 

Definition
A testimony from a member of the Press who writes about information in the White House everyday.
Term

Topic president dominated congress x 3 in news coverage.

 

Definition
Foreign policy, Reagan the president’s share of foreign affairs news coverage has been at three times the level of congressional coverage. Foreign policy news, for all practical purposes, a presidential news.
Term

What the honeymoon period is.

 

Definition
a period of popularity enjoyed by a new government, or a new occupant of a post -“The honeymoon period is over.”
Term

Which president took trips to most competitive states?

 

 

Definition

Bill Clinton made about 75 more trips to competitive states, whereas bush made about 225.


Term

 

  • Be able to define and identify a dependent and independent variable.

    •  

Definition
  • The independent variable is the one that is changed in an experiment

  • The dependent variable is the one that observes an impact from changing the independent variable.

Dependent – Intention to vote is the dependent variable, the variable that the researcher believes might hinge on or be influenced by some other, Independent variable, such as watching the negative campaign ad. The researcher can use either surveys or experiments to investigate whether the independent has an effect on the dependent variable.

Term

 

  • Message Learning Theory

Definition
  • Attitude change depends on source (who), message (what), and receiver (whom) factor.

    o   While accepting the premise that exposure to and acceptance of persuasive message are both conditioned by specific properties of recievers.

     

    o   Most experiments expose subjects to a single message and then measure the effects on the message immediately afterwards.

Term
agenda-setting
Definition

 

    • Agenda-setting: By covering some issues and ignoring others, the media influence which issues people view as important and which they view as unimportant.

      • ex.: The famine in Ethiopia… people only cared once it was all over TV.
Term
priming effect
Definition

 

    • Priming effect: The more prominent an issue become in the public consciousness, the more it will influence people’s assessment of politicians.

      • ex.:Jimmy Carter quit his campaign (when he was dead even with Reagan)to negotiate for the release of Americans from the Iranian government. This became the big headline and he was seen as having the ability to control terrorism. Which was used to base their votes.

Term

·      Methodological Trade-Offs.

 

Definition
  • Surveys

    • Strengths: can be generalized

    • Weaknesses:Rely on self-reported data (inaccurate), so they cannot reveal the true relationship between cause and effect.

  • Experiments

    • Strengths: provide the most unambiguous evidence of causation.

    • Weaknesses: issues of mundane realism, sampling bias, and self-selection, make it hard to generalize the results to the real world.
Term

 

  • Framing – examples.

    •  

Definition
  •  

o   Framing refers to the way in which the media, by highlighting some aspects of an event or issue and ignoring others, can influence how people think about that event or issue. Changing the manner of presentation of a news story can result in a very different audience perception of that story,

Term

Persuasion Effects theory

 

Definition

o   Is typically defined as attitude change.

 

o   Ex. Persuasion can involve switching from having no opinions at all to having an opinion, or from having a weak opinion to having a strong opinion, or from not intending to act on an opinion to intending to act.

Term

 

  • A New Era of Minimal Effects

Definition
  • Changes in media environment may weaken the media’s influence over the audience.

  • Increased capacity of consumers to choose from a multitude of media channels makes it likely that many consumers will find themselves in the audience for programs they already agree with.

    • Increasing opportunities to self-select into media audiences may lead to a new era of minimal effects.
Term
GNP
Definition

o   GNP – Gross National Product (based on ownership)

§  Calculation of total production and services of a country by its citizens domestically or abroad, over one year.

§  GNP = GDP + Net Income from assets abroad – Net Payment to foreign assets

 

§  Changes in GNP during preceding twelve months are relevant to election outcomes

Term
GNP
Definition

o   GNP – Gross National Product (based on ownership)

§  Calculation of total production and services of a country by its citizens domestically or abroad, over one year.

§  GNP = GDP + Net Income from assets abroad – Net Payment to foreign assets

 

§  Changes in GNP during preceding twelve months are relevant to election outcomes

Term
gdp
Definition

§  GDP = Consumption + investment + government spending + (exports – imports)

Term

 viability 

 

Definition

o   A candidate’s ability to win; vote getting prowess

 

o   Especially prolific of early primaries – the bandwagon effect

Term

 

 

 

·      Voting as expression of partisanship 

 

Definition

– independents, swing voters, long-term influence.

o   Party affiliation is the single most important determinant of vote choice

§  It is the long term influence on elections

o   A third of the electorate reject partisan labels in 2008, calling themselves independents

§  Voting for independents varies by election, thus they are known as swing voters

·      Often the target of most campaign activity

§  They make up their mind as the campaign progresses, so campaigns must attract a sufficient amount of them to ensure a plurality.Ma

Term

·      Holding the base.

 

Definition

o   Campaigns hold the base, meaning that they ensure that their partisans remain steadfast.

 

o   Polarizes the electorate along partisan lines; As the campaign progresses, voters come to behave in line with their party affiliation, their evaluations of the incumbent administration, or their assessments of the state of the country.

Term

·      How advertising impacts different types of voters.

 

Definition

o   Voters’ sense of partisanship (for their affiliated party) is activated or strengthened through exposure to specific partisan messages or events

 

o   As in the case of advertising, voters watch debates as partisan fans, not objective judges.

Term

·      The Reinforcement Effect.

 

Definition

o   Campaigns, in part, primarily reinforce- bringing voters’ candidate performances in line with party identification. Strengthens as campaigns progress, typically ending with very few partisans contemplating voting for the other party’s candidate.

o   Campaigns typically polarize the electorate along party lines.

 

o   Contrary to conventional wisdom, media-based campaigns do not manipulate voters; instead encouraging them to vote in accordance with core political loyalties.

Term

o   

Definition
Many candidates entered with historically high levels of name recognition – 81% surveyed were able to name any candidate.
Term

·      Trends in “Latino” voting.

 

Definition

·      Trends in “Latino” voting.

o   Language and unfamiliarity may be key barriers

o   In California, they are making up a significant share of the population, increasing in thee amount of registered voters to 21%.

 

o   Focus on immigration as a wedge issue in California will risk alienating a significant number of voters.

Term

·      “Teflon president.”

 

Definition

o   Ronald Reagan’s nickname originally; after the suicide bomber rammed a truck filled with explosives into the barracks used by Marines and 300 died, Reagan gave a speech and his popularity improved.

 

§  Presidents can use symbolic appeals or staged rhetoric to maintain high approval ratings even in the face of events that signify obvious policy or performance failures.

Term

·      Throwaway presidency.

 

Definition

o   The probability of failure is always tending toward 100%

§  The downward trend in popularity over a presidency has led some scholars to propose this idea

·      Due to the accumulation of opponents over time

o   Several presidencies have not conformed to the general theory of inevitable decline

 

§  Reagan; Clinton

Term

Theories of Presidential Popularity. 

 

Definition

o   Three principal factors influence presidential popularity

§  Length of time in office

·      Decline over time

§  Course of real-world events

·      Rise and fall with events that the United States is doing a certain way

§  Public relations efforts

 

·      By influencing the way in which events are defined and framed in news accounts, the president is able to exert substantial influence over his standing with the public.

Term

 

Definition
   Describes how, in the aftermath of major foreign policy actions undertaken by the US government, people rally behind the president. Generally, whenever the president acts as commander in chief, Americans bury their partisan differences and throw their support behind their leader.
Term

·      Walter Mondale example.

 

Definition

o   Can’t tell the public that its impossible to deliver benefits and services and not raise taxes. Dem. Nominee Mondale announced that the size of the federal budget deficit left him no choice but to raise taxes if elected. Carried only his home state (Minnesota).

 

o   Candidates who advocate for/preside over tax increases suffer at the polls.

Term

·      Shirley Sherrod example.

 

Definition

o   Failure of fire-extinguisher logic (presidents may be pressured into taking actions that they believe will neutralize or counteract building public opposition)

o   Obama fired her after a conservative blogger posted a misleading excerpt from a speech given by Sherrod.

 

§  True story came to light the next day, and it was opposite what forced the president to act so quickly. Rushed judgment to appease the public, but it illustrated the pivotal importance of perception and imagery in modern American politics. Administration feared all out attack from conservative media.

Term

 

Definition
o   CNN’s Crossfire, saying how bad he believed the show was… “it’s hurting America…”
Term

·      Most glaring weakness of modern media-based campaigns. 

Definition

o   The absence of a substantive or policy-oriented electoral forum

 

o   The substitution of journalists and analysts for the candidates as the principal voices in the news

Term

·      Three strike legislation.

 

Definition

o   Originated in California after abduction and murder of Polly Klaas

o   Legislation was rushed into action fanned by media coverage and public      outrage

o   Made the number of felony convictions rather the severity of the crime the basis for sentencing

 

o   Hundreds were severely punished for petty and/or nonviolent crimes

Term

·      Proposition 66. (337-8)

 

Definition

o   Endorsed by virtually every major newspaper in Cali and backed by the Dems, Green and Libertarian parties.

o   Cali was the only state that didn’t distinguish violent/nonviolent in the three strike legislation

o   Would have restricted the definition of the third strike to violent felonies

 

o   Defeated by a powerful outreach campaign

Term

 

Definition
o   Deliberative polling: for assessing the state of informed opinion
Term

·      Carnegie Commission. (P.342)

 

Definition

o   In recommending the creation of public broadcasting in the US, the Carnegie Commission emphasized the value of providing citizens with media programming that would allow them “to see America whole, in all its diversity.” (P. 14)

 

o   Made recommendations for the creation of public broadcasting.

Term

 

Definition
o   Europe public broadcasters receive generous government subsidies and attract 30-40% of the television audience. Charge TV fees to everyone who watches at all to pay for public broadcasting. 
Term

 

Definition
o   Among 8-18 year olds, 93% have a computer at home and use it for about an hour and a half per day
Term

·      Sarah Palin’s Facebook comment.

 

Definition

o   Two millionth fan comment: “Two million! Wow! That’s more than some cable news shows. Thank you all and let’s keep the momentum!”

 

o   Her page is instructive

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