AP Government Chapter Seven Key Terms

Question 1

High-Tech Politics

Answer 1

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

Question 2

Mass Media

Answer 2

Television, radio, newspapers, magazines, the internet and other means of popular communication

Question 3

Media Events

Answer 3

events purposely staged for the media that nonetheless look spontaneous. In keeping with politics as theater, media events can be staged by individuals, groups, and government officials, especially presidents

Question 4

Press Conferences

Answer 4

Meetings of public officials with reporters

Question 5

Investigative Journalism

Answer 5

the use of in-depth reporting unearth scandals, scams, and schemes, at times putting reporters in adversarial relationships with political leaders

Question 6

Print Media

Answer 6

Newspapers and magazines, as compared with broadcast media

Question 7

Broadcast Media

Answer 7

Television, radio, and the internet, as compared with print media

Question 8

Narrowcasting

Answer 8

Media programming on cable TV or the internet that is focused on one topic and aimed at a particular audience. Examples include MTV, ESPN, and C-SPAN

Question 9

Chains

Answer 9

newspapers published by massive media conglomerates that account for over four-fifths of the nation’s daily newspaper circulation. Often these chains control broadcast media as well

Question 10

Beats

Answer 10

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

Question 11

Trial Balloons

Answer 11

An international news leak for the purpose of assessing the political reaction

Question 12

Sound Bites

Answer 12

Short video clips of approximately 10 seconds. typically, they are all that is shown from a politician’s speech on the nightly news

Question 13

Talking Head

Answer 13

A shot of a person’s face talking directly into the camera. Because this is visually unappealing, the major commercial networks rarely show a politician talking one-on-one for very long

Question 14

Policy Agenda

Answer 14

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

Question 15

Policy Entrepreneurs

Answer 15

People who invest their political “capital” in an issue. According to John Kingdom, a policy entrepreneur “could be in or out of government, in elected or appointed positions, in interest groups or research organizations