Chapter 12

Question 1

Importance of media in American politics

Answer 1

As most people are not involved directly in government, the media is by far the common pool of information by which citizens learn about candidates, policy, and political happenings.

Question 2

The Media as a Public Watchdog

Answer 2

The media watches for and reports on government failures, mistakes, and/or abuses.

Question 3

Media as gatekeeper:

Answer 3

news organizations can control the flow of information to the citizenry by selecting what stories are shown versus what is not.

Question 4

Bias in the Media

Answer 4

Commercial bias – media companies may be hesitant to run stories that criticize companies who buy advertising.

Question 5

Patterns of Bias

Answer 5

Priming – media emphasizing importance of an issue through repetition.
Example: Run a story about a small scandal over and over again until it seems more important.

Framing – how media chooses to portray an issue. They may choose a partisan focus.
Example: Using terminology such as “tax relief” versus “tax expenditure” to discuss a policy proposal.

Question 6

Changing Media Consumption/Use

Answer 6

-The fall of print newspapers:
>Chicago Sun
>NY Times?

• The fall of old broadcast journalism?
  >The rise of cable (more channels to choose)
  >Focus is narrowcasting rather than broad appeal.

-The replacement of TV as a news source?
>The rise of streaming video over the internet
>The blending of media sources (ie dovetailing TV programming with online content).
>The demand for linked media (ie wanting to “learn more” by following a link to a related subject or story.

Question 7

Broadcasting

Answer 7

Reporting news & information to be of interest & importance to a broad audience.
1960s Network TV era, just 3 channels
Forced to appeal to a broad segment of society
Majority of citizenry consumed exactly the same news.

Question 8

Narrowcasting

Answer 8

Reporting just the news & information that is of interest to a specific and narrow audience.
Rise of cable creates new channels & opportunities
Now one can choose from among several news outlets that cater to one’s own biases/interests.
Example: Sports news, $ news, partisan news…

Question 9

Spin

Answer 9

intentionally framing an issue in order to promote a bias image. Example: death tax.

Question 10

Leaks

Answer 10

the strategic release of confidential information to the press.