Unit 4 Flashcards by Alexis Hixson

Media System

all media outlets in a country

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Media Outlet

a specific program, station, website

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Prior Restraint

government preventing publication of material it finds objectionable

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New York Times vs. US 1971

Pentagon Papers were leaked illegally. The Nixson administration said that you can’t publish it because it would threaten National security. Freedom of the press was deemed better

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Journalistic Values

Objectivity was not always a value.
1. Partisan press: founding until 1830/40s
2. Penny press: mass market, so they didn’t want to offend any potential buyers
Norm of objectivity developed n this period
3. Broadcast Media: 1920s (radio) 1950s (TV)
Narrowcast media/niche journalism
Want to speak to a well defined slice of the pie

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Objectivity

really hard to achieve in journalism. Process of selection, editing, and emphasis, reflects media outlet’s goals, journalist’s own values and professional norms

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Hostile Media Phenomenon

we aren’t objective readers, conservatives and liberals see different biases

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Media Outlet Goals

Entertain
Watchdog Rule: scrutinizing gov’t officials, telling us when they do something wrong
Make $

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What get covered

the consequences of media outlets being businesses is that market forces, audience prefer us to at least partly drive content. We want drama, conflict, scandal, crime, and criticism of the government

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Horserace phenomenon

we want to see who is ahead, polls and stats

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Paid Media

Campaign ads that politicians pay for

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Free Media

Politicians get covered by talking in sound bytes, talking points and with dramatic visuals. IT is “earned media”

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News Management Strategies

needed to control your image in the media
sound bytes
dramatic visuals
talking points

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Hypodermic Hypothesis

we don’t believe everything we hear, but we worry that other people will

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Agenda Setting Effect

when media cover an issue, we think it is important
Oversimplified coverage
Incentives to entertain us
Lots of concern about bias, fake news
Watchdog

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Fake News

We see lots of bias against our views, we see things we don’t agree with as Fake News

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Political Parties

a group that organizes to 1)win elections 2) operate the government, 3) determine policy

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Party Organization

National, State, Local

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National Party Committee

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Independent of other party sections

Recruitment of Candidates

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Since their main goal is to win, they will recruit strong candidates that they think can win, even if they don’t match party values completely

Party Platform

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official party position on various issues. Party members won’t agree with it all. No one is bound by the platform. Some people disagree with their platform.

Activists vs. party leaders

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Activists want thoroughly progressive candidates, and have strong opinions, party leaders just want to win elections.

Party ideology

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set of stances shaped by an underlying philosophy about key issues and the proper rule of government in society

Party polarization

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voting in congress is now more polarized

Party in electorate

normal Americans

Party identifier

people who choose one specific party

Dealignment

increasing tendency to identify as independent rather than as a partisan

Closet Partisans

Independents who say they lean one way or another almost always vote one way

Affective partisanship

Emotions, identity, and dislike of the opposing party

Strength of party bias

greater than any other bias

Why 2 parties?

Plurality elections guarantee 2 political parties; it is out of necessity. People will vote for you just because there is a D or R next to your name on the ticket. Parties provide $ and publicity. Candidates need to be in a party to win

Plurality elections/Single Member Districts/First Past the Post/Single Member Plurality System

Person with the most votes wins

Strategic Voting

If you know your 1st choice will lose, vote for 2nd favorite

Proportional Representation

% of votes of party = % of seats in the legislature

Duverger's law

a plurality election system strongly favors 2 party system, a PR election system strongly favors a multi-party system

Interest Group

organized groups of individuals that seeks to influence public policy

Types of IGs

Economic groups Public Interest groups Government Interest groups

Economic Interest groups

the biggest group | Business/trade, labor unions, agricultural groups, professional groups, individual businesses

Public Interest groups

formed to advance the public good | Ex. NRA

Government Interest Groups

Don't seek to win office, just to influence policy Americans hate IGs 2/3 consider lobbying a threat to democracy 1st Amendment makes lobbying legal

First amendment & lobbying

1st amendment makes lobbying legal

Outside techniques

1. Elect/defeat candidates, PAC donations to candidates, independent expenditures 2. Shape public opinion 3. Mobilize IG members to contact representatives 4. Endorsements and ratings

Independent expenditures

funds used to elect/defeat candidates, but not coordinated with an official campaign - these are unlimited and create superPACs

IG rating systems

Groups will rate where certain politicians rank on certain issues

Inside techniques

lobbying, meeting or talking with officials, providing information and making a request

Lobbying

attempts to influence the passage, defeat, or contents of legislation

Preemption laws

if the federal government through Congress has enacted legislation on a subject matter it shall be controlling over state laws

Unit 4 Flashcards

(47 cards)