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| the methods or technologies people use for communication, such as phones, radio, newspapers, television, or the Internet; publicly available. |
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| media that is intended to be publicly available, or at least targeted at large numbers of people. |
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| the people and organizations that provide content about public affairs - news and commentary - that is disseminated across media. |
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| mass media programming that is intended primarily to entertain, but also provides political news. |
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| the tendency for the media or a particular media outlet not to report stories of a particular nature. |
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| the tendency for the media or a particular media outlet to give less attention in terms of column space or air time to certain kinds of stories or aspects of stories. |
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| the tendency for the media or a particular media outlet to interject opinions into the coverage of an issue. |
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| What are newspapers and television programs driven by? |
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| Nearly all newspapers and television programs are driven by the profit motive and thus have a vested interest in attracting as large an audience as possible. |
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| Private media enables people to communicate information with an understanding that it will not necessarily be shared with others. |
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| Why is free press, information not subject to government control, vital to a modern democracy? |
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Definition
If the government can censor the press or control content, it may be able to maintain its authority without being checked by an informed people.
o Operating independently of opposing political parties, the press can monitor and evaluate government officials and expose wrongdoing or incompetence. |
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| What two things must the media do in a democracy? |
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Definition
1. It should enable politicians to communicate with the people.
2. The mass media should provide information to citizens about their communities, their country, and the wider world so they can form reasonable policy opinions and preferences. |
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| How does the press help solve collective dilemmas? |
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| The press can help citizens prioritize the various problems that need to be solved and also coordinate the actions of citizens who want to influence politics. |
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| What are the trends to the media and press? |
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Definition
1. The 18th and 19th Centuries: Mass media primarily took the form of an unapologetically partisan press operating through print outlets, until a new breed of journalists working for newspapers emphasized objective reporting.
2. 20th Century: the number of competitors was limited both by technology and by government regulation of the television industry, the content was generally presented to appeal to a person from either party.
3. The Rise of New Media: Cable television led to the development of “soft news” programs, or infotainment, where viewers could opt for biased news, or for entertainment of an entirely different sort. |
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| Why has the American society turned to more partisan sources of news? |
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Definition
| People are increasingly getting their political news from Internet sources and from cable televisions, both of which have encouraged the proliferation of openly biased, partisan news and opinion programming. |
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| How does government regulation differ from newspapers to broadcast media? |
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Definition
| Newspapers are largely protected by the 1st Amendment, but for broadcast media, the airwaves for television or radio are public property. |
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Term
| What occurs when publications openly admit to ideological bias? |
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Definition
| This creates a judicial setting where both sides have an opportunity to make their best case, an adversarial system in the press is the best means of uncovering information relevant to the political process. |
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| Why is media bias sometimes not seen as a problem? |
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Definition
| Consumers may choose sources that reinforce their own biases; partisan-biased television shows get people engaged in politics and may in fact mobilize them to participate more. |
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| What are the different hypotheses to why people choose specific media outlets? |
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Definition
1. The partisan hypothesis says that people chooses media programming on the basis of its partisan or ideological slant.
2. The agenda hypothesis asserts that people choose media programming on the basis of personal interest in the issues.
3. The engagement hypothesis contends that some people are generally interested in politics, while others are not. The higher the education/income, the higher the interest. |
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| When do the press and media act like principals in a principal-agent problem? |
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Definition
| Media companies can act as principals when their own employees produce commentary, which enables their capacities as owners of means of communication and producers of content to bolster their political influence. |
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| When do the press and media act like agents in a principal-agent problem? |
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Definition
| Media companies are the agents, hired by principals (candidates, for example) to carry their messages or to bring them messages. |
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