Ch. 7 and 10 GoPo Vocab

interest group

an organization of people with a shared policy goal, or goals, who enter the policy process at one or more points, in one or more policy arenas, to try and achieve their goals

pluralism

A theory of American democracy emphasizing that the policymaking process is very open to the participation of all groups with shared interests, with no single group usually dominating. tend to believe that as a result, public interest generally prevails.

elitism

A theory of American democracy contending that an upper-class elite holds the power and makes policy, regardless of the formal governmental organization.

hyperpluralism

A theory of American democracy contending that groups are so strong that government, which gives in to the many different groups, is thereby weakened.

iron triangles

Also known as subgovernments, these consist of interest groups, government agencies, and congressional committees or subcommittees that have a mutually dependent, mutually advantageous relationship; they dominate some areas of domestic policymaking.

potential group

All the people who might be interest group members because they share some common interest.

actual group

The people in the potential group who actually join.

collective good

something of value that cannot be withheld from anyone

free-rider problem

For an interest group, the fact that some or many potential group members will not join because they can benefit from the group's activities without joining.

selective benefits

goods that a group can restrict to those who actually join

single-issue groups

groups that have a narrow interest on which their members tend to take an uncompromising stance

lobbying

the process by which an individual or group communicates with policymakers in an attempt to influence policy decisions

electioneering

Direct group involvement in the electoral process, for example, by helping to fund campaigns, getting members to work for candidates, and forming political action committees.

PACs

groups that raise money from individuals and then distribute it in the form of contributions to candidates that the group supports

union shop

A provision found in some collective bargaining agreements requiring all employees of a business to join the union within a short period, usually 30 days, and to remain members as a condition of employment.

right to work laws

state laws that forbid the creation of union shops

public interest lobbies

organizations that seek a collective good, which benefits the society as a whole

high-tech politics

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

mass media

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

media events

Events that are purposely staged for the media and that are significant just because the media are there.

press conferences

meetings of public officials with reporters

investigative journalism

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

print media

Newspapers and magazines, as compared with electronic media.

electronic media

Television, radio, and the Internet, as compared with print media.

net neutrality

A former federal regulatory policy holding that Internet service providers must provide equal access to broadband for all websites to their customers. Democrats on the Federal Communication Commission favored this policy whereas Republicans engineered a repeal of this policy at the federal level, arguing that it represented unnecessary government regulation of the Internet.

narrowcasting

Media programming on cable TV or the Internet that is focused on a particular interest and aimed at a particular audience, in contrast to broadcasting.

selective exposure

The process through which people consciously choose to get the news from information sources that have viewpoints compatible with their own.

chains

Groups of newspapers published by media conglomerates and today accounting for over four-fifths of the nation's daily newspaper circulation.

beats

Specific locations from which news frequently emanates, such as Congress or the White House.

trial balloons

Policy ideas floated to the media for the purpose of assessing the likely political reaction.

sound bites

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

talking head

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

policy agenda

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

policy entrepreneurs

people who invest their political "capital" in an issue