AP Gov - Chapter 10 Vocab

Media

Tools used to store and deliver information or data

New Media

Sources of information including Internet websites, blogs, social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter, Photo- and video-sharing platforms such as Instagram and YouTube, apps, and the cellular and satellite technologies that facilitate their use.

Infotainment

A hybrid of the words information and entertainment; news shows that combine entertainment and news

Framing

The process by which the media set a context that helps people to understand important events and matters of shared interest

Letter to the editor

A letter in which a reader responds to a story in a newspaper, knowing that the letter might be published in that paper

Penny press

Newspapers that sold for a penny in the 1830s

Journalism

The practice of gathering and reporting events

Yellow journalism

Irresponsible, sensationalist approach to news reporting, so named after the yellow ink used in the “Yellow Kid” cartoons in the New York World

Muckraking

Criticism and exposés of corruption in government and industry by journalists at the turn of the 20th century

Digital paywall

The practice of limiting access to a website unless users pay a fee or purchase a subscription

Fireside chats

President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s radio addresses to the country

Talk Radio

A format featuring conversations and interviews about topics of interest, along with call-ins from listeners

Fairness doctrine

The requirement that stations holding broadcast licenses present controversial issues of public importance and to do so in a manner that was honest, fair, and balanced

Telegenic

The quality of looking good on TV

Narrowcasting

The practice of aiming media content at specific segments of the public

Media segmentation

The breaking down of the media according to the specific audiences they target

Convergence

The merging of various forms of media, including newspapers, television stations, radio networks, and blogs, under one corporate roof and one set of business and editorial leaders

Consolidation

The phenomenon of large corporations buying smaller ones so that there are fewer and fewer companies’ products available

Public agenda

The public issues that most demand the attention of government officials

Priming

Bringing certain policies on issues to the public agenda through media coverage