AP US Government: Chapter 7 Media and Politics Vocabulary

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

TV, 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 conference

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

TV, radio, and the internet, as compared with print media.

Narrowcasting

Media programming on cable TV or the internet that is focused on a particular interest 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

Intentional news leaks for the purpose of assessing the political reaction.

Sound bites

Short video clips of approximately 10 seconds, typically 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.

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.