American Politics: The Media

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering the development, corporate structure, terminology, and political functions of mass media in American politics.

Mass Communication

The process by which information is transmitted to large, heterogeneous, widely dispersed audiences.

Mass Media

The means employed for communicating information to large, dispersed audiences, traditionally divided into print media and broadcast media.

Print Media

Traditional means of communication, such as daily and weekly newspapers, that communicate information through the publication of words and pictures.

Broadcast Media

Media such as radio and television that transmit information electronically through sounds and images.

Paywall

A digital subscription system used by daily newspapers, such as The New York Times, that requires readers to pay for unlimited access to online news content.

Local Journalist Equivalents (LJEs)

A metric quantifying local reporting capacity; by 2026, the U.S. national average reached $7.8$ LJEs per $100{,}000$ residents, representing an $81\%$ decline from roughly $40$ per $100{,}000$ in 2002.

National Broadcasting Company (NBC)

The first national radio network in the United States, established in 1926.

Newsworthiness

The primary criterion governing news coverage, defined by audience appeal factors such as impact, sensationalism, familiar personalities, proximity, and timeliness.

Market-Driven Journalism

A practice wherein media organizations tailor the delivery or substance of their coverage to the preferences of their audience in order to boost ratings and profitability.

Infotainment

A blend of information and diversion that emphasizes celebrities and dramatic human-interest stories rather than public policy matters.

The Big Six

The six major corporate media conglomerates controlling $90\%$ of American television media in 2026: Comcast, Disney, AT&T, Paramount, Sony, and Fox.

Media Capture

The phenomenon characterized by major technology firms acquiring or bidding for news media and broadcasting platforms (e.g., Jeff Bezos purchasing The Washington Post for $250\text{M}$ and Elon Musk acquiring Twitter for $44\text{B}$).

Daily News Briefing

A routine meeting facilitated by the Office of the Press Secretary enabling White House correspondents to question the press secretary about administrative releases and prepare their daily news segments.

"On Background"

A guideline under which government officials provide information that can be directly quoted, provided the reporter does not reveal the official's specific identity (e.g., using a vague attribution such as "a senior official says").

"Off the Record"

Information shared by a public official or source that cannot be quoted or printed by reporters under any circumstances.

Gatekeepers

Media executives, news editors, and prominent reporters who determine the flow of news by deciding which events receive coverage and how those stories are framed.

Horse Race Journalism

Election campaign coverage that concentrates primarily on which candidate is leading in opinion polls and raising the most money, rather than on substantive policy issues.

Soft News

Entertainment programming that incorporates political affairs and public issues into its format, exemplified by programs such as The Daily Show, The Tonight Show, and The View.

Going Public

A presidential communication strategy of traveling across the nation to address citizens directly in order to generate news coverage and motivate voters to lobby their congressional representatives.