Government - Chapter 9

Public Opinion

The sum of many individual opinions, beliefs, or attitudes about a public person or issue.

Public Opinion

In the months leading up to the election, voterd are bombarded either television ads aimed at influencing __________ about the candidates.

Political Socialization

The process by which people form their political values and attitudes. This process starts in childhood and continues through adulthood.

Political Socialization

The formation of these beliefs snd values begins early in life and continues throughout adulthood. Political scientists call this process __________.

Opinion Poll

A method of measuring public opinion. This is done by asking questions of a random sample of people and using their answers to represent the views of the broader population.

Opinion Poll

Gallup interviewed a sample of voters selected to mirror the entire electorate. His survey results underestimated Roosevelt's popularity on election day, but he did predict the winner correctly. His success marked the birth of the modern __________.

Margin of Error

A measure of the accuracy of an opinion poll. The smaller the __________, the more confidence one can have in the results of a poll. The __________ usually decreases as the number of people surveyed increases.

Margin of Error

Most polls also report a ________________ stated as plus or minor some number of percentage points. This indicates how accurately the sample surveyed reflects the views of the target population. If the __________ is small, you can assume that the results reported are close to the opinions of the population as a whole.

Mass Media

Means of communication that reach a large audience, Today the __________ includes newspapers, magazines, radio, television, and the Internet.

Mass Media

Never before in human history had so much information been made available to us through the __________. By 2009, Americans were buying over 46 million copies of daily newspapers, the lowest number since the 1940s.

Spin

The deliberate shading of information about a person or an event in an attempt to influence public opinion.

Spin

When speaking on the record, politicians usually put their own _____ on issues. Their goal is to convince both reporters and the public that their view of events is the correct one.

Media Bias

Real or imagined prejudice that is thought to affect what stories journalists cover and how they report those stories.

Media Bias

In its code of ethics, the Society of Professional Journalists calls on its members to be "honest, fair and courageous." It cautions that "deliberate distortion is never permissible." What critics see as __________ may, in reality, be a reflection of how news organizations work."

Negative Campaigning

Trying to win an advantage in a campaign by emphasizing negative aspects of an opponent or policy. In the past, this type of campaigning was called mudslinging.

Agents of Socialization

Many agents, or forces, play a part in political socialization. They include family, schools, religion, friends, and the mass media. This diagram illustrates these __________.

Opinion Makers

Scholars who support this view observer that most of us don't have time to become informed on every issue.

Opinion Makers

Instead, we look to influential __________ for information and advice. They may be journalists, public officials, business leaders, or activists.

Straw Polls

After the 1936 election, many wondered how the Literary Digest had blundered so badly. The magazine had a record of predicting presidential elections accurately since 1916 using __________.

Straw Polls

A __________ is an informal survey of opinion conducted by a show of hands or some other means of counting preferences.

Scientific Sampling

The secret of Gallup's success was his careful use of __________. Sampling is the process of selecting a small group of people who are representative of the whole population.

Scientific Sampling

Rather than mailing out surveys blindly, Gallup interviewed a sample of voters selected to mirror the entire electorate.

Random Sample

Most polling today is done by telephone. Phoning people randomly ensures that pollsters interview a representative sample of people.

Random Sample

In most __________, every individual has a chance of being selected, The number of people surveyed usually ranges from 500 to 1500. Internet surveys are also widely used.

Benchmark Poll

Three special kinds of polls are widely used during elections, A long and detailed __________ is often used by prospective candidates to "test the waters" before beginning a campaign.

Benchmark Poll

Candidates use information from such polls to identify which messages to emphasize in their campaigns and which to avoid.

Tracking Polls

__________ are conducted during a campaign to measure support for a candidate in a day-by-day basis, Pollsters survey groups of likely voters each night to fine out how their views have been affected by the political events that day.

Tracking Polls

While each day's poll is just a snapshot of the electorate's views, taken together, __________ can reveal trends and shifts in attitudes over time.

Exit Polls

__________ are used by campaigns and the news media to predict the winners on Election Day long before the polls close. An __________ is a survey of voters taken at polling places just after they have cast their ballots.

Exit Polls

Because ballots are cast in secret, __________ is the only way we have of finding out how different age or ethnic groups of people voted and why.

Push Poll

The 1900s saw the appearance of a highly suspect form if polling called the __________. These polls are phone surveys, usually made close to Election Day, on behalf of a candidate.

Push Poll

When the pollsters call, they sound like that want you views on the election, But their real purpose is to "push" you away from voting for their candidate's opponent by spreading damaging information.

Print Media

A century ago, this would have been an easy question to answer, Americans got their news from the __________ — mainly newspapers and magazines.

Broadcast Media

A half century ago, the answer would have been less simple. By the 1950s, the __________. — mainly radio and television — had become major sources of news.

Broadcast Media

Where once the __________ limited their news offering to short news summaries and nightly newscasts, we now have 24-hour news programming available on both radio and cable television stations.

Electronic Media

To make matters still more complex, a growing number of people now get instant news on demand using the __________ — computers, cell phones, and other communication devices that connect via the Internet to the World Wide Web.

Worldwide Web

The rise of each new medium has changed the public's news-consumption habits.

Worldwide Web

The __________ makes billions of documents stored in computers all over the world accessible to anyone with an Internet connection.

News Media

A generation ago, most Americans looked to trusted __________ — newspapers, news magazines, and broadcast news shows — for information on politics and public affairs.

News Media

The __________ rely on a small army of reporters, fact-checkers, and editors to research and report stories in an accurate, unbiased manner.

Blogs

News-oriented Web logs, or _____, have emerged as another new medium.

Blogs

A _____ is a journal or newsletter posted on the World Wide Web. Because the Web is essentially free, anyone can create a _____ to distribute his or her opinions.

Agenda-Setting Power

Far too much happens in the world for the press to report on everything, however. News editors and producers have to choose what to cover and what to leave our.

Agenda-Setting Power

These decisions help determine what issues get placed on the public agenda. Politicians and activists try to harness this ________________________of the media to focus attention on issues they care about.

Opinion Journalism

Finally, the news media serve as a marketplace of ideas and opinions. The airwaves today are filled with __________________ — the chatter of "talking heads" eager to share their views with the world.

Opinion Journalism

Most people who tune into these electronic debates do so not to receive objective analysis, but rather because they share the talk show host's political point of view.

Staged Events

Public officials at all level of government work hard to both attract and shape media coverage.

Staged Events

The most common way to do this is by __________ and inviting the press. Presidential press conferences are an example of __________.

On-The-Record Conversation

Politicians also try to influence the press by granting interviews to reporters. Often they set ground rules that indicate what information reporters can use and how they can identify their sources. If it's an _______________, the report can quote the public official by name.

Off-The-Record Conversation

If it's an _______________, the reporter can use the information but may not reveal the source.

Sound Bites

Reports also try to include colorful __________ that capture their main points in just a few words.

Sound Bites

They know that short __________ are more likely to be run in news stories than are long speeches.

Trial Balloons

Public officials sometimes use off-the-record conversations to float ___________. A __________ is a proposal that is shared either the press to test public reaction to it.

Trial Balloons

If the reaction is negative, the official can let the proposal die without ever having his or her name attached to it.

Leak

Off-the-record conversations are also used to _____ information to the press. A _____ is the unofficial release of confidential information to the media. Public officials _____ information for many reasons.

Leak

They may want to expose wrongdoing, stir up support for or opposition to a proposal, spin the way an event is covered, or curry favor with reporters.

Focus Groups

Media consultants also work with __________ to test the appeal of campaign messages.

Focus Groups

Almost all aspects of a campaign are designed to generate as much free publicity as possible. Often this is done by creating a photo op — short for photo opportunity — for the candidate.

Photo Op

Almost all aspects of a campaign are designed to generate as much free publicity as possible. Often this is done by creating a _____ for the candidate.

Photo Op

A __________ is a carefully staged event designed to produce memorable photographs and video images.

Horse Race Coverage

Studies of election news coverage show that most reporting falls into two distinct patterns. The first pattern, _______________, treats an election as a sporting event.

Horse Race Coverage

_______________ focus on who is winning and why. Issues are discussed only in terms of whether they will help or hurt the candidate's chances.

Soap Opera Stories

The second pattern of coverage, _______________, focuses n the ups and downs of candidates and their campaigns.

Soap Opera Stories

_______________ thrive on gossip, scandals, and personality. Questions of "character" are more important than issues.

"Gotcha" Journalism

In their hunger for soap opera stories, reporters sometimes practice what has become known as __________.

"Gotcha" Journalism

The aim of __________ is to catch the candidate making a mistake or looking foolish.

Mudslinging

At some point during a campaign, media consultants may advise a candidate to "go negative." This means switching from a positive, upbeat campaign to negative campaigning, also known as _________.

Mudslinging

The decision to go negative is not taken lightly. Polls show that the public dislikes attack ads.