AP Government: Interest Groups and Mass Media

Vocabulary flashcards covering AP Government Competency Goal 3: political parties, elections, interest groups, and mass media roles and behaviors.

Interest group

An organization of people with shared policy goals entering the policy process at local and national levels in order to achieve policy change.

Pluralist theory

A theory of government and politics emphasizing that politics is mainly a competition among factions, each one pressing for its own preferred policies.

Elite theory

A theory of government and politics contending that societies are divided along class lines and that an upper-class elite will rule, regardless of the formal niceties of governmental organization.

Hyperpluralist theory

A theory of government and politics contending that groups are so strong that government is weakened; an extreme, exaggerated, or perverted form of pluralism.

Iron Triangles

The relationship between interest group leaders interested in a particular policy, the government agency in charge of administrating that policy, and the members of congressional committees and subcommittees handling that policy.

Free-rider problem

The problem faced by unions and other groups when people do not join because they can benefit from the group's activities without officially joining.

Selective benefits

Goods (such as information publications, travel discounts, and group insurance rates) that a group can restrict to those who pay their annual dues.

Single-issue groups

Groups that have a narrow interest, tend to dislike compromise, and often draw membership from people new to politics, distinguishing them from traditional interest groups.

Lobbying

According to Lester Milbrath, a communication, by someone other than a citizen acting on his own behalf, directed to a governmental decisionmaker with the hope of influencing his decision.

Inside Lobbying

Direct communication between interest groups and policy makers.

Outside Lobbying

A form of lobbying in which an interest group seeks to use public pressure to influence officials through votes, PAC contributions, and grassroots lobbying.

Electioneering

Direct group involvement in the electoral process, including funding campaigns, providing testimony, getting members to work for candidates, and forming political action committees (PACs).

Political action committees (PACs)

Political funding vehicles created by 1974 campaign finance reforms that can be established by corporations, unions, or other interest groups and registered with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) to monitor expenditures.

Grassroots

A form of indirect lobbying that refers to any attempt to influence legislation by affecting the opinions of the general public.

Amicus curiae briefs

Legal briefs submitted by a "friend of the court" for the purpose of raising additional points of view and presenting information not contained in the briefs of the formal parties in an attempt to influence a court's decision.

Class action suits

Lawsuits permitting a small number of people to sue on behalf of all other people similarly situated.

Cohesiveness

A unified sense of purpose among all of the members, recognized as the single most important goal for any interest group.

High-tech politics

A type of 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 purposely staged for the media that nonetheless look spontaneous (a "photo op"), which can be staged by individuals, groups, and government officials—especially presidents.

Press conference

Meetings of public officials with reporters. Since the Watergate/Vietnam era, heightened scrutiny by the media in its watchdog role has led recent presidents to prefer the electronic throne over press conferences.

Investigative journalism

The use of detective-like reporting to unearth scandals, scams, and schemes, placing reporters in adversarial relationships with political leaders and fostering ongoing suspicion of big government and big corporations since Watergate.

Signaler role

The responsibility of the media to alert the public to important developments as soon as they happen.

Agenda setting

The power of the media through news coverage to focus the public's attention and concern on particular events, problems, issues, and personalities.

Common-carrier role

The media's function as an open channel through which political leaders can communicate with the public.

Print media

Newspapers and magazines, as compared with broadcast media.

Broadcast media

Television and radio, as compared with print media.

Chains

National and regional corporate networks that, by 1994, controlled more than 80 percent of America's daily papers.

Photo Ops

A photo opportunity that a politician stages for maximum publicity.

Narrowcasting

Media programming on cable TV or the Internet focused on one topic and aimed at a particular audience (e.g., MTV, ESPN, C-SPAN, CNN, FOX NEWS), which critics argue splinters coverage and fosters selective perception.

Trial balloons

An intentional news leak for the purpose of assessing the political reaction.

Sound bites

Short video clips of approximately 15 seconds, typically all that is shown from a politician's speech or activities on the nightly television news.

"Electronic Throne"

The presidential skill of using television as a platform for public persuasion, developed as an alternative to press conferences.

"Infotainment"

A trend in network television news production that blends analysis with entertainment, linked to shifts in voter behavior and blurring the line between celebrity news and real news.

Horse-Race Journalism

The practice of media coverage of political campaigns that focuses more on who is "ahead" in the polls rather than on in-depth coverage of issues.

Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)

A law applying to federal agencies that requires all public documents to be made available and fully disclosed to the public, with exceptions for national security, internal practices, personnel files, and medical files.

Sunshine Laws

State and federal laws that require the opening of government meetings to the public and prohibit government entities from conducting business in private session.

Presidential Press Conference

A forum allowing the president to use the "bully pulpit" to promote his agenda while giving the press the opportunity to question the president about issues important to the American public.