Unit 2 Public Opinion, the Media and the Political Agenda

Public Opinion

 The distribution of individual preferences or evaluations of a given issue, candidate, or institution within a specific population.

Demography

The statistical study of populations, especially human beings.... Demographics are quantifiable characteristics of a given population

Census

An official count or survey of a population, typically recording various details of individuals

Melting Pot

a place where different peoples, styles, theories, etc., are mixed together

Minority Majority

a group of people that differ in some way from the majority of the population, or any part of a whole that is smaller than the other parts

Political Culture

The set of attitudes, beliefs, and sentiments which give order and meaning to a political process and which provide the underlying assumptions and rules that govern behavior in the political system. It encompasses both the political ideals and the operating norms of a polity

Political Socialization

The process - most notably in families and schools - by which we develop our political attitudes, values, and beliefs.

Sample

A group drawn from a larger population and used to estimate the characteristics of the whole population

Random Sample

In this type of sample, every individual has unknown and random chance of being selected.

Sampling Error

Error in a statistical analysis arising from the unrepresentativeness of the sample taken

Margin of Error

Rate of error in a random sampling - usually +/- 3% for a sample of at least

1,500 individuals.

Random-digit Dialing

A method for selecting people for involvement in telephone statistical surveys by generating telephone numbers at random. Random digit dialing has the advantage that it includes unlisted numbers that would be missed if the numbers were selected from a phone book

Exit Poll

A poll of people leaving a polling place, asking how they voted

Political Ideology

A consistent pattern of beliefs about political values and the role of government.

Gender Gap

The differences between women and men, especially as reflected in social, political, intellectual, cultural, or economic attainments or attitudes. This marks the trend in recent U.S. presidential elections, whereby more female than male voters support the Democratic party candidate and more male than female voters support the Republican party candidate

Political Participation

 Any activity that shapes, affects, or involves the political sphere. Political participation ranges from voting to attending a rally to committing an act of terrorism to sending a letter to a representative.

Protest

an expression or declaration of objection, disapproval, or dissent, often in opposition to something a person is powerless to prevent or avoid

Attentive Public

Citizens who follow public affairs carefully.

Intensity

How strongly people feel about certain political issues.

Latency

Political opinions that exist but have not been fully expressed

Salience

Extent to which people believe issues are relevant to them.

Voter Registration

System designed to reduce voter fraud by limiting voting to those who have established eligibility to vote by submitting the proper documents, including proof of residency.

Turnout

The proportion of the voting age public that votes, sometimes defined as the number of registered voters that vote.

Horse Race

A close contest; by extension, any contest in which the focus is on who is ahead and by how much rather than on substantive differences between the candidates.

Party Identification

An informal and subjective affiliation with a political party that most people acquire in childhood.

Candidate Appeal

How voters feel about a candidate's background, personality, leadership ability. and other personal qualities.

Prospective Issue Voting

Voting based on what a candidate pledges to do in the future about an issue if elected.

Retrospective Issue Voting

Holding incumbents, usually the president's party, responsible for their records on issues, such as the economy or foreign policy.

Liberalism

A belief that government can and should achieve justice and equality of opportunity.

Conservatism

A belief in private property and free enterprise.

Social Conservatism

Focus less on economics and more on morality and lifestyle.

Socialism

 A governmental system where some of the means of production are controlled by the state.

Communism

A belief that the state owns property in common for all people and a single political party that represents the working classes controls the government.

Libertarianism

An ideology that cherishes individual liberty and insists on minimal government, promoting a free market economy, a noninterventionist foreign policy, and an absence of regulation in moral, economic, and social life.

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

Means of communication that are reaching the public, including newspapers and magazines, radio, television (broadcast, cable, and satellite), films, recordings, books, and electronic communication.

Media Event

A media event, also known as a pseudo-event, is an event or activity conducted for the purpose of media publicity. It may also include any event that is covered in the mass media or was hosted largely with the media in mind

Press Conference

an interview given to journalists by a prominent person in order to make an announcement or answer questions

Investigative Journalism

a form of journalism in which reporters deeply investigate a single topic of interest, such as serious crimes, political corruption, or corporate wrongdoing. An investigative journalist may spend months or years researching and preparing a report.

News Media

Media that emphasize the news.

Electronic Media

Broadcast or storage media that take advantage of electronic technology. They may include television, radio, Internet, fax, CD-ROMs, DVD, and any other medium that requires electricity or digital encoding of information. The term 'electronic media' is often used in contrast with print media

Narrowcasting

transmit a television program, especially by cable, or otherwise disseminate information, to a comparatively small audience defined by special interest or geographical location

Selective Exposure

The process by which individuals screen out messages that do not conform to their own biases.

Chains

The linkage of groups of newspapers published by media conglomerates and today accounting for over 80% of the nation's daily newspaper circulation.

Beats

the subject area that a reporter is assigned to cover and write about... Typically beat reporters work with a specific editor who also knows the beat, who can guide the reporter toward sources or information, and help them shape their stories

24/7 News Cycle

News is now constantly updated and presented via Internet sites like the New York Times or Wall Street Journal and cable news sources like CNN, Fox News, and MSNBC.

Trial Balloons

a project or scheme tentatively announced in order to test public opinion

Sound Bites

a short extract from a recorded interview, chosen for its pungency or appropriateness.

Talking Heads

a commentator or reporter on television who addresses the camera and is viewed in close-up

Selected Perception

The process by which individuals perceive what they want to in media messages.

Policy Agenda

set of issues, problems, or subjects. • that gets the attention of/is viewed as important by people involved in policymaking

Policy Entreprenuers

a political entrepreneur is a business entrepreneur who seeks to gain profit through subsidies, protectionism, government contracts, or other such favorable arrangements with governments) through political influence (also known as corporate welfare).