AP Gov - Unit 5: Political Participation Chapter 20:The Media

Free Press

A press not restricted or controlled by government censorship regarding politics or ideology

News Bureaus

Offices for gathering or distributing news

Investigative Reporting

An approach to news gathering in which reported dig into stories often looking for instances of wrongdoing

Affiliates

Broadcasting from one larger station to several smaller stations

Big 3 Networks

ABC, CBS, NBC

Horse-race journalism

Focus on the latest polls, emphasizing the drama of who is winning

Gate Keeper

News broadcast that sets their own agenda by determining what is newsworthy and what information the public will receive

Watchdog

Expose wrongdoing and corruption by policy makers and government

Adversarial Press

a press that has the ability to argue with the government

Political Reporting

standard "just-the-facts" kinds of stories; objective

- Typically not able to swing elections

Sound bites

short video clips of approximately 10 seconds of speech or event

C-SPAN

Cable-Satellite Public Affairs Network, shows activity in congress at all times

Political Analysis

Form of journalism that explores and provides opinions on a topic in depth

Editorials

Opinionated articles that reveal the publication's view

Op-Ed

Opinionated articles with an author listed appear on the opposing page to allow for other opinions

Commentary

Opinion and interpretation of situation instead of presenting "just facts"

Fairness Doctrine

Former federal policy that required radio and television broadcasters to present alternative view points

FCC

Federal Communications Commission

- Regulates electronic media and has authority over the content of radio, television, and satellite broadcasts

Talk Radio

Political radio shows that air from coast to coast

Mainstream Media

Collection of traditional news sources

Confirmation Bias

a tendency to search for information that supports our preconceptions and to ignore or distort contradictory evidence