JMU POSC 225 LaPira Exam 2

Media

Tools to store and deliver information or data

Print media

Traditional media format using printed materials

Radio and television

Broadcast media formats for audio and visual content

Electronic media

Media that use electronic devices for content delivery

New media

Digital platforms for content creation and distribution

Infotainment

Combination of information and entertainment in media

Media framing

Setting a context for understanding events and matters of shared interest

Priming

Using media coverage to bring particular policies on issues to the public agenda

Public agenda

Public issues that most demand the attention of government

Social media

Platforms designed for mass content creation and sharing

Watchdog function

Monitoring government officials to weed out corruption and violations of public trust

Penny press

Newspaper that sold for a penny, introduced in the 1830s

Digital paywall

Access limited to website subscribers for online content

Citizen journalists

Individuals who report news and information, often replacing traditional journalists

Political culture

Values and norms that shape the political behavior of a society

TV-viewing toddlers

Young children who receive cultural messages through television

Historical information flow

The process of media delivering information to the public

Talk radio

Radio format providing regular opportunities to express views publicly

Media critics

Individuals who analyze and critique media practices and content

Consolidation

The process of corporations merging to provide comprehensive digital services

Biased Media

Media that presents information in a way that favors one perspective over another

Ideological Bias

A long-standing complaint focusing on the liberal bias of the media, rooted in the ideological bent of journalists.

Conservative Media

The role that conservative media plays in shaping US politics.

Corporate Bias

A form of bias that emerges from the desire to attract, keep, and please an audience, producing skewed programming.

Profit Influence

The effect of profits on media coverage, leading to the prioritization of sensational stories.

If it bleeds, it leads

A phrase indicating that stories about violence or scandal attract more audience attention.

Public Opinion

The aggregate of individual attitudes or beliefs about certain issues or officials, and it is the foundation of any democracy.

Public Opinion is NOT

Facts that may be independently verified with sufficient evidence, likes and dislikes for goods and services in a market, and attitudes towards political inconsequential people or events.

Citizens' Attitudes

The general expressions of citizens' attitudes towards politics and government actions.

Ideology

How much someone is for each side (conservative/liberal).

Political System Belief

How much citizens believe in the political system.

Latent Formations

Specific issues, topics, or people that elicit immediate responses.

Public Opinion Poll

A survey of a given population's opinion on an issue at a particular time.

Target Population

The group of people whose opinions are of interest and about whom information is desired in a poll.

Poll Construction

The careful construction of polls to ensure that the questions measure what the client wants to know.

Validity

The degree to which a poll accurately measures what it is intended to measure.

Reliability

The consistency of a poll's results over time.

Random Sampling

A scientific method of selection where each member of the population has an equal chance at being in the sample.

Methodological Problems

Issues that arise in obtaining a truly random sample, such as population identification and nonresponse rates.

Quota Sampling

A more scientifically sophisticated method of sampling than random sampling, where the sample is structured to be representative of the target population.

Stratified Sampling

A method used to address problems in sampling by undersampling populations identified ahead of time and then oversampling.

Events

When an event happens, it will change your orientation to a specific issue.

Trust in the government

Polls go down after Watergate, up after 9/11.

Socialization

The process of children learning about the world around them, how they fit into the world, what the norms are.

Party identification

Chances are you will share the same political party as your parents.

Group Identity

Race, ethnicity, gender, religious identity, etc.

Elite Influence

Public opinion mirrors what elites believe rather than mass opinion.

Political Parties

An organization of ideologically similar people that nominates and elects its members to office in order to run the government and shape public policy.

Challenges

In recent years, both parties have struggled to win the approval of the American people.

Unfavorable view of parties

An increasing proportion of Americans (28 percent) have an unfavorable view of both political parties.

Younger voters' perception

Younger voters perceive no difference between the parties.

Party platform

The formal statement of a party's principles and policy objectives.

Grassroots organizing

Tasks that involve direct contact with voters or potential voters.

Responsible party model

Posits that a party tried to give a clear choice by establishing priorities or policy stances different from those of the rival party or parties.

Functions of Parties

Serve as intermediaries, nominate and run candidates for office, contest elections, organize government, provide accountability, manage conflict.

Popular criticism

Undermine open deliberation, generate unnecessary conflict, inhibit consensus and compromise, manipulate public opinion.

Elites defenses

Solve collective action problems, organize large decision-making bodies, identify 'winning' policy alternatives (50% +1 that's going to vote for a bill), provide electoral abscess for accountability.

Three Components of Parties

Party in the electorate, party organization, party in government.

Latent groups

People who have shared interest in politics

Women

National Organization for Women

Workers

AFL-CIO

Consumers

Consumers Union

Taxpayers

National Taxpayers Union

Small businesses

NFIB

Pharmaceutical industry

PhRMA, BIO, GPhA

Homeless people

? (None yet)

Free-Rider Problem

Individuals have an incentive to use good without contributing towards cost

Collection active dilemma

Individuals must act collectively (collective action) to produce a public good

Non-excludable

No one in the collective can be excluded from the enjoyments of the benefits

Non-rivalrous

No rival good can be produced, one public good can be produced in an area (coke v pepsi)

Public goods

Goods that are both non-excludable and non-rivalrous (lighthouses)

Coercion

Forcing everyone to contribute to the production of the public good (taxes and the draft)

Selective incentives

The main ways in which membership based groups manifest themselves into organized interests (sierra club)

Solidary benefits

The enjoyment you get from a group of people like you (getting benefits from it)

Purposive benefits

Getting out there and getting your voice heard

Types of Interest Groups

Corporations/business firms, business/trade associations, professional associations, business interest, labor unions, citizen/issue advocacy groups, nonprofit service/social welfare, ethnic/religious groups, state/local governments, foreign governments, institutions

Pluralist theory

Emphasizes how important it is for a democracy to have large numbers of diverse interest groups representing a wide variety of views

Elite theory

States that a ruling class composed of wealthy, educated individuals wields most of the power in the government, the top universities, corporations, the military, and media outlets

Key Functions of Interest Groups

Educate the public about policy issues, provide average citizens with an avenue of access to activism, mobilize citizens to participate in civic and political affairs, provide information and expertise to policy makers, monitor policy to protect the common good, are an integral part of the government and public policy

Downside of Interest Groups

Lots of people believe interest groups contribute to the appearance of (and sometimes the reality of) corruption in the political system

Interest groups and PACs

They and their political action committees (PACs) make money a vital force in American politics

Interest groups strength

They strengthen the incumbency advantage

How Interest Group Succeed

Why are some interest groups better at getting what they want than others?

Organizational Resources

Effectiveness of interest groups in influencing government policy often depends on the resources these groups use to sway policymakers.

Membership

One of the key types of resources that interest groups rely on for success.

Finances

Another key type of resource that interest groups rely on for success.

Financial Resources Affect Success

Money fuels the hiring of experienced and effective staff and lobbyists, as well as the undertaking of initiatives that will increase the groups membership.

Political Action Committee (PAC)

Groups may form a PAC to contribute money to the campaigns of favored candidates, particularly incumbents who are likely to be reelected.

Direct Strategies

Involve actual contact between representatives of the interest group and policymakers.

Indirect Strategies

Use intermediaries to advocate for a cause or generally to attempt to persuade the public, including policymakers, to embrace the group's position.

Lobbying

A direct strategy that includes contacting policymakers to influence legislation.

Litigation

A direct strategy that involves legal action to influence policy.

Providing Information or Expert Testimony

A direct strategy that involves supplying data or expert opinions to policymakers.

Grassroots Lobbyists

Citizens deployed by interest groups as part of indirect strategies to influence public opinion.

Electioneering

An indirect tactic where interest groups attempt to persuade the public that their position is right.

Providing Information

Interest groups are one of the chief sources of information for policymakers.

Investigating Policy Impact

Interest groups have the resources to investigate the impact of policies.

Access to Data

Interest groups have access to data, technological know-how, and a bevy of experts with extensive knowledge.

Public Outreach

Interest groups work hard to make the public, government officials, and others aware of issues.

Ad Campaigns

A method used in public outreach to educate the public.