Task 3: Primary Season (College Board Topics 5.3-5.4, 5.6-5.7, 5.12-5.13, focus on the media, parties, and interest groups)

Agenda Setting

The media’s ability to highlight certain issues and bring them to the attention of the public

Tradition news media

Information given to the media from newspapers and television before the rise of the internet

New communication technologies/social media

Digital platforms that share information and websites for networking

Investigative journalism

An approach to newsgathering in which journalist dig into stories, often looking for wrongdoing

Election coverage

Reporting and analysis like polls and opinions towards candidates to inform people about the process

Political commentary

Expression of opinions or analysis regarding political issues

“Horse race” media coverage

Coverage of media campaigns that focuses on the drama of the campaign than policy issues

Media bias

Reinforcing a particular viewpoint

Impact of media ownership

Influence accessibility and distribution of information

Partisan new sites

To promote a specific ideology or political party

Increased media choices

Consumer driven media outlets

Political parties using forms of technology to engage and influence voters

Consumer driven media outlets

Where there’s influence by individual users and how it’s delivered

Uncertainty over the credibility of news sources

Misinformation, decline in public trust, and biases

Linkage institutions

Channels that connect individuals with government, including elections, political parties, interest groups, and the media

Political parties

An organized group of party leaders, officeholders, and voters who work together to elect candidates to political office

Mobilization and education of voters

Encouraging people to vote by informing them the voting process

Party platforms

A set of positions and policy objectives that members of a political party agree to

Candidate recruitment

Hiring candidates for a specific role or job

Campaign management, including fundraising and media strategy

Strategic planning of a political campaign that has a manager and financial contributions from organizations.

Committee and party leadership systems in legislatures

Shaping legislative agenda and influencing policy outcomes

Candidate- centered campaigns

Candidates develop their own strategies and raise money with less influence from the party elite

Critical elections/ regional alignments in voting

A majority national election that signals change in the balance of power between two parties. When group of people who support a political party shift their allegiance to another party

Communication technology usage by parties

use of social media and data information for voters engagement

Voter data management technology

Influence the outcome of elections and track voter preference

Educating voters and office holders

Providing important information for voters to understand

Conduct lobbying

Lobbyists conduct legislators and the 1st Amendment

Draft legislation

State main message, clear definition, and apply exceptions to things

Mobilization to apply pressure on legislators and agencies

To influence and mobilize policy making and legislative actions

File an amicus curiae brief

A brief filed by someone who’s not a party to a case in an attempt to persuade the court to agree with the arguments set forth in the briefMut

Working within party coalitions

To collab between political parties to achieve a goal

Iron triangles

Mutual beneficial activities of the bureaucracy, Congress, and interest groups to achieve shared policy goals

issue networks

Webs of influence between interest groups, policy makers, and policy advocates

inequality of interest group resources

Free rider and groups that have more power due to budget spending, which means more lobbyist from those groups

Free rider problem

Individual who enjoys benefits from interest groups without joining

Selective benefits

Benefits available only to those who join the group

Single-issue groups

Groups focused on one specific area of public policy

Ideological movements/ Social movements

Large groups of citizens organizing for political change

Protest movement

A public demonstration designed to call attention to a need of change