Trang Gov Ch. 9 Vocab

Photo-Op

A carefully staged event designed to produce memorable photographs and video images.

Horse Race Coverage

Treats an election as a sporting event; focus on who is winning and why.

Soap Opera Stories

Focuses on the ups and downs of candidates and their campaigns; thrive on gossip, scandals, and personality.

"Gotcha" Journalism

The aim is to catch the candidate making a mistake or look foolish.

Negative Campaigning

Trying to win an advantage in a campaign by emphasizing negative aspects of an opponent or policy. In the past, this type of campaigning was called mudslinging.

Mudslinging

Switching from a positive, upbeat campaign to negative campaigning.

Focus Group

A small group of people who are brought together to discuss their opinions on a topic of concern.

Staged Events

Presidential press conferences are an example of _____________.

On-The-Record Conversation

The report can quote the public official by name.

Off-The-Record Conversation

The reporter can use the information but may not reveal the source.

Spin

The deliberate showing of information about a person or an event in an attempt to influence public opinion.

Opinion Journalism

The chatter of "talking heads" eager to share their views with the world.

Agenda-Setting Power

Politicians and activists try to harness this ____________________ of the media to focus attention on issues they care about.

Trial Balloons

A proposal that is shared with the press to test public reaction to it.

Sound-Bites

Capture main points in just a few words; more likely to be run in news stories than are long speeches.

Leak

The unofficial release of confidential information to the media.

Media Bias

Real or imagined prejudice that is thought to affect what stories journalists cover and how they report these stories.

Push Poll

Phone surveys, usually made close to Election Day, on behalf of a candidate.

Mass Media

Means of communication that reach a large audience. Today, the __________ include newspapers, magazines, radio, television, and the Internet.

Print Media

Mainly newspapers and magazines.

Broadcast Media

Mainly radio and television.

News Media

Newspapers, news magazines, and broadcast news shows for information on politics and public affairs.

Blogs

News-oriented web logs; a journal or newsletter posted on the World Wide Web.

Electronic Media

Computers, cell phones, and other communication devices that connect via the Internet to the World Wide Web.

World Wide Web

Makes billions of documents stored in computers all over the world accessible to anyone with an Internet connection.

Random Samples

Every individual has a chance of being selected.

Margin of Error

A measure of the accuracy of an opinion poll. The smaller the _______________, the more confidence one can have in the results of a poll. The _______________ usually decreases as the number of people surveyed increases.

Benchmark Poll

Often used by prospective candidates to "test the waters" before beginning a campaign.

Tracking Poll

Conducted during a campaign to measure support for a candidate on a day-by-day basis.

Exit Poll

Used by campaigns and the news media to predict the winners on Election Day long before the polls close.

Scientific Sampling

The process of selecting a small group of people who are representative of the whole population.

Straw Polls

An informal survey of opinion conducted by a show of hands or some other means of counting preferences.

Opinion Poll

A method of measuring public opinion. This is done by asking questions of a random sample of people and using their answers to represent the views of the broader population.

Opinion Maker

May be journalists, public officials, business leaders, or activists. Because they have access to the media, "their" opinions often become "our" opinions.

Political Socialization

The process by which people form their political values and attitudes. This process starts in childhood and continues through adulthood.

Agents of Socialization

Many agents, or forces, play a part in political socialization. They include family, schools, religion, friends, and the mass media.

Public Opinion

The sum of many individual opinions, beliefs, or attitudes about a public person or issue.

Political Campaigns

Organized efforts to influence election outcomes.