(9) By The People: Debating American Government Chapter 9: MEDIA, TECHNOLOGY, AND GOVERNMENT

Consolidation

The process whereby a media company grows, acquires other companies, and threatens to dominate the market.

Fake News

The deliberate spread of falsehood or misinformation-often a charge made by politicians facing unfavorable stories.

Consolidation

The process whereby a media company grows, acquires other companies, and threatens to dominate the market.

Fake News

The deliberate spread of falsehood or misinformation-often a charge made by politicians facing unfavorable stories.

Fairness doctrine

Regulation that required media outlets to devote equal time to opposite perspectives.

Framing

The way an issue is defined; every issue has many possible frames, each with a slightly different tilt in describing the problem and highlighting solutions.

Infotainment

The blurred line between news and entertainment.

Loud signal

Media stories with very broad coverage and an unambiguous message.

Mass media

Information and entertainment for broad popular audiences including newspapers, radio, and television.

New media

On-demand access to information and entertainment through digital devices that also features interactive participation with content. Arose in the late twentieth century.

Personal presidency

The idea that the president has a personal link to the public. Made initially possible by twentieth-century media.

Policy agenda

The issues that the media covers, the public considers important, and politicians address. Setting the agenda is the first step in political action.

Priming

Affecting voters' or poll respondents' perception of candidates or public officials by raising issues that are perceived to enhance or diminish the candidates.

Public ownership

A situation in which media outlets are run by the government and paid for by tax dollars.

Public watchdog

Media coverage that alerts the public when a problem arises in politics or society.

Sound bite

A short clip of speech taken from a longer piece of audio. Often refers to a brief excerpt from a speech by a candidate or politician.

Telecommunications Act of 1996

A major congressional overhaul of communications law that opened the door to far more competition by permitting companies to own outlets in multiple media markets such as radio, television, and magazines.

Watergate scandal

A failed effort in 1972 by Republican operatives to break into Democratic Party headquarters in the Watergate office complex in Washington, D.C.; tapes of Oval Office conversations later revealed that President Nixon attempted to cover up the event-causing him to resign from the presidency.