Public Opinion & Media

Front 1

political socialization

Back 1

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

Front 2

Six forces that shape political socialization:

Back 2

family, school, religion, peer groups, gender & ethnicity, and news media

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public opinion

Back 3

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

Front 4

Three ways that public opinion is shaped:

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1. by special interests groups
2. by journalist, politicians, & other opinion makers
3. by what politicians say it is

Front 5

Three reasons why public opinion is important to democracy.

Back 5

1. Guide leaders as they make public policy decisions.
2. Guard against hasty decisions.
3. Glue in a diverse society where widespread agreement on basic political beliefs helps hold society together.

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9.3 straw poll

Back 6

Informal survey of opinion that can be highly inaccurate because it does not ensure that the population sampled is representative of the population.

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scientific sampling

Back 7

Involves selecting a small group of people who are representative of the whole population.
The results are more likely to represent the views of the larger group.

Front 8

opinion poll

Back 8

A method of mesuring public opinion done by asking questions of a ramdom sample of people and using their answers to represent the views of the broader population.

Front 9

margin of error

Back 9

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

Front 10

Steps of the polling process

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1. Identify the target population to be surveyed.
2. Sum up opinions gathered in the survey.
3. Report the percent choosing each possible response and the margin of error.

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benchmark polling

Back 11

A long detailed survey of voter opinion designed to help political canidates craft their campaigns.

Front 12

tracking polls

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A survey used on a daily basis during a political campaign to measure the level of support for a candidate.

Front 13

exit polls

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A survey of voters, taken as they leave the polling place, to predict the winner on Election Day.

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push poll

Back 14

A phone survey sponsored by a political candidate that provides damaging infromation on an opponent in order to "push" voters away from that opponent.

Front 15

9.4 mass media

Back 15

Mean of communication that reach a large audience. Today it includes newspapers, magazines, radio, tv, and the Internet.

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print media

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mainly newspapers and magazines

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broadcast media

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mainly radio and tv

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electronic media

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computers, cell phones, & other communication devices that connenct to the Internet

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traditional media sources:

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newspapers, magazines, radio, or tv

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new media sources:

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talk radio, tv talk shows, tv news magazines, televised town hall meetings, cable comedy shows, or blogs

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role of free press in democracy

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Serves as a government watchdog, helps set the public agenda, and supports the free exchange of ideas, information, and opinions.

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ways to attract and shape media coverage

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1. stage an event & invite the press
2. grant on- or off-the-recordinterviews with the press and can use these interviews to spin issues, float trial balloons, or leak information

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staged events

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Most common way to attract and shape media coverage, press conference.

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on-the-record conversation

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A report that quotes a public official by name.

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off-the-record conversation

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A reporter uses information but may not reveal the source.

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spin

Back 26

the deliberate shading of infromation about a person or an event in an attempt to influence public opinion.

Front 27

sound bites

Back 27

Main points of view by a politician in just a few words.

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trial balloons

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

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leak

Back 29

The unofficial release of confidential infromation to the media.

Front 30

media bias

Back 30

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

Front 31

four factors that influence what we see & hear as news:

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1. impact
2. conflict
3. novelty
4. familiarity

Front 32

Why are the media biased?

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1. Reflection of how news organizations work.
2. Choose stories they know people will pay attention to.
3. People tend to pay attention to news that supports their views and tune out news that doesn't.

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9.5 media consultant

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Advise canidates on how to present a positive image to voters.
Help plan media campaigns, decide what ads should say, and when & where they should appear.
Use opinion polls to spend $ effectively and use focus groups to test the appeal of a message.

Front 34

focus groups

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

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positive issue ad

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Ad promoting a canidate's position on topics designed to appeal to voters.

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negative issue ad

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Ad criticising the opponent's stand on issues of importance to voters.

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postive image ad

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Ad showing the candidate as a selfless public servant, a strong leader, or someone who cares about ordinatry people.

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negative image ad

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Ad portraying the opponent as weak, inexperienced, or lacking in integrity. Designed to convince people that his person is unfit for public office.

Front 39

photo op

Back 39

Short for photo opportunity, is a carefully staged event designed to produce memorable photographs and video images.

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horse race coverage

Back 40

Treat an election as a sporting event.
Focus on who is winning and why.
Issues are discussed only in terms of whether they will help or hurt the candidate's chances.

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soap opera stories

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Focuses on the ups and downs of canidates and their campaigns.
Thrive on gossip, scandals, & personality.

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gotcha journalism

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Aim is to catch the candidate making a mistake or looking foolish.

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negative campaigning

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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.

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Why does negative campaigning work?

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1. Discourage voters who might who might have supported a canidate under attack from voting.
2. Stimulates voter interest.
3. Cause more voters to go vote & choose a different candidate.