Media Influence - AP Government and Politics

The term "Yellow Journalism" refers to a type of reporting that presents sensationalized (and often inaccurate) accounts of events in order to attract readers and sell more papers. The sensationalized and potentially inaccurate accounts of the sinking of the U.S.S. Maine in newspapers published by William Randolph Hearst and Joseph Pulitzer helped to lead to the Spanish-American War at the end of the 19th Century.

A "trial balloon" is information released to the media and framed as if it were an unintentional leak from an unnamed political source; however, the intention is for politicians who are debating a change in policy to observe how the public might react to such a change.

"Yellow journalism" is the name given to the practice of reporting shocking or abhorrent news stories for the sake of attracting new readers and selling more newspapers. Yellow journalism is generally considered manipulative and bad journalistic practice, but that has not stopped various forms of media throughout American history from participating in it. Yellow journalism is most closely associated with the newspapers of William Randolph Hearst who (some argue) single-handedly dragged the United States into war with Spain by reporting on various news stories inaccurately to characterize the Spanish as violent and barbaric. Partisan journalism is the name given to a media source that serves the interests of a political party above the interests of the general public.

"Common-carrier role" refers to the idea that the media acts as a vehicle through which political leaders can communicate with the general public. The "watchdog role" refers to the idea that the media acts as a servant of the people by keeping an eye on politicians, making sure they are not corrupt or negligible in office. Both of these terms relate to the role that the media plays in connecting the government to the people.

Since its invention, the television has become the easiest and most widely available means of acquiring political news and commentary.

News outlets often choose which stories get the headline or 1st position as well as, how much time is devoted to a subject. This is agenda setting and is the media's most used tool to influence viewers.

News corporations, like any business, want to make profit. The best way to do that is to ensure you have a large viewing audience that attracts advertisers to sell on their network.

The correct answer is “opinion leader.” Classic examples would be Piers Morgan, Sean Hannity, or anyone similar. Both of these men are widely known individuals who have quite a large effect on public opinion on political matters. Although teacher or community leader may have been tempting, those are technically examples of (possible) opinion leaders—but are not individually the definition.

In the middle and late 1800s, the middle class was fed up with "yellow journalism" and started buying into the social reform goals of the Progressive era. This gave rise to a market for magazines that would devote their time to issues of public policy with solid, fact-based reporting.

Coverage of political candidates on the "big three" networks has been broken up into shorter pieces and as a result is much less in-depth. The average sound bite dropped from 42 seconds in 1968 to 7.3 seconds in 2000. As a result, politicians often turn to cable TV, early morning news shows, prime time "news magazine shows," and other sources to get more extensive coverage.

In strong contrast to many other countries, American newspapers are primarily oriented to the local market and the local audience, and there is typically more local than national news inside. There are a few widely read national newspapers, such as the New York Times and the Washington Post, but these are the exception rather than the norm.

The media plays the role of gatekeeper because it can influence what subjects become national political issues and for how long. As scorekeepers, the national media helps keep track of the progress of various candidates in elections. As watchdogs, the media pays close attention to the politicians that they are interested in, and will expose corruption (as in the Watergate Scandal).

Salient is defined as the most noticeable or important. A salient issue is one that is topmost on people's mind. An example would be the economy during times of recession.

Since its invention, television has become the easiest accessible and most prevalent source of information. Additionally, 24 hour news networks provide the easiest means for people to acquire political information.

The most important impact of television is the agenda setting. News networks can choose what stories get the top of the hour and how much time to spend on them.

As early as 5 years old, young people start to assimilate and have affective feelings on political subjects provided by their interactions with their parents and family. This process continues until they form their own political worldview.

The majority of Americans get their news from television media, so we can rule out two of these answer choices. We can also firmly state that the credibility of the New York Times has been higher in the past, as it was recently rocked by a scandal when one of its regular contributors admitted he had fabricated news stories. Finally, although print media readership is declining, to claim that it is now obsolete is an extreme stretch. The only statement here that it is mostly accurate is that talk radio is primarily controlled by conservative voices. Talk radio emerged in the 1980s and 1990s and mixes partisan interviews with political commentary. It is usually conservative, but not exclusively.

Random sampling refers to a survey in which everyone has an equal possibility of being selected. It is considered a tenet of reliable survey methodology because it ensures as little bias will be inherent in the survey as is possible. The best example shown here is dialing random numbers that end with the number nine, this is entirely random and the only real bias it can generate is “people who own phones.” Dialing random numbers that begin with the number nine will select people based on area code; going to a high-end supermarket will select wealthier people; going to a football stadium will obviously select sports fans; calling people on thanksgiving will generate slightly different results than a normal day because people will be in unusual moods, either positively or negatively, and this example makes no mention of how the numbers are selected so would be poor survey practice.

The Associated Press was formed at a time when "yellow journalism" was rampant. Because the AP was a subscription service that provided short, telegraphed stories to newspaper editors across the country, it had to be as neutral as possible in its reporting to attract a large subscriber base. This financially incentivized at least one form of journalism that was objective, as opposed to sensationalist.

There are three types of news stories that differ significantly in the opportunity for media bias. Routine stories about events that are regularly covered by many reporters are least likely to be biased because they tend to involve a simple accounting of events. For example, the President's trip to Martha's Vineyard for vacation is most likely to be a routine story.