Shared Flashcard Set

Details

PSCI 1101
Vocab Ch. 14
21
Political Studies
Undergraduate 1
12/12/2009

Additional Political Studies Flashcards

 


 

Cards

Term
News Media
Definition
The organizations that gather, package, and transmit the news through some proprietary communications technology.
Term
Unit Cost
Definition
The cost of transmitting a new product to a consumer.
Term
Muckracking
Definition
Journalistic investigation and exposure of scandals, corruption, and injustices, pioneered during the late 19th century progressive era.
Term
Yellow Journalism
Definition
Style of journalism born of intense competition and characterized by screaming headlines and sensational stories. Coined at the end of the 19th century, the term referred to the yellow ink in which the New York World's comic strips were printed.
Term
Equal Time
Definition
A "fairness" rule established by the Federal Communications Commission to ensure that broadcasters offer balanced coverage of controversial issues. If a radio or television station sells or gives airtime to one candidate for political office, it must provide other candidates with equal time.
Term
Fairness Doctrine
Definition
Rule that assures that different points of view on controversial issues have access to the airways.
Term
Carrying Capacity
Definition
The amount of information a communication technology can deliver to its audience. Newspapers, for example, have much higher carrying capacities than do television news programs.
Term
Infotainment
Definition
Increasingly popular, nontraditional source of political information that combines news and entertainment. Examples include talk shows and political comedy programs.
Term
Media Bias
Definition
Bias or slant in the selection of which news to report and how the news is reported.
Term
Prior Restraint
Definition
A government agency's act to prohibit the publication of material or speech before the fact. The courts forbid prior restraint except under extraordinary conditions.
Term
Slander
Definition
Forms of false and malicious information that damage another person's reputation.
Term
Libel
Definition
A published falsehood or statement resulting in the defamation of someone's character. The first amendment does not protect libelous statements.
Term
Trial Balloon
Definition
Policy announced by the president in order to test public opinion and floated either by members of congress or the media.
Term
Leak
Definition
Strategically consequential information given to reporters on the condition that its source not be identified by name.
Term
Beat
Definition
A regularly assigned venue that a news reporter covers on an ongoing basis.
Term
Shield laws
Definition
Law that protect journalists from having to testify about their sources in court.
Term
Pack Journalism
Definition
A method of news gathering in which news reporters all follow the same story in the same way because they read each other's copy for validation of their own.
Term
Franking Privilege
Definition
The legal right of each member of Congress to send official mail postage-free under his or her signature.
Term
Embedding
Definition
Military media strategy of putting journalists among military units in the field.
Term
Sound Bite
Definition
A catchy phrase or slogan that encapsulates a politician's message, broadcast especially on television news programs.
Term
Credibility Gap
Definition
The widespread suspicion among reporters that presidents will lie to the media when doing so serves their interest and they think they can get away with it.
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