Emory Ronae
Ms. Sieg
AP Gov
December 18th 2007
Chapter 10: The Media And American Politics

1. Define Mass media
1. Means of communication that reaches the public, including newspapers and magazines, radio, television (broadcast, cable, and satelite) films, recordings, books, and electronic communication.
   
2. Describe the impact of television, talk radio, newspaper, and the internet
1. The media have been called the "forth estate," and the "fourth branch of government." By definition the mas media disseminate messages to a large and often heterogeneous audience. Mass media then is able to get messges out to a huge audience, influencing everyone about the actions of the government and other situations abroad affecting our country.
   
3. How does the government regulate the media?
1. The FCC
   
4. Describe several factors that limit media influence on public opinion
1. a belief that the media is one-sided and thus unreliable
2. Political Socialization: example: A conservative republican from arizona might watch "the liberal Eastern networks" and complain about their biased news coerage while sticking to her own opinions.
3. Selectivity
1. screening out messages that do not conform to their own biases
4. selective perception:
1. percieving what they want in media messages
5. What is meant by selective percception?
1. Selective perception is the process by which people only percieve the information they want from media messages
   
6. Define Horse race journalism
1. the process that media companies tend to report less on the issues that a candidate believes in and more on the candidates place in the polls, relative to other candidates.
   
7. Is there a political bias of the news media, explain?
   
1. There is no more a political bias in the news media then there is a personal bias in each person reporting the news. If you turn on the news to CNN on Keith Oberman you may believe that the news is liberal, however if you change to FOX news, you will recieve a very different oppinion.
   
8. asses the impact of the media on how voters make schoices
1. The media, in most instances, influences voters more than the actual candidates. In an ironic twist, what was once simply a machine to transmit the beliefs of the candidates to the masses, the media now represents a force that in fact shapes the candidates themselves. Not only that, but pundits and political talk show hosts further shape the public's belief.
   
9. compare differing relationships between the press and the president, the Congress, and the Supreme Court.
1.