Interest Groups
Polls / Polling
Political Parties
Role of Media in US
Media Literacy
100
List one influence on the growth of interest groups.
government policies, social movements, government regulations, economic developments
100
What is a poll?
a survey of public opinion
100
incumbents, individual candidates versus political parties, celebrities, wealthy candidates
Benefit from campaign finance reform laws
100
The media's role as "gatekeeper" enables the media to...
influence what subjects become national political issues and for how long
100
List two things to consider to read a newspaper - on paper or electronically - intelligently (e.g. look for bias):
headlines, sources of information, use of language, choices of coverage
200
What is a PAC (Public Action Committee)?
private group organized to raise money to elect political candidates
200
What is a random sample?
method of choosing from a population with equal probability for being selected
200
List two sources of funding for interest groups
members/dues, foundation grants, government grants, government contracts, direct mail
200
The role of the media as "scorekeeper" enables it to
keep track of and help make political reputations, note who is "mentioned" and help decide who wins/loses elections
200
Changing technology impacts how we relate to news because
more people read blogs, watch TV, or follow stories on the internet
300
What is the best measure of an interest group's influence? (size, wealth, organizational skills, contacts, issue dexterity)
organizational skills
300
What is an exit poll?
polls based on interviews on election days
300
The campaign finance reforms of 1973 led to...
rapid growth in PACS (political action Committees)
300
The role of the media as "watchdog" enables it to
closely scrutinize or keep an eye on what politicians are doing
300
The equal time rule requires stations to...
sell advertising to all political candidates
400
Three sources of funding for interest groups
members/dues, foundation grants, government grants, government contracts, direct mail, etc.
400
What is a sampling error or margin of error?
difference between results of random samples at a given time
400
Reasons why political parties have become weaker
less patronage, voting rights, less voter loyalty
400
Advantage of a newspaper over electronic media
Restrict the arguments of would-be critics
400
Presidential elections are typically presented as "horse races." What is a "horse race?"
focus more on the political contest than the issues
500
Name two incentives to join interest groups.
solidarity (pleasure, status, etc.), materials (what you get), purposive / purpose of the group (goals, cause), ideology of the group
500
What is political socialization?
Process by which background traits influence one's political views
500
US Supreme Court Decision Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission (2010)
ruled political spending is a form of protected speech under the first amendment
500
Prior restraint is...
Government action to prevent the publication of material
500
What is "adversarial press?"
When the press is suspicious of officials nad eager to reveal unflattering stories
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