Agenda Setting
This theory describes the media’s ability to influence the list of issues citizens consider most important in political debate.
What is agenda-setting?
This occurs when journalists use specific language to make tax cuts sound positive or negative, impacting public support.
What is framing?
This effect causes citizens to judge politicians by the issues most emphasized in recent news coverage.
What is priming?
This type of coverage focuses on campaign standings rather than substantive policy debates.
What is horse-race journalism?
: The process by which media consumption habits influence the formation of political values and engagement.
What is political socialization?
This effect explains why an issue with little direct public experience can still become highly salient due to sustained coverage.
What is the salience effect
This term describes the act of emphasizing “border security” over “humanitarian crisis” to shift the focus of immigration debates.
What is strategic framing?
The method by which news outlets highlight the economy to elevate its importance in election outcomes.
What is issue priming?
Reporting that prioritizes poll numbers and strategic moves during an election exemplifies this concept.
What is poll-centric journalism?
Personalized social media feeds that reinforce a user’s established viewpoints are known as this.
What is a filter bubble?
This concept explains why government priorities may shift to reflect the media’s top stories, even without direct public demand.
What is policy agenda synchronization?
This cognitive shortcut is used when people interpret information based on how media frames the context of a story.
What is a heuristic?
When coverage of a candidate’s personal character increases, voters use this attribute for evaluation.
What is character priming?
This effect describes how horse-race coverage discourages voter participation by portraying elections as mere contests.
What is voter demobilization?
When internet users only seek out news from sources sharing their worldviews, they are creating this.
What is an echo chamber?
This is a classic example of agenda-setting, demonstrated by the media driving national debate toward one issue, such as immigration or terrorism.
What is issue amplification?
Changing the narrative to highlight winners and losers in a policy debate is an example of this media technique.
What is game framing?
Deliberate attempts by campaigns to influence which qualities media audiences deem most important.
What is issue management
Media focus on candidate gaffes and dramatic turns during campaigns is described by this term.
What is spectacle journalism?
This psychological bias leads individuals to favor content that reaffirms their existing beliefs.
What is confirmation bias?
The phenomenon where media coverage compels political leaders to act on certain topics due to rising public attention.
What is agenda convergence?
The psychological process where framing guides how individuals attribute responsibility in public scandals.
What is attribution framing?
Name for a shift in evaluative standards that occurs after repeated news emphasis on a particular government performance area.
What is metric priming
The tendency to emphasize candidate momentum and setbacks as if tracking athletes’ performance.
What is scoreboard reporting?
The feedback mechanism where polling shapes coverage, which in turn influences poll results.
What is a media-public opinion feedback loop?