Roles of Journalism/Hierarchy of News
What is the first level in the hierarchy of news?
The individual level: characteristics of the journalists
What did researchers predict in the Magic Bullet era?
Media that reaches its target audiences will have immediate, large effects.
What are the three interpretive theories we discussed in class?
Agenda setting, priming, and framing.
What is the difference between an episodic frame and a thematic frame?
Episodic focuses on individual stories and events, thematic looks at broad societal themes and standards
There is ____ evidence that a media bias exists, yet there is ____ evidence that a perception of a media bias exists.
No, some
Name at least 4 of the 6 roles of news in a democracy.
Information
Investigation
Analysis
Social Empathy
Public Forum
Mobilization
What is the two-step flow model?
Media--> Opinion Leaders--> Public
What is priming?
The effect of one stimulus on subsequent stimulus. (Usually political figure evals)
Name one of two ways frames enter the news
1) Journalists as gatekeepers
2) Official sources/quotes
What are the three types of media bias?
Structural, Status Quo, & Partisan
Journalism's first obligation is to __________
Journalism's first loyalty is to _______
The truth
Citizens
Why is the push against minimal effects problematic?
Even small effects can determine outcomes.
Small effects overtime can become quite large.
Simplifies media effects research.
What is the main prediction of agenda-setting?
The following is an example of what?
You have a 90% chance of passing the exam.
You have a 10% chance of failing the exam.
an equivalency frame
What is the definition of media bias?
Systematic, persistent unbalance in the news.
What does the hierarchical level of routine news practices determine in news publication?
How does that interact with Kovach & Rosentiel's elements of journalism?
Established norms on verification, objectivity, and day-to-day work help determine what is publishable at different news organization.
The third element is discipline of verification in the news, while 4 & 5 cover independence from those the news covers (watchdog journalism) [Either of these is fine]
Persuasion
Active Audience
Social Context
Societal & Media
Interpretive
There are three necessary steps for determining causes in interpretative theory research. What are they?
Shows a relationship (correlation)
Temporal order (proves one comes first)
Rule out rival explanations
What is a small cue frame? How do they differ from an emphasis frame?
Small cue frame is a type of equivalency frame that changes a single word or phrase, while an emphasis frame highlights certain information and downplays others.
Describe what the relative hostile media bias is, and then provide an example.
Hostile media bias is when partisans find biased information to be either neutral or extremely biased when an article actually is in favor of their party or their outparty. For example, a Republican would find a R-leaning article to be neutral, while Democrats would think it is heavily biased.
How might social institutions or organizational level practices inhibit journalists from upholding the elements of news?
Difficulty in maintaining independence (embedded journalists)
Forced to cover what other news does as well (pack journalism)
Government or Advertisers can determine what needs to be covered.
Profit motives might inhibit people from covering interesting news or budget constraints can prevent proper coverage.
What is the protest paradigm?
What are some of the categories used?
Why is sourcing important in the protest paradigm? What are the two types of sources?
A specific type of framing that presents certain topics in a manner to frame protests in certain lights.
Riots/Confrontation/Spectacle/Debate
Official v. Protestor sources: Official sources are often used to support the status quo and viewed favorably by audiences, protestor sources often (not always) might not have the same credentials.
Describe how agenda setting and priming work in tandem. Give an example of where that might be important.
News coverage doesn't have to persuade people, but covering issues makes them important in the eye of the public which shapes how they think about elected officials.
What is covered during an election cycle might become more important for voters.
What is a game frame? What is the opposite type of coverage, and why are game frames problematic in SCOTUS cases?
1) A game frame is a style of writing that focuses on winning/losing, attacking/defending, gains/losses.
2) Issue-based coverage
3) Game frame coverage has led to lower acceptance of SCOTUS decisions and decreased support of those decision.
What are the three reasons the public perceives a partisan media bias?
1) People perceived bias in any news coverage (political or not)
2) People think of media groups as in-groups and out-groups
3) People listen to cues from political elites about a media bias