our government and democracy.Mass media:popular ways of communicating to the massesMedia events:events that are staged and made to look spontaneous for the media.Press beats:specific locations from which news frequently is released fromPress release:a written or verbal communication aimed at the members of the news media in order to announce something supposedly having news value.Horse race journalism:a practice which journalist and reporters use in regards to government coverage and campaign coverage with emphasis on who is gaining or losing, not on what is being done about issues.Sound bites:Short audio/video clip of about 15 seconds, which gives a short portion of a politician's speech or activities on television news.Yellow journalism:involved newspapers focusing on violence, corruption, wars, gossip, often with a less than scrupulous regard for the truth.Trial balloons:stories fed to reporters as "leaks", to see the political reaction."Checkers" speech:A speech Nixon made on television in 1952, while running for vice president. In the speech he denied under-the-table gifts and payments he may have received. But, he did admit to accepting one gift, his dog "Checkers". Since his daughters fell in love with the dog, Nixon said that regardless of his political future, his family would keep the dog. This speech brought a tide of emotional telegrams to the Republican National Committee, which left Nixon still able to run.Nixon - Kennedy Debate:Occurred in 1960, when Nixon was on television with
Senator John. F. Kennedy, in a presidential debate. Nixon looked horrible on television due to spending the prior week in the hospital, having a five o' clock shadow, and sweat accumulating on his forehead. On the other hand, Kennedy looked sharp and attractive. He vacationed in Florida the week before, had a nice tan, wore make up. Poll results showed that television has a huge impact on one's chance at success; those listening to the debate over the radio said that the winner was Nixon, while those who watched television thought Kennedy had won. In reality, Nixon handled the debate better than Kennedy, but his appearance damaged him (Nixon) overall on television. (JFK utilized the power of the new media better.)Gender Gap:A regular pattern by which women are more likely to support Democratic candidates.Components of Regan's plan to control the media:1. Plan ahead
2. Staying on the offensive
3. Control the flow of information
4. Speak with one voice
5. Repeat the same message many times.
6. Talk about issues you want to talk about
7. Limit reporter's access to press.
