high-tech politics
A politics in which the behavior of citizens and policymakers and the political agenda itself are increasingly shaped by technology.
mass media
Television, radio, newspapers, magazines, and other means of popular communication.
media event
Events purposely staged for the media that nonetheless look spontaneous. In keeping with politics as theater, they can be staged by individuals, groups, and government officials, especially presidents.
press conferences
Meetings of public officials with reporters.
investigative journalism
The use of in-depth reporting to unearth scandals, scams, and schemes, which at times puts reporters in adversarial relationships with political leaders.
print media
Newspapers and magazines, as compared with broadcast media.
broadcast media
Television and radio, as compared with print media.
narrowcasting
Media programming on cable TV or the Internet that is focused on one topic and aimed at a particular audience. Examples include MTV, ESPN, and C-SPAN.
chains
Newspapers published by massive media conglomerates that account for over four-fifths of the nation's daily newspaper circulation. Often these control broadcast media as well.
beats
Specific locations from which news frequently emanates, such as Congress or the White House. Most top reporters work a particular this, thereby becoming specialists in what goes on at that location.
trial balloons
An intentional news leak for the purpose of assessing the political reaction.
sound bites
Short video clips of approximately 15 seconds; typically all that is shown from a politician's speech or activities on the nightly television news.
talking head
A shot of a person's face talking directly to the camera. Because this is visually unappealing, the major commercial networks rarely show a politician talking one-on-one for very long.
policy agenda
The issues that attract the serious attention of public officials and other people actively involved in politics at the time.
policy entrepreneurs
People who invest their political "capital" in an issue. According to John Kingdon, these "could be in or out of government, in elected or appointed positions, in interest groups or research organizations.