2000 #3 http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/apc/members/repositor y/govpol_us_00.pdf http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/apc/members/repositor y/sg_govpol_us_00.pdf

Mass Media What is the mass media? Simple functions of mass media Entertainment News reports Creation of political forums

Linkage institutions Connecting people to their government officials and vice versa Mass media, political parties and interest groups are key linkage institutions. How is mass media a linkage institution? How are political parties a linkage institution? How are interest groups a linkage institution -interviewing citizens, presenting poll results, covering protests. Interview leaders and reporting gov programs -Providing candidate information to voters, mobilizing voters, raising funds -Express members’ preferences to gov, convey gov info to members, raise money

Print media What are some of the most influential papers? What is the current trend in newspapers recently? Why? What are some of the most influential magazines? What is the current trend in magazines recently? Why? -NYT, Wash Post, Wall Street Journal -Time, Newsweek, US News

Broadcast Media How did FDR use radio to his advantage? What are the 3 major TV networks? Which is more widely used for news: TV or internet? What is the role of blogs? -NBC, CBS, ABC

Complex Functions Signaling Function How does media help set the public agenda? How can news create a “new” reality? Why are almost all media channels the same? Is media more about informing people or attracting viewers?

Complex Functions Common-Carrier Function What is framing? The Watchdog Function When has the media dropped back from its watchdog function? Has the watchdog function gotten out of hand?

Media Why might the media not have a big impact on the public? During elections, what does the media like to focus on? What do they NOT focus on? Horserace journalism -People watch and read things that reinforce their beliefs

Review

Interest group theories The Power Elite Theory A small number of super rich people and corporations dominate key policy areas PACs have a lot of influence There is a close tie between Wall Street and Washington Ordinary Americans got small stimulus checks, Wall Street got massive bailouts

Interest group theories The Pluralist Theory Many interest groups compete for power in a large number of policy areas Policies come from bargaining and compromises among competing groups The division of federal power allows many access points If you can’t get leg. influence, go to the courts

Interest group theories The Hyper-pluralist Theory There are too many interest groups trying to influence public policy Leaders try to appease everyone so they don’t make hard decisions Smoking

Function and Impact of PACs A committee formed by interest groups to raise money and make contributions to the campaign of political candidates who they support Key player in: incumbency advantage Increase in campaign finance Decrease in trust of the government

Impacts of the era of divided government Heightened partisanship Made it more difficult to compromise Slowed the legislative process (gridlock) Increased public frustration Decline in trust and confidence in the government A decline in voters identifying as D or R

2013 #4 part A Explain the importance of the media in the formation of the policy agenda. Affects agenda setting by what it chooses to cover (priming/gatekeeping/watchdog) Media framing of issues

2012 #4 Interest groups seek to influence political processes in ways that benefit their members. In doing so, however, they may not act in the overall public interest. (a) Describe two techniques interest groups use to influence elections. (b) Explain how interest groups use each of the following to influence government decision making. -Issue networks (also known as iron triangles) -Amicus curiae briefs (c) Explain how each of the following serves to limit interest group influence. -The media -Pluralism

2012 #4 https://secure-media.collegeboard.org/ap-student/pdf/gopo- us/ap-2012-united-states-government-politics-scoring- guidelines.pdf