Political parties A group of citizens united by ideology and seeking control of government in order to promote their ideas and policies Party in the government elected officeholders in most democracies parties run the national government Legislation coalitions are often not stable in the absence of parties Party members share some general policy views Party helps to organize elected officials party as an organization institutional apparatus to help parties organize and win elections Parties as organizations work to elect candidates Candidate selection through primaries and caucuses Fundraising Mobilization of voters party in the community groups of citizens who identify with a particular party party ideology Broad sets of ideas about politics that help to organize our views of the political world party identification party activists work for the party all year long Membership surges during presidential election years Democrats Champions of working families Equal opportunities Justice for all Americans Wealth privilege aren t an entitlement to rule Liberal ideology Common sense health care reforms Republicans Strong national defense Energy independence Quality education Free market economy Conservative ideology hierarchy of party organizations plurality rule being able to vote more than once in an election open primary all voters can take part in election Closed primary only party members can vote Political action committees an organization that raises money privately to influence elections or legislation especially at the federal level Referendum a direct vote in which an entire electorate is asked to either accept or reject a particular proposal Initiative a process that enables citizens to bypass their state legislature by placing proposed statutes and in some states constitutional amendments on the ballot Recall a procedure that allows citizens to remove and replace a public official before the end of a term of office types of media public radio television private someone s private report that is not available to everyone mass media intended for public audiences electronic tv radio recordings internet history of media in the us early days saw highly partisan press parties controlled press operations objective news reporting began in mid 20th century today has returned to ideological partisan outlets purpose of media today providing information evaluating and interpreting events solving collective dilemmas how has internet changed media More sources than ever 44 used internet for news in 2008 blogs have broken news and often attempt to monitor traditional news sources increased differences in political knowledge functions of a free press guarantee free and open debate Allow one to voice own opinion types of journalists pundit an expert in a particular subject or field who is frequently called on to give opinions about it to the public Reporter person who reports especially one employed to report news or conduct interviews for newspapers or broadcasts Gatekeepers journalists who decide what gets covered and how Bloggers Investigative investigate government s claims analyze and interpret complex problems discuss public problems Public mobilizers develop cultural and intellectual interests of the public set the public agenda let people express their views Coverage bias Gatekeeping bias what is covered and not covered Coverage bias what aspect of story receives most attention Statement bias opinions added to factual statements Shaping of public opinion Agenda setting influencing what issues are on the public agenda through the decision of what stories to cover Priming influencing the public s perception of certain people events and issues by the emphasis given to particular characteristics of them Framing process through which the media emphasize particular aspects of a news story thereby influencing the public s perception of the story Persuasion the tendency for viewers to agree with trusted newscasters and expert sources