Government Alive Ch. 9 Public Opinion and the Media

The sum of many individual opinions, beliefs, or attitudes about a public person or issue.

• Political socialization

• Margin of error

• Mass media

• Public opinion

The process by which people form their political values and attitudes.

• Public opinion

• Political socialization

• Media bias

• Opinion makers

Factors that influence an individual's political attitudes, opinions, and beliefs (Check all that apply)

• Gender/Ethnicity

• Family

• School

• News/Media

A method of measuring public opinion. This is done by asking questions of a random sample of people and using their answers to represent views of the broader population.

• Opinion poll

• Margin of error

• Public opinion

• Exit poll

A measure of the accuracy of an opinion poll. The smaller the number, the more confidence one can have in the results of a poll.

• Media bias

• Margin of error

• Spin

• Straw polls

Means of communication that reach a large audience. Includes major news organizations, such as: CNN, The New York Times, Fox News, etc...

• Media bias

• Spin

• Mass media

• Horse race journalism

The deliberate shading of information about a person or an event in an attempt to influence public opinion.

• Spin

• Mudslinging

• Gaslighting

• Negative campaigning

Real or imagined prejudice that is thought to affect what stories journalists cover and how they report those stories.

• Spin

• Mass media

• Media bias

• Horse race journalism

A group of people selected at random from the general population; used in opinion polling.

• Sample error

• Random sample

• Straw poll

• Exit poll

Used by campaigns and the news media to predict the winners on Election Day before the polls close.

• Tracking poll

• Benchmark poll

• Random samples

• Exit poll