1. Linkage Institutions

2. Linkage Institutions
Groups that are not officially part of the government, but play a vital role in connecting (or linking) citizens to the government.
Three types of linkage institutions
Political Parties
Interest Groups
Media

3. Media One very important type of linkage institution is the media.
The media is the public’s main link to politics and the political issues
Most people find out about current events, political candidates, and other political issues through the media.

4. Mass Media Types of mass media: Print media Movies Radio Television
Internet and social networking

5. Mass Media Functions of the mass media: Defamation by the mass media:
Mass media influences public opinion (the population’s beliefs about politics)
Influences political agenda (the issues that the population finds most important)
The mass media is used by the government to educate young people on politics
Defamation by the mass media:
Libel – written defamation
Slander – spoken defamation
must be malicious to count as libel or slander, not just untrue

6. Agenda Setting
The ability of the media to influence the public agenda by dictating what issues should be important
Based on the agenda setting theory, the more something is covered by the media, the more it is seen as important by the public

7. Mass Media
The media gets information from many sources, one of which is the White House itself
The White House releases information in 3 ways
Press Release: A document put out by the White House for the press to notify them (the press) of a current situation
Press Briefing: A meeting held daily by the press secretary to inform the press of current White House events
Press Conference: A meeting held to inform the press of a current event, often recorded or televised.

8. Fireside Chats
FDR gave speeches over the radio in order to appeal to the public, known as fireside chats.
The term is now used to refer to an informal
address by a political
figure made over
television or radio.

9. How does the internet affect government and politics?
The internet influences public opinion greatly.
The internet has allowed the public to receive information immediately with little to no restrictions
The internet therefore has an influence on government and politics as the public has more access to information than they ever have before.

10. Candidate-Centered Political Campaigns
Candidate-centered campaigns are those that focus on candidates themselves rather than their political party affiliation or other issues.
Candidate-centered campaigns are extremely popular and extremely successful as it takes the thinking out of deciding who to vote for. People simply focus on the candidate as a person.

11. Negative Commercials
Negative ads are advertisements in the media in any form that show an opponent in negative way.
These ads are put out by a candidate or supporters of a candidate attacking another candidate.

12. Negative Ads

13. Sound Bites
A SHORT video or audio clip of someone, such as a political figure, speaking, which can be fit easily into newscasts.
Often, one clip out of a speech is replayed over and over in different newscasts.

14. Scandals There have been many political scandals throughout history
These all become scandals as they are picked up by the media and portrayed to the public
Some highly publicized scandals are:
Nixon’s Watergate scandal
Bill Clinton’s sex scandal
Reagan’s Iran-Contra scandal

15. Gaffes An error that is publicly made by a politician
Oftentimes, political gaffes by candidates can end campaigns and gaffes by sitting officials can hurt their career.
Recent political gaffes
Donald Trump telling people to “go vote on November 28th”
Joe Biden telling Obama “This is a big f-in deal” after the passage of the Affordable Car Act in 2010
Sarah Palin referring to the white house as “1400 Pennsylvania Avenue” (the address is 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue)

16. Horse Race Journalism
The way that journalistic coverage of political elections resembles horse races.
The focus on data from polls which resembles that of horse races
The way the media focuses on the differences between candidates rather than focusing on similarities or on candidates alone
The main trait of horse race journalism is that it focuses on the numbers and who is winning rather than what is happening in society.