PLS 304 Lecture Notes - Lecture 45: Political Action Committee, Penny Press, Media Bias
Document Summary
Political action committees, or pacs, are the fundraising arms of interest groups. No legal limit on donation size (unlike traditional pacs) Pluralism the theory that all interests are and should be free to compete for influence in the government; the outcome of this competition is compromise and moderation. Penny press cheap papers led to more superficial content designed to appeal to mass audiences. What is commercial bias? the tendency to make coverage and programming decisions based on what will attract a large audience and maximize profits. What is infotainment? the effort to make the delivery of information more attractive by dressing it up as entertainment. The media decide what issues will be part of the public discourse. The media constantly reporting on rising gas prices in the united states and the public then rating congress unfavorably because of it is an example of priming.
