Vocab #5- Unit 5 Chapters 17 & 20

• Pluralism

• Lobbying the legislative, executive, and judicial branches of government

• Can help members of Congress draft and write bills by providing input on the language and provisions of the legislation

• A theory of government that holds that open, multiple, and competing groups can check the asserted power by any one group

• Inside Lobbying

  • Lobbying inside the capitol

  • Activities by lobbyists and interest group leaders that involve direct contact with policy makers

• Outside lobbying

  • A form of lobbying in which an interest group seeks to use public pressure as a means of influencing officials

• Face-to-face meetings

• Personal meetings with elected officials

• Personal visits to the staff of public officials

• Sending a letter/email to public officials

• Phone calls to public officials or their staff

• Factionalism

  • While a multitude of interests may be represented, not all are heard or responded to equally, and a narrow interest may hijack political attention at the expense of the majority’s needs.

• Economic bias

  • Groups that represent business or professional interests tend to be better resourced

• Interest group liberalism

  • Officials respond to well-organized groups not because they are good for society but because well-organized interests simply do a better job of demanding governmental action

• A policy-making alliance that involves a very strong ties among a congressional committee, an interest group, and a Federal Department or agency

• A policy-making alliance among loosely connected participants that comes together on a particular issue then disbands

• Nonprofit group that may legally address political matters but may not lobby or campaign

• Donations to it are tax-deductible

• Nonprofit group that is permitted to lobby and campaign

  • donations to it are not tax deductible

• Unlimited donations

• Cannot coordinate

• Do not have to disclose who gave them the money

• Usually religious organizations

• 501 c3

• 501 c4

• Research and expertise

• Campaigns and electioneering

• Grassroots lobbying

• Framing issues

When an interest group tries to inform, persuade, and mobilize large numbers of people

• In 1960s-1970s

• transferred the expression of their views from street protest to organized action within the political system

• Focus on a widely shared demand for change in some aspect of the social and political order

• groups that represent other organizations

  • Ex: the National Independent Retail Jewelers

• a nonprofit organization seeking to further a particular profession, the interests of individuals engaged in that profession and the public interest

• incentives interest groups offer to encourage membership such as travel discounts and items like bags or jackets

• SI:

  • Groups that focus on a narrow interest, dislike compromise, and often draw membership from people new to politics

• IG:

  • Political organizations that attract members by appealing to their political convictions or principles

• Law that bans all gifts to members of Congress or their staff from registered lobbyists

• A tactic in which PACs collect contributions from like-minded individuals (each limited to $2000) and present them to a candidate or political party as a “bundle,” thus increasing the PACs influence

• Move from govt job to lobbying

  • Employment cycle in which individuals who work for governmental agencies that regulate interests eventually end up working for interest groups or businesses with the same policy concern

• print media

• a type of journalism where reporters deeply investigate a single topic of interest such as serious crimes, political corruption, or corporate wrongdoing

Politicians generally consider local broadcast news a friendlier venue than the national news

• Social media

• emails

• AI and chatbots

• podcasts

• Before an election, reporters update readers and viewers nonstop on the ups and downs of competing candidates

• reporters discuss who is leading and who is falling behind in the campaign

• Much more is happening in the world than can fit into a 30 minute broadcast or the front section of a newspaper

  • News media act as ______ by setting their own news agenda by determining what is worthy and therefore deciding what information the public will receive

• keeping an eye on government or industry is part of the press’s function

  • investigative reporters look for corruption, scandal, or inefficiency

• Reporters continually question government officials, their motives, and their effectiveness

• “just-the-fact“ types of stories

• 30-second statements on the evening news shows

• The media have been accused of simplifying complicated political issues by relying on sound bites to explain them to the public

• Congress:

  • Congressional stories include members’ roles on committees and in the legislative process

    • Typically technical story lines, not easily conveyed in short headlines or brief TV news segments

  • C-SPAN

• Presidents:

  • Press delves into president’s domestic policy, relations with fellow policymakers, the first family, and interactions with other world leaders

• Courts:

  • The press covers crime, lawsuits, courtroom activity, and appeals court decisions

• This form offers explanations on topics, usually by experts, which help readers understand complex subjects

• Aim coverage at a specific, narrowly defined audience

• a former federal policy that required radio and television broadcasters to present alternative viewpoints

  • Has allowed media outlets more leeway and freedom in what they air

• created by the Federal Communication Act

• regulates electronic media and has authority over the content of radio, TV, wire, and satellite broadcasts

• FCC

• Bias has become essential to the business model of several news outlets

• Type of bias in which individuals search for, interpret, favor,, and/or recall information in a way that confirms their existing beliefs

• media whose content is influenced by the actions and needs of consumers