Sabato and More

For tomorrow's Class:

Chapter 15: The News Media

1) Which of the following events did NOT cause a public relations problem for the George W.
Bush administration?
A) Bush landing on the USS Abraham Lincoln under a ʺMission Accomplishedʺ banner
B) images of prisoner abuse at Abu Ghraib
C) pictures from New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina
D) payments to Iraqi reporters to write pro-U.S. stories
E) the pardon of Marc Rich for campaign finance violations

2) Which of the following was true regarding the penny press?
A) Newspapers typically cost about 10 cents.
B) They attempted to attract more readers by being nonpartisan.
C) They focused on serious news and avoided publishing political scandals.
D) They were owned and operated by political parties.
E) They were tools used by political machines to reward their supporters and punish their
detractors.

3) Which of the following was a hallmark of yellow journalism?
A) sensationalized reporting
B) high journalistic standards
C) anti-immigrant editorials
D) long and complex feature stories
E) the partisan press

4) Which of the following places the various journalistic periods in the correct chronological
order?
A) muckraking, yellow journalism, the penny press, the partisan press
B) the partisan press, yellow journalism, the penny press, muckraking
C) yellow journalism, the penny press, muckraking, the partisan press
D) the penny press, muckraking, the partisan press, yellow journalism
E) the partisan press, the penny press, yellow journalism, muckraking

5) A form of newspaper publishing during the early twentieth century concerned with reforming
government and business conduct is called
A) the penny press.
B) yellow journalism.
C) muckraking.
D) partisan journalism.
E) pack journalism.

6) Among the publishers who promoted yellow journalism was
A) William Randolph Hearst.
B) James G. Blaine.
C) Upton Sinclair.
D) William Roper.
E) David Sanger.

7) Which president most effectively used the radio to promote his public policies?
A) Calvin Coolidge
B) Franklin Roosevelt
C) Dwight Eisenhower
D) Lyndon Johnson
E) Richard Nixon

8) Which of the following accurately describes AM talk radio?
A) It is popular among liberals.
B) It is popular among minorities.
C) It has a strong conservative bent.
D) It has become more popular than television for getting political news.
E) It presents in-depth news coverage in a nonideological format.

9) Americans are most likely to get their news from
A) newspapers.
B) television.
C) radio.
D) news magazines.
E) the Internet.

10) When compared to older Americans, young Americans are more likely to get their campaign
news from
A) talk radio and C-SPAN.
B) NPR and MSNBC.
C) the Internet and comedy television.
D) newspapers and newsmagazines.
E) Nightline and 60 Minutes.

2004 FRQ on Third Parties: “Model Student Response”
Third parties have had over the course of time an influence over politics. They show an alternative to the common majority powers that have always dominated our country. However, they have also served as a “road block” or stumbling point for election years.

The Green Party candidate Ralph Nader ran in the 2000 election and was able to gather some of the percentage of voters. In the cartoon, Ralph states “End…throwaway mentality” but essentially everyone who voted for him threw away their votes. Essentially, Ralph Nader took votes away from both of the majority candidates running to win the election as he is planning to do for the 2004 election in which he has no possibility of winning.

The Electoral College is a series of winner-take-all elections. No partial election votes are won based on proportion. If a candidate wins the state majority vote, the candidate gets all of the electoral votes. Also, bigger states carry larger electorates to win. Unless a candidate has substantial financial backing, minor political parties cannot run campaigns in larger states as well as the Democratic or Republican parties can.

Third parties offer alternative choices to individuals with different ideological beliefs. Also, third parties offer different public policy ideas that are not offered by the mainstream Democratic or Republican parties. The Green Party has offered many policy positions such as on global warming and other areas of environmental concern. Their presence in a presidential race ensures that these issues are offered up for debate when they might otherwise be swept under the table by the mainstream candidates.

The role of minority groups has an important influence on campaigns and domestic policy. Although the mainstream party majority may control the playing field, issues that fit the concerns of the many Americans are expressed and this lends a voice to persons who otherwise might not be heard during election time. Although a minor party may never win an election when it comes to the presidency, third party views, opinions and issues will be brought up for the country to hear.