| A | B |
|---|
| public opinion | The ideas and attitudes that people hold about elected officials, candidates, government, and political issues |
| gender | Whether a person is male or female |
| mass media | A mechanism of mass communication, including television, radio, the Internet, newspapers, books, recordings, and movies |
| interest group | A group of people who share a point of view about an issue and unite to promote their beliefs |
| public opinion poll | A survey in which individuals are asked to answer questions about a particular issue or person |
| pollster | A specialist whose job is to conduct polls regularly |
| random | By chance |
| public agenda | Issues considered most significant by government officials |
| leak | To release secret government information by anonymous government officials to the media |
| watchdog | The role played by a media organization that exposes illegal practices or waste |
| prior restraint | The act of stopping information from being known by blocking it from being published |
| libel | Written untruths that are harmful to someone's reputation |
| malice | Evil intent |
| shield law | A law that protects a reporter from revealing his or her sources |
| regulatory | Describing an agency that controls or governs |
| public interest group | An organization that supports causes that affect the lives of Americans in general |
| nonpartisan | Free from party ties or bias |
| lobbyist | Representative of an interest group who contacts lawmakers or other government officials directly to influence their policy making |
| biased | Favoring one view |
| guarantee | To promise |
