Answer to Question 1
An ideal response will:
1. Define media conglomeration as the recent trend that multiple types of media are owned by an increasingly limited number of corporations.
2. Discuss how the increase in the number of media outlets, due to the Internet as well as cable and satellite TV, has increased the accessibility of information.
3. Explain how conglomeration might actually constrict the amount of information due to an echoing of the same information in different media outlets.
4. Explain how the nationalization of the news media has led to the creation of media news personalities, such as Sean Hannity, who have a major influence due to their large presence on radio, TV, the Internet, and in print books.
5. Provide a clear and concise conclusion.
Answer to Question 2
An ideal response will:
1. Define audience fragmentation as the scattering of audiences across multiple press outlets due to the growth of cable television and the Internet.
2. Explain that due to audience fragmentation, the impact of the press has become more diffuse and thus works to counteract the effects of media conglomeration.
3. Note that this effect will be minimized as media conglomerates move to both acquire cable stations and promote their own online Web sites.
Maps are important tools in political science as they help us see relationships between politics and
Enduring Political Conflict
Topic Media
Topic Media
Topic Media
Locate the following places by reference number on the map:Key Locales of Political, Economic, ...