| high-tech politics | A politics in which the behavior of citizens and policymakers, as well as the political agenda itself, is increasingly shaped by technology. |
| mass media | Television, radio, newspapers, magazines, the Internet, and other means of popular communication. |
| media event | Events purposely staged for the media that nonetheless look spontaneous. |
| press conferences | Meetings of public officials with reporters. |
| investigative journalism | The use of detective-like reporting methods to unearth scandals. |
| print media | Newspapers and magazines |
| broadcast media | Television and radio |
| chains | Massive media conglomerates that control newspapers |
| narrowcasting | Media programming on TV or the Internet that is focused on one topic and aimed at a particular audience |
| beats | Specific locations from which news frequently emanates, such as Congress or the White House. |
| trial balloons | An international news leak for the purpose of assessing the political reaction |
| sound bites | Short video clips of approximately 15 seconds; typically all that is shown from a politician's speech or activities on the nightly television news. |
| talking head | A shot of a person's face talking directly to the camera |
| policy agenda | The issues that attract the serious attention of public officials and other people actively involved in politics at the time. |
| policy entrepreneurs | People who invest their political "capital" in an issue. |