The term "Yellow Journalism" refers to a type of reporting that presents sensationalized (and often inaccurate) accounts of events in order to attract readers and sell more papers.  The sensationalized and potentially inaccurate accounts of the sinking of the U.S.S. Maine in newspapers published by William Randolph Hearst and Joseph Pulitzer helped to lead to the Spanish-American War at the end of the 19th Century.

 "Common-carrier role" refers to the idea that the media acts as a vehicle through which political leaders can communicate with the general public. The "watchdog role" refers to the idea that the media acts as a servant of the people by keeping an eye on politicians, making sure they are not corrupt or negligible in office. Both of these terms relate to the role that the media plays in connecting the government to the people.

A "trial balloon" is information released to the media and framed as if it were an unintentional leak from an unnamed political source; however, the intention is for politicians who are debating a change in policy to observe how the public might react to such a change.

"Yellow journalism" is the name given to the practice of reporting shocking or abhorrent news stories for the sake of attracting new readers and selling more newspapers. Yellow journalism is generally considered manipulative and bad journalistic practice, but that has not stopped various forms of media throughout American history from participating in it. Yellow journalism is most closely associated with the newspapers of William Randolph Hearst who (some argue) single-handedly dragged the United States into war with Spain by reporting on various news stories inaccurately to characterize the Spanish as violent and barbaric. Partisan journalism is the name given to a media source that serves the interests of a political party above the interests of the general public.

Since its invention, the television has become the easiest and most widely available means of acquiring political news and commentary.

News outlets often choose which stories get the headline or 1st position as well as, how much time is devoted to a subject. This is agenda setting and is the media's most used tool to influence viewers.

News corporations, like any business, want to make profit. The best way to do that is to ensure you have a large viewing audience that attracts advertisers to sell on their network.

The correct answer is “opinion leader.” Classic examples would be Piers Morgan, Sean Hannity, or anyone similar. Both of these men are widely known individuals who have quite a large effect on public opinion on political matters. Although teacher or community leader may have been tempting, those are technically examples of (possible) opinion leaders—but are not individually the definition.

In the middle and late 1800s, the middle class was fed up with "yellow journalism" and started buying into the social reform goals of the Progressive era. This gave rise to a market for magazines that would devote their time to issues of public policy with solid, fact-based reporting.

Coverage of political candidates on the "big three" networks has been broken up into shorter pieces and as a result is much less in-depth. The average sound bite dropped from 42 seconds in 1968 to 7.3 seconds in 2000. As a result, politicians often turn to cable TV, early morning news shows, prime time "news magazine shows," and other sources to get more extensive coverage.