Campaigns, Money and the Media · seed 1 · A4, ink-friendly. The answer key prints on its own page for grown-ups.

Money, messages and votes

Civics & Economics · Government · ages 14-16
Name ______________________   Date ____________

  1. Name two sources of campaign money.

    • Banks and schools only
    • Small donors and big donors
    • Judges and juries

  2. What does campaign money change?

    • The date of election day
    • Which candidates get picked and what they promise
    • The number of seats in office

  3. How do most voters learn about candidates?

    • Through private dinners with each candidate
    • Through sealed court files
    • Through coverage and ads

  4. What is targeting in a campaign?

    • Knocking on every door once
    • Telling different groups different things
    • Banning all political ads

  5. A firm gives heavily, then seeks a friendly vote after the win. What does that show?

    • Donations never matter
    • Voting machines read money
    • Donors may expect payback

  6. Why do some defend limits on gifts while others attack them?

    • Paper against television
    • Cities against villages
    • Fairness against free speech

  7. Horse-race coverage digs mostly into policy plans.

    Circle one:   True   False

  8. A country caps gifts, but spending by outside groups surges. What happened?

    • Money found a workaround
    • Campaigns turned free
    • Voters stopped watching ads
LightMySky · lightmysky.comW1-mt_uBWxmdMU2d-s1

Answer key

For grown-ups. Fold this page away before handing over the rest.

Money, messages and votes W1-mt_uBWxmdMU2d-s1

  1. Small donors and big donors · Campaigns gather little gifts from many and large sums from few.
  2. Which candidates get picked and what they promise · Money shapes who runs, what they promise, and who wins.
  3. Through coverage and ads · Voters rarely meet candidates, so coverage is their window.
  4. Telling different groups different things · Targeted ads let one campaign speak differently to each group.
  5. Donors may expect payback · Big donors may expect something back once their candidate wins.
  6. Fairness against free speech · One side guards fairness, the other says giving money speaks.
  7. False · It reports who is ahead rather than what each side plans.
  8. Money found a workaround · When one channel closes, money flows through new formats.
Worksheet · LightMySky