Deck 6: Mass Media: Setting the Political Agenda

Question 1

The Chicago Sun-Times running a week-long feature on voter registration and providing information about registering is an example of __________.

A)persuading
B)agenda setting
C)socializing
D)newsmaking

Answer 1

C

Question 2

An increasing number of young people are getting their news from __________.

A)newspapers
B)news magazines
C)the Internet
D)radio

Answer 2

C

Question 3

The television is on for how many hours on average in U.S.homes every day?

A)3
B)4
C)5
D)7

Answer 3

D

Question 4

When comparing the usage of the Internet as a news source to television,newspapers,and radio,the Pew Research Center has discovered what trend over the last decade?

A)Internet usage has grown continuously,while all other sources have declined.
B)Internet and television usage have grown,while radio and newspapers have declined.
C)While television remains strong as a news source,all other sources have declined slightly.
D)Radio has grown as a news source as the population has aged,leaving all other sources behind.

Question 5

Which of these is an example of soft news?

A)NBC Nightly News
B)PBS NewsHour
C)60 Minutes
D)ABC World News

Question 6

This is the most important source of media power.

A)agenda setting
B)interpreting
C)newsmaking
D)agenda control

Question 7

When a newspaper decides that education reform is a key issue,it is doing which of these?

A)newsmaking
B)engaging in censorship
C)socializing
D)agenda setting

Question 8

What is narrowcasting?

A)all means of communication with the general public
B)the emergence of news outlets that offer specialty content for small,niche audiences
C)the power the news media has to decide what is news and what issues will be addressed
D)the learning of political values via the mass media

Question 9

What is the main determinant of advertising revenue for newspapers?

A)prestige
B)number of pages
C)circulation
D)quality of data presented

Question 10

When the New York Times decides to present schoolteachers as the good guys and politicians cutting their budgets as bad guys,it is engaging in __________.

A)interpreting
B)agenda setting
C)newsmaking
D)censoring

Question 11

According to the "Who's Getting What? The Generation Media Gap" box,people over 65 are most likely to get their news via __________ compared with younger people.

A)newspapers
B)news magazines
C)the Internet
D)radio

Question 12

When the media engage in agenda setting,they are telling us __________.

A)whom to endorse
B)how to think
C)what to think about
D)why we should support certain policies

Question 13

Which of these do Americans choose most often as a source of news?

A)radio
B)television
C)the Internet
D)newspapers

Question 14

When it comes to television,skillful politicians understand that,historically,__________.

A)content trumps perception in the minds of most voters
B)what they say is more important than how they say it
C)voters are mostly concerned wtih issues than fluff
D)image is more important than substance

Question 15

Political conflict is mostly carried out in __________.

A)Congress
B)caucuses
C)local political debate
D)the mass media

Question 16

Media's choices about what is news and what isn't are known as __________.

A)agenda setting
B)newsmaking
C)socializing
D)spinning

Question 17

When the authors of this text say that reporters "tell stories," they are referring to which of these aspects of media influence?

A)agenda setting
B)interpreting
C)persuading
D)newsmaking

Question 18

Which of these best describes the Corporation for Public Broadcasting?

A)a private corporation
B)a news agency
C)a television channel
D)a public nonprofit

Question 19

How many minutes of news and entertainment do Americans get for one minute of commercials during prime time?

A)one
B)three
C)ten
D)twenty

Question 20

Which of these media outlets is MOST likely to be criticized by your very conservative Uncle Frank for being biased?

A)Fox News
B)The New York Times
C)The Rush Limbaugh Show
D)The Sean Hannity Show

Question 21

Campaigning for president begins in earnest about how long before the November presidential election?

A)six months
B)one year
C)eighteen months
D)two years

Question 22

Which of these explains Rupert Murdoch's introduction of a "fair and balanced" Fox News network?

A)financial opportunity
B)personal bias
C)a sense of mission
D)FCC requirements

Question 23

What is the focus of political candidates early in their competition for office?

A)media events
B)speeches
C)press releases
D)paid advertising

Question 24

When considering the activist role of the media,the __________ of reporters,producers,and news anchors are an important element of American politics.

A)personal values
B)income
C)gender
D)age

Question 25

The public generally expects the media to __________.

A)entertain them with a high level of intellectual content
B)protect them from "abuse of power" by government
C)create programming that articulates current cultural values
D)respond to conservative attacks on their programming

Question 26

The primary factor when editors or producers select news to present to readers and viewers is the need to __________.

A)capture attention
B)sell advertising
C)make a political point
D)change people's opinions

Question 27

Of the following,which is considered "hard programming"?

A)Meet the Press
B)The Tonight Show
C)The Colbert Report
D)The Daily Show with Jon Stewart

Question 28

Lightweight entertainment is more prevalent than serious programming in which form of media in particular?

A)radio
B)magazines
C)television
D)newspapers

Question 29

Muckraking is a product of which of the following?

A)agenda framing
B)professionalism
C)agenda setting
D)the watchdog function

Question 30

It can be argued that in spite of critiques about "fluff" on television,this medium __________.

A)is by far the most accurate in its presentation of news
B)is still the preferred news source for young viewers
C)best represents the tastes and wishes of most Americans
D)is the most respected by today's politicians

Question 31

The New York Times tends to choose bad news over good because of its __________.

A)liberal ideology
B)economic interests
C)professionalism
D)conservative ideology

Question 32

Which of these is generally marked by a conservative bias,according to the authors?

A)the movie industry
B)talk radio
C)newspapers
D)news magazines

Question 33

Which of these accounts for more than half of all campaign coverage?

A)horse-race coverage
B)issue coverage
C)sound bites
D)in-depth analysis of candidates' positions

Question 34

People with opposing political ideologies are tending to get their news from different sources.This is known as media __________.

A)socialization
B)interpretation
C)polarization
D)muckraking

Question 35

Sensationalism in the media is caused by which of these?

A)liberal ideology
B)economic interests
C)conservative ideology
D)ethical considerations

Question 36

Which of these media outlets has positioned itself as openly progressive or liberal?

A)Fox News
B)MSNBC
C)CBS
D)CNN

Question 37

The overall business of the media,in whatever form,is to __________.

A)gather mass audiences to sell to advertisers
B)inform the public at any cost
C)provide jobs for the intellectual elite
D)convince viewers to vote for certain candidates

Question 38

When the media reported on candidate Hillary Clinton's stand on health care,they were providing what kind of coverage?

A)horse-race
B)policy-issue
D)character-issue
E)good-news

Question 39

When the media report on which candidate is ahead or behind in the polls,they are providing what kind of coverage?

A)horse-race
B)character-issue
C)policy
D)partisan

Question 40

Which of the following listed reasons is one for the creation of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting created by Congress in 1967?

A)to provide educational content about the government
B)to make additional money for the government through advertising
C)to provide an outlet for liberal views
D)to provide noncommercial high quality programs

Question 41

What was established by the Sullivan rule?

A)the definitions of libel and slander are the same for public and private figures
B)the definition of libel but not slander is the same for public and private figures
C)a free and unfettered press
D)that public officials must prove malicious intent in defamation suits

Question 42

The Sullivan rule requires public officials to show __________ on the part of media in order to prove a statement is false and malicious.

A)malicious intent
B)prior restraint
C)goodwill
D)public support

Question 43

What is the source of the concept of no prior restraint?

A)the First Amendment
B)the Second Amendment
C)the Supreme Court
D)newspaper readers

Question 44

The Internet was deliberately designed to __________.

A)rigidly control which computers could connect to it
B)require computer expertise to communicate
C)be controlled by a handful of media elites
D)operate without any central authority or organization

Question 45

Because media is the principal link between candidates and voters,the candidate's __________ is more important than her policy positions.

A)age
B)income
C)religion
D)image

Question 46

Laws against libel and slander are aimed at preventing __________.

A)intentional damage
B)freedom of the press
C)journalistic freedom
D)freedom of speech

Question 47

If a journalist mistakenly claims a presidential candidate lied,which of these applies?

A)slander
B)intent
C)absence of malice
D)libel

Question 48

Unlike newspapers and magazines,broadcasters must be __________.

A)approved by a board of directors
B)regulated by a federal ratings board
C)licensed by a government agency
D)allocated a specific time slot for broadcasting

Question 49

Howard Dean was the first major candidate to __________.

A)use the Internet for fund-raising purposes
B)use social media to coordinate campaign efforts
C)create and frequently update a Web site
D)send e-mails to supporters and potential volunteers

Question 50

On network news,the average sound bite given to candidates to speak on their own behalf is about __________ long.

A)eight seconds
B)thirty seconds
C)one minute
D)two minutes

Question 51

This former Minnesota governor was the first to use successfully use the Internet as a campaign tool.

A)Sarah Palin
B)John McCain
C)Jesse Ventura
D)George W.Bush

Question 52

For what purpose was the Federal Communications Commission established?

A)to censor the mass media
B)to ensure equal time for all media
C)to implement the first amendment
D)to allocate broadcast frequencies

Question 53

Which of the following provides interactive mass participation?

A)weekly TV news shows
B)the Internet
C)newspapers
D)news magazines

Question 54

Which of these is considered by the FCC to be a public trust?

A)a broadcast license
B)use of the Internet
C)the equal-time rule
D)paid campaign ads

Question 55

Large amounts of money raised in a short time using only online resources are called __________.

A)money bombs
B)soft money
C)crowdsourcing
D)cyber donations

Question 56

A local television station allowed a Republican candidate ten minutes of free air time to express her views.By law,the station was then required to allow the Democratic and Libertarian candidates ten minutes of free air time to express their views as well.This is an application of __________.

A)the Sullivan rule
B)polarization of the media
C)the equal-time rule
D)a feeding frenzy

Question 57

No prior restraint on speech or publication refers to __________.

A)the Supreme Court interpretation of freedom of the press
B)the constitutional guarantee of press liberties
C)creative differences protected under the Third Amendment
D)the rights of newspapers and television to publish what they want

Question 58

What was the original goal of the First Amendment?

A)to protect the press from government attempts to silence criticism
B)to ensure the press would provide fair and unbiased reporting
C)to allow the government to censor only classified information
D)to align early U.S.newspapers with political parties

Question 59

__________ protect reports from being forced to reveal their sources.

A)Shield laws
B)Equal-time rules
C)Prior restraint laws
D)Sullivan rules

Question 60

How do new media facilitate cyberculture?

A)by allowing the provider to determine content selection
B)by following the established models of traditional media
C)by diffusing content provision to large numbers of people
D)by carefully controlling who sees what,and when

Question 61

As of 2008,about what percent of Internet users went online for a political purpose?

A)one-fourth
B)one-third
C)half
D)three-quarters

Question 62

Political ads are more successful at motivating a candidate's supporters to go to the polls than at __________.

A)resolving social issues
B)raising campaign contributions
C)changing opponents into supporters
D)increasing party membership

Question 63

From many studies on the effect of television on behavior,it appears that television is more likely to __________.

A)discourage the party faithful to act rather than encourage them
B)reinforce behavioral tendencies rather than change them
C)change behavior more than any other factor
D)spur political action more than encourage idleness

Question 64

In Reno v.American Civil Liberties Union,the Supreme Court gave __________ the task of filtering Internet content for those under the age of eighteen.

A)the FTC
B)parents
C)the FCC
D)Internet providers

Question 65

In a political campaign,Web sites are particularly important in __________.

A)converting liberals to conservatives
B)changing people's mind on important issues
C)converting conservatives to liberals
D)gathering a lot of small campaign contributions

Question 66

The growth of which of the following political movements greatly benefited from the use of new media?

A)the New Frontier movement
B)the Tea Party movement
C)the women's suffrage movement
D)the states' rights movement

Question 67

Which of the following is MOST likely to have engaged in political action using a social networking site?

A)Karin,a 25-year-old graphic designer
B)Martin,a 40-year-old insurance salesperson
C)Barbara,a 50-year-old emergency room nurse
D)Donald,a 70-year-old retired police officer

Question 68

The more prestigious newspapers are considered important because they have an elite audience: government officials,business leaders,and media figures.

Question 69

The new media make it more difficult to __________.

A)avoid political content you do not agree with
B)share your political opinions with others
C)run for public office without an online presence
D)find like-minded people who share your views

Question 70

Television is an example of mass media,but newspapers and radio are not.

Question 71

Findings indicate that __________ have the greatest impact on changing public opinion.

A)trusted television newscasters
B)popular presidents
C)opinion-makers and pundits
D)interest groups

Question 72

When you ignore political opinions you do not like,which of these is occurring?

A)selective perception
B)television malaise
C)information overload
D)media bias

Question 73

When journalists choose to cover election fraud from the point of view of voting officials,they are newsmaking.

Question 74

When newspaper reporters decide that election fraud is the issue to cover,they are setting a political agenda.

Question 75

Which of these was extended to the Internet in Reno v.American Civil Liberties Union?

A)the Sullivan rule
B)shield laws
C)journalistic privileges
D)First Amendment protection

Question 76

Ironically,the overwhelmingly large number of political Web sites may wind up __________.

A)making voters even more indifferent than they already are
B)causing voters to return to traditional media outlets for more substantial reporting
C)costing most sitting politicians their jobs as voters learn the truth about them
D)reducing the overall amount of influence of the established political parties

Question 77

The "CNN effect" refers to the influence of strong visuals on public opinion.

Question 78

Which statement best demonstrates the media's effect on public opinion?

A)While the media may not be able to tell us what to think,they are successful in telling us what to think about.
B)Entertainment media is geared to helping the mass public to think about particular current events.
C)The media can shape how we think most of the time.
D)Public opinion tends to be separate from the media,as it is generally only concerned with the selling of advertising.

Question 79

Internet use in the last decade has __________.

A)remained even
B)increased steadily
C)gradually decreased
D)plummeted

Question 80

The application of new media to campaign politics is called __________.

A)cyberpolitics
B)digitization
C)crowdsourcing
D)cyberculture