Deck 14: Media Economics and the Global Marketplace

Question 1

The United States has been accused of cultural imperialism because

A)U.S.corporations own most of the world's mass media
B)The Pentagon dictates foreign policy in most foreign countries
C)American styles in fashion, food, and entertainment dominate the global markets
D)All options are correct

Answer 1

C

Question 2

Services like Netflix and Hulu Plus have helped increase the profits of cable television companies.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

Indirect payments usually come from advertisers.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

As media corporations have grown larger, they also have been able to manage public debate about their increasing power.

Question 5

Limited competition describes the following situation:

A)When a single firm dominates an industry
B)When a market has many producers and sellers, but only a few differentiable products
C)When only a few firms dominate an industry
D)When customers pay directly for media goods, such as a cable TV or magazine subscription
E)No option is correct

Question 6

A monopoly exists when a small number of firms control an industry, either nationally or locally.

Question 7

Synergy typically refers to the promotion and sale of different versions of a media product across the various subsidiaries of a media conglomerate.

Question 8

The television network Fox is owned by News Corp.

Question 9

Media powerhouses push for more government regulation to control their competition.

Question 10

Because today's flexible economy demands fast product development, smaller media companies have an advantage over their larger competitors.

Question 11

To circumvent U.S.antitrust laws, most media companies diversify among different product lines, thus never completely dominating an industry.

Question 12

In an oligopoly, just a few firms dominate an industry.

Question 13

Public debates about the structure and ownership of the mass media are encouraged by media owners, who consider such discussion to be in their best interests.

Question 14

News Corp.'s purchase of MySpace was a tremendous success.

Question 15

The purpose of antitrust laws is to encourage diversity and competition in the marketplace.

Question 16

To lower costs, many manufactures of media equipment like televisions, VCRs, and computers have exported work overseas to take advantage of cheaper labor.

Question 17

Most media monopolies today operate at the local, not the global, level.

Question 18

The era of downsizing coincided with an increase in workers who belong to labor unions.

Question 19

Because media products are ethereal pieces of software, large conglomerates have no necessary advantage over small independent companies (such as labels, studios, or publishers).

Question 20

The government trend toward deregulation was actually begun during the Carter administration.

Question 21

In our market economy, consumers have __________, but not very much control over the types of products that they might actually want.

A)Freedom of choice
B)Enormous power
C)Freedom from thought
D)No option is correct

Question 22

Cultural imperialism is

A)A concept in journalism ethics that argues that a journalist must know the culture he or she is reporting on
B)The theory that globalization is good for media because it makes media more culturally diverse
C)The idea that large and powerful countries can dominate and even change the culture of smaller countries through media
D)The argument that people are more affected by media that are familiar to them
E)No option is correct

Question 23

The trend of downsizing

A)Is a euphemism for laying off workers
B)Is supposed to make companies more productive, competitive, and flexible
C)Has forced many employees to scramble for jobs
D)Decreased traditional news reporting
E)All options are correct

Question 24

Our society has been reluctant to debate the inequalities inherent in mass media ownership and has gradually collapsed the critical distinctions between

A)Capitalism and the free market
B)Democracy and free speech
C)Space and time
D)Capitalism and democracy

Question 25

How has globalization affected American media companies?

A)They have a smaller market share because so few people in the world speak English
B)Most foreign governments greatly restrict American media in their countries
C)The technology gap between countries means that few people overseas can access American media
D)Global audiences permit American companies that lose money on products to turn a profit overseas Fill in the Blank

Question 26

The significant tendencies in major mainstream media today are toward

A)Community ownership and civic action
B)Specialization and synergy
C)Partisanship and deference
D)National ownership and community action

Question 27

The transition to an information economy was characterized by

A)An increasingly centralized and permanent workforce
B)Intense product rivalry between one country and another
C)An emphasis on mass markets rather than niche markets
D)The rise of transnational media corporations

Question 28

Government deregulation and corporate strategy are leading to a mass media industry controlled by

A)Hundreds of small companies
B)Monopolies
C)Oligopolies
D)National conglomerates

Question 29

Media that rely primarily on direct payment to collect revenues include

A)Daily newspapers
B)Consumer magazines
C)Movies
D)Over-the-air radio stations

Question 30

What does it mean when we say that media corporations "exercise hegemony" in our society?

A)They make large profits
B)They are monopolies
C)They control the government
D)They influence values

Question 31

Because of antitrust laws, most media monopolies today operate on a(n)__________ level.

A)National
B)International
C)Local
D)Federal

Question 32

What type of advantage promotes ownership patterns among the different media forms in which several media subsidiaries under one corporate umbrella work to develop versions of a similar product?

A)Agenda setting
B)Validity
C)Mixed ownership
D)Synergy
E)Joint operating agreements

Question 33

The billion-dollar mergers and takeovers that swept the mass media since the 1990s were possible because of

A)Speculation on Wall Street
B)Deregulation
C)The collapse of communism
D)The rise of the World Wide Web

Question 34

Today's flexible media system, in which new products are constantly rushed to the marketplace, favors

A)Small boutique media companies that can develop products
B)Individual entrepreneurs who can tailor a unique media product to meet a niche market
C)Large companies that can easily absorb losses incurred from failed products
D)Government-subsidized companies that do not have to be concerned with making a profit

Question 35

In 2006, Disney CEO Robert Iger merged the company with

A)Pixar
B)ABC
C)CBS
D)No option is correct