Deck 15: The Media

Question 1

The most recent change we have seen in the way news is being disseminated and how candidates are creating networks of supporters is ______.

A) the use of Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and other social networking sites for these purposes
B) that more Americans are reading newspapers on Kindle or other electronic readers
C) that such information is spread more and more by word of mouth nowadays
D) that computers have led to slower distribution of newsworthy information
E) none of the above

Answer 1

A

Question 2

The advent of cable and satellite television providers has had all of the following effects EXCEPT this one:

A) increasing dramatically the number of channels available to viewers
B) increasing the quality of news available to viewers
C) creating fierce competition for viewers
D) encouraging broadcasters to focus on narrow audiences
E) blurring the lines between news and entertainment

Answer 2

B

Question 3

In the media today,there is __________.

A) commercial bias
B) partisan bias
C) objectivity
D) conservative bias
E) liberal bias

Answer 3

A

Question 4

The invention of the radio was important for politics because ______.

A) it guaranteed that news reporting would be more accurate
B) people were tired of reading newspapers
C) unlike with newspapers, everyone could afford a radio
D) politicians could now speak directly to the public without having their ideas filtered through the media
E) it made news reporting less sensationalized

Question 5

The new movement toward having everyday people act as journalists and report the news directly on social media or blogs is known as ______.

A) muckraking
B) citizen journalism
C) commercial journalism
D) front-loading
E) posting

Question 6

Which of the following statements is NOT true concerning use of the media to gather information about the news?

A) Americans have moved rapidly to extensive use of television and the Internet.
B) Sorting through information is a costly exercise.
C) New forms of technology have expanded.
D) It takes great time and effort to critically analyze the information available through the media.
E) Americans have become well informed about their political world.

Question 7

The Federal Communications Act was passed because ______.

A) government regulation was needed to manage competition for scarce airwaves
B) the partisan ownership of most stations required that more stations be established to serve the public interest
C) Congress felt a need to bring truth to the broadcast industry, given its propensity to run so many slanderous programs
D) initially the broadcast content of many radio stations was controversial
E) Congress wanted to ensure unbiased news coverage

Question 8

______ is NOT an alternative to corporate media.

A) Public radio
B) The Internet
C) The alternative press
D) Infotainment
E) Government-controlled media

Question 9

The tendency of the media to make coverage and programming decisions based on what will attract a large audience and maximize profits is known as ______.

A) infotainment
B) a feeding frenzy
C) yellow journalism
D) narrowcasting
E) commercial bias

Question 10

The impact of the deregulation of broadcast journalism by the 1996 Telecommunications Act has been to ______.

A) increase competition in the news media
B) increase the quality of news coverage
C) free the Internet from unnecessary restrictions
D) increase newspaper circulation
E) increase the possibilities of media monopoly

Question 11

______ is an example of infotainment.

A) Reporting on a peace agreement in the Middle East
B) A segment on the politics behind Social Security reform
C) Showing a police chase
D) Reporting the week's weather
E) Broadcasting the president's State of the Union address

Question 12

Most of the news that Americans read on a daily basis comes from a few sources because most newspapers ______.

A) take their news directly from cable and network news shows
B) have a commercial bias
C) subscribe to one of the major wire services
D) are owned by just a few companies
E) get their news directly from the government

Question 13

The most basic consequence of concentrated corporate ownership of the news is ______.

A) a reduced emphasis on political news
B) commercial bias
C) the lightening up of the news
D) conflicts of interest for the news media
E) the dramatizing of the news

Question 14

Although the Internet provides people with enormous amounts of information,______.

A) most people do not know how to search for relevant information
B) it is difficult to sort and evaluate the available information
C) little of that information is devoted to politics
D) most of it tends to be liberal
E) the vast majority of the news and political information is not very accurate

Question 15

Infotainment refers to ______.

A) a dramatic television series that presents a political message
B) educational shows for children, such as Sesame Street
C) the attempt to make the nightly news more objective
D) news shows dressed up with drama and entertainment to entice viewers to tune in
E) Internet sites that allow visitors to watch videos

Question 16

Yellow journalism refers to ______.

A) the tendency to add spin to news reporting
B) the effort to lure audiences by reporting on sensational topics
C) accepting the "yellow" lie as a part of reporting
D) a move to more objective news reporting
E) a move toward more factual coverage of national news stories

Question 17

The corporate nature of the American media has caused ______.

A) most newspapers to increase coverage of business news
B) advertisers to dictate the content of the news
C) newspapers to become remarkably similar
D) newspapers to become more expensive
E) newspapers to become more serious in their coverage

Question 18

The 1996 Telecommunications Act ______.

A) prohibited broadcast networks from owning cable stations
B) created the equal time rule
C) allowed ownership of multiple broadcast stations as long as those stations did not reach more than 35 percent of the market
D) exempted cable stations from the same standards of fairness and decency required of broadcast stations
E) required both radio and television stations to adhere to the fairness doctrine

Question 19

Covering which of the following would be an example of commercial bias?

A) John Edwards's extramarital affair
B) a report on the effects of NAFTA
C) the contents of an agricultural bill
D) a discussion about the appropriate qualifications for a Supreme Court justice
E) a story on the deregulation of the energy industry

Question 20

Most politicians like radio and television because these media ______.

A) allow politicians to reach a broad audience without the adversarial questions of print reporters
B) do not give reporters the opportunity to ask questions
C) always allow for interaction with audiences
D) are inexpensive
E) none of the above

Question 21

In engaging in agenda setting,priming,and framing,the news media are ______.

A) telling the public what to think
B) holding politicians accountable
C) providing a neutral source of information
D) demonstrating liberal bias
E) telling the public what to think about

Question 22

A reporter looking at the ways cell phone companies overcharge their customers would be performing which journalistic role?

A) interpretive/investigator
B) gatekeeper
C) disseminator
D) muckraker
E) mobilizer

Question 23

Which of the following statements is NOT true concerning pundits?

A) Many of them come through the revolving door from government.
B) Their numbers have risen dramatically with the need to fill expanding airtime.
C) They usually have high levels of expertise and professionalism.
D) They have considerable unchecked power.
E) They have become media celebrities.

Question 24

A presidential speechwriter who then took a job as a syndicated columnist and later returned as a domestic-policy advisor to a member of Congress would illustrate ______.

A) a feeding frenzy
B) a trial balloon
C) cyclical journalism
D) the revolving door
E) press-politics integration

Question 25

What was the purpose of the equal time provision?

A) to open the airwaves to a variety of candidates
B) to force stations to come up with innovative solutions, such as candidate debates, to ensure that all viewpoints are provided by the media
C) to enable the candidates of major parties to get their views across, but it has had little effect on the visibility of third parties
D) to harm the major parties because the rule makes it easier for third parties to get out their messages
E) to close the airwaves

Question 26

When a news organization decides to report a story on a tornado by focusing on how many are dead versus how many survive,it engages in ______.

A) framing
B) focusing
C) priming
D) news management
E) agenda setting

Question 27

Because television is an entertainment medium,its coverage of political events focuses on ______.

A) image
B) controversial topics
C) only important issues
D) rhetoric
E) popular topics

Question 28

______ is the power to determine which news stories are covered and which are not.

A) The assignment principle
B) Narrowcasting
C) Monitoring
D) Gatekeeping
E) Media discretion

Question 29

Which of the following statements is NOT true regarding journalists?

A) American journalists do not mirror American society.
B) Journalists are predominantly male.
C) A plurality of journalists identify with the Democratic Party.
D) Journalists are overwhelmingly white.
E) A majority of journalists are older than 35

Question 30

The idea that the journalist's job is to get news to the public quickly,avoid stories with unverified content,and reach as wide an audience as possible is known as the ______ role.

A) disseminator
B) mobilizer
C) gatekeeper
D) investigator
E) trustee

Question 31

One significant impact of the rise of the political pundit is that ______.

A) there is no check on the pundits
B) it has increased the viewership of news broadcasts
C) political analysis has improved remarkably since the 1960s
D) it has made the public less cynical about politics
E) it has lessened the revolving-door problem

Question 32

If the news media constantly emphasize crime,and then politicians are evaluated on how they deal with crime,this would be an example of ______.

A) media manipulation
B) news management
C) agenda setting
D) priming
E) framing

Question 33

The agenda-setting functions of the news media have the greatest effect on ______.

A) Democrats
B) third-party supporters
C) Republicans
D) partisans of all parties
E) independents

Question 34

A 2003 study looking at misperceptions about the Iraq war concluded that the frequency with which those beliefs were held varied dramatically depending on ______.

A) a person's political party
B) which interest groups the person belonged to
C) the person's age
D) the primary source of the person's news
E) the person's gender

Question 35

The current movement among some journalists to be responsive to citizen input in determining what news stories to cover is called ______ journalism.

A) public interest
B) reactive
C) investigative
D) civic
E) muckraking

Question 36

Gatekeepers ______.

A) decide the details about what news gets covered
B) confine their role to getting the facts of the story straight
C) interpret complex problems
D) report only via the Internet
E) all of the above

Question 37

A major criticism of the disseminator role of journalism is that ______.

A) journalists often don't know what news to report
B) journalists spend too much time covering scandals
C) it does nothing to help citizens understand the news
D) it severely limits news content
E) it creates information overload

Question 38

The tendency of public officials,journalists,and lobbyists to move between public- and private-sector jobs is known as ______.

A) the feeding frenzy
B) the trial balloon
C) press patronage
D) bicameral journalism
E) the revolving door

Question 39

Selective perception shows us that ______.

A) a media bias exists
B) viewers do more than passively receive news and values presented by the media
C) media coverage of politics focuses on nothing more than conflict and image
D) priming is the overriding impact on what news people receive
E) people become more informed when they have selective perception

Question 40

An investigative reporter who searches for and exposes misconduct in corporate activity or by public officials is called a ______.

A) civic journalist
B) muckraker
C) yellow journalist
D) whistleblowing journalist
E) tabloid journalist

Question 41

Which of the following is NOT an example of new media?

A) blogs
B) social networks
C) ideological magazines
D) cable news stations
E) Internet news

Question 42

One significance of news management is that it ______.

A) has increased the media's ability to set the agenda
B) limits the ability of reporters to put their own interpretations on events
C) leads to more negative campaigning
D) has led to more trust in the media
E) has made people less cynical about politics

Question 43

______ is an example of infotainment.

A) Showing a police chase
B) A debate
C) Local news
D) 60 Minutes

Question 44

Excessive press coverage of an embarrassing or scandalous subject is called a ______.

A) news buffet
B) feeding frenzy
C) all-you-can-eat news story
D) hot lunch

Question 45

The agenda-setting functions of the news media have the greatest effect on conservatives.

Question 46

A(n)______ is an official leak of a proposal to determine public reaction without risk.

A) test case
B) trial balloon
C) guinea pig
D) red herring

Question 47

A(n)______ is an official leak of a proposal to determine public reaction without risk.

A) trial balloon
B) issue rehearsal
C) primer
D) sneak preview
E) test issue

Question 48

______ is an interpretation of a politician's words or actions designed to present a favorable image.

A) A sound bite
B) Framing
C) Priming
D) Spin
E) News management

Question 49

One of the effects of horse-race journalism is that the media show politics as if politicians cared only about scoring victories off of one another.

Question 50

The way in which the media's emphasis on particular characteristics of people,events,or issues influences the public's perceptions of those people,events,or issues is called ______.

Question 51

The new movement toward having everyday people act as journalists and report the news directly on social media or blogs is known as ______.

A) keyboard warrior
B) commenter reporting
C) Twitter activism
D) citizen journalism

Question 52

The effects of horse-race journalism include all of the following EXCEPT this:

A) The media show politics as if politicians cared only about scoring victories off one another.
B) The media report on politics as if it were a game of strategy and wit with no substance.
C) The media help citizens to understand the issues.
D) The media trivialize politics.
E) The media ignore citizens' concerns about politics.

Question 53

The current movement among some journalists to be responsive to citizen input in determining what news stories to cover is called civic journalism.

Question 54

The tendency of public officials,journalists,and lobbyists to move between public- and private-sector jobs is known as handshake deals.

Question 55

A 2003 study looking at misperceptions about the Iraq war concluded that the frequency with which those beliefs were held varied dramatically depending on the primary source of the person's news.

Question 56

The phenomenon of filtering incoming information through personal values and interests is known as ______.

Question 57

Commercial bias in the media is a result of the growing concentration of corporate ownership of the media.

Question 58

The major consequence of the press's increased emphasis on conflict and image is ______.

A) increased appreciation among the public for the importance of the political process
B) increased cynicism among the public toward both the media and politics
C) increased cynicism among the public toward the media and increased sympathy for politicians
D) a public sense of urgency that the people participate in politics
E) an increased dependence on the media as the only source of truth about the political world

Question 59

______ is an interpretation of a politician's words or actions designed to present a favorable image.

Question 60

Excessive press coverage of an embarrassing or scandalous subject is called ______.

A) spin
B) framing
C) a feeding frenzy
D) priming
E) narrowcasting

Question 61

Most of America's journalists are male,white,and ______.

Question 62

Discussions about the media almost inevitably come back to whether a media bias exists.Why do those on the left believe such a bias exists? How about those on the right? Does the public believe the media are biased? If the media are biased one way or the other,what might be the effects?

Question 63

Name three regulations the Federal Communications Commission has enacted to ensure that a variety of viewpoints are made available through the broadcast media.

Question 64

______ shows us that viewers do more than passively receive news and values presented by the media.

Question 65

Six corporations-Time-Warner,Disney,Viacom,CBS Corporation,News Corporation Limited,and General Electric-own most of the major national newspapers,the leading news magazines,and the national television networks,including CNN and other cable stations,as well as publishing houses,movie studios,telephone companies,entertainment firms,and other multimedia operations.Most of these corporations are also involved in other businesses,as their familiar names attest.Is this a cause for concern?

Question 66

Blogs,Twitter,Facebook,and a host of other news and social-media sites have allowed average citizens to become newsmakers.Is this a good or bad thing? Is the increase in citizen journalism leading to inaccuracies in reporting? Or can we trust that Americans will "consider the source" and verify any questionable information they read on a blog?

Question 67

What are the four roles played by journalists?

Question 68

A(n)______ is a short block of speech by a politician that makes it on the news.

Question 69

Define selective perception,and explain its significance.

Question 70

Politicians want to be presented by the media in the best possible light.Discuss news management and the different techniques that politicians and their staffs use to control news coverage.What possible problems exist with news management?

Question 71

What is a feeding frenzy,and what are its effects?