Question 1

Babcock suggests all of these approaches for dealing with infotainment, except ...&#10;A) Infotainment should sacrifice information for the sake of entertainment&#10;B) Infotainment should do no harm&#10;C) Infotainment should follow the golden rule&#10;D) Infotainment should be based on truth, not just half-truths

Accepted Answer

Babcock does not suggest that infotainment sacrifice information for the sake of entertainment. Instead, he advocates for infotainment that adheres to ethical principles such as doing no harm, following the golden rule, and being based on truth, not just half-truths.

Question 2

According to Babcock, &#34;reality shows&#34; are essentially ...&#10;A) News programs for the masses&#10;B) Infotainment on steroids&#10;C) Stranger than fiction&#10;D) Staged pseudo-events

Accepted Answer

According to Babcock, "reality shows" are essentially staged pseudo-events, meaning that they are not completely real and are instead constructed and directed for the cameras.

Question 3

Gordon suggests all of these approaches for dealing with infotainment, except ...&#10;A) Use infotainment techniques to make news more appealing&#10;B) Use news techniques to improvement the content of infotainment&#10;C) Use infotainment techniques to make programs more sensational&#10;D) Develop ethical frameworks that help audiences distinguish between news and entertainment/infotainment

Accepted Answer

Gordon does not suggest using infotainment techniques to make programs more sensational. Instead, he suggests focusing on improving the quality and content of infotainment, as well as developing ethical frameworks for distinguishing between news and entertainment/infotainment.

Question 4

Which one of these newspapers is most closely linked to infotainment?&#10;A) The New York Times&#10;B) USA Today&#10;C) Los Angeles Times&#10;D) Wall Street Journal

Accepted Answer

USA Today is known for its colorful graphics, short articles, and focus on entertainment news, making it the newspaper most closely linked to infotainment.

Question 5

Which one of these ethicists would have been most concerned about whether tabloid news shows adequately respect the dignity of their human subjects?&#10;A) Aristotle&#10;B) Machiavelli&#10;C) Mill&#10;D) Kant

Accepted Answer

Kant's ethical philosophy emphasizes the importance of treating individuals as ends in themselves, rather than means to an end. This would suggest that Kant would be most concerned with whether tabloid news shows respect the dignity of their human subjects.

Question 6

Tabloid news shows concentrate on all of these, except ...&#10;A) Complexity&#10;B) Crime&#10;C) Sex&#10;D) Scandal

Accepted Answer

Tabloid news shows focus on sensationalism and attracting viewers through controversial or scandalous topics. Complexity does not fit this criteria and therefore would not be a focus.

Question 7

The type of ethics that &#34;reality shows&#34; often rely upon is ...&#10;A) Rawlsian&#10;B) Machiavellian&#10;C) Kantian&#10;D) Confucian

Accepted Answer

"Reality shows" often rely on Machiavellian ethics, where the end justifies the means and the contestants are encouraged to be self-interested and manipulate others to win. This can involve sacrificing personal relationships, lying, and engaging in unethical behavior for the sake of winning the competition. Rawlsian and Kantian ethics, on the other hand, emphasize fairness, equality, and respect for others, which are not typically priorities on reality shows. Confucian ethics emphasizes personal and societal harmony, which also does not align with the competitive and dramatic nature of reality shows.

Question 8

Gordon says some types of infotainment are useful&#10;A) Egoism&#10;B) Capitalism&#10;C) Utilitarianism&#10;D) Idealism

Accepted Answer

Utilitarianism focuses on maximizing utility or the greatest happiness for the greatest number of people. Gordon's statement suggests that some types of infotainment have practical value or benefit for a significant number of people, aligning with the utilitarian principle.

Question 9

People pay attention to the media for all of these reasons, except ...&#10;A) News&#10;B) Entertainment&#10;C) Thrills&#10;D) Deception

Accepted Answer

People do not pay attention to the media for deception, as they expect the media to be truthful and accurate in its reporting.

Question 10

Babcock says &#34;reality shows&#34; rely upon all of these, except ...&#10;A) Stereotypes&#10;B) Reality&#10;C) Exaggerations&#10;D) Innuendo

Accepted Answer

Babcock is stating that "reality shows" rely upon stereotypes, exaggerations, and innuendo, but not necessarily reality.

Deck 13: Infotainment, Sensationalism and Reality