Deck 6: The Media

Question 1

Which of the following refers to news sources such as newspapers, television, radio, and the Internet that provide a large audience with information about the nation and the world?

A) Mass media
B) Social media
C) Muckrakers
D) Watchdogs
E) Electronic media

Answer 1

A

Question 2

Which of the following best describes concerns about concentrated media ownership?

A) Concentration could lead to a decline in the democratic debate.
B) Media owners might steer the national agenda.
C) Cable news viewers will be lost to newspapers owned by the parent company.
D) Concentration could lead to a decline in the democratic debate, and media owners might steer the national agenda.
E) All of these are correct.

Answer 2

D

Question 3

The 1996 Telecommunications Act did which of the following?

A) Ended a rule prohibiting the merging of media from two different domestic markets
B) Ended a rule prohibiting foreign ownership of any media in the United States
C) Ended a rule prohibiting telephone companies from entering the cable business
D) Created a rule prohibiting foreign ownership of any media in the United States
E) Created a rule to create a publicly owned cable television provider

Answer 3

C

Question 4

Group leaders who follow news in specific areas are called what type of policy elites?

A) Digital
B) Attentive
C) Prominent
D) Partisan
E) Formula

Question 5

Which of the following is not usually considered to be a part of the media?

A) Newspapers
B) Television
C) Personal correspondence
D) Radio
E) The Internet

Question 6

Newspapers owned by publicly traded chains are more likely to do which of the following?

A) Remain neutral in the tone of their reporting
B) Resort to negative or positive spin on the news
C) Disregard the bottom line, in service of better reporting
D) Promote journalistic integrity
E) Be independent

Question 7

Which of the following is the most commonly used source for news in America?

A) News radio
B) Local newspapers
C) Facebook
D) Local news shows on television
E) National news broadcasts on television

Question 8

Edward R. Murrow earned his fame via which of the following as he broadcast news of German air raids on London?

A) Television
B) Newsprint
C) Radio
D) The Internet
E) News magazines

Question 9

A story that contains no policy content and is not related to the day's events but that commonly discusses popular personalities and is designed to draw greater viewer interest is called which of the following?

A) Market-driven journalism
B) The Fox effect
C) Primetime programming
D) Reality TV
E) Infotainment

Question 10

In response to financial stress, some have suggested that newspapers operate as which of the following, so they can be funded through endowments, donations, and perhaps government support?

A) For-profit enterprises
B) Members of chains
C) Nonprofits
D) Online-only venues
E) Ideological think tanks

Question 11

Forms of communication, including radio and television, that have a broad reach to many people are known as which of the following?

A) Mass messages
B) Journalism
C) Popular press
D) Media
E) News

Question 12

More and more cable news channels like MSNBC and Fox News seem analogous to which of the following?

A) Weekly news magazines
B) Broadcast networks
C) Radio
D) Early partisan newspapers
E) YouTube

Question 13

While most of the mass media in the United States is privately owned, which of the following is also correct?

A) They are able to regulate large swaths of information flow on the Internet.
B) The government has cracked down on the use of copyrighted material.
C) They have focused most of their energy on monitoring the activities of hate groups.
D) They do not operate free of government regulation.
E) They operate free of government regulation.

Question 14

Over time, what has happened to the concentration of media ownership due to more lax FCC control?

A) It is has grown.
B) It has shrunk.
C) It has remained unchanged.
D) It has become unattainable.
E) It has disappeared.

Question 15

Which of the following is a potential problem with concentrated media ownership?

A) It may result in government restrictions on competition.
B) It may result in a limited watchdog function.
C) It may result in too much competition.
D) It may result in information overload.
E) It may result in too much accountability to the public.

Question 16

Which of the following countries heavily censors Internet news and search engines?

A) Germany
B) China
C) South Africa
D) Argentina
E) Italy

Question 17

Radio, television, wire, and cable are regulated by which of the following?

A) The Department of Communications
B) The states
C) The Federal Communications Commission
D) The Constitution
E) Themselves, with no government oversight

Question 18

The amount of information online is so vast that most people rely on which of the following to help them determine which news is real and important?

A) Google
B) Guidance from the government
C) The mainstream media
D) Prominent political commentators
E) The "blog index"

Question 19

Private ownership of the media in the United States makes American news which of the following?

A) Dependent on government subsidies
B) Dependent on advertising revenues
C) Less free to cover stories that are of interest to the audience
D) Less concerned about ratings than media in other countries
E) A product of popular trends

Question 20

Which of the following amendments to the Constitution protects the freedom of the press?

A) First Amendment
B) Second Amendment
C) Fourth Amendment
D) Fifth Amendment
E) Ninth Amendment

Question 21

A television network decides to run a series of news stories highlighting the need for stronger regulations over gun sales and purchases. This example is representative of which of the following?

A) Agenda setting
B) Blogosphere politics
C) Managed news
D) Gerrymandering
E) Yellow journalism

Question 22

The power of the media to determine what the government ought to do is referred as which of the following?

A) Framing
B) Priming
C) Setting the public agenda
D) Political socialization
E) Content aggregation

Question 23

In what ways do social networking, blogging, and the Internet play a role in politics today?

A) Politicians at all levels of government office have placed importance on having a web presence.
B) The two major party candidates for president in 1996 were the first to develop political websites for their campaigns.
C) Because social networks were intended for friends and families, politicians have limited their presence in these applications.
D) Modern political candidates have had limited success using the Internet to raise money to fund campaigns.
E) While local politicians use social networking successfully, most national politicians do not.

Question 24

Microphones and cameras were banned from congressional chambers until which of the following years when the House permitted live coverage?

A) 1951
B) 1987
C) 2002
D) 1963
E) 1979

Question 25

Representatives of the mass media frequently defend the importance of freedom of the press, even if it comes at the expense of which of the following?

A) Order
B) Equality
C) Profits
D) Democracy
E) Rights

Question 26

Available evidence seems to indicate that most journalists and reporters have which of the following?

A) Liberal leanings
B) Conservative leanings
C) Biases in favor of politicians
D) No biases at all
E) Negative leanings

Question 27

Issues that are perceived by the political community as meriting public attention and governmental action are known as which of the following?

A) Infotainment
B) The public agenda
C) Watchdog news
D) Whistleblowing
E) Priming news

Question 28

According to Gallup Poll data, about half of Americans feel that the news media have what type of bias?

A) Conservative
B) Libertarian
C) Liberal
D) Corporate-leaning
E) Undetectable

Question 29

Which of the following statements is most accurate?

A) The mass media are not important to the majoritarian model of democracy.
B) The mass media are not important to the pluralist model of democracy.
C) The media in the United States have greatly enhanced the government's efforts to maintain order.
D) The media in the United States have played an important role in advancing equality.
E) The media represent an unofficial branch of government.

Question 30

Which of the following statements about the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is most accurate?

A) The FCC has little control over wireless frequencies because Congress has not given it this authority.
B) The media is limited with the stories that they can cover related to the government because of censorship by the FCC.
C) The government established the FCC to distribute and regulate the radio, television, and wireless frequencies.
D) The Supreme Court ruled that allowing the FCC to regulate interstate telephone service was a violation of the Commerce Act.
E) The FCC has permitted large corporations to secure control of the telephone, cable, satellite television, and Internet services.

Question 31

Which of the following received more negative press according to content analysis of the 2016 presidential campaign?

A) Donald Trump
B) Bernie Sanders
C) The House of Representatives
D) Barack Obama
E) Hillary Clinton

Question 32

The distribution and regulation of frequencies for electronic media is the responsibility of which of the following?

A) The Federal Communications Commission
B) National Public Radio
C) The Supreme Court
D) The Federal Trade Commission
E) The First Amendment

Question 33

When the media uncovers public wrongdoing and brings that wrongdoing to the public's attention, it is engaged in which role of the media?

A) Entertaining the public
B) Socializing new generations
C) Providing a political forum
D) Making profits
E) Setting the public agenda

Question 34

Journalists are more likely to identify as which of the following?

A) Democrats than as Republicans
B) Republicans than as Democrats
C) Republicans than as independents
D) Libertarians than as Democrats
E) Libertarians than as Republicans

Question 35

When the media regularly focus public attention on violent crime, political corruption, or economic woes, they are engaged in which of the following?

A) Biased reporting
B) Political socialization
C) Agenda setting
D) Changing public opinion
E) Apathy management

Question 36

In 1934, Congress created which of the following-now a powerful agency that regulates all forms of electronic media, including radio, television and cable television, cell phones, and even wireless networks?

A) Central Intelligence Agency
B) Federal Communications Commission
C) Federal Media Agency
D) National Broadcasting Association
E) National Broadcasting Commission

Question 37

If a cable news channel decides to report on a senator's financial indiscretions rather than report on a piece of congressional legislation that failed to pass, that news channel is practicing which of the following?

A) Hard news
B) Blogosphere politics
C) Net neutrality
D) Gerrymandering
E) Agenda setting

Question 38

The Telecommunications Act of 1996 has allowed which of the following?

A) Companies to own more media outlets
B) The government to seize stations from defiant companies
C) Companies to receive tax benefits from state governments
D) The government to fully regulate cable television
E) The FCC to raise the national audience reach cap from 35% to 45%

Question 39

The main focus of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 was to do which of the following?

A) Attempt to tighten national control over media ownership and product content
B) Attempt to deregulate all privately owned media
C) Encourage restrictions on web pages
D) Relax the rules governing media ownership
E) Spark an increase in government-owned media outlets

Question 40

A single corporation can offer television, phone, and Internet services due to which of the following?

A) A key merger between a phone and cable company in the early 2000s
B) The Supreme Court supporting companies' right to make a profit by offering multiple products
C) The Telecommunications Act of 2001
D) The Telecommunications Act of 1996
E) The First Amendment

Question 41

Evaluate the degree to which the media engages in agenda setting. Provide an example of an item on the agenda right now.

Question 42

Analyze how the news media have evolved and adapted to new technologies.

Question 43

Which of the following may exist among journalists that possibly could affect campaign coverage in congressional elections?

A) Anti-incumbent bias
B) Gender gap
C) Age gap
D) Income disparity
E) Pro-interest group bias

Question 44

Analyze how the law protects the press. Why is this important in a democracy?

Question 45

Evaluate the concerns over media bias.

Question 46

Explain the consequences of the large degree of private ownership of media that exists in the United States.

Question 47

Analyze what research shows with respect to the political leanings of major news media reporters and the impact that this has on political news coverage.

Question 48

Analyze the impact of social networking, blogging, and the Internet on political campaigning.

Question 49

Analyze why Congress created the Federal Communications Commission. Discuss its mandate and the recent challenges it has faced in its modern-day role.

Question 50

When journalists consider it their job to be critical of politicians, searching for inaccuracies in fact and weaknesses in argument, this is called which of the following?

A) Yellow dog journalism
B) Watchdog journalism
C) Muckraking
D) Political bias
E) Communicative journalism

Question 51

Analyze how agenda setting affects public opinion.

Question 52

Analyze the functions of the media in American society. Identify those functions that are essential to the democratic process.

Question 53

Analyze the government's history of regulation of media content, including rules historically used to regulate content and how different media outlets are treated.