Deck 10: The Media and Politics

Question 1

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

Answer 1

A

Question 2

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

Answer 2

C

Question 3

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 3

A

Question 4

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 5

When a news program begins the broadcast each day with a certain political story and continues to highlight this issue for several days, it suggests to the public that this political story is an important issue. Which function of agenda setting does this?

A) Priming
B) Sorting
C) Replaying
D) Factoring
E) Blogging

Question 6

Priming can be defined as a way in which the media does which of the following?

A) Limits access to opinionated information
B) Sets the public agenda of what government ought to do
C) Alters public perceptions of an issue by embedding that issue in particular stories
D) Seeks to make a profit
E) Socializes new generations about major political issues

Question 7

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 8

When presidential candidates John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon debated in 1960, those people who heard about the debate by which of the following methods thought Kennedy had won while people who learned about the debate through other media thought Nixon had won?

A) Watching it on television
B) Listening to it on the radio
C) Reading about it in the newspaper
D) Talking with family and friends
E) Listening to their state representative

Question 9

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 10

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 11

The first televised presidential debate was between which of the following?

A) Eisenhower and Stevenson in 1956
B) Kennedy and Nixon in 1960
C) Johnson and Goldwater in 1964
D) Nixon and Humphrey in 1968
E) Nixon and McGovern in 1972

Question 12

In January 2013, the government shut down as part of a sequestration. Some reports focused more on negative consequences of sequestration, while others discussed how Tea Party members of Congress pushed for fiscal responsibility. What aspect of agenda setting does this represent?

A) Selective attention
B) Distorting
C) Framing
D) Priming
E) Racial bias

Question 13

Lisa watched a news report on recycling and was proud that citizens had stepped up to be more conscious of what they throw away. Jeremy heard a similar report on the radio as he drove home and was frustrated because it showed that companies were still putting products in nonrecyclable containers. These two responses to similar information demonstrate the effect of which of the following?

A) Sourcing
B) Blogging
C) Socializing
D) Framing
E) Priming

Question 14

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 15

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 16

Framing is best defined as influence on which of the following?

A) Public opinion as a result of the way a story is presented or covered, including the details and context offered in the report
B) Public opinion from a story that covers one candidate or policy favorably without providing similar coverage of the other side
C) Public opinion as a result of journalists' decisions about which news stories to cover
D) Government policy as a result of positive or negative coverage of an issue
E) Government activities as a result of media coverage of an issue

Question 17

George Washington felt it was important to keep some governmental matters secret and as a result, news should be censored to keep these matters out of the public eye. This is an example of which of the following?

A) A free press
B) Gerrymandering
C) Managed news
D) Yellow journalism
E) Covert reporting

Question 18

At the founding of the nation, how was the role of the media in politics viewed?

A) Crucial to spreading political information to the electorate
B) An overstepping of a clear boundary since freedom of the press was not established
C) Limited because of the speed at which news traveled
D) Vital since a large group of citizens controlled the political discussion
E) A nuisance since Thomas Jefferson openly opposed newspapers

Question 19

Which of the following refers to  the ability of the media to alter the public's view on an issue by presenting it in a particular way?

A) Agenda setting
B) Framing
C) Softening
D) Sensationalizing
E) Investigating

Question 20

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 21

One of the most effective political ads was a thirty-second spot that depicted a little girl picking daisies in a field and then an image of a mushroom cloud emanating from a nuclear explosion that was done for which of the following candidates?

A) John F. Kennedy in his campaign against Richard Nixon
B) Lyndon Johnson in his campaign against Barry Goldwater
C) Jimmy Carter in his campaign against Ronald Reagan
D) George Herbert Walker Bush in his campaign against Michael Dukakis
E) Bill Clinton in his campaign against George Herbert Walker Bush

Question 22

The increase in advertising by campaigns during the final weeks or days before an election is related to which of the following?

A) The need to sway voters that have committed to the opposing candidate
B) The requirement by the Federal Elections Commission that all campaign funds be expended before election day
C) A reduction in advertising costs on television networks and radio stations
D) A desire to gain the support of an undecided voter
E) The need to counteract any decline in party support related to debates

Question 23

A spin doctor is which of the following?

A) A journalist who practices sensational and irresponsible reporting so his or her organization makes more money
B) A political campaign adviser who tries to convince journalists of the truth of a particular interpretation of events
C) A government spokesperson who generates information that gives government interests priority over candor
D) A professional political commentator who appears on cable news programs
E) A media elite who determines which stories to cover and which to ignore

Question 24

How does a political candidate access earned media?

A) The candidate agrees to debate another candidate who is running for the same office.
B) The candidate buys air time on a network television station.
C) The candidate receives coverage without paying for advertising after saying something the media thinks should be reported.
D) The candidate is considered the front-runner so the media decides to give that candidate the most coverage.
E) The candidate has more campaign financing than other candidates.

Question 25

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 26

The 2016 presidential campaign was unprecedented in that while the media influenced what the voters saw and heard, it also had to share the role of information dissemination with social media, especially Donald Trump's use of which of the following?

A) Twitter
B) Facebook
C) SnapChat
D) Instagram
E) LinkedIn

Question 27

Three types of TV coverage are generally employed in campaigns for the presidency and other offices: advertising, management of news coverage, and which of the following?

A) Reality television competitions
B) Late-night infomercials
C) Campaign debates
D) Primetime program sponsorship
E) Fireside chats

Question 28

Campaign managers and candidates believe that the media has the most influence on which of the following?

A) An individual who has not formed an opinion about a candidate
B) People who have strong ties to a political party
C) Those people who have preconceived ideas about a candidate
D) Individuals who plan to vote for an incumbent
E) The people who don't believe their vote counts

Question 29

Which of the following is an example of selective attention?

A) Nora decided to watch only the first presidential debate because any additional debates would be the same.
B) Raja decided not to vote this year because he didn't like any of the candidates.
C) Lydia refused to listen to any news about Democratic candidates because she only votes for Republicans.
D) Brianna noticed that the radio reported on the president's trip to South Africa, but the cable news channel did not.
E) Sun-Jun knows it's important to listen to both candidates before making his voting choice.

Question 30

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.

Question 31

In presidential debates, it is common for which of the following to occur?

A) Challengers to have much more to gain from debating than incumbents
B) Nonvoters to favor the challengers over an incumbent
C) The minority party to enjoy an advantage
D) Incumbents to have more to gain than challengers
E) The debate to have little effect on the election outcome

Question 32

A presidential candidate would use microtargeting to do which of the following?

A) Create a short list of potential cabinet members
B) Identify individuals who voted for them in the past and advertise to them to assure their votes
C) Mobilize the military in times of war
D) Delay an initiative in Congress that might put their candidacy in jeopardy
E) Limit media reports on a negative situation

Question 33

Which of the following statements about the media's impact on voters is true?

A) Research has shown that the media has a substantial impact on voting behavior.
B) A large number of Americans accessing media have a limited knowledge of political issues and candidates.
C) Individuals will filter out information that does not fit with their own ideas.
D) Information that makes an individual uncomfortable will often prompt further research to determine accuracy.
E) The media can cause a decided voter to change their opinion through repetition of campaign information.

Question 34

Which of the following statements concerning the Daisy Girl ad from the 1964 presidential campaign is true?

A) The ad ran nightly for a month before being retired by the campaign.
B) The ad attempted to portray Lyndon Johnson as a candidate who would lead the United States to nuclear war.
C) The ad backfired and caused a brief surge of support for Barry Goldwater.
D) The ad is an example of classic negative campaign advertising.
E) The ad outraged World War II veterans who thought it played on emotions related to the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Question 35

Using demographic and consumer data to identify individuals who will receive specific advertising messages is known as which of the following?

A) Microtargeting
B) Narrowcasting
C) Simulating
D) Priming
E) Framing

Question 36

The most important aspect of debates for political candidates is taking advantage of an opportunity to do which of the following?

A) Present their own views on the issues
B) Attack the views of their opponent on the issues
C) Use the power of television to project an image
D) Speak to the part of the electorate that is already committed to voting for them
E) Show the electorate that he or she is eloquent and articulate

Question 37

Spin refers to which of the following?

A) Misleading information in the tabloid press
B) An interpretation of campaign events that is most favorable to the candidate
C) The rotation of political commentators on public access channels
D) The calculations made by the media after the closing of polls on the East Coast
E) A brief memorable comment that can easily fit into news broadcasts

Question 38

The tendency for individuals to only pay attention to information that reinforces their held beliefs is known as which of the following?

A) Framing
B) Media bias
C) Racial bias
D) Selective attention
E) Political ideology

Question 39

Which of the following statements about media and political campaigns is true?

A) Campaigns have focused mostly on Internet advertising and decreased television advertising in recent years.
B) Most national political figures plan every public appearance and statement to attract media coverage.
C) Most Americans get information about political campaigns only from the Internet.
D) Media influence on politics is most obvious between the general election and inauguration day.
E) The importance of news coverage for a single event has decreased over the past two decades.

Question 40

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 41

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 42

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 43

A journalist who includes a negative stereotype about individuals who are African American, Hispanic, or white while reporting on a story is engaging in which of the following?

A) Partisan bias
B) Hazing
C) Priming
D) Racial profiling
E) Yellow journalism

Question 44

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 45

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 46

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 47

An inclination or a preference that interferes with impartial judgment is known as which of the following?

A) Found reasoning
B) Profiling
C) Ethnocentrism
D) Bias
E) Net neutrality

Question 48

The Bush administration allowed 500 journalists to travel with combat forces in order to report the news from the front line of the war. Which war did this coincide with?

A) Second Gulf War
B) Vietnam War
C) World War II
D) Persian War
E) First Gulf War

Question 49

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 50

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 51

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 52

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 53

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

Question 54

Which of the following best pertains to the principle of net neutrality?

A) It is a proposed constitutional amendment awaiting ratification by the states.
B) It was codified in a 2008 federal law.
C) It is the result of many separate laws in the states.
D) It is not actually written into law.
E) It is a proposed constitutional amendment awaiting ratification by the states but is not actually written into law.

Question 55

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 56

Which of the following is the first goal of journalists?

A) Attracting viewers that will promote spending by advertisers
B) Reporting the news to keep their viewers and readers informed
C) Developing stories that will appear unbiased while still conveying the ideology of the media corporation
D) Conducting investigative reporting that will increase viewers and readers
E) Engaging viewers and readers in politics by developing agenda-setting stories

Question 57

Net neutrality is the Internet's version of which of the following?

A) Free press
B) Absence of malice
C) Innocent until proven guilty
D) The right to bear arms
E) Agenda setting

Question 58

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 59

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 60

Media access refers to the right of access to media by whom?

A) The government
B) The public
C) Broadcasters
D) Big business
E) Candidates

Question 61

Analyze how political advertising has evolved over the years.

Question 62

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

Question 63

Evaluate the concerns over media bias.

Question 64

Explain why the principle of net neutrality is important to the public.

Question 65

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

Question 66

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

Question 67

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

Question 68

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

Question 69

Analyze how agenda setting affects public opinion.

Question 70

Evaluate the relevance of selective attention and its role in the media's impact on voters.

Question 71

Should the public have more or less media access? What role does government play in granting access?

Question 72

It has been said that television coverage of women in politics has focused on the "three H's" which include hair, husbands, and which of the following?

A) Hemlines
B) History
C) Hands
D) Humor
E) Hierarchy

Question 73

Sunday morning television shows like Face the Nation repeatedly have more male guests than female guests. This perpetuates which of the following?

A) A gender bias
B) Racial profiling
C) Gerrymandering
D) Net neutrality
E) The watchdog effect

Question 74

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

Question 75

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 76

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

Question 77

Analyze examples of gender bias in the media.

Question 78

Evaluate the various arguments regarding bias in the media. How could you develop an objective way to assess whether or not bias exists in the media?

Question 79

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

Question 80

Analyze how the government's role in controlling the media has changed since the terrorist attacks of September 11.