Deck 9: Media, Technology, and Government

Question 1

In what year did the American Medical Association enlist Ronald Reagan to help fight President John F. Kennedy's healthcare program?

A) 1963
B) 1981
C) 1980
D) 1961

Answer 1

D

Question 2

During the healthcare debate in the early 1960s, Ronald Reagan made a record (on vinyl) that the American Medical Association sent (by mail) to

A) every member of Congress.
B) every member of the Senate.
C) every physician's office.
D) every hospital.

Answer 2

C

Question 3

What did Ronald Reagan warn about healthcare reform in the early 1960s?

A) "One day we will awake to find that we have socialism."
B) "One day we will awake to find that we have fascism."
C) "One day we will awake to find that we have anarchy."
D) "One day we will awake to find that we have communism."

Answer 3

A

Question 4

Congress turned down healthcare reform in the early 1960s, although four years later another version of the law was passed and is now known as

A) Medicaid.
B) food stamps.
C) Medicare.
D) disability insurance.

Question 5

The Health Insurance Association of American aired television ads opposing President Clinton's health plan; they were known as the _______ ads.

A) Bill and Hillary
B) Ron and Nancy
C) Joe and Mary
D) Harry and Louise

Question 6

What new tool did Donald Trump utilize in 2016 to air his views on government healthcare?

A) Twitter
B) Facebook
C) Instagram
D) Snapchat

Question 7

_______ is all the ways people get information about politics and the wider world.

A) Twitter
B) Tumblr
C) Media
D) World Wide Web

Question 8

A major change in media over the past fifty years has been

A) a slowing in information transmission.
B) the availability of more formats.
C) lessening of public involvement in media in general.
D) lessening of popularity of media in general.

Question 9

Facebook is an example of

A) a newspaper.
B) a magazine.
C) old media.
D) new media.

Question 10

A role of media in a democratic system is

A) acting as public watchdog.
B) electing candidates.
C) broadcasting the political agenda.
D) sharing candidate ideology.

Question 11

Media can help make informed voters by

A) acting as public watchdog.
B) providing information.
C) shaping the political agenda.
D) showing candidates' mistakes.

Question 12

In the 1830s, _______ became the first mass media outlet.

A) letters
B) radio
C) telegrams
D) newspapers

Question 13

What is the text's definition of mass media?

A) Facebook for all
B) Internet access for all
C) Media for you and me
D) Information and entertainment for audiences

Question 14

In the 1830s, what newspaper hired reporters to dig up facts and give readers stories?

A) The Washington Post
B) The Chicago Tribune
C) The New York Herald
D) USA Today

Question 15

Which war was known as the first media war?

A) Korean War
B) Spanish-American War
C) World War I
D) Vietnam War

Question 16

People with strong opinions are affected by new information in what way?

A) They change their opinions
B) They look for additional information
C) Their existing opinion is reinforced
D) They ignore the new information

Question 17

Between 2000 and 2015, American newspapers slashed what percentage of their staffs?

A) 40 percent
B) 13 percent
C) 3 percent
D) 47 percent

Question 18

During the 1930s, who delivered a weekly radio address known as the "Fireside Chat"?

A) Theodore Roosevelt
B) Karl Marx
C) Walt Whitman
D) Franklin Roosevelt

Question 19

What is the main demographic for talk radio?

A) Middle-aged conservative white male
B) Middle-aged liberal African American
C) Middle-aged undecided white male
D) Hispanic male age forty-five to sixty-four and liberal

Question 20

How many communities today have no local news source?

A) 1,300-1,400
B) 10-20
C) 300-400
D) All communities have a local news source

Question 21

Which president gave the first live televised press conference?

A) Dwight Eisenhower
B) Ronald Reagan
C) Lyndon Johnson
D) John F. Kennedy

Question 22

Which two networks monopolized the television news business during the 1960s and 1970s?

A) Fox and MSNBC
B) CNN and Fox
C) CBS and NBC
D) CBS and ABC

Question 23

In what year did Rupert Murdoch launch Fox News?

A) 1978
B) 1999
C) 1996
D) 1995

Question 24

The corporate setting helps blur the lines between news, politics, and entertainment-a phenomenon now described as

A) minor media.
B) infomercials.
C) infotainment.
D) entertainment.

Question 25

In new media, who chooses the material to be seen?

A) editor
B) director
C) producer
D) reader

Question 26

How quickly can a reader respond to a story on digital media?

A) Immediately
B) Within 24 hours
C) Within 48 hours
D) Within 3-4 days

Question 27

Which president played saxophone on the Arsenio Hall Show in 1992?

A) Ronald Reagan
B) Bill Clinton
C) Barack Obama
D) Donald Trump

Question 28

Which of the following is the fastest growing media format?

A) Podcasts
B) Online news channels
C) Infotainment
D) Public radio

Question 29

Which of the following is not considered new media?

A) Facebook
B) Twitter
C) The Internet
D) Cable news

Question 30

Which station remained on the ground during the Gulf War for up-to-the-minute reporting?

A) CNN
B) Fox
C) NBC
D) CBS

Question 31

One of the ways the Internet could enhance democracy is by

A) making everyone a potential news reporter.
B) raising the bar for entry into politics.
C) exposing fallacious points of view.
D) allowing more people to stay at home with no need to attend public rallies.

Question 32

Which media form is likely to include a variety of viewpoints?

A) Facebook page
B) Newspaper
C) Personal Twitter
D) Instagram

Question 33

What was the top-visited news website in 2020?

A) Yahoo news
B) Fox News
C) CNN
D) www.nytimes.com

Question 34

An example of perceived fake news is

A) a report on the number of injuries in an auto accident.
B) a story explaining that climate change is not a scientific fact.
C) a report that the Dow Jones is down 40 points.
D) an account of the president's visit to China.

Question 35

An example of a citizen turned into a news provider is

A) a citizen interviewed for the local news.
B) a television cameraman catching an auto accident on tape.
C) a passerby filming an accident on a cellphone.
D) the president answering questions at a press conference.

Question 36

Which type of media bias is most obvious to academics?

A) Commercial
B) Liberal
C) Conservative
D) Realist

Question 37

Which group is most likely to claim that the media is biased?

A) Liberals
B) Republicans
C) Democrats
D) The public as a whole

Question 38

What percentage of Americans "sometimes" or "often" get news from social media sites in 2019?

A) 12 percent
B) 23 percent
C) 55 percent
D) 64 percent

Question 39

Which of the following is a complaint that a Republican might make about traditional news organizations?

A) "Corporate-owned media is biased against change."
B) "Media is a corporate powerhouse."
C) "Media donations go to the Democratic Party."
D) "Media donations go to the Republican Party."

Question 40

Which of the following is a media reporter likely to identify as?

A) Republican
B) Libertarian
C) Democrat
D) Independent

Question 41

More conservative communities usually get

A) more conservative newspapers.
B) more libertarian newspapers.
C) less news coverage.
D) more news coverage.

Question 42

What classic rule of thumb guides local TV news?

A) "Short stories are better than long stories."
B) "Cover the person, not the event."
C) "Make 'em squirm."
D) "If it bleeds, it leads."

Question 43

According to studies, favoritism is shown in what proportion of campaign coverage?

A) None
B) Over half
C) Three-quarters
D) Almost all

Question 44

Throughout an election campaign, the media tends to focus on

A) mistakes the candidates make.
B) bringing the two sides together.
C) the candidates' families.
D) the winner's most effective strategies.

Question 45

Newspapers tend to run content showing what form of bias?

A) Geographical bias
B) Bias toward advertisers
C) Conservative bias
D) Liberal bias

Question 46

What is the bias that is found in all news media?

A) Conservative
B) Liberal
C) Need to attract a large audience
D) Corporate

Question 47

What does the media sell?

A) Airtime
B) Journalist availability
C) Newsroom drama
D) Audience

Question 48

How does a "fairness bias" corrupt news reporting?

A) It forces news outlets to give equal time to people on both sides of an issue.
B) It prevents news reporters from being able to report on both sides of an issue.
C) It causes news reporters to present two sides of an issue when the truth is represented better by one side of the debate.
D) All of the above

Question 49

Which statement is true about public ownership of the media?

A) European countries have a much higher level of public ownership than the United States.
B) Americans pay more in taxes for government-owned media than citizens in most other countries.
C) Public ownership of the media is against the law in the United States.
D) Public ownership of the media is against the law in many European countries.

Question 50

What government agency was created in the FDR administration to referee the airwaves?

A) Environmental Protection Agency
B) Federal Election Commission
C) Federal Communications Commission
D) Federal Fairness Doctrine Board

Question 51

What did the Fairness Doctrine attempt to accomplish?

A) It tried to make American elections fairer for third parties.
B) It regulated the mass media so that different viewpoints had to be presented on each station.
C) It tried to make capital accumulation in the United States a fairer process.
D) It created fairness guidelines for the mass media to voluntarily follow.

Question 52

Who was president when the FCC repealed the Fairness Doctrine?

A) George H. W. Bush
B) Bill Clinton
C) Ronald Reagan
D) Jimmy Carter

Question 53

What did the Telecommunications Act of 1996 accomplish?

A) It repealed the Fairness Doctrine.
B) It allowed for cross-ownership of media outlets by media conglomerates.
C) It led to the development of the Internet.
D) It caused the demise of newspapers.

Question 54

To what extent has the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the First Amendment protection of a free press?

A) It has allowed frequent instances of government censorship of the press.
B) It has allowed some government censorship of the press but not too much.
C) It has allowed very little censorship of any form of media.
D) It has allowed very little (almost no) censorship of the print media.

Question 55

What percentage of the TV market share in Great Britain goes to the publicly owned BBC?

A) 10 percent
B) 32 percent
C) 19 percent
D) 58 percent

Question 56

What percentage of the TV market share in the United States goes to the publicly owned PBS?

A) 10 percent
B) 38 percent
C) barely 2 percent
D) about 6 percent

Question 57

News media is likely to pitch a story toward which political slant?

A) Conservative
B) Liberal
C) Corporate view
D) Center

Question 58

The prime directive of the news media is to

A) expand the audience.
B) predict the winner in elections.
C) be on the scene in less than a minute.
D) charge top dollar for advertising.

Question 59

Why do people complain about news media bias?

A) Stories are pitched to the political center.
B) Stories are pitched to the left of conservatives.
C) Stories are pitched to the right of liberals.
D) All of the above

Question 60

Which of the following news stories is most likely to generate excitement?

A) A local school board meeting
B) Miners trapped below the earth's surface
C) A healthcare proposal
D) A county commissioners' meeting

Question 61

Local news gets much of its drama from

A) school board meetings.
B) auto accidents.
C) crime.
D) the mayor's weekly message.

Question 62

The lead story on local news is likely to be which of the following?

A) The mayor's press conference
B) A local principal talking about extended school day
C) Road construction that backs up traffic
D) A four-car accident with three fatalities

Question 63

What is an election report likely to focus on?

A) The candidate's bankruptcy
B) The candidate's stance on taxes
C) The candidate's political party
D) The candidate's birthday party

Question 64

Because people generally consume media that reinforces their existing beliefs, it takes broad coverage with an unambiguous message to change peoples' minds. What does the text call this phenomenon?

A) A "broken record"
B) A "loud signal"
C) A "perfect ideal"
D) A "norm-breaker"

Question 65

One of the most direct ways the media affects politics is via its _______ role.

A) socialization
B) entertainment
C) agenda setting
D) infomercial

Question 66

Which of the following is the most subtle manner in which the media affects politics?

A) Editorializing
B) Framing
C) Agenda setting
D) Priming

Question 67

The _______ defines the nature of the problem, organizes potential solutions, and wipes out alternative policies.

A) frame
B) agenda
C) newsmaker
D) media schema

Question 68

If people have already made up their minds, what effect do news stories usually have on the way they think about politics?

A) Depends on whether the story is on television or radio
B) Very little or no effect
C) Depends on whether the story is in new media or old media
D) A significant effect, if the news story is well written

Question 69

In media jargon, what is a small clip from a candidate speech referred to as?

A) A "tidbit"
B) A "small mistake"
C) A "sound bite"
D) A "little morsel"

Question 70

Sometimes, politicians try to manipulate media sound bites by providing

A) dramatic visuals.
B) full texts of speeches.
C) guidelines on what part of a speech to use.
D) their own interpretation of a speech.

Question 71

Which of the following is not a center of media attention in election campaign coverage?

A) Who's winning
B) Conflicts
C) Issues
D) Drama

Question 72

What makes mass media in the United States so unique?

A) It focuses on principles over personalities.
B) It has always been a commercial enterprise.
C) It employs attention to detail and an issue-based focus.
D) Nothing; it is not unique.

Question 73

Crime is _______, and media coverage has audiences believing crime is _______.

A) dropping, dropping
B) rising, dropping
C) dropping, rising
D) rising, rising

Question 74

Which president was involved in the Watergate scandal?

A) John F. Kennedy
B) Lyndon Johnson
C) Barry Goldwater
D) Richard Nixon

Question 75

Which of the following events helped transform the media's stance toward the powerful?

A) Civil Rights Movement
B) Cuban Missile Crisis
C) Iraq War
D) End of Cold War

Question 76

After the Watergate scandal, reporters redefined their roles and became

A) chummy insiders.
B) skeptics.
C) professionals.
D) paid informants.

Question 77

The reporter's newest mission is to

A) help citizens make the right choice in the voting booth.
B) uncover lies.
C) help presidents cover their mistakes.
D) hide bad behavior.

Question 78

The freedoms that the media enjoys come from which amendment?

A) First
B) Third
C) Fifth
D) Seventh

Question 79

Which of the following is not declining as a source of news?

A) Television
B) Internet
C) Radio
D) Newspapers

Question 80

Prior restraint is an aspect of

A) early printing.
B) information sharing.
C) censorship.
D) editing.