Deck 12: The Radio Industry

Question 1

Radio stations use all of the following to determine a station's format except

A) Music style
B) Music period
C) Music length
D) Music sophistication

Answer 1

C
Explanation: While most radio stations play only shorter songs, music activity level is the other factor that stations consider.

Question 2

Audiences who spend a lot of time listening to a particular radio station are called

A) Loyal listeners
B) Fringe listeners
C) Core listeners
D) Focus listeners

Answer 2

C
Explanation: Core listeners are the ones who listen to a radio station most frequently. Programmers must consider them when planning playlists so as not to put them off with repeating the same songs again and again.

Question 3

A group that provides round-the-clock radio programming is called a

A) Ad network
B) Syndicator network
C) Format network
D) Barter network

Answer 3

C
Format networks provide programming such as country music or classic rock music around the clock. A local station subscribing to this network need only insert local commercials as needed.

Question 4

Spotify is an example of

A) Online radio
B) Digital downloads
C) Audio streaming
D) P2P sharing

Question 5

What is an advantage that amplitude modulation has over frequency modulation?

A) AM has higher levels of clarity than FM
B) AM has less static than FM
C) AM high-powered signals can travel greater distances, especially at night
D) AM has no advantages over FM

Question 6

Which is NOT one of the 3 kinds of radio station advertising?

A) Facebook Advertising
B) National Spot Advertising
C) Network Advertising
D) Local Advertising

Question 7

According to the Radio Industry timeline, which is NOT true?

A) During World I, the U.S. Navy took control of domestic radio for military purposes (1917)
B) Congress Passed Digital Music Act (2008)
C) Congress passed Radio Act (1912)
D) Congress passed Telecommunications Act (1996)

Question 8

The vast majority of stations in the United States -about 11,000-are?

A) Commercial Stations
B) HD Radio Stations
C) Satellite Radio Stations
D) Noncommercial Stations

Question 9

The mention of a sponsor's name or products at the start or end of an aired program in return for money is the definition of?

A) Radio Promotion
B) On-air Radio Advertising
C) Billboards
D) Local Advertising

Question 10

According to Table 11.2 in the text, which market location was ranked number ONE in 2015?

A) New York
B) Houston-Galveston
C) Atlanta
D) Los Angeles

Question 11

The ___________ is in charge of the entire station operation.

A) Business Manager
B) CEO
C) General Manager
D) Program Director

Question 12

Surveying people to determine which songs still draw interest and which have lost their popularity (or burned out) is known as?

A) Burn Music Test
B) Portable People Meter (PPM)
C) Rating Point
D) Focus Group

Question 13

A music radio station's format is governed by which four factors?

A) Playlist, dead air, research and on-air talent
B) Music style, music time period, music activity level and music sophistication
C) Network, syndicator, barter and rating point
D) Format clock, format wheel, drive time and station ID

Question 14

At the start of the chapter, who said the following: "There goes the last DJ / Who plays what he wants to play / And says what he wants to say / Hey, hey, hey."?

A) Bob Dylan
B) Jennifer Lopez
C) Tom Petty
D) Eddie Vedder

Question 15

The inventor Guglielmo Marconi established his first radio company

A) in Italy
B) to provide communication for ships at sea
C) to compete with Edison's recording company
D) all of these

Question 16

The contemporary concept of music and news "broadcasting" originated

A) as an old navy term
B) with Lee De Forest
C) at British Marconi
D) all of these

Question 17

The Radio Corporation of America

A) based its industrial power on the control of key patens
B) operated to assure that the control of U.S. radio would remain in friendly hands
C) was established under the influence of the U.S. Navy and Congress
D) all of these

Question 18

By 1926, RCA

A) was taken over by Marconi's American subsidiary
B) operated two radio networks, NBC Red and NBC Blue
C) had sold many of its O & O stations to AT&T
D) all of these

Question 19

In the early days of network radio broadcasting,

A) programs were often supported by just one advertiser
B) NBC and CBS allowed ad agencies to create programming
C) ratings companies would phone people to ask them about their listening preferences
D) all of these

Question 20

The process of payola involves giving money to

A) independent record companies
B) independent record companies
C) radio DJs or programmers
D) recording artists

Question 21

As the radio audience fragmented, radio networks

A) completely disappeared
B) abandoned FM
C) became more specialized
D) decreased in number

Question 22

The Telecommunications Act of 1996

A) had very little impact on the radio industry
B) required the industry to make news available on all stations
C) encouraged the concentration of station ownership
D) decreased the number of stations that one group could own in a single market

Question 23

Radio's strong advantage in the face of competition with other media is based on

A) radio's portability
B) the dramatic shift of listeners from FM to AM
C) increased listening at home
D) all of these

Question 24

Noncommercial radio stations radio stations support themselves through donations from

A) corporations
B) listeners
C) private foundations
D) all of these

Question 25

A radio station's continuous flow of program content is called the station's

A) line-up
B) format
C) log
D) meta-program

Question 26

The radio industry's attempt to attract specific slices of the audience is called

A) slicing
B) whittling
C) dissecting
D) narrowcasting

Question 27

In the radio industry, a format consultant would give advice about

A) technical operations
B) advertising rates based on CPM
C) programming
D) the training of station personnel

Question 28

To keep listeners coming back, radio stations pay close attention to

A) the kind of music they play
B) the speech patterns of announcers
C) interstitials
D) all of these

Question 29

The overall sound of a radio station is the primary responsibility of

A) the general manager
B) the sales manger
C) the on-air talents
D) the program director

Question 30

A radio program syndicator typically makes a deal

A) that provides a radio station with a regular schedule of programming
B) that involves very few stations around the country
C) that involves one show or one series of shows
D) all of these

Question 31

The increase in the number of stations that any company can own in within and across markets has facilitated

A) a decline in format networks
B) FCC restrictions on format networks
C) more specialized format networks
D) all of these

Question 32

National spot advertising involves the purchase of airtime from a local station by

A) a network
B) a major national advertiser
C) an affiliate
D) a local business

Question 33

Arbitron's portable people meter

A) is a mobile-phone-sized device that people wear throughout the day
B) detects identification codes embedded in a transmission
C) can determine what media people use throughout the day
D) all of these

Question 34

Executives for major radio groups have responded to the challenges posed by satellite and Internet radio by

A) increasing the amount of commercial time on their stations
B) pressuring the FCC to restrict the development of HD radio
C) participating themselves in Internet streaming
D) all of these

Question 35

Radio stations may have poor ratings

A) due to a poorly chosen musical playlist
B) competing stations in other formats
C) due to inefficiencies in Arbitron's measurement system.
D) all of these

Question 36

The term "broadcasting" originally referred to scattering of seeds in a field.

Question 37

Noncommercial stations receive financial support by broadcasting advertising.

Question 38

In the United States, there is a narrowing gap in the music preferences among black, Hispanic, and white people.

Question 39

DJs usually have a lot of freedom in the songs they choose to put on the air.

Question 40

Diaries and portable people meters are two devices used by Arbitron to record people's radio listening activities.

Question 41

HD radio offers listeners the opportunity for curation and even for sharing their choices with their friends.

Question 42

The U.S. radio industry developed networks to spread advertiser-sponsored programming around the country.

Question 43

Edwin Armstrong developed FM radio.

Question 44

The FCC's nonduplication rule required AM radio stations to stop broadcasting the audio portion of network television programs.

Question 45

Executives in the traditional radio industry refer to the business as terrestrial radio.

Question 46

The Telecommunications Act of 1996 eliminated many of the restrictions on how many stations in a certain area could be owned by one company.

Question 47

Radio stations have abandoned the use of playlists, because they tend to interfere with the creativity of on-air talents.

Question 48

Dead air is a term used to describe old radio programs that are no longer broadcast.

Question 49

Focus group research can help a radio station executive understand a station's target audience really thinks about the station.

Question 50

A format clock is an electrical device required by the FCC to make sure that all U.S. radio stations are technologically coordinated in the event of a national crisis.

Question 51

In radio, drive time is prime time.

Question 52

About 75 percent of a station's total revenue comes from local advertising.

Question 53

A radio station traffic manager is responsible for producing traffic reports during drive time.

Question 54

Arbitron uses a diary method to generate audience ratings.

Question 55

Most local stations and advertisers avoid using Arbitron's diary-based audience ratings system.

Question 56

Poor ratings often lead to personnel changes.

Question 57

Radio stations are learning how to use websites to promote themselves.

Question 58

The radio industry has little reason to focus on audience segmentation in order to maintain its competitive position with other media.

Question 59

Music sophistication refers to the time period in which the music was released.

Question 60

The most important consequences of the breakup of the Radio Corporation had to do with advertising

Question 61

Subsequent to the breakup of RCA, RCA and other radio firms to asked the government to exert more control over broadcasting

Question 62

The use of sex and drugs as payola for radio programming is an ongoing ethical problem.

Question 63

The term noncommercial stations refer to radio stations that receive no corporate funding.

Question 64

What factors and beliefs about listening patterns influence the development of a radio format?

Question 65

What drawbacks of older, diary method of reporting is Arbitron's portable people meter (PPM) supposed to address and how? Name at least three such drawbacks.

Question 66

What is the impact of radio industry conglomeration and consolidation, according to the media critics? Discuss at least two sources of concern.