Deck 7: The Mass Media and the Political Agenda

Question 1

The issues that attract serious attention from public officials and other people actively involved in politics at the time collectively make the __________ agenda.

A)news
B)policy
C)media-
D)entrepreneurial

Answer 1

B

Question 2

Over 80 percent of the nation's daily newspaper circulation is published by massive media conglomerates called __________.

A)narrowcasters
B)chains
C)broadcasters
D)associated press outlets-

Answer 2

B

Question 3

The primary interest of privately owned media is __________.

A)making a profit
B)serving the public interest-
C)spreading propaganda
D)informing the public

Answer 3

A

Question 4

Trial balloons are used for which of the following?

A)avoiding a political reaction
B)assessing a political reaction
C)exposing media bias
D)limiting media bias-

Question 5

An intentional news leak for the purpose of assessing the political reaction it generates is called a(n) __________.

A)talking head
B)press release
C)earmark-
D)trial balloon

Question 6

Research suggests that the overriding bias in the news is one toward stories that __________.

A)favor liberals-
B)favor conservatives
C)draw the largest audience
D)put the president in a good light

Question 7

__________ is the tendency for viewers to seek news that aligns with their existing ideas.

A)Narrowcasting
B)Investigative journalism
C)Selective exposure
D)Logrolling-

Question 8

What is an event called that is purposely staged for the media and that is significant just because the media are there?

A)a think tank
B)a pork-barrel project-
C)a media event
D)a round-robin event

Question 9

What do network executives blame for the superficiality in media reporting?

A)cable news
B)social media-
C)the Internet
D)the public

Question 10

What are the specific locations from which news frequently emanates called?

A)trial balloons-
B)news houses
C)reporters' clubs
D)beats

Question 11

In 1960,one newspaper was sold for every two adults;by 2014,one paper was sold for every __________.

A)adult
B)three adults-
C)six adults
D)ten adults

Question 12

Increasing public attention to specific problems is a core feature of the media's __________ power.

A)watchdog-
B)investigative
C)agenda-setting
D)score-keeping

Question 13

In 1934,Congress created which body to regulate the use of the airwaves?

A)Federal Trade Commission-
B)Equal Opportunity Commission
C)Federal Communications Commission
D)Department of Media Communications

Question 14

How does the increasing focus of media conglomerates on making a profit affect television news?

A)The quality of news reporting has increased considerably in an attempt to sway more viewers and more advertisers.
B)A study of a set of major newspapers found that the total number of foreign news stories in U.S.newspapers doubled between 1985 and 2014.-
C)Media organizations have cut back on their foreign bureaus and on international news.
D)Television news is increasingly viewed as a public service that benefits the media conglomerate by generating goodwill with viewers.

Question 15

People who invest their political capital in an issue are called __________.

A)agenda setters
B)policy entrepreneurs
C)lobbyists-
D)gatekeepers

Question 16

Differences in press coverage between the initial speeches given to Congress by President Reagan and by President Obama show __________.

A)a diminishing audience for national news and presidential messages
B)that presidential addresses receive higher Nielsen ratings today than they did several decades ago
C)more Americans read presidential addresses in newspapers,while fewer view coverage on TV-
D)that more than 50 percent of Americans can be expected to tune in to watch presidential addresses to Congress

Question 17

The cozy relationship between politicians and the press in the twentieth century lasted until when?

A)the Iran Hostage Crisis
B)World War II
C)the beginning of Franklin Roosevelt's presidency-
D)the Vietnam War and Watergate

Question 18

In democracies,the primary interest of publicly owned media is __________.

A)reducing recidivism
B)serving the public interest
C)promoting the government-
D)entertaining viewers

Question 19

Television,radio,newspapers,magazines,the Internet,and other forms of communication are collectively referred to as the __________.

A)mass media
B)media conglomeration-
C)partisan press
D)fifth estate

Question 20

Which of the following is a consequence of the rise of television broadcasting?

A)The news consumed by the American public is more entertaining than educational.
B)Individuals have a greater need for political parties to help them make decisions.
C)Groups have greater access to spread their issues and messages to the public.-
D)The American public is better informed about politics and Congress is basing its opinions more on public opinion.

Question 21

Television,radio,and the Internet are __________ media;newspapers and magazines are __________ media.

A)electronic;print
B)public;private-
C)private;public
D)liberal;conservative

Question 22

Policy entrepreneurs are people who invest __________ in an issue.

A)their life savings-
B)financial expertise
C)political capital
D)scant attention

Question 23

The increased number of news and infotainment options has resulted in __________ in which media outlets focus on a particular interest and aim at a particular audience.

A)investigative journalism-
B)watchdog journalism
C)narrowcasting
D)selective exposure

Question 24

As technology has enabled the media to pass along information with greater speed,news coverage has become __________.

A)more homogenous
B)less thorough
C)more objective
D)less biased-

Question 25

The use of in-depth reporting to unearth scandals,scams,and schemes,at times putting reporters in adversarial relationships with political leaders,is referred to as __________ journalism.

A)beat
B)gatekeeping-
C)investigative
D)law-and-order

Question 26

The media act as a __________ between the people and policymakers.

A)key linkage institution
B)general adversary
C)stakeholder-
D)dividing institution

Question 27

Epstein's News From Nowhere suggests which of the following about newsworthiness?

A)TV networks define news as what is entertaining to average viewers.
B)The media strive for quality of story rather than ratings.-
C)The media tend to report only the most important stories.
D)The media tend to pitch stories to a relatively high level of viewer sophistication.

Question 28

During a 1976 presidential debate,President Ford made a mistake by saying that the Soviet Union was not the dominant force in Eastern Europe.The statement was given much press coverage,and polls indicated that most viewers did not recognize the error until they learned of it on the news.What effect did this reporting have on public opinion?

A)It made Ford more personally likable.-
B)It made Ford seem less vulnerable.
C)It made Ford seem more qualified.
D)It made Ford seem less qualified.

Question 29

Top aides to President Clinton leaked his admission of an "inappropriate relationship" to the New York Times in order to gauge the public response to the revelation.Based on the public's response to this __________,Clinton went ahead and admitted the "inappropriate relationship" to the grand jury.

A)beat
B)trial balloon
C)talking head
D)sound bite-

Question 30

Research by Miller and Krosnick demonstrates that the effects of agenda-setting by media are particularly strong among which group?

A)politically knowledgeable citizens who trust the media
B)politically knowledgeable citizens who distrust the media-
C)younger citizens who trust the media
D)older citizens who distrust the media

Question 31

Civil rights activists in the 1960s used the media to show Americans the injustice of the treatment of minorities,successfully placing the civil rights issue onto the __________.

A)policy entrepreneur
B)policy agenda
C)press conference
D)news beat-

Question 32

The "minimal effects hypothesis" suggested that the media have a minimal effect on __________.

A)public opinion
B)policymakers' issue positions-
C)Americans' consumption of newspapers
D)Americans who do not watch TV

Question 33

Iyengar and Kinder's research found that TV news __________.

A)can alter the priorities Americans attach to problems depending on which stories are covered
B)has minimal effects on the public opinion of viewers-
C)discourages citizens from voting by focusing on the imperfections of the democratic system
D)selects stories that are especially important to business interests

Question 34

Which of these is an example of a major television network?

A)ABC
B)Knight-Ridder
C)Associated Press-
D)Gannett

Question 35

Which of these would a major TV network be least likely to show for very long?

A)ambassadors fighting at the United Nations
B)talking heads discussing a major news event
C)the aftermath of a major natural disaster
D)footage of a domestic terrorist attack-

Question 36

Public officials often leak __________ to reporters to see what the political reaction will be.

A)trial balloons
B)sound bites-
C)beats
D)oiled news

Question 37

Which of the following is a consequence of the rise of narrowcasting?

A)Young adults are more likely than other age groups to use newspapers and broadcast media as news and information sources.-
B)Young adults are less likely than other age groups to use newspapers and broadcast media as news and information sources.
C)Most Americans follow politics more frequently and with greater intensity than they follow popular culture.
D)Narrowcasting has encouraged less repetition of stories on cable news programs.

Question 38

Politicians and journalists have a(n) __________ relationship: Politicians rely on journalists to get out their message,and journalists rely on politicians to keep them in the know.

A)parasitic
B)symbiotic
C)cooperative
D)antagonistic-

Question 39

Thomas Patterson's careful analysis of campaign reporting has shown that since 1960,its emphasis has changed dramatically from __________.

A)negative information about the candidates to negative assessments about the parties-
B)the candidates' policy statements to the campaign as a horse race
C)covering events to covering ideas
D)sensational information about the candidates to substantive information about the issues

Question 40

In covering military conflicts,the majority of TV news stories usually originate from correspondents posted at __________ including the White House,the Pentagon,and the State Department.

A)associated presses-
B)networks
C)trial balloons
D)beats