Deck 15: The Media and Politics

Question 1

Which of the following are ways in which the media have 'context-shaping power'? Please select all that apply.

A) By presenting information that citizens may not otherwise know about.
B) By advocating what their audiences should think about a particular issue.
C) By 'framing' news items in a certain way, in the context of a (particular) wider world-view.
D) None of the above.

Answer 1

A, B, C

Question 2

The media has no power to influence or shape the perspective of government decision-makers.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

Fictional TV dramas also have the power to influence how citizens and politicians regard real-life politics and political processes.

Answer 3

False

Question 4

An editor of The Economist famously told his journalists to first _____ then _____.

Question 5

Why does Noam Chomsky criticize Western media organizations?

A) He believes that they legitimize the capitalist system in the way they report the news.
B) He believes they do not spend enough time reporting on domestic news.
C) He believes they fund mafia organizations.
D) He believes they are in a conspiracy to assassinate the Chinese president.

Question 6

Identify some of the ways in which journalists act as 'committed participants in the political process' as described by Hart and Lavally (2017).

A) By acting as 'vessels of accommodation', trying to balance popular interpretations of current events with official ones.
B) By prioritizing localist rather than cosmopolitan agendas.
C) By helping to reproduce existing power dynamics within their societies.
D) By going undercover as politicians and political actors.

Question 7

According to the Worlds of Journalism project, journalists in the developing world tend to be more negative in their coverage of domestic affairs than journalists in more developed countries.

Question 8

According to Hallin and Mancini (2004) the model of newspaper ownership found in the US and UK is known as_____________________.

Question 9

What are some of the problems that arise from the fact that the main international news agencies and their reporters are overwhelmingly based in the developed world? Please select all that apply.

A) Reporters have to travel long distances to cover stories in the developing world so the news we see is not up-to-date.
B) Newspapers in the developed world rely on reports from news agencies so the range of stories on offer in the developed world is limited.
C) News organizations in the developing world have to rely on these agencies for coverage of international affairs so coverage in both the developed and developing world is heavily skewed towards events in the developed world.

Question 10

Which of the following countries were in the 2017 top 10 states with the greatest press freedom according to Reporters Without Borders? Please select all that apply.

A) Austria.
B) Denmark.
C) Costa Rica.
D) Germany.
E) UK.
F) Jamaica.

Question 11

What are some of Schudson's seven key functions that the media perform for democracy? Please select all that apply.

A) Creating discord between various social groups.
B) Sensationalism.
C) Social empathy.
D) Public forum.

Question 12

In what way did the media act as gate-keepers for democratic activity (until recently)? How has the relationship between politicians and the media changed?

Question 13

Which event caused the media to lose credibility in the eyes of the British public?

A) The revelation that journalists had been hacking into people's phones, especially following the Milly Dowler case.
B) The MPs' expenses scandal.
C) Brexit.
D) The revelation that journalists could access ordinary people's tax information.

Question 14

What happened in the Philippines in 2000 which highlighted the power of new technologies in politics?

A) The democratically elected president was overthrown thanks to the use of SMS text message to organize last-minute protests.
B) A virus wiped out the government's computers.
C) People voted electronically in the Presidential elections.
D) Politicians started using Twitter and as a result the electoral turnout increased.

Question 15

Explain some of the benefits and challenges that new media has on political affairs.