Question 1

Gordon would favor all of the following ways to influence the media marketplace, except ...&#10;A) Citizen pressure groups&#10;B) Government takeover of journalistic organizations&#10;C) Non-profit journalism&#10;D) University-hosted journalistic enterprises

Accepted Answer

Gordon favors citizen pressure groups, non-profit journalism, and university-hosted journalistic enterprises as ways to influence the media marketplace. However, he would not support government takeover of journalistic organizations as it would undermine the principles of freedom of the press and independence of the media from government control.

Question 2

All of these are among the steps that Neil Postman and Steve Powers recommend that viewers take to understand TV news, except ...&#10;A) Recognize why they are called news &#34;shows&#34;&#10;B) Realize that the commercials might say as much society as the news shows do&#10;C) Start teaching media literacy to students when they get to college&#10;D) Learn about the economic and political backgrounds of those who run your local news

Accepted Answer

The article does not mention or recommend starting media literacy education in college. The other steps are discussed in the article as ways to better understand TV news.

Question 3

All of these are potential sources of outside operating funds for mass media businesses, except ...&#10;A) Advertisers&#10;B) Subscribers&#10;C) Non-profit funders&#10;D) Stock charities

Accepted Answer

"Stock charities" is not a common or typical source of outside operating funds for mass media businesses. The other choices (advertisers, subscribers, and non-profit funders) are common sources of funding for mass media businesses.

Question 4

The typical U.S. newspaper spends what percent of its revenues in its newsroom?&#10;A) 10 percent&#10;B) 25 percent&#10;C) 50 percent&#10;D) 75 percent

Accepted Answer

The typical U.S. newspaper spends about 10 percent of its revenues in its newsroom, reflecting the costs associated with reporting, editing, and producing the news content.

Question 5

Just four providers - Comcast, Time Warner, DirecTV and EchoStar - carry the TV signals to about what proportion of U.S. homes?&#10;A) Two-thirds&#10;B) One-third&#10;C) One-half&#10;D) Three-quarters

Accepted Answer

According to the information provided in the question, the four providers - Comcast, Time Warner, DirecTV, and EchoStar - carry the TV signals to "about" two-thirds of U.S. homes. Therefore, the best choice is A) Two-thirds.

Question 6

The marketplace of ideas is just one of many quasi-economic markets in which U.S. communications operate. Others would include all of these, except ...&#10;A) The competition for advertising dollars&#10;B) Content creators' search for patrons&#10;C) Communication schools compete for students&#10;D) Conglomerates' search for low-profit newspapers

Accepted Answer

The competition for low-profit newspapers is not necessarily a market in which U.S. communications operate. The other three options all involve some aspect of economic competition or exchange.

Question 7

Which one of these non-conglomerate news outlets has had the greatest audience gains since 1983?&#10;A) The New York Times&#10;B) National Public Radio&#10;C) The Washington Post&#10;D) The Associated Press

Accepted Answer

According to a study by Pew Research Center, National Public Radio had the greatest audience gains since 1983, increasing from 2% to 11% of the U.S. adult population. The other outlets either had modest gains or experienced declines in audience during that time period.

Question 8

In response to the recession of 2008-2010, various U.S. media outlets did all of these, except ...&#10;A) Merge Fox and NBC TV news teams in major cities&#10;B) Complete a 20% cut in newspaper newsroom employees in the decade&#10;C) Reduce the number of reality shows because they were too costly&#10;D) Use convergence as an excuse for contraction

Accepted Answer

Reality shows are generally less expensive to produce than scripted television shows, so during economic downturns, networks often increase rather than decrease the number of reality shows.

Question 9

U.S. mass media typically are NOT one of these types of companies:&#10;A) Horizontally integrated&#10;B) Oligarchy&#10;C) Vertically integrated&#10;D) Conglomerate

Accepted Answer

While U.S. mass media companies may be horizontally integrated, vertically integrated, or part of a conglomerate, they are typically not oligarchies, which refer to a small group of individuals having control over a country, organization, or institution.

Question 10

Merrill would favor which one of the following ways to improve media ethics?&#10;A) Libertarian media systems&#10;B) Non-profit media organizations&#10;C) Exercise of individuals' virtue&#10;D) Socialistic media endeavors

Accepted Answer

Merrill advocates for an approach to media ethics that emphasizes the importance of individual virtue and moral responsibility among journalists and media practitioners. He believes that ethical behavior in the media should stem from the personal integrity and moral choices of individuals within the industry, rather than being heavily reliant on external systems or organizational structures.

Deck 8: Media Ethics and the Economic Marketplace