Deck 10: The Media

Question 1

If a cable news channel decides to report on a senator's financial indiscretions rather than report on a piece of congressional legislation that failed to pass, that news channel is practicing which of the following?

A) Hard news
B) Blogosphere politics
C) Net neutrality
D) Gerrymandering
E) Agenda setting

Answer 1

E

Question 2

Forms of communication, including radio and television, that have a broad reach to many people are known as which of the following?

A) Mass messages
B) Journalism
C) Popular press
D) Media
E) News

Answer 2

D

Question 3

In January 2013, the government shut down as part of a sequestration. Some reports focused more on negative consequences of sequestration, while others discussed how Tea Party members of Congress pushed for fiscal responsibility. What aspect of agenda setting does this represent?

A) Selective attention
B) Distorting
C) Framing
D) Priming
E) Racial bias

Answer 3

C

Question 4

Priming can be defined as a way in which the media does which of the following?

A) Limits access to opinionated information
B) Sets the public agenda of what government ought to do
C) Alters public perceptions of an issue by embedding that issue in particular stories
D) Seeks to make a profit
E) Socializes new generations about major political issues

Question 5

When a news program begins the broadcast each day with a certain political story and continues to highlight this issue for several days, it suggests to the public that this political story is an important issue. Which function of agenda setting does this?

A) Priming
B) Sorting
C) Replaying
D) Factoring
E) Blogging

Question 6

The first televised presidential debate was between which of the following?

A) Eisenhower and Stevenson in 1956
B) Kennedy and Nixon in 1960
C) Johnson and Goldwater in 1964
D) Nixon and Humphrey in 1968
E) Nixon and McGovern in 1972

Question 7

When presidential candidates John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon debated in 1960, those people who heard about the debate by which of the following methods thought Kennedy had won while people who learned about the debate through other media thought Nixon had won?

A) Watching it on television
B) Listening to it on the radio
C) Reading about it in the newspaper
D) Talking with family and friends
E) Listening to their state representative

Question 8

When the media regularly focus public attention on violent crime, political corruption, or economic woes, they are engaged in which of the following?

A) Biased reporting
B) Political socialization
C) Agenda setting
D) Changing public opinion
E) Apathy management

Question 9

Issues that are perceived by the political community as meriting public attention and governmental action are known as which of the following?

A) Infotainment
B) The public agenda
C) Watchdog news
D) Whistleblowing
E) Priming news

Question 10

Lisa watched a news report on recycling and was proud that citizens had stepped up to be more conscious of what they throw away. Jeremy heard a similar report on the radio as he drove home and was frustrated because it showed that companies were still putting products in nonrecyclable containers. These two responses to similar information demonstrate the effect of which of the following?

A) Sourcing
B) Blogging
C) Socializing
D) Framing
E) Priming

Question 11

Which of the following is not usually considered to be a part of the media?

A) Newspapers
B) Television
C) Personal correspondence
D) Radio
E) The Internet

Question 12

Which of the following amendments to the Constitution protects the freedom of the press?

A) First Amendment
B) Second Amendment
C) Fourth Amendment
D) Fifth Amendment
E) Ninth Amendment

Question 13

Framing is best defined as influence on which of the following?

A) Public opinion as a result of the way a story is presented or covered, including the details and context offered in the report
B) Public opinion from a story that covers one candidate or policy favorably without providing similar coverage of the other side
C) Public opinion as a result of journalists' decisions about which news stories to cover
D) Government policy as a result of positive or negative coverage of an issue
E) Government activities as a result of media coverage of an issue

Question 14

When the media uncovers public wrongdoing and brings that wrongdoing to the public's attention, it is engaged in which role of the media?

A) Entertaining the public
B) Socializing new generations
C) Providing a political forum
D) Making profits
E) Setting the public agenda

Question 15

The power of the media to determine what the government ought to do is referred as which of the following?

A) Framing
B) Priming
C) Setting the public agenda
D) Political socialization
E) Content aggregation

Question 16

Which of the following refers to news sources such as newspapers, television, radio, and the Internet that provide a large audience with information about the nation and the world?

A) Mass media
B) Social media
C) Muckrakers
D) Watchdogs
E) Electronic media

Question 17

The most important aspect of debates for political candidates is taking advantage of an opportunity to do which of the following?

A) Present their own views on the issues
B) Attack the views of their opponent on the issues
C) Use the power of television to project an image
D) Speak to the part of the electorate that is already committed to voting for them
E) Show the electorate that he or she is eloquent and articulate

Question 18

Which of the following refers to the ability of the media to alter the public's view on an issue by presenting it in a particular way?

A) Agenda setting
B) Framing
C) Softening
D) Sensationalizing
E) Investigating

Question 19

A television network decides to run a series of news stories highlighting the need for stronger regulations over gun sales and purchases. This example is representative of which of the following?

A) Agenda setting
B) Blogosphere politics
C) Managed news
D) Gerrymandering
E) Yellow journalism

Question 20

In what ways do social networking, blogging, and the Internet play a role in politics today?

A) Politicians at all levels of government office have placed importance on having a web presence.
B) The two major party candidates for president in 1996 were the first to develop political websites for their campaigns.
C) Because social networks were intended for friends and families, politicians have limited their presence in these applications.
D) Modern political candidates have had limited success using the Internet to raise money to fund campaigns.
E) While local politicians use social networking successfully, most national politicians do not.

Question 21

While most of the mass media in the United States is privately owned, which of the following is also correct?

A) They are able to regulate large swaths of information flow on the Internet.
B) The government has cracked down on the use of copyrighted material.
C) They have focused most of their energy on monitoring the activities of hate groups.
D) They do not operate free of government regulation.
E) They operate free of government regulation.

Question 22

Available evidence seems to indicate that most journalists and reporters have which of the following?

A) Liberal leanings
B) Conservative leanings
C) Biases in favor of politicians
D) No biases at all
E) Negative leanings

Question 23

Which of the following statements best describes campaign blogs and podcasts?

A) They have improved candidates' ability to deliver their message to voters without media filter.
B) They have made it more difficult for candidates to control their campaigns.
C) They are not followed by mainstream news media.
D) They are sometimes created for the candidate by professional strategists.
E) They have improved candidates' ability to deliver their message to voters without media filter and are sometimes created for the candidate by professional strategists.

Question 24

In 1934, Congress created which of the following-now a powerful agency that regulates all forms of electronic media, including radio, television and cable television, cell phones, and even wireless networks?

A) Central Intelligence Agency
B) Federal Communications Commission
C) Federal Media Agency
D) National Broadcasting Association
E) National Broadcasting Commission

Question 25

Which of the following was true concerning spending on political advertising during the 2012 elections?

A) It was lower than usual.
B) It was more highly regulated than usual, due to Supreme Court decisions.
C) It was eclipsed by the costs of the campaigns' online efforts.
D) It exceeded $7 billion.
E) It exceeded $10 billion.

Question 26

Which of the following statements about the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is most accurate?

A) The FCC has little control over wireless frequencies because Congress has not given it this authority.
B) The media is limited with the stories that they can cover related to the government because of censorship by the FCC.
C) The government established the FCC to distribute and regulate the radio, television, and wireless frequencies.
D) The Supreme Court ruled that allowing the FCC to regulate interstate telephone service was a violation of the Commerce Act.
E) The FCC has permitted large corporations to secure control of the telephone, cable, satellite television, and Internet services.

Question 27

The 1996 Telecommunications Act did which of the following?

A) Ended a rule prohibiting the merging of media from two different domestic markets
B) Ended a rule prohibiting foreign ownership of any media in the United States
C) Ended a rule prohibiting telephone companies from entering the cable business
D) Created a rule prohibiting foreign ownership of any media in the United States
E) Created a rule to create a publicly owned cable television provider

Question 28

Over time, what has happened to the concentration of media ownership due to more lax FCC control?

A) It is has grown.
B) It has shrunk.
C) It has remained unchanged.
D) It has become unattainable.
E) It has disappeared.

Question 29

A single corporation can offer television, phone, and Internet services due to which of the following?

A) A key merger between a phone and cable company in the early 2000s
B) The Supreme Court supporting companies' right to make a profit by offering multiple products
C) The Telecommunications Act of 2001
D) The Telecommunications Act of 1996
E) The First Amendment

Question 30

The main focus of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 was to do which of the following?

A) Attempt to tighten national control over media ownership and product content
B) Attempt to deregulate all privately owned media
C) Encourage restrictions on web pages
D) Relax the rules governing media ownership
E) Spark an increase in government-owned media outlets

Question 31

A campaign advisor who tries to convince journalists of the truth of a particular interpretation of events is called which of the following?

A) News consultant
B) Flip-flopper
C) Spin doctor
D) Fact checker
E) Win engineer

Question 32

The distribution and regulation of frequencies for electronic media is the responsibility of which of the following?

A) The Federal Communications Commission
B) National Public Radio
C) The Supreme Court
D) The Federal Trade Commission
E) The First Amendment

Question 33

Which of the following best describes concerns about concentrated media ownership?

A) Concentration could lead to a decline in the democratic debate.
B) Media owners might steer the national agenda.
C) Cable news viewers will be lost to newspapers owned by the parent company.
D) Concentration could lead to a decline in the democratic debate, and media owners might steer the national agenda.
E) All of these are correct.

Question 34

Planning photogenic and interesting events and granting favors to reporters are part of political campaigns' efforts to do which of the following?

A) Frame the news
B) Set the agenda
C) Spin the news
D) Manage the news coverage
E) Engage in media priming

Question 35

Radio, television, wire, and cable are regulated by which of the following?

A) The Department of Communications
B) The states
C) The Federal Communications Commission
D) The Constitution
E) Themselves, with no government oversight

Question 36

The Telecommunications Act of 1996 has allowed which of the following?

A) Companies to own more media outlets
B) The government to seize stations from defiant companies
C) Companies to receive tax benefits from state governments
D) The government to fully regulate cable television
E) The FCC to raise the national audience reach cap from 35% to 45%

Question 37

Which of the following is a potential problem with concentrated media ownership?

A) It may result in government restrictions on competition.
B) It may result in a limited watchdog function.
C) It may result in too much competition.
D) It may result in information overload.
E) It may result in too much accountability to the public.

Question 38

An interpretation of campaign events or election results that is favorable to a candidate's campaign strategy is called which of the following?

A) Partisan framing
B) Selective interpretation
C) Campaign framing
D) The political twist
E) Spin

Question 39

Journalists are more likely to identify as which of the following?

A) Democrats than as Republicans
B) Republicans than as Democrats
C) Republicans than as independents
D) Libertarians than as Democrats
E) Libertarians than as Republicans

Question 40

During the 2016 Republican presidential primaries, Donald Trump was which of the following?

A) An insurgent candidate who never faded in the polls
B) An insurgent candidate who won over the establishment
C) An establishment candidate who led from the beginning
D) An establishment candidate who overcame insurgent candidates
E) An establishment candidate who won due to his advantage in the "invisible primary"

Question 41

Studies of bias in the media have reached which of the following?

A) Different conclusions: Some found a liberal bias, while others found a conservative bias.
B) A clear conclusion: There is a liberal bias in the media.
C) A clear conclusion: There is a conservative bias in the media.
D) A clear conclusion: There is no bias in the media.
E) Different conclusions: There is an ideological bias, but there is no racial bias.

Question 42

Analyze the functions of the media in American society. Identify those functions that are essential to the democratic process.

Question 43

Analyze how agenda setting affects public opinion.

Question 44

According to Gallup Poll data, about half of Americans feel that the news media have what type of bias?

A) Conservative
B) Libertarian
C) Liberal
D) Corporate-leaning
E) Undetectable

Question 45

Analyze the government's history of regulation of media content, including rules historically used to regulate content and how different media outlets are treated.

Question 46

Analyze how the law protects the press. Why is this important in a democracy?

Question 47

Analyze what research shows with respect to the political leanings of major news media reporters and the impact that this has on political news coverage.

Question 48

The question of whether the fairness doctrine ought to be reestablished has been which of the following?

A) Raised by liberals after the Democratic sweep of 2008
B) Raised by conservatives as a way to make the media more balanced
C) Pushed by Democrat leaders in Congress
D) Pushed by Republican leaders in Congress
E) Popular among both liberals and conservatives

Question 49

Contrast political advertisements with the efforts of campaigns to manage news coverage. What are the advantages and disadvantages of both of these campaign tactics?

Question 50

Analyze the impact of social networking, blogging, and the Internet on political campaigning.

Question 51

Talk radio is almost completely dominated by which of the following?

A) Liberals
B) Conservatives
C) Moderates
D) Libertarians
E) Socialists

Question 52

Evaluate the impact of presidential debates on the outcome of the election.

Question 53

Analyze why Congress created the Federal Communications Commission. Discuss its mandate and the recent challenges it has faced in its modern-day role.

Question 54

Evaluate the degree to which the media engages in agenda setting. Provide an example of an item on the agenda right now.

Question 55

Most journalists follow a code of professional ethics that dictates which of the following?

A) They may not vote in elections they cover.
B) They must have a commitment to objectivity and truth.
C) They must present information from both sides, no matter what the facts say.
D) The cannot identify themselves as a Republican or Democrat.
E) They use only reputable news outlets to report stories.

Question 56

Analyze how the news media have evolved and adapted to new technologies.

Question 57

Evaluate the concerns over media bias.

Question 58

Some critics have linked the Tea Party movement to which of the following?

A) Newspaper opinion pages
B) Conservative talk radio
C) Internet blogs
D) Network news broadcasts
E) Negative television advertising