Question 1

BBC and CNN are the two global all news stations.

Accepted Answer

BBC and CNN are both global all-news stations.

Question 2

CNN's major competition is Al-Jazeera.

Accepted Answer

CNN's major competition includes other major U.S.-based 24-hour news networks like Fox News and MSNBC, rather than Al-Jazeera, which is based in Qatar and has a different target audience.

Question 3

CNN managed to make niche television a global phenomenon.

Accepted Answer

CNN, as a pioneering 24-hour news channel, played a significant role in popularizing niche television by providing continuous news coverage, which was a novel concept at the time and influenced the global media landscape.

Question 4

Ted Turner lost a fortune when Time Warner merged with AOL.

Accepted Answer

Ted Turner, who was a major shareholder of Time Warner, lost a significant portion of his fortune when the value of Time Warner stock plummeted following its merger with AOL in 2000.

Question 5

CNN views its greatest threat as growth of imitators.

Accepted Answer

CNN has historically viewed the proliferation of similar 24-hour news networks as a significant competitive threat, as these imitators can dilute its audience and market share.

Question 6

While once a power house, budget cuts and management changes have caused CNN's market share to fall behind Fox News.

Accepted Answer

CNN has experienced a decline in viewership and market share, falling behind Fox News, which can be attributed to various factors including budget cuts, management changes, and shifts in viewer preferences.

Question 7

President Bush, who was at his vacation home in Kennebunkport, Maine, stated that all he knew about Tiananmen Square was what CNN was showing - just like the rest of the world.

Accepted Answer

President Bush did indeed say that his information about the events in Tiananmen Square was coming from CNN, highlighting the role of live television news in providing real-time information on global events, even to world leaders.

Question 8

During the first Gulf War, CNN was the only global agency granted permission to broadcast live from Baghdad.

Accepted Answer

CNN was the only network to have correspondents reporting live from Baghdad during the initial stages of the first Gulf War, providing unprecedented real-time coverage.

Question 9

Before their Gulf War coverage, CNN was once lampooned by rivals as the "Chicken Noodle News."

Accepted Answer

Before gaining prominence with its coverage of the Gulf War in 1991, CNN was indeed mockingly referred to as "Chicken Noodle News" by some competitors, due to its then perceived lower status and less serious approach compared to established networks.

Question 10

CNN's coverage of the First Gulf War made Peter Arnett the archetypal journalist.

Accepted Answer

Peter Arnett's live reports from Baghdad during the First Gulf War in 1991 made him a household name and set a new standard for war correspondents, making him the archetypal journalist of that era.

Question 11

Peter Arnett is still a key member of CNN.

Accepted Answer

Peter Arnett, a New Zealand-born journalist, was a well-known CNN reporter but is no longer with the network. He gained fame for his coverage of the Gulf War but left CNN years ago.

Question 12

Wolf Blitzer is one of the most watched personalities on FOX news.

Accepted Answer

Wolf Blitzer is a journalist and anchor who works for CNN, not FOX News.

Question 13

The Vietnam war changed news broadcasting thanks in part to embedded journalists.

Accepted Answer

Embedded journalism became prominent during the Iraq War in 2003, not the Vietnam War. During the Vietnam War, journalists were not embedded but had relatively unrestricted access to the battlefield.

Question 14

Embedded Journalism is known as the idealized standard of reporter objectivity.

Accepted Answer

Embedded journalism often involves reporters being attached to military units, which can compromise their objectivity due to their reliance on the military for safety and access to information.

Question 15

The merger with AOL has shifted the focus from news-based to personality-based programming.

Accepted Answer

The merger with AOL led to a shift in focus from news-based programming to personality-based programming.

Question 16

What stories CNN focuses on is called the CNN Effect or CNN Factor.

Accepted Answer

The CNN Effect or CNN Factor refers to the influence that 24-hour news networks, such as CNN, have on the public perception of events and on political and policy-making processes, by choosing which stories to focus on and how to cover them.

Question 17

The international community is more likely to respond to a serious crisis in a country of marginal strategic or economic importance if the mainstream media are effective in alerting the population to the crisis.

Accepted Answer

The mainstream media play a crucial role in shaping public opinion and awareness. When they effectively alert the population to a crisis, especially in countries of marginal strategic or economic importance, it can lead to increased public pressure on governments and international organizations to respond. This heightened awareness and concern can mobilize resources, aid, and intervention efforts that might not have been as forthcoming without media coverage.

Question 18

CNN can force governments into damage control mode when it reports such stories as Abu Ghraib and violations at Guantanamo Bay.

Accepted Answer

CNN, as a major international news organization, has the ability to bring significant attention to issues such as human rights violations. When it reports on sensitive topics like Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo Bay, the widespread coverage can pressure governments to respond or engage in damage control to address the public and international concerns raised by such reporting.

Question 19

CNN has lost its market share to an unabashed right of center FOX News.

Accepted Answer

CNN has experienced a decline in viewership and market share, partly due to competition from networks like FOX News, which openly caters to a right-of-center audience and has maintained strong ratings among that demographic.

Question 20

The initial purpose of the US Information Agency, created during World War I, is to control the flow of news inside the borders of the United States.

Accepted Answer

The US Information Agency (USIA) was actually established in 1953, during the Cold War, to promote American foreign policy and foster a positive image of the United States abroad, not to control news flow within the U.S. during World War I.

Quiz 11: CNN: International Role, Impact, and Global Competitors