Ch. 10: The News Media

Which of the following networks pioneered the partisan model for cable news reporting? A. Fox News B. ABC C. NBC D. CBS E. PBS

A. Fox News

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has regulatory oversight over which of the following? A. broadcast radio B. magazines C. Internet content D. newspapers E. All of these answers are correct.

A. broadcast radio

During the era of objective journalism, the commitment of newspapers to two-sided news reporting... A. did not extend to their editorializing. B. was enshrined in the editorial section. C. was uniform throughout the sections of a newspaper. D. caused democracy in the United States to deteriorate. E. All of these answers are correct.

A. did not extend to their editorializing.

Of the following, the news media are most likely to focus on... A. events that are timely. B. events that affect small numbers of people. C. events that occur in other countries. D. events experienced by ordinary citizens. E. complex events that are difficult to report.

A. events that are timely.

Which of the following is a characteristic of the "inattentive audience"? A. greater susceptibility to disinformation B. greater resistance to partisan messages C. an accurate but shallow understanding of politics D. a preference for objective journalism E. a desire to only consume news through social media

A. greater susceptibility to disinformation

Objective journalism is based on the idea that the reporter's job is to... A. report the facts and present both sides of a partisan debate. B. report what political leaders want them to report. C. discover what other reporters are saying and provide a uniform interpretation of events. D. scrutinize the partisan debate, and inform the news audience about which party has the better argument. E. All of these answers are correct.

A. report the facts and present both sides of a partisan debate.

The reason the news product is designed to fascinate as well as to inform is... A. that news organizations are fundamentally businesses and must obtain revenue to survive. B. of the high level of illiteracy. C. that the print media wish to emulate the broadcast media. D. of the need to compete with Hollywood productions. E. None of these answers is correct.

A. that news organizations are fundamentally businesses and must obtain revenue to survive.

Which institution receives the most news coverage from the national press? A. the presidency B. U.S. House of Representatives C. U.S. Senate D. U.S. Supreme Court E. the federal bureaucracy

A. the presidency

The term framing is used to describe the... A. media's ability to influence what is on people's minds. B. process of selecting certain aspects of reality and then crafting news stories around those aspects. C. media's obligation to convey a uniform and standard interpretation of a situation. D. nature of media reporting when objectivity has weakened and the system has tilted in favor of yellow journalism. E. primary right of the media that is protected by the First Amendment.

B.

Which of the following would be an example of priming in action? A. The evening news centers its coverage of a major city around violent crimes each night. B. A news viewer expects violent crime to escalate because the evening news starts with a violent crime each night. C. The evening news replays sound bites from local politicians each night on the evening news. D. The evening news regularly characterizes Democrats as soft on crime. E. The evening news consistently covers natural disasters and crimes and does little reporting on political developments.

B. A news viewer expects violent crime to escalate because the evening news starts with a violent crime each night.

How has the Internet affected the watchdog role of the media? A. It has diluted the watchdog capacity with an overflow of opinions. B. It has expanded the watchdog capacity of the media. C. It has tainted the watchdog role with a partisan bent. D. It has almost completely usurped the watchdog role from the traditional media outlets. E. It has little to no effect because it lacks the objective standards of traditional media outlets.

B. It has expanded the watchdog capacity of the media.

Which of the following is a consequence of the high-choice media system? A. a growth in the traditional public affairs audience B. greater control by people over what they see and hear C. a merging of the three tiers of public affairs audiences D. a higher proportion of objective news sources to partisan news sources E. a de-aging of the overall news and public affairs audience

B. greater control by people over what they see and hear

Which of the following is associated with people's exposure to partisan news outlets? A. misunderstanding of their own party's philosophy B. greater political interest and engagement C. gaining a more nuanced view of opposing political opinions D. the formation of less extreme political opinions E. a lower level of news consumption

B. greater political interest and engagement

The FCC's requirement for radio stations relating to equal airtime... A. included the print media. B. prohibited broadcasters from selling or giving time to political candidates without offering the same to their opponents. C. required broadcasters to air equal amounts of programming that supported both major political parties. D. required broadcasters to give equal time to news programming and commercial advertising. E. required broadcasters to give equal time to third parties as well as the Democrats and Republicans in debates.

B. prohibited broadcasters from selling or giving time to political candidates without offering the same to their opponents.

On-the-scene coverage of a natural disaster is an example of the press's role of... A. watchdog. B. signaler. C. partisan advocate. D. common-carrier. E. interpreter.

B. signaler.

Agenda-setting is an action that falls under which of the major roles played by the press? A. common-carrier B. signaling C. watchdog D. partisan advocate E. news interpreter

B. signaling

The federal government's licensing of broadcasting was based primarily on... A. the fact that broadcasting is a national medium. B. the scarcity of broadcasting frequencies. C. the fact that broadcasting was invented after the First Amendment was adopted. D. the desire of national officials to control the content of broadcast news and entertainment. E. a desire to censor reporters so that they would stop criticizing governmental officials.

B. the scarcity of broadcasting frequencies.

Which of the following statements about partisan-centered communications is accurate? A. Most partisan Internet sites seek to demonize a particular group or ethnicity. B. Fox and MSNBC use a largely partisan model of newscast presentation. C. Most partisan Internet sites seek to intensify partisan outrage. D. The presentation of opinions and news on the Internet has recently been trending less partisan. E. Liberal and conservative partisan talk shows differ in the nature of language and images they use to achieve their goals.

C. Most partisan Internet sites seek to intensify partisan outrage.

One of the reasons the reporting of national news is relatively uniform among news sources is that... A. the government dictates much of what is reported. B. there are only a few important events each day that merit news coverage. C. many outlets take their news from a single source, the Associated Press. D. reporters are not given much freedom by their editors. E. modern journalists have become fairly lazy and use mostly wire reports to create news copy for the network newscasts.

C. many outlets take their news from a single source, the Associated Press.

During the early 20th century, which newspaper developed a reputation as the country's best newspaper? A. Washington Times B. Miami Herald C. Los Angeles Times D. New York Times E. Chicago Tribune

D. New York Times

Which region of the country overall has the LOWEST connectivity to the Internet? A. West Coast B. Northeast C. Midwest D. South E. Plains states

D. South

Which of the following is true of age differences in news consumption? A. News consumption has been growing in young adults as a result of higher Internet use. B. News consumption has declined in all age groups except for those 60 and older. C. Older adults are more likely than younger adults to get their news from the Internet. D. The average cable news viewer is older than 50. E. Adults under 30 are more likely to consumer news through the internet than those over 50.

D. The average cable news viewer is older than 50.

One consequence of today's high-choice media system is... A. that individuals are more informed. B. a narrowing in the information divide. C. that individual choice is actually more limited. D. an increase in the number of people who use partisan outlets as their primary news source. E. None of these answers is correct.

D. an increase in the number of people who use partisan outlets as their primary news source.

Presidential candidates in the 1960s, compared with today... A. received more negative coverage. B. were largely ignored by the media. C. were hounded by the media incessantly. D. had longer sound bites, on average, in broadcast television newscasts. E. None of these answers is correct.

D. had longer sound bites, on average, in broadcast television newscasts.

The FCC restriction requiring broadcasters to "afford reasonable opportunity for the discussion of conflicting views of public importance" was known as the... A. "Equal Time" rule. B. objective-reporting model. C. signaling function. D. common-carrier function. E. Fairness Doctrine.

E. Fairness Doctrine.

Staunch conservatives are most likely to pay regular attention to... A. MSNBC. B. NPR. C. The Daily Show. D. Rush Limbaugh. E. Fox News.

E. Fox News.

The Gazette of the United States was founded to promote the policies of President... A. Warren Harding. B. Grover Cleveland. C. William Henry Harrison. D. James Madison. E. George Washington.

E. George Washington.

MSNBC responded to Fox's ratings success by... A. reducing the number of talk shows in their line-up. B. increasing the number of talk shows hosted by liberals. C. attempting to lure audiences by focusing on their unbiased news reporting. D. installing talk-show hosts with nonpartisan appeal. E. recasting themselves as the liberal alternative to Fox.

E. recasting themselves as the liberal alternative to Fox.

Which of the following statements is true? A. Objective journalism is based on the communication of facts in a fair manner. B. Yellow journalism attempts to describe what is taking place or has occurred. C. The New York Post is the bulletin board of major newspapers. D. Objective journalism is based on the communication of facts and fairness, while yellow journalism attempts to describe what is taking place or has occurred. E. None of these answers is correct.

A. Objective journalism is based on the communication of facts in a fair manner.

Yellow journalism contributed most notably to public support for the... A. Spanish-American War. B. Civil War. C. War of 1812. D. Mexican War of 1848. E. American Revolution.

A. Spanish-American War.

Historically, the American press has shifted from... A. a political to a journalistic orientation. B. objectivity to subjectivity. C. a journalistic to a political orientation. D. partisan to very partisan. E. negative to positive.

A. a political to a journalistic orientation.

Partisan talk radio got its start... A. after the abolition of the Fairness Doctrine. B. on the day of Rush Limbaugh's first broadcast. C. after cable television led the way. D. in the early 1990s after the election of Democrat Bill Clinton. E. during the late 1930s.

A. after the abolition of the Fairness Doctrine.

The news provides a refracted version of reality because it... A. emphasizes dramatic and compelling news stories. B. is biased in favor of a Republican viewpoint. C. is biased in favor of a Democratic viewpoint. D. is biased in favor of a liberal perspective. E. is biased in favor of a conservative perspective.

A. emphasizes dramatic and compelling news stories.

One special contribution of Internet-based news is that it... A. has expanded freedom of the press to a larger number of Americans. B. provides slower, more deliberative reporting. C. offers more unbiased reporting. D. prevents rampant editorializing. E. None of these answers is correct.

A. has expanded freedom of the press to a larger number of Americans.

The media perform the signaling role by... A. informing the public of breaking events and new developments. B. serving as an open channel for leaders to express their opinions. C. exposing officials who violate accepted performance and moral standards. D. acting as the public's representative. E. All of these answers are correct.

A. informing the public of breaking events and new developments.

What technology led editors to substitute news reports for partisan commentary? A. radio B. telegraph C. broadcast TV D. cable TV E. power-driven printing presses

B. telegraph

During what decade did the American television network news audience change from a growing to a shrinking one? A. the 1960s B. the 1980s C. the 1990s D. the 1970s E. The audience has not yet begun to shrink.

B. the 1980s

The yellow journalism of the late 19th century was characterized by... A. its appearance solely in weekly and monthly magazines. B. the emphasis on sensationalism as a way of selling newspapers. C. prejudice against Asian people and countries. D. an unwillingness to take editorial positions because of a fear of losing circulation. E. the desire to present the news in an objective manner.

B. the emphasis on sensationalism as a way of selling newspapers.

The circulation battle of which two newspapers may have contributed to the outbreak of the Spanish-American War? A. Chicago Tribune and Boston Herald B. Los Angeles Times and New York Times C. New York Journal and New York World D. Gazette of the United States and National Gazette E. San Francisco Examiner and San Francisco Chronicle

C. New York Journal and New York World

Early American newspapers... A. were written and copied by hand. B. were so inexpensive that nearly everyone read a daily paper. C. could not have survived without political party support. D. were more widely read than today's papers. E. All of these answers are correct.

C. could not have survived without political party support.

Scholarly research has shown that, overall, the traditional media... A. have a strong liberal bias. B. have a moderate liberal bias. C. may have a slight liberal bias, and it depends on the outlet. D. have a slight conservative bias. E. have a strong conservative bias.

C. may have a slight liberal bias, and it depends on the outlet.

The "long tail" is a phenomenon related to the... A. partisan flavor of talk shows. B. degree of editorializing by broadcast news. C. pattern and rate of Internet news readership. D. increase in the age gap of news readership. E. partisan nature of Internet news.

C. pattern and rate of Internet news readership.

The Watergate scandal illustrates the... A. futility of media attempts to forecast political events. B. inadequacy of the media as a common-carrier to the public. C. power of the media to serve as watchdog to safeguard against abuses of power. D. ability of the press to serve as the public's representative in political disputes. E. abuse of power by journalists in the United States.

C. power of the media to serve as watchdog to safeguard against abuses of power.

What development brought about a dramatic reduction in television's capacity to generate an interest in news? A. an increase in newspaper circulation B. the loss of objective journalistic standards C. the rapid spread of cable TV D. the rise of Internet news consumption E. a drop in education levels in the United States

C. the rapid spread of cable TV

The news media's common-carrier role is based on the idea that... A. the news will be available to all citizens. B. various news organizations should interpret the news in nearly the same way. C. the press should not charge for public service announcements. D. the press should provide a channel through which political leaders can communicate their views to the public. E. the press should be patriotic in the reporting of the news.

D. the press should provide a channel through which political leaders can communicate their views to the public.

Which of the following statements has been shown by scholarly research to be true? A. Network journalists have a very substantial liberal bias. B. Network journalists have a very substantial conservative bias. C. Network journalists have a clear Republican bias. D. Network journalists have a clear Democratic bias. E. Network journalists tend to be negative.

E. Network journalists tend to be negative.