POLS 101

Which agency regulates broadcast media?

Federal Communications Commission

The practice of training reporters to produce a standardized, seemingly neutral news product was the result of

the newspaper industry's realization that the best way to make a profit was to not alienate potential readers who held liberal or conservative political views.

Reporting in which the media adopt a skeptical or even hostile posture toward the government and public officials is referred to as

adversarial journalism.

The frequent reporting on the federal investigation by Robert Mueller regarding whether anyone close to Trump participated in Russia's 2016 election interference is an example of the media's commitment to

adversarial journalism.

Privately owned media companies in the United States earn most of their revenue from

advertising.

If public concern and interest in data security issues increased after a number of television and newspaper stories about "hacking," it would be an example of the media's ________ power.

agenda-setting

The trend in concentration of traditional media ownership occurred in large part due to

the relaxation of government regulations in the 1980s and 1990s.

Which of the following stories would an American news outlet that relies primarily on advertising revenue be LEAST likely to cover?

an economics professor providing testimony to a congressional committee on the effect of tariffs

The MOST important selection bias in news is the

audience appeal of a story.

The fairness doctrine required that

broadcasters who aired controversial issues provide time for opposing viewpoints.

News produced by individuals and organizations who are not employed as professional journalists is called

citizen journalism.

Individuals with home high-speed internet access and the technology and literacy skills to use it are called

digital citizens.

Political scientists sometimes describe social media as "the new dinner table" because

discussions of politics and current events on social media occur within a network of friends and family.

In the United States today, the government

does not own but regulates the content and ownership of broadcast media.

All of the following are important roles for the media in American democracy EXCEPT

enabling privately owned companies to advertise their products to the public.

The ________ provides candidates for the same political office equal opportunities to communicate their messages.

equal time rule

If a television station sold commercial time to a Republican candidate for governor but refused to sell time to the Democratic candidate for governor, this station would be in violation of the

equal time rule.

Social media usage tends to

exaggerate partisan polarization among the mass public because people pick their own friend networks and can avoid disagreeable ideas.

The traditional news media aim to provide objective reporting on current events by

excluding the personal views of reporters or editors from their coverage.

In 1985, the federal government stopped enforcing the ________, arguing that it was no longer necessary due to the increasing number of television and radio stations.

fairness doctrine

The term fake news is MOST accurately characterized as

false news stories circulated to generate ad revenue or to benefit one political candidate or party over another.

The greatest challenge for journalism organizations today is

generating enough revenue to finance traditional investigative journalism.

The dramatic rise in political information and the increasing diversity of the media have

had very little impact on the average levels of political knowledge in the American public.

Advertising revenue at print newspapers is currently ________ what it was in 2005.

half

During the 2016 campaign, Hillary Clinton received ________amount of media coverage as Donald Trump.

half the

Besides their ideological biases, journalists also exhibit selection biases in favor of news stories they view as

having a great deal of dramatic or entertainment value.

According to political scientist Jonathan Ladd, trust in the mainstream media has declined over the last 50 years as a result of

increased competition in party politics and journalism.

The ability to find and effectively evaluate information online is referred to as

information literacy.

The Communications Decency Act

made it illegal to make "indecent" sexual material on the internet accessible to those under age 18.

The Vietnam War initiated the growth of ________ journalism.

adversarial

According to political scientist Amber Boydstun, the media has a(n) ________ for breaking stories and a(n) ________ for covering them in greater depth.

"alarm mode"; "patrol mode"

A widely circulated story that the pope endorsed Donald Trump for president in 2016 was a good example of

"fake news."

Facebook has more than ________ users worldwide.

2.2 billion

The number of radio stations in the United States has grown from ________ in 1990 to more than ________ today.

400; 2,000

Large media conglomerates, such as the Hearst, McClatchy, and Gannett corporations, own approximately ________ percent of daily newspapers.

75

It is estimated that more than ________ percent of Americans have a television.

95

Which of the following statements best characterizes media ownership in the United States?

A small number of giant, privately owned corporations control most of the country's television networks, movie studios, record companies, cable channels, book publishers, magazines, newspapers, and digital media sites.

________ is the power the media has to shape what issues Americans think about, and ________ is the power the media has to influence how Americans think about those issues.

Agenda-setting; framing

Which of the following is a good example of a media monopoly?

Disney

The media's reporting of the Watergate affair led to

President Richard Nixon's resignation.

Which of the following statements best describes the media's role in the Watergate affair?

Relentless investigations by journalists revealed various abuses of power by President Nixon and led to his resignation.

Which of the following statements best describes where younger and older Americans get their news?

Social media tend to be a secondary news source after television for most Americans but a primary news source for the young.

In recent years, ________ has released thousands of secret government documents, exposing government corruption, torture, and war crimes.

WikiLeaks

Which group is LEAST likely to have high-speed internet access at home?

non-English-speaking Hispanics

Priming refers to the

process of preparing the public to bring specific criteria to mind when evaluating a politician or issue.

Digital subscription models in which people pay to access news content have proven to be a

profitable approach for many elite, national newspapers but not for smaller or midsized local newspapers.

Public broadcasting refers to any television, radio, and digital media that

receives funding from the public through license fees, subsidies, or tax dollars.

If a radio station aired a personal attack against a candidate but refused to allow the same candidate the opportunity to respond to that attack on its station, the station would be in violation of the

right of rebuttal.

"Filter bubbles" appear when

search engines automatically screen out information that might challenge or broaden a person's worldview.

Despite its widespread availability, ________ typically report(s) on the narrowest range of topics and provide(s) the least depth of news coverage.

television

Which media source is regulated by the federal government?

television

Which of the following news sources reaches the MOST Americans?

television

In the United States, freedom of the press is protected by

the First Amendment of the Constitution.

Which of the following is an example of a public broadcasting organization?

the National Public Radio (NPR)

Which of the following is NOT a reason that many Americans appear to prefer online news?

the accuracy and objectivity compared to traditional media outlets

In the Pentagon Papers case, the Supreme Court ruled that

the government could not block the release of the papers.

The media are sometimes referred to as the "fourth branch of government" because

they provide a check on the power of government and political leaders.

Political information is increasingly emanating from universities, think tanks, nonprofit organizations, and private foundations because

traditional news organizations have cut their budgets and investigative journalism efforts in recent years.

If a number of newspapers published stories exposing an elected official's acceptance of monetary bribes from a corporation in exchange for passing a particular law, it would be an example of the media serving their role as a Group of answer choices

watchdog.