Gov. Chp.13

The federal bureaucratic agency responsible for regulating the broadcasting industry is the ______.

FCC

Citizen journalists have more resources than journalists who work at traditional media outlets.

False

Commercial bias shows us that viewers do more than passively receive news and values presented by the media.

False

In the contemporary United States, information is a scarce resource.

False

The Constitution guarantees citizens freedom of access to the press.

False

The way in which the media's emphasis on particular characteristics of people, events, or issues influences the public's perceptions of those people, events, or issues is called framing.

False

Commercial bias in the media is a result of growing concentration of corporate ownership of the media.

True

Most Americans spend a majority of their leisure time watching television.

True

The new movement toward having everyday people act as journalists and report the news directly on social media or blogs is known as citizen journalism.

True

The phenomenon of filtering incoming information through personal values and interests is known as selective perception.

True

The tendency of public officials, journalists, and lobbyists to move between public and private sector jobs is known as the revolving door.

True

The invention of the radio was important for politics because ______.

it allowed radio hosts and their guests to air their opinions on politics

What percentage of Americans receive news from newspapers?

18

What percentage of Americans receive news from radio?

25

What percentage of Americans receive news from local television?

37

Talk radios has been......

A forum for mostly conservative political decision

Defining for the public the relative importance of an issue through the amount and prominence of coverage it receives is referred to as ______.

A. agenda-setting capacity B. revolving door C. liberal bias D. muckraking Ans: A

The important of spin and image became essential to political life in the ______.

A. 1930s B. 1960s C. 1980s D. 1990s Ans: B

______ is an interpretation of a politician's words or actions designed to present a favorable image.

A. A sound bite B. Framing C. Priming D. Spin Ans: D

The journalist whose 1968 reporting from Vietnam was blamed by President Johnson for a decline in American public support for participation in that conflict was ______.

A. Howard Smith B. Eric Sevareid C. Walter Cronkite D. Edward Murrow Ans: C

Which newspaper exposed the Watergate scandal of the Nixon presidency that resulted in his resignation?

A. New York Times B. LA Times C. Washington Post D. Boston Globe Ans: C

_______ is the power to determine which news stories are covered and which are not.

A. The assignment principle B. Narrowcasting C. Monitoring D. Gatekeeping Ans: D

According to the text, if a healthy democracy requires an informed public to deliberate on important issues, how has the media performed in creating such a space?

A. The media has failed at this task. B. The media has succeeded at this task. C. The media provides services to a public that is not receptive. D. The government prevents the media from creating such a space. Ans: A

George H. W. Bush's statement, "Read my lips, no new taxes," is a famous example of ______.

A. a sound bite B. news management C. infotainment D. political accountability Ans: A

Barbour and Wright believe that the public's use of media personalities as opinion leaders is an example of ______.

A. agenda setting B. persuasion by professional communicators C. priming and framing D. reducing politics to sound and fury Ans: B

News coverage of ______ is an example of commercial bias.

A. an agricultural bill B. John Edwards's extramarital affair C. the effects of North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) D. the appropriate qualifications for a Supreme Court justice Ans: B

A presidential speechwriter who then took a job as a syndicated columnist and later returned as a domestic policy adviser to a member of Congress illustrates ______.

A. bias B. press-politics integration C. cyclical journalism D. the revolving door Ans: D

The phenomenon of selective perception demonstrates that viewers ______.

A. cannot rationally decide on which media outlets they want to consume B. wish to be entertained with "bread and circuses" rather than informed C. are more engaged with the media they consume than some critics would argue D. are paralyzed by the enormous number of information sources that are available to them Ans: C

Horse-race journalism frames political elections as ______.

A. competitions between individuals B. opportunities to participate in democracy C. education for the public D. tribal competitions between groups Ans: A

The role of gatekeepers is to ______.

A. decide the details about what news gets covered B. confine their role to getting the facts of the story straight C. interpret complex problems D. establish funding Ans: A

A key distinction between newspapers and social media is that newspapers ______ news content while social media is a ______.

A. distribute; censor B. censor; distributor C. produce; source D. source; producer Ans: C

When a news organization decides to report a story on a tornado by focusing on how many are dead versus how many survived, it engages in ______.

A. framing B. focusing C. priming D. news management Ans: A

The phenomenon of horse-race journalism can clearly be spotted in the media's ______.

A. frequent investigative reporting devoted to policy issues B. obsession with election-related polling results C. disinclination to give any politician the benefit of the doubt D. inability to influence the political agenda Ans: B

Investigative magazines like Mother Jones and Consumer Reports are ______.

A. funded by the government B. owned by a major news media outlet C. funded by subscribers and nonprofit entities D. used by the rich and powerful to spin unfavorable news Ans: C

A sensational headline for an online article intended to receive the most traffic rather than inform readers is known as ______.

A. gatekeeping B. corporate media C. consumer indicator D. clickbait Ans: D

The Federal Communications Act was passed because ______.

A. government regulation was needed to manage competition for scarce airwaves B. the partisan ownership of most stations required that more stations be established to serve the public interest C. Congress felt a need to bring truth to the broadcast industry given its propensity to run so many slanderous programs D. Congress wanted to ensure unbiased news coverage Ans: A

The most basic consequence of the concentrated corporate ownership of the news is ______.

A. higher taxes B. commercial bias C. less political news D. fewer advertisements Ans: B

New media developments such as social networks and Internet news lead to a proliferation of ______.

A. ideological magazines B. talk radio C. citizen journalism D. newspapers Ans: C

Because television is an entertainment medium, its coverage of political events focuses on

A. image B. controversial topics C. only important issues D. rhetoric Ans: A

Barbour and Wright maintain that American democracy is ______.

A. improved by decreased regulation of media ownership B. unaffected by feeding frenzies because the public has grown wary of their impacts C. enhanced by the work of bloggers, spin doctors, and pundits D. weakened by the media if they make political accountability more difficult Ans: D

The impact of the deregulation of broadcast journalism by the 1996 Telecommunications Act has been to ______.

A. increase competition in the news media B. increase the quality of news coverage C. increase the possibilities of media monopoly D. increase newspaper circulation Ans: C

Barbour and Wright conclude that a result of the media's focus on image and scandal has been a(n) ______.

A. increase in public cynicism about both politics and the media B. more informed electorate that wants to participate in politics C. decline in public support for third parties D. more stable American democratic system Ans: A

The major consequence of the press's increased emphasis on conflict and image is ______.

A. increased appreciation by the public for the importance of the political process B. increased cynicism by the public toward both the media and politics C. increased cynicism by the public toward the media and increased sympathy for politicians D. increased dependence on the media as the only source of truth about the political world Ans: B

One significance of news management is that it ______.

A. increases the media's ability to set the agenda B. limits the ability of reporters to put their own interpretation on an event C. leads to more negative campaigning D. leads to more trust in the media Ans: B

Which of the following terms best describes the relationship between politicians and the media?

A. independent B. symbiotic C. adversarial D. complementary Ans: C

The tendency of the media to make coverage and programming decisions based on what will attract a large audience and maximize profits is known as

A. infotainment B. narrowcasting C. yellow journalism D. commercial bias Ans: D

Which political function of the media is evident in the following sentence: "The news media constantly emphasize crime and politicians are evaluated on how they deal with this issue?"

A. interpretation B. socialization C. persuasion D. agenda setting Ans: D

A reporter looking at the ways cell phone companies overcharge their customers is an example of ______ journalism.

A. interpretive/investigator B. gatekeeper C. disseminator D. muckraker Ans: A

A major reason why the president's media staffers try to orchestrate a daily theme for presidential press coverage is that ______.

A. journalists might otherwise try to report on objectionable stories B. reporters will refuse to cover the president entirely C. most journalists are too lazy to engage in investigative reporting D. public broadcasters need an official line to report Ans: A

Barbour and Wright reveal that an unfortunate, although frequent, result of the deadline pressures that many journalists face is that they tend to ______.

A. link everyday news stories to easy, if shallow, narratives B. concoct stories out of whole cloth if nothing newsworthy is available C. turn to investigative reporting to really get to the bottom of an issue D. refuse to file any story until something worthwhile happens Ans: A

Political accountability is designed to ensure that politicians ______.

A. make constituents feel better about themselves and their community B. earn a reasonable salary for the work that they do C. accomplish the goals that their constituents want them to achieve D. face inflexible term limits in office Ans: C

Barbour and Wright maintain that a serious problem with the development that news outlets have become parts of large conglomerates is that there are frequently ______.

A. massive layoffs during the purchase of media companies by larger entities B. delays in reporting on breaking news stories C. transfers of financial resources between different parts of the conglomerates D. conflicts of interest involving reporting on scandals related to the outlets' parent companies Ans: D

If the news media constantly emphasize crime, and then politicians are evaluated on how they deal with crime, this would be an example of ______.

A. media manipulation B. news management C. agenda setting D. priming Ans: D

The new movement toward having everyday people act as journalists and report the news directly on social media or blogs is known as ______.

A. muckraking B. citizen journalism C. commercial journalism D. front-loading Ans: B

Excessive press coverage of an embarrassing or scandalous subject is called ______.

A. narrowcasting B. framing C. a feeding frenzy D. priming Ans: C

Due to the condition of the ______ politicians are focused on short-term gains and politics is often more important than policy.

A. news management B. corporate media C. concentration of media ownership D. permanent campaign Ans: D

The equal time provision resulted in ______.

A. news stations refusing to provide airtime to any candidates B. candidate debates to ensure that all viewpoints are provided to the media C. opportunities for the candidates of major parties to get their views across D. increasing popularity of third-party candidates Ans: A

Barbour and Wright argue that the media are a major agent of political socialization, the process by which ______.

A. news stories are given context for mass audiences B. the views of the majority are exaggerated into apparent unanimity of public opinion C. important values are transmitted from one generation to the next D. members of the public are encouraged to think about particular issues when certain terms are used Ans: C

Selective perception shows us that ______.

A. people become more informed when they have selective perception B. viewers do more than passively receive news and values presented by the media C. media coverage of politics focuses on nothing more than conflict and image D. priming is the overriding impact on what news people receive Ans: B

A 2003 study looking at misperceptions about the Iraq war concluded that the frequency with which those beliefs were held varied dramatically depending on ______.

A. political party affiliation B. interest group membership C. age D. type of news consumed Ans: D

Politics as public relations can also be called ______.

A. politics as storytelling B. politics as corruption C. debriefing D. muckraking Ans: C

The 1996 Telecommunications Act ______.

A. prohibited broadcast networks from owning cable stations B. created the equal time rule C. allowed ownership of multiple broadcast stations as long as those stations did not reach more than 35% of the market D. exempted cable stations from the same standards of fairness and decency required of broadcast stations Ans: C

In the United States, the media is most influenced by ______.

A. public interest B. government regulation C. profit motive D. censorship Ans: C

The administration of George W. Bush faced criticism because his public relations staff ______.

A. set up monthly press conferences for him B. ensured that he rarely faced questions from skeptical audiences or reporters C. deflected difficult questions and interviews to his vice president D. allowed him to appear on comedy news shows Ans: B

The tendency of public officials, journalists, and lobbyists to move between public and private sector jobs is known as ______.

A. the revolving door B. the trial balloon C. press patronage D. bicameral journalism Ans: A

How many corporations control the vast majority of media outlets in the United States?

A. two B. six C. twenty D. sixty Ans: B

The corporate nature of the American media caused ______.

Advertisers to dictate the content of the news

One advantage of social media, blogs, and other Internet-based communication channels is that they ______.

Are much more interactive than earlier forms of media

The advent of cable and satellite television providers resulted in ______.

Blurred lines between news and entertainment

The printing press was invented in ______ over 1,000 years ago.

China

According to the text, what is the primary reason for the decline of newspapers

Declining advertising revenue

Due to his telegenic personality, the first president to make extensive use of television was ______.

John F. Kennedy

The way media convergence works today results in ______.

People get a little news from many of sources

The concentration of media outlets ownership has resulted in journalism as an industry organized by ______.

Profit

Political knowledge and information among the population in the United States is ______.

Relatively low

More Americans consume news from _______ than another sources

Social media

Most politicians like radio and television because these media ______.

allow politicians to reach a broad audience without the adversarial questions of print reporters.

Although the Internet provides people with enormous amounts of information,

it is difficult to sort and evaluate the available information

Yellow Journalism refers to

the effort to lure audiences by reporting on sensational topics

The most recent change in the way news is being disseminated and how candidates are creating networks of supporters is ______.

the use of Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and other social networking sites for these purposes