CHAPTER 7: THE MASS MEDIA AND THE POLITICAL AGENDA
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Multiple Choice Questions
1. Whereas one newspaper was sold for every two adults in 1960, by 2008 one paper was sold for every ____ adults.
a. three
b. four
c. five
d. ten
e. fifteen
2. In 1934, Congress created the ______to regulate the use of the airwaves.
a. Federal Trade Commission
b. Equal Opportunity Commission
c. Federal Communications Commission
d. Department of the Interior
e. Department of Media Communications
3. Newspapers published by massive media conglomerates accounting for over four-fifths of the nation’s daily newspaper circulation are called
a. narrowcasters.
b. chains.
c. broadcasters.
d. trial balloons.
e. associated press outlets.
4. Which of the following statements about private control of the media is FALSE?
a. Striving for profits greatly shapes how the news is reported.
b. In 1989, network news programs broadcast 4,032 minutes of foreign news; in 2000, this number had dropped to 1,382 minutes.
c. Profit has driven American media organizations to expand their foreign bureaus abroad.
d. American media are dependent on advertising revenue to support their businesses.
e. Private ownership of the media and First Amendment protections mean that journalists have almost completely unfettered freedom to criticize government leaders and policies.
5. The primary interest of publicly owned media is ______; the primary interest of privately owned media is______.
a. making a profit; serving the public interest
b. serving the public interest; making a profit
c. spreading propaganda; being as objective as possible
d. serving the state; serving the people
e. undermining democracy; supporting democracy
6. An example of a major television network is
a. ABC.
b. Knight-Ridder.
c. Newhouse.
d. Gannett.
e. Associated Press.
7. In 1989, major networks broadcast _____ minutes of foreign news; in 2000 they broadcast ____ minutes of foreign news.
a. 4,032; 1,382
b. 1,382; 4,032
c. 10,000; 5,000
d. 5,000; 10,000
e. 4,032; 4,032
8. Epstein’s News from Nowhere suggests that
a. TV networks define what is entertaining in terms of average viewers.
b. trivial stories rarely make it into the news, even when they are entertaining to average viewers.
c. the media tend to report the most important stories, despite entertainment value.
d. the media tend to pitch stories to a relatively high level of viewer sophistication.
e. All of these are true.
9. An intentional news leak for the purpose of assessing the political reaction to that news is called a(n)
a. talking head.
b. press conference.
c. media event.
d. trial balloon.
e. investigative journalism event.
10. The average length of time that a presidential candidate was given to talk uninterrupted in 1968 was ______; in 2004 it was ______.
a. 5 seconds; 5 seconds
b. 43 seconds, 8 seconds
c. 8 minutes; 5 seconds
d. 8 minutes; 5 minutes
e. 10 minutes; 10 seconds
11. Specific locations from which news frequently emanates are called
a. embassies.
b. news houses.
c. reporters’ clubs.
d. beats.
e. trial balloons.
12. Research suggests that the most prominent bias in the media is a(n) ______bias.
a. liberal
b. conservative
c. socialist
d. Democratic
e. audience-driven
13. Increasing public attention to specific problems is a core feature of the media’s ______power.
a. watchdog
b. investigative
c. agenda-setting
d. gate-keeping
e. scorekeeping
14. People who invest their political capital in an issue are called
a. agenda setters.
b. policy entrepreneurs.
c. lobbyists.
d. media conglomerates.
e. trial balloons.
15. Which of the following is a consequence of the rise of television broadcasting?
a. Candidates are more capable of running for office on their own by appealing to people directly through TV.
b. Individuals have a greater need for political parties to help them make decisions.
c. Groups have greater access to spread their issues and messages to the public.
d. Congress has increasingly received more television coverage compared to the other two branches of government.
e. The American public has become more politically informed.
True/False Questions
1. High-tech politics refers to a politics in which the behavior of citizens and policymakers and the political agenda itself are increasingly shaped by technology.
2. A media event is staged for the purpose of being covered.
3. Up until the early 1960s, the relationship between politicians and the press was relatively cozy; that is, many reporters saw themselves as extensions of the government, accepting most of what government officials told them.
4. The relatively cozy relationship that existed between politicians and the press during the twentieth century lasted until the Vietnam War and Watergate.
5. Most journalists believe that it is more important to provide entertainment to viewers and readers than it is to investigate the claims of government and politicians.
6. Research suggests that the media project a liberal ideological bias.
7. In focusing public attention on particular events, the media influence the criteria by which the public evaluates political leaders.
8. The issues that attract the serious attention of public officials and others involved in politics are collectively known as the policy agenda.
9. Reporters believe that exposing officeholders is an essential task of the media.
10. As every new policy is met with media criticism, constraints are placed on the scope of what government can do.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Differences in press coverage between presidents Reagan and Obama show that
a. there is a diminishing audience for national news and presidential messages.
b. there is a growing audience for national news and presidential messages.
c. presidential addresses receive higher Nielson ratings today than they did several decades ago.
d. more Americans read presidential addresses in newspapers while fewer view coverage on TV.
e. more than 50 percent of Americans can be expected to tune in to watch presidential addresses to Congress.
2. Television, radio, newspapers, magazines, the Internet, and other forms of communication are collectively referred to as the
a. World Wide Web.
b. mass media.
c. media conglomeration.
d. world of high-tech politics.
e. fourth branch of government.
3. Who declared, “The president of the United States will not stand and be questioned like a chicken thief by men whose names he does not even know.”
a. Herbert Hoover
b. John F. Kennedy
c. Richard Nixon
d. Ronald Reagan
e. Bill Clinton
4. When it comes to rating the things that the media do, journalists believe that it is most important for the media to ______and least important for it to ______.
a. discuss national policy; motivate people to get involved
b. provide entertainment; point to possible solutions for problems
c. get information quickly to the public; investigate claims made by government
d. investigate claims made by government; provide entertainment
e. point to possible solutions; get information quickly to the public
5. According to a Mark Hertsgaard, news management in the Reagan White House operated on each of the following principles EXCEPT
a. talking about the issues you want to talk about.
b. controlling the flow of information.
c. expanding reporters’ access to the president.
d. being repetitive with messages.
e. staying on the offensive.
6. The cozy relationship between politicians and the press in the twentieth century lasted until
a. the Iranian Hostage Crisis.
b. World War II.
c. the commercialization of television.
d. the beginning of Franklin Roosevelt’s presidency.
e. the Vietnam War and Watergate.
7. The use of in-depth reporting to unearth scandals, scams, and schemes, at times putting reporters in adversarial relationships with political leaders, is referred to as
a. guard dog journalism.
b. gate keeping.
c. investigative journalism.
d. criminalistic journalism.
e. law-and-order journalism.
8. Investigative journalism may contribute to public cynicism and negativity about politics by pitting which two groups against one another?
a. Reporters and political leaders
b. Reporters and the companies that own their broadcast media
c. Reporters and the general public
d. Political leaders and the general public
e. Reporters and celebrities
9. How has news coverage changed since Kennedy’s presidency in 1960?
a. News coverage of presidential candidates has become increasingly less favorable.
b. The news media have reduced their coverage of presidential candidates.
c. The amount of news coverage of presidential candidates has increased dramatically.
d. Coverage of issues in presidential campaigns has increased dramatically.
e. Emphasis of campaign reporting has changed dramatically from “why” to a simpler, descriptive “what” format.
10. Television, radio, and the Internet are ______media; newspapers and magazines are ______media.
a. electronic; print
b. public; private
c. private; public
d. liberal; conservative
e. conservative; liberal
11. An example of a newsweekly is
a. Time.
b. the New York Times.
c. the Washington Post.
d. the Daily News.
e. USA Today.
12. Which of the following statements regarding print media is FALSE?
a. A major metropolitan newspaper averages 100,000 words, compared to a typical nightly news broadcast, which amounts to about 3,600 words.
b. American newspaper circulation rates have been steadily increasing since the beginning of the twenty-first century.
c. In 2008, one newspaper was sold for every 5 adults.
d. Those who read the news tend to be more engaged than those who watch the news.
e. American newspapers collect little advertising revenue from online editions.
13. The first daily newspaper in America was
a. the Associated Press, established in 1841.
b. the New York Times, established in 1800.
c. printed in Philadelphia in 1783.
d. the Colonial Gazette, printed in 1607.
e. Common Sense, printed in 1776.
14. Following the first Nixon-Kennedy presidential debate of 1960, opinion polls showed that
a. those who watched on television thought Nixon had won, while those who listened over the radio thought Kennedy won.
b. those who watched on television and listened over the radio both thought Kennedy had won.
c. those who listened over the radio thought it was a draw, while those who watched on television thought Kennedy did better.
d. those who watched on television and listened over the radio both thought Nixon had won.
e. those who watched on television thought Kennedy had won, while those who listened over the radio thought Nixon won.
15. The first televised ______occurred during the 1960 presidential campaign.
a. election returns
b. presidential debate
c. national political convention
d. political commercial
e. presidential press conference
16. When was the Federal Communications Commission created?
a. 1934
b. 1944
c. 1954
d. 1964
e. 1974
17. What is the purpose of the FCC?
a. To prevent near monopolies of control over broadcast media
b. To conduct periodic examinations of the goals and performance of stations as part of its licensing authority
c. To issue a number of fair-treatment rules concerning access to the airwaves for officeholders and candidates
d. To regulate communications via radio, television, telephone, cable, and satellite
e. All of these are purposes of the FCC.
18. Since 1996, FCC rules have stipulated that no single owner can control more than _____ percent of the broadcast market.
a. 5
b. 15
c. 25
d. 35
e. 45
19. Congress long ago stipulated that in order to receive a broadcasting license, a station must
a. serve the public interest.
b. provide free air time to political candidates.
c. provide free air time to the White House.
d. be publicly owned.
e. be privately owned.
20. The ____ stipulates that if a station sells advertising time to one candidate, it must be willing to sell equal time to other candidates for the same office.
a. public interest rule
b. equal-time rule
c. fair-treatment rule
d. First Amendment
e. Second Amendment
21. Media programming on cable TV or the Internet that is focused on a particular interest and aimed at a particular audience is called
a. broadcasting.
b. narrowcasting.
c. media conglomeration.
d. high-tech politics.
e. chain broadcasting.
22. Broadcasting implies that media outlets are sending their signal to a ______audience.
a. broad
b. specific
c. narrow
d. partisan
e. political
23. Which of the following is a consequence of the rise of narrowcasting?
a. Young adults are more likely than other age groups to use newspapers and broadcast media as news and information sources.
b. Young adults are less likely than other age groups to use newspapers and broadcast media as news and information sources.
c. Most Americans follow politics more frequently and with greater intensity than they follow popular culture.
d. Narrowcasting has demonstrated that cable news programs are apt to cover political events in great detail, conveying more substantive information to viewers.
e. Narrowcasting has encouraged less repetition of stories on broadcast news programs.
24. In their study comparing traditional news to infotainment and comedy show coverage, Kim and Vishak found that
a. Jon Stewart’s coverage of a Supreme Court nomination process provided more factual information than did traditional news coverage of the same event.
b. Jon Stewart’s coverage of a Supreme Court nomination process provided less factual information than did traditional news coverage of the same event.
c. Jon Stewart’s coverage of a Supreme Court nomination process provided more information to help viewers understand how judicial nominations actually worked compared to traditional news coverage.
d. laughter generated by infotainment shows such as The Daily Show and The Colbert Report actually aided in the delivery of political messages and information.
25. In its study of 240 hours of cable news programming in 2003, the Columbia University Project for Excellence in Journalism found that
a. only 11 percent of the time was taken up with written and edited stories.
b. the role of the reporter was primarily to talk extemporaneously.
c. stories were reported frequently, usually without any important new information.
d. coverage of the news was spotty, ignoring many important topics.
e. All of these were found in the study.
26. Which of the following statements regarding news and the Internet is FALSE?
a. Traffic to political sites accounts for just about 0.12 percent of all Web traffic.
b. Candidate campaign sites have a modest tendency to reinforce voters’ predispositions.
c. More so than TV, the Internet is purposive, that is, what people see is the product of their own intentional purposes.