Question 1

The main source for most foreign and domestic news is __________.

Accepted Answer

A)  foreign correspondents 
B)  wire services 
C)  elite newspapers 
D)  academics 
E)  search engines

Question 2

Does the media aid or hinder democracy? Give a brief synopsis of the Framers' opinion, the opinion of your book's authors, and then state your own opinion. Do you agree with the book's authors? Why or why not?

Accepted Answer

The answer of Does the media aid or hinder democracy?...

Question 3

How did the media influence the Vietnam War?

Accepted Answer

A)  Pamphlet propaganda in Vietnam aided the war effort. 
B)  Explicit pictures helped turn public opinion against the war. 
C)  Social media helped communicate news of atrocities. 
D)  Body counts in the evening news kept up American morale. 
E)  Radio broadcasts on both sides acted as precursors to peace.

Question 4

The Founders fully subscribed to the idea that a free press was __________.

Accepted Answer

The answer of The Founders fully subscribed to the idea...

Question 5

According to the box "By the Numbers," which of the following is a way in which the UCR and NCVS differ?

Accepted Answer

A)  The principal problems with NCVS concern the accuracy of recording and reporting crime. 
B)  The UCR is based on a survey of victims of crime, and the NCVS is based on crime reports from law enforcement agencies. 
C)  The UCR is based on reports from law enforcement agencies and the NCVS is based on a survey of victims of crime. 
D)  The UCR gives us a handle on the size of the underlying crime problem, and the NCVS does a fairly good job of telling us what is going on year to year with respect to police encounters with crime. 
E)  Experts generally prefer the UCR numbers to those of the NCVS for understanding the dimensions of the crime problem.

Question 6

The topics that get the most coverage in the news media at any point in time are the same ones that most people tell pollsters are the most important problems facing the country. What is this effect called?

Accepted Answer

A)  controlled experiments 
B)  investigative journalism 
C)  agenda setting 
D)  agenda deconstruction 
E)  political structuring

Question 7

How might media managers choose to cover a story about a human rights tragedy in order to get politicians to take action?

Accepted Answer

A)  Focus on matters that are of most concern to those who are not in power but rather vying for power. 
B)  Incorporate as much infotainment as possible. 
C)  Highlight the tragedy in real time. 
D)  Focus on stories that throw off the relative power balance between Democrats and Republicans in Washington. 
E)  Run retrospectives on related events from the past.

Question 8

Which of the following news headlines is most likely to influence Americans to think that laziness causes poverty?

Accepted Answer

A)  Layoffs Increasing Childhood Poverty Rate 
B)  Unemployment Surges: Welfare Programs Strained 
C)  Undereducated and Unemployed: One Woman's Plight 
D)  Recession Strains Family Savings, Government Programs 
E)  Economy Dips; Poverty Surges

Question 9

Rupert Murdoch was accused of trying to form a(n) __________, which would undermine the watchdog role of the press and limit the ability of the less economically and politically powerful to air their views.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Rupert Murdoch was accused of trying to...

Question 10

In 2006, roughly three years after the U.S. invasion of Iraq, a New York Times story with a revelation about what went largely unreported on the major television news outlets?

Accepted Answer

A)  British reports that Washington had "cooked the books" to justify a war in Iraq 
B)  the so-called Downing Street memo 
C)  an informational committee hearing lead by Rep. John Conyers about the misuse of intelligence 
D)  an incident in which Vice President Dick Cheney shot a long-time friend in the face while hunting 
E)  a meeting between George W. Bush and Tony Blair in which Bush indicated that he would go to war with Iraq even without evidence of weapons of mass destruction

Question 11

The Downing Street memo was considered highly newsworthy because it involved government corruption.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 12

One problem with the corporate nature of the news media is the potential for a media monopoly to __________ the news.

Accepted Answer

The answer of One problem with the corporate nature of...

Question 13

The book states that, "In 2009, Michael Jackson accounted for 60 percent of television news shows during the two days following his death, far more coverage than the mass antigovernment demonstrations in Iran." This is an example of what?

Accepted Answer

A)  bias 
B)  agenda setting 
C)  nationalism 
D)  infotainment 
E)  investigative journalism

Question 14

Which of the following is most likely to get prominent coverage on a local television news station?

Accepted Answer

A)  new drunk driving laws 
B)  corporate malfeasance 
C)  a large grant at a local college 
D)  a local stabbing 
E)  bankruptcy laws

Question 15

Reporters get most of their political news from __________.

Accepted Answer

A)  investigative journalism 
B)  online sources 
C)  government sources 
D)  acquisitions editors 
E)  polls and statistics

Question 16

Most large media outlets are owned by __________.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Most large media outlets are owned by...

Question 17

One of the drawbacks to media coverage of politics is its _________.

Accepted Answer

A)  focus on the horse-race aspects of campaigns. 
B)  focus on policy rather than scandal. 
C)  repetitious scrutiny of government actions. 
D)  extensive coverage of foreign affairs. 
E)  inability to criticize government officials.

Question 18

Which of the following is most likely to be the original source of a national news story printed in a small town newspaper?

Accepted Answer

A)  the newspaper's beat reporter 
B)  Newsweek 
C)  The Chicago Tribune 
D)  MSNBC 
E)  The Associated Press

Question 19

Media framing influences how people interpret political events.

Accepted Answer