Chapter 2: Convergence and the Reshaping of Mass Communication
Chapter 2: Convergence and the Reshaping of
Mass Communication
1. The simultaneous consumption of many different kinds of media is known as.
a. media multitasking.
b. multidimensional consumption.
c. synergy.
d. cross-platform interdiction.
2. The owndership of 90% of the media in the U.S. by only six companies is known as
a. concentration of media ownership.
b. globalization of media.
c. audience fragmentation.
d. erosion of distinctions among media.
3. The concentration of control of the media industries into ever-smaller numbers of companies is
a. synergy.
b. technological determinism.
c. ritual bonding.
d. oligopoly.
4. The ownership of several major U.S. media corporations by foreign companies is an example
of
a. concentration of media ownership.
b. globalization of media.
c. audience fragmentation.
d. erosion of distinctions among media.
5. Audiences for specific media content becoming smaller and more defined is known as
a. concentration of media ownership.
b. globalization of media.
c. audience fragmentation.
d. erosion of distinctions among media.
Baran: Introduction to Mass Communication: Media Literacy and Culture, 9e TB-2 | 2
© 2017 by McGraw-Hill Education. This is proprietary material solely for authorized instructor use. Not authorized for sale or
distribution in any manner. This document may not be copied, scanned, duplicated, forwarded, distributed, or posted on a website, in
whole or part.
6. The strategy of tailoring media content to specific audiences possessing characteristics of
interest to specific advertisers is
a. narrowcasting or niche marketing.
b. subgroup marketing.
c. synergy.
d. message concentration.
7. Groups of people, or audiences, bound by little more than an interest in a given form of media
content are
a. bounded cultures.
b. content subcultures.
c. synergy.
d. taste publics.
8. The availability of USA Today in the form ofa newspaper, an iPad app, and a webpage is an
example of
a. concentration of media ownership.
b. globalization of media.
c. audience fragmentation.
d. erosion of distinctions among media.
9. When a media company has content that it can use across a number of its different holdings,
this is
a. narrowcasting or niche marketing.
b. subgroup marketing.
c. synergy.
d. message concentration.
10. The means of delivering a specific piece of media content is referred to as a
a. medium.
b. subtechnology.
c. platform.
d. message carrier.
11. Electronic sell-through is
a. the decreased value ofa company’s stock.
b. the buying of digital download movies.
c. the simultaneous release of a movie in theaters, video on demand, and online.
d. a Web-only television show.
Baran: Introduction to Mass Communication: Media Literacy and Culture, 9e TB-2 | 3
whole or part.
12. The integration, for a fee, of specific branded products into media content is
a. narrowcasting.
b. in-content marketing.
c. product placement.
d. message corruption.
13. When brands are part of and essential to a piece of media content, proponents of this practice
say it isn’t a commercial, it is
a. niche marketing.
b. subgroup marketing.
c. synergy.
d. brand entertainment.
14. The explanation of how individuals make media and content choices based on expectation of
reward and effort required is the
a. fraction of selection.
b. media-use model.
c. synergy-to-effort equation.
d. cost-benefit ratio.
15. The fraction of selection theory was developed by
a. Harold Lasswell.
b. Wilbur Schramm.
c. James Carey.
d. Frank Lloyd Wright.
16. In the fraction of selection formula, the cost of a babysitter when you want to go to the movies
is part of the
a. expectation of reward.
b. reason not to go.
c. effort required.
d. benefit.
17. The ability to access any content, anytime, anywhere describes
a. narrowcasting.
b. subgroup marketing.
c. synergy.
d. consumption-on–demand.
18. Audiences consuming content at a time predetermined by the producer and distributor is
known as
a. niche programming.
b. schedule-making.
Chapter 2: Convergence and the Reshaping of Mass Communication
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whole or part.
c. media multitasking.
d. appointment consumption.
19. Software for mobile digital devices is called
a. a webisode.
b. Wi-Fi.
c. an app.
d. brand entertainment.
20. Increasing the amount of advertising and mixing commercial and noncommercial content is
known as
a. audience fragmentation
b. hypercommericalism.
c. convergence.
d. globalization.
21. The fact that people increasingly have no preference for where they access their media
content suggests that they are becoming
a. lazy.
b. content-neutral.
c. media literate.
d. platform agnostic.
22. Many cable channels—for example, Nickelodeon and A&E—prosper through their ability to
deliver demographically narrow audiences to advertisers.
23. Convergence refers to the collecting, or converging, of many media companies into a few
large corporations.
24. Supporters point to economies-of-scale in their defense of media concentration.
25. Despite what is happening to the other traditional forms of mass media, radio listenership,
especially among young people, continues to grow.
26. There has been a huge decrease in newsroom jobs.
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Baran: Introduction to Mass Communication: Media Literacy and Culture, 9e TB-2 | 5
whole or part.
27. The general decline in revenues for the traditional media can be traced to overall declines in
media consumption.
28. As a result of the changing process of mass communication, specifically, the Internet, the
audience has become the source in many instances.
29. How are the distinctions among traditional media being eroded?
30. What is a platform?
31. Can you describe recent changes in audience size for movies, recorded music, network
television, DVD, radio, newspapers, and videogames?
32. How would you describe contemporary levels of overall media consumption?
33. What is convergence?
34. What is media multitasking?
35. Differentiate between concentration of media ownership and conglomeration.
36. What is globalization?
37. What is hypercommercialism?
38. What is audience fragmentation?
Chapter 2: Convergence and the Reshaping of Mass Communication
Baran: Introduction to Mass Communication: Media Literacy and Culture, 9e TB-2 | 6
© 2017 by McGraw-Hill Education. This is proprietary material solely for authorized instructor use. Not authorized for sale or
distribution in any manner. This document may not be copied, scanned, duplicated, forwarded, distributed, or posted on a website, in
whole or part.
Answer: Answers will vary
Bloom’s level: Remember
39. What are economies of scale and oligopoly? How are they related?
40. What are product placement and branded content?
41. What elements are fueling today’s rampant media convergence?
42. Differentiate between appointment consumption and consumption–on-demand.
43. What are the five major trends currently reshaping the mass communication process? How
does each promise to do so?
44. What are the two major concerns of globalization’s critics? Do you feel that concern? Why or
why not?
45. Differentiate between notions of content producers, audiences, messages, and feedback in
the traditional view of the mass communication process and the more contemporary
understandings of these elements of the process.
46. Where NBC executive Bob Wright warns, “You can’t fight technology,” Advertising Age’s
Scott Donaton cautions, “A cell phone isn’t a TV.” What is the concern behind each
comment? Is one more correct than the other? With whom would you side in a debate, and
why?
47. Many industry insiders attribute the recent fall-off in audiences for movies, recorded music,
network television, DVD, radio, newspapers, and videogames to changes in technology;
people are finding new ways to access content. And while this is certainly true to a degree,
others say that in this age of concentrated and hypercommercialized media, audiences are
simply being turned off. Would you agree with the critics? Why? Can you give examples from
your own media consumption?
