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Table of Contents
Chapter 1 Mass Media Literacy …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….2
Chapter 2 Media Technology ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 16
Chapter 3 Media Economics ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 33
Chapter 4 Ink on Paper ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 49
Chapter 5 Sound Media ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 64
Chapter 6 Motion Media ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 80
Chapter 7 New Media Landscape ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 96
Chapter 8 News ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 112
Chapter 9 Entertainment ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 128
Chapter 10 Public Relations ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 144
Chapter 11 Advertising ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 160
Chapter 12 Mass Audiences …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 176
Chapter 13 Mass Media Effects ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 192
Chapter 14 Mass Media and Governance …………………………………………………………………………………………………… 209
Chapter 15 Mass Media Globalization …………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 225
Chapter 16 Media Law ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 241
Chapter 17 Ethics …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….…… 258
Chapter 1 Mass Media Literacy
Chapter 1 Mass Media Literacy
1.1 Multiple-Choice Questions
1) Media researchers at Ball State University found that people are intentionally involved in a
media activity for __________ percent of their waking hours.
A) 1
B) 10
C) 30
D) 60
2) Traditionally, mass communication is defined as the technology-assisted transmission of
messages to
A) print journalists.
B) interpersonal audiences.
C) mass audiences.
D) only niche audiences.
3) According to the research firm Nielsen, the medium that is used much more per day than other
media is
A) music.
B) magazines.
C) television.
D) newspapers.
4) Mass media have become so integrated into people’s lives that __________ is common.
A) mainstreaming
B) media multitasking
C) writing letters
D) niche casting
5) On most days, the most-listened-for item in morning newscasts is
A) sports.
B) consumer news.
C) crime news.
D) the weather.
6) Newspaper, radio, television and magazine companies cannot survive unless they
A) deliver an audience to advertisers.
B) provide the latest news.
C) offer low subscription rates.
D) serve the government.
7) The type of communication that occurs between two individuals, either by themselves or in a
small group is
A) mediated communication.
B) meta-communication.
C) interpersonal communication.
D) symbiotic communication.
8) An executive participating in a business meeting is engaged in
A) group communication.
B) industrial communication.
C) intrapersonal communication.
D) mediated communication.
9) In order for something to be categorized as group communication, the audience must
A) consist of more than 10 people.
B) not be able to provide immediate feedback.
C) bemore than one person and all be within earshot.
D) be a homogeneous group.
10) Mass communication involves sending a message to a great number of people
A) who have paid or otherwise prepared to receive the message.
B) who are together in the same location so they can receive the message.
C) who are in widely separated locations.
D) who have common interests that make them a viable target audience.
11) One characteristic that distinguishes mass communication from interpersonal and group
communication is the
A) content of the message.
B) lack of immediate feedback.
C) ability of the receiver of the message to understand it.
D) length of the message.
12) Which of the following social media traits is NOT shared with earlier, traditional mass media?
A) They reach millions of people in diverse locations.
B) They inform, persuade, amuse, and enlighten users.
C) They enable interactive dialogue among their users.
D) They bring in millions of dollars of revenue for their owners.
13) Unlike production for industrial media, the production of content for social media
A) requires specialized skills, equipment, and training.
B) is primarily done by paid professional staff members.
C) is highly complicated, time consuming, and expensive.
D) uses readily accessible and affordable software tools.
14) The mass media were almost entirely “word–centric” for hundreds of years until
A) libraries began using the Dewey Decimal System to categorize books.
B) it became technologically possible to duplicate and distribute images.
C) visual images became accepted as a form of communication as well as art.
D) motion pictures were invented and accepted as a mass medium.
15) The term “visual literacy,” which is now part of the broader concept of media literacy, became
popular with scholars
A) trying to explain the importance of prehistoric cave-paintings discovered in France.
B) around 1850 in response to the invention and development of photography.
C) about 1900 after motion pictures began to add movement to visual images.
D) in the 1960s when the education products coordinator for Kodak wrote about it.
16) Media literacy involves
A) having access to all forms of media.
B) knowledge about mass media and the application of critical thinking.
C) your financial stake in the media landscape.
D) the ability to read media textbooks.
17) Media literacy involves all of the following EXCEPT
A) not confusing messages and messengers.
B) understanding the limitations and possibilities of various media platforms.
C) having a clear framework for the history and traditions of media.
D) appropriately balancing the costs and benefits of various media messages.
18) If Jill walks through a mall and notices the background music playing through the loudspeakers,
she is demonstrating
A) intelligence.
B) a sophisticated shopping strategy.
C) media literacy.
D) in-depth knowledge of the music industry.
19) Most of our media exposure is
A) through the media products we purchase.
B) invisible or unnoticed at a conscious level.
C) through billboards.
D) expensive.
20) Someone who condemns a reporter for supporting a politician because she quotes that
politician in a news story
A) has effectively demonstrated their media literacy.
B) has subconsciously revealed that they support the politician.
C) has fallen into the error of judgment addressed in the cliché about shooting the messenger.
D) has not adequately considered the editor’s role in telling the reporter what to report.
21) One of the traditions of U.S. journalism implied in the Constitution is that the mass media
should report news and
A) be inexpensive enough for consumers to afford..
B) offer space so advertisers can reach their potential customers.
C) provide politicians with a venue to speak uncensored to the citizenry.
D) serve as a watchdog of government on behalf of the people.
22) One of the four purposeful functions of mass communication is to
A) inform.
B) initiate.
C) instigate.
D) irritate.
23) One of the four purposeful functions of mass communication is to
A) patronize.
B) persuade.
C) promote.
D)publicize.
24) One of the four purposeful functions of mass communication is to
A) amuse.
B) arouse.
C) assail.
D) assert.
25) One of the four purposeful functions of mass communication is to
A) encapsule.
B) energize.
C) enlighten.
D) envision.
26) The most visible form of information delivered by mass media is
A) personal opinion.
B) news.
C) advertising messages.
D) television listing.
27) The most obvious form of mass media intended to persuade is
A) advertising.
B) books.
C) newspapers.
D) television.
28) English thinker John Miltonadvocated exposure to competing ideas as the best way to discover
truth in a concept he termed the
A) information-persuasion dichotomy.
B) marketplace of ideas.
C) information revelation function.
D) media market.
29) Intense rivalry between most successful media companies to reach the largest possible
audience and beat out their competition
A) is as old as the mass media themselves and continues to drive the media today.
B) is no longer a part of the media environment as a result of the Internet.
C) intensified and later began to fade during the 20th century.
D) was an act staged by some unscrupulous media moguls to make more money.
30) President Franklin Roosevelt’s nationwide radio addresses rallying support for programs to
combat the Great Depression demonstrated the mass media’s ability to
A) give equal time to opposing political viewpoints.
B) unify the country by presenting common messages and shared experiences.
C) make a profit by presenting political messages.
D) combine information and entertainment.
31) Network television broadcasts became a nationwide societal unifier because
A) they attracted huge audiences who all watched the same cultural fare.
B) prime time viewing hours encouraged people to stay at home with their families.
C)TV sets were manufactured in the United States and their sale created an economic boom.
D) people could choose from a wide variety of different types of programming.
32) This national newspaper, launched in 1982, offered readers a “first–person” tone and enhanced
graphic features that set it apart from its competition.
A) The New York Times
B) The Wall Street Journal
C) USA Today
D) Newsday
33) Which of the following media was among the first to demassify in the 1950s?
A) television
B) radio
C) magazines
D) newspapers
34) Demassification has NOT contributed to the growth of
A) general-interest magazines.
B) alternative media for narrow genres in the mass audience.
C) cable television networks.
D) neighborhood and suburban weekly newspapers.
35) A termcoined in the 1980s to describe how the broadcast industry reaches niche audiences is
A) fringecasting.
B)fragcasting.
C) narrowcasting.
D) cablecasting.
Chapter 1 Mass Media Literacy
1.2 True/False Questions
1) Media literacy enables us to more effectively use the mass media for our own advantage and
avoid being conned by them.
2) Although we don’t always pay attention to them, we are exposed to media messages more than
two-thirds of our waking hours.
3) A study at Ball State University found that people intentionally spend 30 percent of their waking
hours with the media.
4) The mass media are the vehicles through which messages are disseminated to mass audiences.
5) Mass media have become so integrated into our lives that media multitasking is common.
6) Instant messaging and e-mail are two of the newest mass media to emerge as a result of
computer technology.
7) Technology makes it possible to draw clear distinctions between interpersonal communication
and mass communication.
8) People who use media, the industries that advertise in media and the companies built around
media have a symbiotic relationship.
9) Once technology is brought into a communication situation it can no longer be considered
interpersonal communication.
10) Feedback is defined as the response to a message.
11) Group communication involves an audience of more than one, all within earshot.
12) Mass communication would NOT have been possible WITHOUT the invention of technologies
such as the printing press, broadcast transmitters, and Internet servers.
13) Their ability to exchange user-generated content is one of the main reasons “social media”
became the common name for this 21st century form of communication.
14) Social media and mass communication are both mediated forms of communication.
15) Industrial media production can be successfully accomplished by almost anyone who has
access to an Internet-capable computer and basic software skills.
16) Visual literacy, a key part of media literacy, can be described as the ability “to read” still and
moving images.
17) “Film literacy” which deals with the conventions and techniques of motion media was already a
well–established term and area of study long before “visual literacy” came on the scene.
18) Most of our media exposure is invisible to us – or at least goes unnoticed – at a conscious level.
19) One measure of media literacy is awareness of the presence of media messages.
20) The better your media literacy skills, the better equipped you are to deal with a deluge of media
messages.
21) Media literacy is only concerned with how messages are received and perceived; media
production is concerned with how they are prepared and sent.
22) Realizing that a letter personally addressed to you with several references to your hometown
and school is part of a mass mailing and not a personal message demonstrates your media literacy.
23) Media literacy requires distinguishing between messages and the messenger.
24) Intelligent use of the mass media requires assessing the motivation for a message.
25) The different technologies on which media are shaped do NOT affect messages.
26) Media literacy emphasizes the importance of understanding tradition as a way of
understanding the media and thereby promotes many of the most popular media myths .
27) Researchers have consistently proven that video games directly cause violent crime.
28) The role of the media in China is much different than it is in the United States.
29) In the U.S., mass media have traditionally served as a watchdog on behalf of the people against
governmental misdeeds.
30) The most visible mass-delivered information is news.
31) Information comes in many forms besides news; even advertising offers information that helps
consumers make intelligent buying decisions.
32) The outcome of Cairo, Egypt’s Arab Spring in 2011 was heavily influenced by key protesters’
ability to apply their media literacy skills to a serious political problem.
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33) Cell phone communication was one of the primary tools used by organizers to successfully oust
Egypt’s ruler during the Arab Spring of 2011.
34) The role of persuasion is especially important in a democratic society.
35) Advertising is the only type of mass message that is persuasive.
36) Before mass media, people created their own diversion, entertainment and amusement.
37) Insights into the human condition that are presented by the mass media can be very important
in helping us figure out and better understand ourselves.
38) Mass media first came into existence in the late-1800s.
39) A far-reaching effect of mass media has been as a cultural unifier.
40) The mass media can help a society identify its values and establish a cultural identity.
41) As they did on 9/11, the mass media can help connect and bind people together during a crisis.
42 Media coverage of events like Arab Spring, the Asian tsunamis, Hurricane Katrina or even the
Super Bowl provide a shared cultural experience.
43) Regrettably, the mass media’s ability to unify and bind society only applies to negative
situations and times of pain, sorrow, and tragedy.
44) Thorough media coverage presented over time tends to bring about societal consensus even on
controversial issues.
Chapter 1 Mass Media Literacy
45) Over time, mass media contribute to the evolution of society’s view of what is considered
acceptable and what is unacceptable behavior .
46) The general trend among the mass media today is to seek the largest possible mass audience.
47) Demassification means that mass media are narrowing their audience focus.
48) Defragmentation is an alternate term for demassification of the mass media.
49) Narrowcasting, as opposed to broadcasting, is was a term coined to reflect how radio and
television are now seeking niche audiences.
50) Today’s demassification and media diversity contributes to less social cohesion than the mass
audiences and limited number of media choices enjoyed by previous generations.
1) The technology-assisted transmission of messages to mass audiences is known as __________.
2) Simultaneous exposure to messages from different media is called __________.
3) _______________ requires an audience of more than one, all within earshot.
4) __________ is communication between two individuals.
5) In mass communication, __________ are massive, eclectic, and heterogeneous.
6) A synonym sometimes used for __________ is “industrial communication” because it requires such
large-scale or industrial-sized technology.
7) The mass audience generally lacks the opportunity for immediate __________.
8) Compared to industrial media, __________ are less centralized and less hierarchical. They also
provide more points of origin for content.
9) Linguistic __________ means being competent in using spoken and written language.
10) Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art, a graphic reference book, has become a highly-
regarded explanation of __________ literacy for artists and their audiences.
11) _________ literacy does not just refer to motion pictures; it also applies to television, video, and
other motion media.
12) People who are __________ literate are aware of their media environment.
13) Media literate Americans recognize the traditional view thatthe news media should serve as a
___________ for the people to point out government misdeeds.
14) The most visible information delivered by mass media is __________.
15) The __________ of ideas is a concept that a robust exchange of ideas yields better consensus.
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16) The role of persuasion is especially important in a __________ society so that public policy can
emerge from meaningful public discussion.
17) A form of message intended to persuade people to buy a product is called __________.
18) The fragmentation of the mass audience into narrower segments is called __________.
19) __________ was the first of the mass media to begin demassification.
20) Radio had to seek fragmented audiences to survive economically because __________ was
“stealing” much of its audience and many of its biggest advertisers.
21) __________ is the term used by broadcast media to describe reaching for smaller, niche audiences.
1.4 Matching Questions
Please match the terms with their definitions.
1) Marketplace of Ideas
A) Seeking narrower audiences
2) Media literacy
B) Knowledge about mass media
3) Cultural identity
C) Sending of messages to many people
4) Mass communication
D) Free expression of competing ideas
5) Demassification
E) Shared experiences
Test Bank for Media of Mass Communication, 11/e
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Match each term in the left column with the most appropriate explanation in the right column.
1) Communication
A) Reading and writing skills
2) Group communication
B) Ability to analyze, understand, and prepare messages
3) Interpersonal communication
C) Sending messages to vast audiences
4) Mass communication
D) Focuses on the use and meaning of motion
5) Mediated communication
E) Competency with both spoken and written language
6) Literacy
G) Two-way dialogue, usually involving two individuals
7) Film literacy
H) Requires participants to be within earshot
8) Linguistic literacy
I) Dissemination or sharing of information or ideas
9) Media literacy
J) Technology-assisted transmission of messages
10) Visual literacy
K) Deciphers meaning from images
1.5 Essay Questions
1) Studies have shown Americans on average spend almost one-third of their waking hours actively
using the mass media and now depend on the mass media to help them live their lives. Estimate
how much time you devote to each of the major media in a typical week or month and discuss how
this compares to the current national averages. Also describe three ways in which you depend on
the mass media.
2) Is the Internet a form of mass communication or interpersonal communication? Provide two
detailed examples to support your position.
3) Define media literacy and discuss three ways consumers can become more media literate.
Page Ref: 10, 12-14, Topic: Assessing Media Messages
4) Nicholas Carr, a widely published technical writer, is concerned that “The Internet has been
chipping away at his capacity for concentration and contemplation” and has reduced his ability to
do “deep reading.” Discuss how and why Carr’s concerns may relate to Novelist Philip Roth’s fear
that the novel has become a dying art form and may cease to exist.
5) The mass media can inform, persuade, entertain, and enlighten individual consumers. Rank these
four functions in terms of their relative importance to you, personally. Explain your rankings by
citing a specific example of how you have recently used the media for each of these purposes.
6) In additional to the functions they serve for individual consumers, the mass media act as a
cultural unifying influence at the societal level. Describe three recent examples that illustrate how
and why the actions or content of the mass media can help bind a society together.
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7) Describe the role mass media have played in resolving or exacerbating a contentious,
contemporary issue facing the United States and explain how they have hindered or aided us in
reaching community consensus. Cite specific examples of media actions to support your position.
8) Describe demassification and explain the circumstances that have brought it about. Do you
foresee further demassification occurring as a result of further technological advances? Cite
examples that support your outlook.