Test Bank for Media of Mass Communication, 11/e
6) The studio system can also be called the star system.
7) Adolph Zukor established the movie business as we know it.
8) Movie studios that controlled the whole process from conception to production to showing films
in studio-owned theaters were engaged in practicing the studio system. .
9) The Paramount decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in 1948 forced movie studios to give up their
theaters.
10) The mindsets of executives in early television and motion pictures were so similar that an
eventual melding of the industries was inevitable.
11) The regulatory mechanism created by Congress for television in the 1930s resulted in a three–
tier system – local, networks and corporate affiliates.
12) Roone Arledge created Fox and made it the fourth major network.
13) In the 1960s, FCC Chairman Newton Minnow lauded television as a “vast wonderland” of
entertainment programming.
14) Congress set up the Corporation for Public Broadcasting to develop a national system of
noncommercial broadcasting.
15) Television signals ricochet off the upper atmosphere and follow the curvature of the earth.
16) Cable television systems were first created to bring television to remote areas.
17) HBO was the first cable network using satellites to deliver programming.
18) Less than 75 percent of households have access to cable.
19) Despite its growing popularity, satellite-direct delivery of televisions signals still has only two
competing companies as providers.
20) Although satellite-direct television lags behind cable in terms of subscribers, there are now
more people watching television via satellite than watching terrestrial television over the air .
21) The traditional components of the movie industry are production, distribution and promotion.
22) Production is the creative heart of the movie industry.
23) Distribution, the second major component in the motion picture industry, is responsible for
getting the finished film from the production studio to the theaters and other end-users.
24) Movie attendance peaked in 1952.
25) Hollywood is dominated by four movie studios.
26) Columbia is NOT one of the Big Six.
27) The history of independent movie studios is that, once successful, they are acquired by a major
studio.
28) Narrative film is another term for documentary.
29) “Talkies” is a term used to describe a movie that emphasizes dialogue in the script.
30) Gone with the Wind was the first feature movie in color.
31) Computer-generated imagery was introduced to movies in the 1960s.
32) Steamboat Willie was an animated character who later morphed into Felix the Cat.
33) Toy Story was the first movie produced entirely by computers.
34) Robert Flaherty who is considered the first documentary filmmaker produced a 1922 look at
Eskimo life.
35) Director Steven Spielberg tried to get admitted to the University of Southern California film
program and failed three times.
36)Unlike many early television series that were adapted from successful radio shows, I Love Lucy
was originally created for television.
37) In the early years of television, prime-time was dominated by variety performance shows.
38) Reality shows didn’t become a regular part of the television programming mix until Survivor
debuted in 2000.
39) Programs like Today on NBC are considered news-entertainment hybrids.
40) “Docu–ganda” which combines documentary and propaganda is a somewhat negative term
critics have used for the work of documentary-makers who take stands or slant their programs.
41) Michael Moore spurred public debate on global warming with his documentary An Inconvenient
Truth.
42) Michael Moore is best known for his point–of-view documentaries.
43) Point-of-view documentaries require viewers to have a high level of media literacy because
competing viewpoints are not always presented.
44) Webisodes are full-length sitcoms delivered on the Web.
45) Before World War II downtown theaters in big cities were often called “movie palaces” because
they were so opulent, plush, and lavishly decorated.
46) In the outlying neighborhoods of big cities and in small towns movie theaters were neither as
big nor as fancy as the downtown movie palaces.
47) Although the term hadn’t yet come into use, D.W. Griffith’s Birth of a Nation that debuted in
1915 was a “blockbuster” by the standards of that time.
48) Dialogue is often kept to a minimum in B-movies so they will be more easily adaptable for
distribution to non-English-speaking audiences overseas.
49) TiVo allows viewers to time shift.
50) Advertisers eagerly welcomed video recorders because they allow viewers to watch their
commercials many times.
51) VOD, or video on demand, has resulted in television networks providing content for portable
devices.
52) Fearing the market for DVD-delivery of movies had peaked, Netflix tried to shift its business
model to online streaming of movies but had to backdown due to negative customer reactions.
53) Television’s economic infrastructure is fracturing because advertisers now have so many other
options available for making visual and motion-based appeals to consumers.
54) Video-on-demand, the Internet, and the proliferation of mobile devices which can all carry
television programming continues to make television’s mass audience even larger.
55) Television is experiencing democratization as power and control of content shifts from network
programmers to individual viewers surfing the Web and using video-on-demand technologies.
6.3 Short Answer Questions
1) Much of the success of __________ is due to his audience research, personally talking with the
audiences of his plays, which showed him that a large and underserved market is waiting for
middle-class comedies aimed at African-American audiences.
2) The best description of the mutually beneficial cooperation that exists between television and
the movie industry today is __________ .
3) The business practice in which actors are made into celebrities to increase the size of movie
audiences is called the __________ . .
4) __________ is a rental agreement that requires movie theaters to accept a batch of movies which
may include lower-quality ones they don’t want.
5) __________, the man who developed the star system, brought mass production to movie-making.
6) Famous Players was the original name of the studio that became __________.
7) The early network television industry was modeled after network radio which was based in –
__________ while the movie industry centered around Hollywood.
8) The infrastructure of U.S. television as it developed was a __________ system.
9) Once the Fox Television Network had been established, the major television networks were
referred to as the __________.
10) Public television is an alternative to __________.
11) The acronym “CATV” which stood for __________ was applied to the earliest cable systems that
were designed to serve small towns beyond the reach of over-the-air television signals.
12) The first television programming that was sent to local cable systems via satellite was __________.
13) Atlanta television station owner Ted Turner used satellite technology to deliver programming
from his local station known as __________ to cable systems nationwide.
14) The person who created CNN, the first 24/7 cable news network, was __________ .
15) __________ is the largest satcom operator.
16) The traditional components of the movie industry are production, distribution and __________.
17) The production component of the movie industry is now dominated by __________ major studios.
18) Disney’s first full-length, animated feature film was __________.
19) Founded in 1912, __________ which is the oldest of the major movie studios has been part of the
Viacom media empire for almost 20 years.
20) The first successful independent production company was __________ which was formed by three
Hollywood stars and a great director who broke away from the studio system in 1919 seeking
creative control of their own movies.
21) Dreamworks began as a(n) __________ studio before being purchased by Paramount in 2005.
22) A movie that tells a story is called a __________ film.
23) The Jazz Singer was the first movie to feature __________.
24) Movies such as Star Wars, The Abyss, and Avatar successfully used __________ to produce special
effects for amazing scenes.
25) Films like The Blair Witch Project which are independently made with a small budget for
showing at film festivals are called __________.
26) Cowboy westerns, detective shows, medical shows, space operas, and family dramas are a few
sub-categories within the broad television genre of __________.
27) The FCC’s __________ required factual broadcast presentations such as documentaries to include
both sides of controversial issues.
28) __________ is a new term for “documentaries” which are intended to persuade and influence
audiences. Fahrenheit 9/11 and Sir! No Sir! are two examples.
29) Four-minute video programs on the web are called __________.
30) A movie house that has several exhibition halls and screens is called a __________.
31) Using technology to watch television programs at the times you want to see them instead of
letting a network programmer dictate when you can watch is called __________.
32) Movies that are filmed, edited, distributed and exhibited digitally are called ____________.
33) Historically, television consolidated audiences from other media into a truly mass audience, but
now its audience is __________ as new options for receiving motion media continue to arise.
Test Bank for Media of Mass Communication, 11/e
6.4 Matching Questions
Match each media outlet or product on the left with its best description from the right column.
1) Universal
A) First feature film with sound
2) I Love Lucy
B) Example of movie-television synergy
3) The Jazz Singer
C) Joint project of five studios
4) The Black Pirate
D) Satellite programming for cable television operators
5) CNN
E) Part of the Comcast conglomerate
6) Paramount
F) Applied movie production techniques to TV
7) Movie of the Week
G) First feature film in color
8) HBO
H) Leading satcom operator
9) DirecTV
I) Bought Dreamworks from Spielberg and his partners
10) The Help
J) Initially funded by profits from superstation WTBS
Page Ref: 161 -196
Match each concept/entity on the left with its best explanation or impact from the right column.
1) Block booking
A) Broke up a perceived media monopoly
2) Suspension of disbelief
B) Expanded broadcast licensing
3) Paramount decision
C) Fueled by cable, the Internet, and VOD
4) Vast wasteland
D) Would have restricted docu-ganda
5) Docu-ganda
E) Movie distribution strategy
6) Star system
F) Enhances the impact of movie-viewing
7) Federal Communications Act of 1934
G) Point of view of Newton Minnow
8) Fairness Doctrine
H) Creates serious concern among advertisers
9) Time shifting
I) Originated by Paramount
10) Audience fragmentation
6.5 Essay Questions
1) Describe how the relationship between Hollywood movie studios and the television industry has
evolved from bitter rivalry to profitable synergy. Cite at least two examples of productions that
eased and encouraged this transition.
2) Discuss the textbook’s assertion that the three different television delivery systems – terrestrial
or over-the-air, cable, and satellite-direct – can each be considered a separate industry. Explain why
the author said this and why you agree or disagree him.
3) Briefly explain what an independent producer or studio is in the context of the movie industry
and cite four examples of successful independents or four films that were produced by
4) Explain the differences between narrative films and documentaries whether they are shown in
theaters or on television. Beyond any differences in content and production style, how do they
compare in terms of audience appeal and profitability. Cite at least three successful examples of
each. (These can be theatrical movies or television shows.)
5) Describe the primary characteristics of a documentary, and then discuss the ways traditional
documentaries differ from the newer approach, sometimes called “docu–ganda,” used by producers
like Michael Moore and David Zieger. .
6) Because blockbuster movies are so financially risky, movie companies try to balance that risk
and generate revenue in other ways. Discuss three of the strategies used by the movie industry to
bring in revenue from non-blockbuster sources.
7) Explain the concepts of “time shifting” and “space shifting,” citing two examples of each and
explaining the impact of these practices on the television and advertising industries.