1. The word ethics derives from the Greek word ethos, which means:
a. truth above all else.
b. traditions that govern a culture.
c. fairness to all humans.
d. respect for the rights of others.
ANSWER: b
REFERENCES: Ethics Define Responsibilities
2. Which ethical question is raised by a reporter who misrepresents the facts or creates false
stories and attributes them to others?
a. fairness
b. bias
c. truthfulness
d. responsibility
ANSWER: c
REFERENCES: Ethics Define Responsibilities
3. New York Times reporter Zachery Kouwe was suspended because he:
a. plagiarized portions of an article he wrote for The Times from an article by a Wall Street
Journal reporter.
b. created a composite character for a news story.
c. relied on insider friendships.
d. was caught in a conflict of interest.
ANSWER: a
REFERENCES: Media Organizations Respond to Criticism
4. When reporters go on free trips and/or are given free passes to entertainment events, it
could result in:
a. checkbook journalism.
b. misrepresentation.
c. conflict of interest.
d. distortion.
ANSWER: c
REFERENCES: Fairness Means Evenhandedness
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Chapter 15 Mass Media Ethics
5. The media faces all of these ethical issues except:
a. fairness.
b. truthfulness.
c. responsibility.
d. All of these are ethical issues faced by the media.
ANSWER: d
REFERENCES: Ethics Define Responsibilities
6. Making decisions based on principles that you want to be universally applied is an
example of:
a. Kant’scategoricalimperative.
b. Aristotle’sgoldenmean.
c. JohnStuartMill’sprincipleofutility.
d. Fromm’streatiseonloveandmutualrespect.
ANSWER: a
REFERENCES: Five Philosophical Principles Govern Media Ethics
7. The journalistic concept of fairness is reflected in:
a. Kant’scategoricalimperative.
b. Fromm’streatiseonloveandmutualrespect.
c. Aristotle’sgoldenmean.
d. Mill’sprincipleofutility.
ANSWER: c
REFERENCES: Five Philosophical Principles Govern Media Ethics
8. WhichofthefollowingbestdescribesRawls’veilofignorance?
a. Be gentle and kind with those less fortunate and intelligent.
b. Love your neighbor as yourself.
c. Moral virtue is the appropriate location between two extremes.
d. Justice emerges when negotiating without social differentiation.
ANSWER: d
REFERENCES: Five Philosophical Principles Govern Media Ethics
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Chapter 15 Mass Media Ethics
9. Codes of ethics established by professional and industry groups:
a. have the force of law, and violators can be prosecuted.
b. are voluntary and carry no penalties.
c. must be approved by regulatory bodies, such as the FTC and FCC.
d. have the force of law, but are rarely enforced.
ANSWER: b
REFERENCES: Media’sEthicalDecisionsCarryConsequences
10. In most cases, a reporter who makes an ethical mistake:
a. will be fined by his/her news organization.
b. will be forced to pay damages.
c. could be sued for libel or invasion of privacy.
d. will not face a lawsuit.
ANSWER: d
REFERENCES: Media’sEthicalDecisionsCarryConsequences
11. Areaders’representative(ombudsperson):
a. is always the editor of the paper.
b. is never responsible for the correction box in the paper.
c. acts as a go-between from the public to the newsroom.
d. is hired by the public to oversee local news operations.
ANSWER: c
REFERENCES: Media Organizations Respond to Criticism
12. Which of the following is an example of unethical journalistic behavior?
a. JaysonBlair’sfabricatedstories
b. astockcolumnist’sprovidingadvanceinformationtofriends
c. JoeScarborough’sdonationtoapoliticalcandidate
d. All of these answers are correct.
ANSWER: d
REFERENCES: Truthfulness Affects Credibility
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13. A news council:
a. reviews complaints from the public and has the authority to file civil suits against offending
news organizations.
b. has ultimate enforcement power over media.
c. revealsthemedia’smistakestothepublic.
d. reviews complaints from the public and reports its findings to the offending news organization.
ANSWER: d
REFERENCES: Media Organizations Respond to Criticism
14. Which of the following ethical breaches was not involved in the case of Jayson Blair and
The New York Times?
a. plagiarized material from other news sources
b. concocted scenes
c. checkbook journalism
d. fabricated comments and quotes
ANSWER: c
REFERENCES: Truthfulness Affects Credibility
15. Situational ethics, often applied by journalists to their reporting, may at any time involve
which of the following philosophical principles?
a. Aristotle’sgoldenmean
b. Mill’sprincipleofutility
c. Judeo-Christian view of persons as ends in themselves
d. any combination of these answers
ANSWER: d
REFERENCES: Five Philosophical Principles Govern Media Ethics
16. When Washington Post Publisher Katharine Weymouth offered sponsorships to lobbyists
tounderwriteanexclusive“salon”atherhome,whichethicalprinciplewasbreached?
a. truthfulness
b. fairness
c. responsibility
d. conflict of interest
ANSWER: d
REFERENCES: Fairness Means Evenhandedness
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17. Whichofthefollowingisanexampleof“checkbookjournalism”?
a. WaltDisneyWorld’spayingexpensesforjournalistsattendingaDisneyevent
b. Reporters who paid neighbors of Jaycee Lee Dugard for information about her alleged
kidnappers Phillip and Nancy Garrido
c. CNN’sreportersblendinginwithFishandWildlifeagentsduringaraidonaranchinMontana
d. Payment by a public relations firm to syndicated columnist Armstrong Williams to promote No
Child Left Behind legislation to African-Americans
ANSWER: b
REFERENCES: Fairness Means Evenhandedness
18. WhichofthefollowingactivitiesrunscountertotheSocietyofProfessionalJournalists’
ethicalguidelineto“actindependently”?
a. Afreelancephotojournalist’srammingthecarofactressLindsayLohaninordertoget
photographs of her reaction.
b. Washington Post reporterJanetCooke’sadmittedfabricationofan8yearoldheroinaddict
from a composite of several children she had interviewed.
c. CNN’sreportersblendinginwithFishandWildlifeagentsduringaraidonaranchinMontana
d. The Des Moines Register’sdisclosureofrapevictimNancyZiegenmeyer’snamewith
Ziegenmeyer’svoluntarycooperation.
ANSWER: c
REFERENCES: Professional Associations Proscribe Behavior
19. An example of misrepresentation is:
a. thepromotionofBush’sNoChildLeftBehindActbycolumnistArmstrongWilliams.
b. the Las Vegas SunrevealingLiberace’sstrugglewithAIDSweeksbeforehisdeath.
c. JamesFrey’sA Million Little Pieces.
d. theprintingofrapevictimNancyZiegenmeyer’snameinThe Des Moines Register.
ANSWER: c
REFERENCES: Truthfulness Affects Credibility
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20. AccordingtotheImpact/Globalbox,“FakeSheikhMazherMahmood:25Criminal
ConvictionsLinkedtoUndercoverReportertoBeReexamined,”whywasMahmood
suspended by the Sun in 2014?
a. There was strong evidence that he had manipulated evidence in several criminal cases.
b. He plagiarized several news stories.
c. He accepted gifts for favorable news coverage.
d. None of these are true.
ANSWER: a
REFERENCES: Truthfulness Affects Credibility
21. AccordingtotheImpact/Profilebox,“CitingBenAffleck’s’ImproperInfluence’PBS
SuspendsFindingYourRoots,”whywastheshowpostponed?
a. It was discovered that actor Ben Affleck paid media outlets to promote the show.
b. Actor Ben Affleck leaked sensitive information about the show to reporters.
c. Producers, under pressure from the actor, omitted details about a slave-owning ancestor of
Ben Affleck.
d. None of these things are true.
ANSWER: c
REFERENCES: Fairness Means Evenhandedness
22. AccordingtotheImpact/Societybox,“ReactiontoUberTacticsHighlightsJournalists’
FineLineBetweenCriticandBooster,”whatdidSarahLacydoafteranUberexecutive
considered investigating her private life?​
a. ​She wrote a negative article about the company in Time magazine.
b. ​She spoke negatively about the company on a podcast.
c. ​She spoke negatively about the company during a television report.
d. ​None of these things are true.
ANSWER: b
REFERENCES: Five Philosophical Principles Govern Media Ethics
23. ​ABCchiefanchorGeorgeStephanopoulos’relationshipwithformerPresidentBillClinton
is an example of what?
a. ​An insider friendship
b. ​Checkbook journalism
c. ​An invasion of privacy
d. ​None of these answers are correct.
ANSWER: a
REFERENCES: Fairness Means Evenhandedness
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24. WhatwasHulkHogan’sclaimagainstGawkerMedia?​
a. ​The website was guilty of libel for reporting untrue and damaging information about him.
b. ​The website had published audio taken from an illegal wiretap.
c. ​A video posted on the website was an invasion of privacy.
d. ​None of these answers are correct.
ANSWER: c
REFERENCES: Privacy Involves Respect
25. Why did New Yorker writer Jonah Lehrer resign in 2012?​
a. ​It was discovered that he fabricated quotes for a book.
b. ​He was caught in a conflict of interest.
c. ​Editors discovered that large chunks of his stories plagiarized information from other
publications.
d. ​None of these answers are correct.
ANSWER: a
REFERENCES: Truthfulness Affects Credibility
26. The ethics code of the Public Relations Society of America allows its members to
communicate false or misleading information, so long as no one is hurt.
a. True
b. False
ANSWER: False
REFERENCES: Professional Associations Proscribe Behavior
27. The National News Council was disbanded in 1984, and there are currently two local news
councils remaining in the U.S.
a. True
b. False
ANSWER: True
REFERENCES: Media Organizations Respond to Criticism
28. Whennewspapersdon’thavereaders’representatives,theeditorusuallyhandles
complaints.
a. True
b. False
ANSWER: True
REFERENCES: Media Organizations Respond to Criticism
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29. All U.S. media organizations are required to comply with ethical standards adopted by the
Society of Professional Journalists.
a. True
b. False
ANSWER: False
REFERENCES: Media Organizations Respond to Criticism
30. Immanuel Kant said that people should make decisions based on principles that they want
to be universally applied.
a. True
b. False
ANSWER: True
REFERENCES: Five Philosophical Principles Govern Media Ethics
31. JohnStuartMill’sprincipleofutilitysupportsanegalitariansocietythataskseveryoneto
work from a sense of basic respect for each other.
a. True
b. False
ANSWER: False
REFERENCES: Five Philosophical Principles Govern Media Ethics
32. According to the Radio-Television Digital News Association, electronic journalists do not
have the same responsibility to the public as print and broadcast journalists do.
a. True
b. False
ANSWER: False
REFERENCES: Five Philosophical Principles Govern Media Ethics
33. A paid interviewee has no incentive to sensationalize information.
a. True
b. False
ANSWER: False
REFERENCES: Fairness Means Evenhandedness
34. “Situationalethics”meansthatjournalistsweigheachcircumstanceindividuallybecause
each situation calls for unique decisions.
a. True
b. False
ANSWER: True
REFERENCES: Five Philosophical Principles Govern Media Ethics
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35. Broadcast commentators such as Keith Olbermann who contribute to political candidates
typicallyaren’tsubjecttothesameethicalcriteriaasnewspaperreporters.
a. True
b. False
ANSWER: False
REFERENCES: Fairness Means Evenhandedness
36. Describe the ethical dilemma facing a reporter who learns a public figure is suffering from
AIDS.
ANSWER: Answersmayvary.​
REFERENCES: Privacy Involves Respect
37. Describe the breach of journalistic ethics known as misrepresentation of facts, using the
example of Jayson Blair.
ANSWER: Answersmayvary.​
REFERENCES: Truthfulness Affects Credibility
38. Howeffectivehastheuseofnewscouncils,readers’representativesandcorrection
boxes been in overcoming ethical abuses and erroneous reporting?
ANSWER: Answersmayvary.​
REFERENCES: Media Organizations Respond to Criticism
39. Name and explain four different types or categories of ethical issues faced by media and
journalists.
ANSWER: Answersmayvary.​
REFERENCES: Ethics Define Responsibilities
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Chapter 15 Mass Media Ethics