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Answer Key
1. A
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45. B
1. The first newspaper produced in North America was Publick Occurrences, Both Foreign
and Domestick.
A) True
B) False
2. By the late 1820s, the average newspaper cost eighteen cents per copy.
A) True
B) False
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3. Yellow journalism in the 1890s was the origin of objective journalism in the twentieth
century.
A) True
B) False
4. The term yellow journalism originated from a New York newspaper in the late
nineteenth century that was printed on yellow-toned paper stock.
A) True
B) False
5. President Theodore Roosevelt coined the term yellow journalism.
A) True
B) False
6. Joseph Pulitzer’s New York World sent star reporter Nellie Bly around the world in
seventy-two days to beat the fictional “record” set in the popular Jules Verne novel Around the
World in Eighty Days.
A) True
B) False
7. The New York Journal used the motto “It does not soil the breakfast cloth.”
A) True
B) False
8. Journalism is a scientific and objective method of communication.
A) True
B) False
9. The inverted-pyramid news story form is most commonly used with longer feature
stories. A) True
B) False
10. History suggests that objective reporting grew out of an opportunity to mass-market
news that would not offend particular groups.
A) True
B) False
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11. Literary journalism uses the devices of fiction to construct a portrait of the real world
using nonfictional material.
A) True
B) False
12. Online news has helped speed up the news cycle.
A) True
B) False
13. According to the textbook, most small nondaily papers in the United States are
consensus oriented rather than conflict oriented.
A) True
B) False
14. Frederick Douglass’s North Star was an antislavery paper published by a former slave.
A) True
B) False
15. Starting around 2005, large newspaper chains responded to the decline in newspaper
circulation by buying up more newspapers and increasing newsroom staff.
A) True
B) False
16. Many newspaper editors report that more people read print and digital editions of their
papers today than at any time in history.
A) True
B) False
17. Online newspaper stories have to be briefer and more streamlined than the print version.
A) True
B) False
18. Of all our mass media institutions, newspapers have played the leading role in sustaining
democracy.
A) True
B) False
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19. Compared with World War II and Vietnam, the war in Iraq has been a safe haven for
reporters and other media workers.
A) True
B) False
20. Penny press newspapers such as the New York Sun ______.
A) favored human-interest stories
B) relied on subsidies from political parties
C) catered to upper-class readers
D) were sold exclusively by subscription
E) kept newspapers mostly focused on upper-class sections of society
21. Which of the following eras of journalism best represents the historical arrival of
newspapers as a mass medium?
A) Penny press
B) Partisan press
C) Literary journalism
D) Interpretive reporting
E) None of the options are correct.
22. Yellow journalism is ______.
A) a journalism term from the 1950s for small-town papers and reporting styles
B) a journalism term for federally funded newspaper archives in the 1960s and 1970s
C) a journalism trend that began in the late 1800s stressing profit and featuring
human-interest stories, crime news, and large headlines
D) a 1980s industry term for PR-generated stories
E) journalism written by journalists afraid to challenge public or political leaders
23. The modern legacy of the style of journalism practiced by Joseph Pulitzer and William
Randolph Hearst includes ______.
A) investigative journalism and tabloid headlines
B) striving for objectivity in reporting
C) penny papers
D) literary Journalism
E) None of the options are correct.
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24. The two significant features of yellow journalism were an emphasis on crime and
disasters and ______.
A) an emphasis on objectivity
B) an emphasis on cooking tips
C) crusading for the common people
D) an emphasis on color photos
E) None of the options are correct.
25. By the end of the nineteenth century, crusading newspapers like the New York World had
what kind of approach to women’s rights?
A) They were against them.
B) They championed conservative values and the status quo.
C) They hired women as reporters and crusaded for better conditions for women.
D) They hired mostly women for management positions.
E) None of the options are correct.
26. The two publishers most associated with yellow journalism in the late 1800s were
______.
A) Penn and Teller
B) Pulitzer and Hearst
C) Ochs and Pulitzer
D) Hearst and Zukor
E) Rowan and Martin
27. Who reportedly said, “The modern editor of the popular journal does not care for facts.
The editor wants novelty”?
A) Frederick Douglass
B) Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes
C) Joseph Pulitzer
D) William Randolph Hearst
E) None of the options are correct.
28. Modern journalism started to develop in the nineteenth century mainly because
newspapers ______.
A) felt a social responsibility to tell the truth
B) realized there were two sides to every issue
C) discovered a scientific method for covering events
D) wanted to attract as many readers and advertisers as possible
E) All of the options are correct.
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29. Select the correct historical order among the following major eras in journalism history.
A) Partisan journalism — penny press — yellow journalism — objective news
B) Penny press — partisan journalism — objective news — yellow press
C) Partisan journalism — objective news — penny press — yellow press
D) Yellow press — penny press — partisan journalism — objective news
E) Objective news — penny press — partisan journalism — yellow press
30. Which of the following is the publication most closely associated with the rise of modern
journalism?
A) Time
B) USA Today
C) The Village Voice
D) The New York World
E) The New York Times
31. Objective journalism as championed by Adolph Ochs and the New York Times was
particularly good at ______.
A) helping readers understand the complexities of the modern age by offering
insightful analysis and context
B) moving the practice of journalism out of the realm of sensationalism
C) exploring journalism’s ties to storytelling by adopting a more literary model
D) appealing to working-class readers
E) All of the options are correct.
32. In 2015, which digital newspaper had the most digital traffic?
A) USAToday.com
B) NYTimes.com
C) Daily Mail.co.uk
D) WashingtonPost.com
E) LATimes.com.
33. What point was the newspaper motto “It does not soil the breakfast cloth” trying to
make? A) The paper had developed special ink that wouldn’t smudge.
B) Paper carriers were instructed to avoid throwing the morning paper in mud puddles.
C) It was going to focus on sensational and even manufactured stories.
D) It would be an evening edition paper, and so would be read after supper.
E) Its news stories would be less sensational and more matter-of-fact.
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34. Which of the following statements about the inverted pyramid style is true?
A) A story using this style typically begins with answering “who, what, when, and
where.”
B) It serves as a quick and efficient way to organize a news story.
C) It strives for a form of “objectivity” that is more likely to be accepted by people
with different backgrounds and beliefs.
D) It can lead to formulaic stories.
E) All of the options are correct.
35. What spawned the rise of interpretive journalism in the 1930s and 1940s?
A) The success of the New York Times
B) Journalists’ desire to do more creative reporting
C) The world’s increasing complexity
D) The expensive nature of objective reporting
E) None of the options are correct.
36. The practice of interpretive journalism in the twentieth century got its first significant
boost from ______.
A) print journalism, which then passed the practice along to radio
B) radio broadcasters who started developing commentary as part of their news in the
1930s
C) the introduction of television
D) a push for probing analysis in print journalism in the 1920s and 1930s
E) None of the options are correct.
37. What makes literary journalism different from early-twentieth-century models of
“objective” journalism?
A) Literary journalism focused on a “just the facts” approach, cutting out the extra
descriptive details found in objective journalism.
B) Literary journalism applied fiction writing techniques to nonfiction material, instead
of being purely informational as in objective journalism.
C) Literary journalism focused only on gossip while objective journalism focused only
on news.
D) Literary journalism believed in reporting on both sides of an argument, whereas
objective journalism focused only on one opinion.
E) None of the options are correct.
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38. According to the textbook, which of the following has been a critique of the idea of
journalistic objectivity?
A) Journalists use too much flair in their stories, obscuring the important details.
B) Objective journalism fuels unhealthy competition between journalists to see who
can get the story first.
C) It isn’t possible to have genuine journalistic impartiality, and many reporters have
become too uncritical of people with power.
D) It’s too difficult to tell the journalist’s thoughts apart from the thoughts of the subject
of the story.
E) None of the options are correct.
39. Which of the following is not a way in which convergence with the Internet (online
journalism) is redefining how newspapers operate?
A) More and more readers go online for news rather than subscribing to a traditional
paper.
B) Online news is speeding up the news cycle, with constant publishing pressure rather
than a daily deadline.
C) Bloggers can have great influence on the news that is covered by traditional
newspaper operations.
D) Newspapers are developing Web sites and other online services.
E) Traditional newspaper reporters and editors are fully embracing their online
responsibilities.
40. Besides providing community calendars and meeting notices, ______ newspapers mostly
carry articles on local schools, social events, town government, property crimes, and zoning
issues. A) underground
B) alternative
C) conflict-oriented
D) postmodern
E) consensus-oriented
41. Which of the following are specific groups of readers targeted by specialized
newspapers?
A) African Americans
B) Asian Americans
C) Native Americans
D) Hispanics
E) All of the options are correct.
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42. The newshole ______.
A) is news content (not space used by ads) that takes up about 35 to 50 percent of the
space in a typical metropolitan daily newspaper
B) refers to those parts of the public agenda that are ignored by news media
C) refers to a story that is somewhat incomplete but printed anyway
D) is a form of yellow journalism
E) refers to the space for advertising left over after the news content goes into the
paper
43. General assignment reporters ______.
A) are assigned to particular beats or topics
B) are sometimes referred to as specialty reporters
C) are sometimes referred to as bureau reporters
D) handle all sorts of stories that might “break” in a day
E) All of the options are correct.
44. Bureau reporters ______.
A) manage the columnists who deal with particular aspects of culture
B) typically file reports from major cities other than where their paper is located
C) work mainly on online stories
D) manage a newspaper’s daily operations
E) None of the options are correct.
45. The textbook suggests that closing newspaper bureau offices ______.
A) means a better, more detailed, and more diverse view of news events for consumers
B) means fewer stories and fewer versions of stories about important issues and events
C) means newspapers are hiring more reporters to staff their central news offices
D) means newspapers are cutting their arts or culture sections
E) None of the options are correct.
46. Which of the following is not true about large newspaper chains today?
A) They are adding more people to their newsroom staffs.
B) They are often suffering financially because of huge debt and falling income.
C) They are selling off individual papers.
D) They are losing talented, award-winning journalists and editors.
E) All of the options are correct.
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47. The business arrangement in the newspaper industry in which two separately owned
papers in the same city are permitted to combine their business and production operations is
called a ______.
A) consensus operation (CO)
B) multiple-system operation (MSO)
C) duopoly
D) joint operating agreement (JOA)
E) oligopoly
48. Which of the following is generally considered the biggest threat to the future of
newspapers?
A) Yellow journalism
B) Competition from radio and TV
C) Declining readership, especially among younger people
D) The rising cost of paper
E) Public concern over corporate ownership
49. Daily newspaper circulation numbers ______.
A) have declined but these declines show some signs of being offset by increases in
online readership
B) continue to grow in terms of actual paper subscriptions in the United States
C) continue to decline in places like Asia, Africa, and South America
D) continue to grow, but newspapers are still operating in the red
E) All of the options are correct.
50. Which of the following developments has contributed to the overall decline in
newspaper readership over most of the last century?
A) Increase in the number of working women
B) The availability of newspapers on the Internet
C) Competition from television
D) Greater competition from suburban weeklies
E) All of the options are correct.
51. According to the textbook, some print journalism observers think one piece of good
news for the industry is ______.
A) small papers that focus on local news and ads retain a loyal reader base
B) large corporate chains have numerous divisions to spread costs across
C) college graduates entering the print journalism field are looking for job openings
D) newspaper sales are increasing in North America and Europe
E) None of the options are correct.
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52. Advertising revenue, the lifeblood of newspaper operations, ______.
A) grew rapidly once the Internet boom took off in the late 1990s
B) is holding steady even as the number of newspaper subscriptions increases
C) has fallen dramatically in the last few years, with Internet ad sales unable to fill the
gap
D) cycles through periods of increase and decrease every few years
E) None of the options are correct.
53. Which of the following statements about paywalls is not true?
A) The Wall Street Journal pioneered one of the few successful paywalls.
B) Readers who are used to free online content are shunning the idea of paywalls.
C) A 2011 study found that smaller newspapers were more likely to have a paywall
than larger papers.
D) Newspapers don’t see any reason for paywalls — ad revenue is more than enough to
cover costs.
E) The New York Times added a metered paywall in 2011.
54. Which of the following is a way that online journalism is redefining news?
A) Newspapers can post stories online that they didn’t have room for in their print
edition.
B) Newspapers are making huge profits from their online versions.
C) Spurred by online news, newspapers are once again rapidly expanding their news
staffs.
D) Bloggers are taking more and more of a backseat to traditional journalism.
E) None of the options are correct.
55. Which statement about the relationship between blogging and traditional newspaper
news is true?
A) Bloggers are increasingly following the lead of traditional newspapers.
B) Traditional newspaper news remains unchanged despite the influx of Internet
bloggers.
C) After expressing concern and opposition to blogging as news, many newspapers are
promoting their own blog presence.
D) No blog has been able to gain credibility or garner a significant readership.
E) All of the options are correct.
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56. Worried about the shaky financial underpinnings of print journalism, some have
suggested new business models, including ______.
A) having former print reporters start online newspapers
B) having wealthy universities buy and support newspapers
C) having wealthy Internet companies expand into the news business
D) having newspapers operate as nonprofits that run on tax-deductible contributions
E) All of the options are correct.
57. Which of the following is not a potential obstacle to print journalism’s vital role in
sustaining democracy?
A) The risk of a reporters being injured or killed while covering important stories like
wars
B) Newsroom cutbacks
C) The closing of foreign bureaus
D) The addition of online newspapers
E) Newspaper chain executives being afraid to offend investors or advertisers
58. An early dominant style of American journalism, distinguished by opinion newspapers,
which generally argued the political point of view of the particular party that subsidized the
paper, is called the _______________________.
59. News accounts that focus on the trials and tribulations of the human condition are called
_______________________, which often feature ordinary individuals facing extraordinary
challenges.
60. Yellow journalism can be seen as a predecessor of _______________________: news
reports that hunt out and expose corruption, particularly in business and government.
61. William Randolph Hearst reportedly once said, “The modern editor of the popular
journal does not care for _______________________. The editor wants novelty.”
62. _______________________ bought the New York Times in 1896.
63. The inverted-pyramid style is associated with _______________________ journalism.
64. _______________________ is a style of journalism that answers who, what, where, and
when (and less frequently why or how) questions at the top of the story.
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65. _______________________ attempts to make the news more scientifically accurate by
using poll surveys and questionnaires.
66. The space left over in a newspaper for news content after all the ads are placed is called
the _______________________.
67. As a grassroots movement, _______________________ refers to people who use the
Internet and blogs to disseminate news and information.
68. ___,who bought the New York Times in 1896, championed “no frills” reporting.
69. ___,who bought the New York Journal in 1895, is considered a yellow journalism
publisher.
70. ___ was a female reporter for the New York World who traveled around the world in
seventy-two days.
71. How did newspapers emerge as a mass medium during the penny press era?
72. What are the two main features of yellow journalism?
73. Explain different models of the newspaper in American society.
74. Why have African American newspapers had to struggle to maintain their circulation
over the past two decades?
75. Describe the role of the underground press.
76. In what ways has the Internet resulted in changes in traditional newspaper operations?
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77. If traditional forms of generating revenue for newspapers (subscriptions and advertising)
are both dropping for many newspapers, what possible alternatives are there to support the vital
role of print journalism?
78. What is citizen journalism? Describe the possible positive and negative effects of citizen
journalism on the news media.
79. Describe the kind of journalism used in the 2016 Academy Award winning movie,
Spotlight.
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Answer Key
1. A
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45. B