Croteau, Media/Society, 6e
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Chapter 4: Political Influence on Media
Test Bank
Multiple Choice
1. This landmark media regulation eased media ownership requirements so that big
media businesses could flourish. What is this regulation called?
A. The Fairness Doctrine (1949)
B. The Concentration Act (1988)
C. The Telecommunications Act (1996)
D. The First Amendment (1791)
2. The following clause comes from the U.S. Constitution: “To promote the progress
of science and useful arts, by securing for limited times to authors and inventors the
exclusive rights to their respective writings and discoveries.” To what does this
clause refer?
A. copyright
B. freedom of speech
C. mergers and acquisitions
D. defamation
3. The government regulation forcing networks to buy programming from
independent producers is called the ______.
A. Creative Commons License
B. Fin-syn Rule
C. Fairness Doctrine
D. Diversity Doctrine
4. One of the myths about government regulation of the media is that ______.
A. the media industry generally opposes all forms of government intervention
B. all national governments have some form of media regulation
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C. democratic societies have generally supported freedom of the press
D. the United States generally has fewer regulations on media compared to Europe
5. The so-called radio pirates have faced legal troubles because they ______.
A. broadcast “indecent” material
B. operate without federal licenses
C. traffic in stolen goods
D. criticize elected officials
6. The major ongoing debate about media regulation is ______.
A. whether or not the government has the right to regulate the media
B. whether or not the government should regulate the media
C. what kind of government regulation should exist
D. how to enforce the regulations
7. Government has regulated broadcast media differently than print media primarily
because ______.
A. broadcast signals use the public airwaves to reach an audience
B. broadcast signals are seen in the privacy of the home
C. media companies are completely dependent on advertising for revenue
D. media companies lobbied government
8. Which of the following government regulations clearly benefits the media
industry?
A. limitations on ownership of media outlets
B. broadcast license requirements
C. the (now-defunct) Fairness Doctrine
D. the Concentration Act
9. The phrase “Congress shall make no law . . . abridging the freedom of speech or
of the press” is from the ______.
A. Declaration of Independence
B. First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution
C. Communications Act of 1934
D. founding charter of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC)
10. The Telecommunications Act of 1996 ______.
A. tightened restrictions on media ownership
B. eased restrictions on media ownership
C. eliminated the Federal Communications Commission (FCC)
D. revamped the Federal Communications Commission (FCC)
11. The First Amendment was originally designed for ______.
A. all forms of media
B. the print media only
C. only White, male, property owners
D. east coast only
12. The chief media and communication regulatory body in the United States is the
______.
A. FCC (Federal Communications Commission)
B. MRB (Media Regulations Board)
C. FTC (Fair Trade Commission)
D. Department of Justice
13. The five commissioners on the FCC are ______.
A. elected by the members of Congress to 4-year terms
B. appointed by the president and confirmed by the senate
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C. chosen by media industry leaders and confirmed by the president
D. appointed by the Supreme Court and confirmed by the president
14. One of the arguments about the media that “free market” advocates usually
make is that ______.
A. consumers have the ultimate power to tune in or buy media products
B. those with the most money should have the biggest impact on the media
C. government should be a counterweight to the power of private media
conglomerates
D. media companies need to protect consumers from sexually explicit materials
15. Compared to most other industrialized nations, the United States has generally
had ______ regulation of the media industry.
A. more
B. less
C. about the same amount of
D. almost no
16. Which of the following is not a common characteristic of the early broadcasting
systems in Europe?
A. They tended to emphasize public service programming.
B. They were not subject to government regulation.
C. They were national in character.
D. They tended to be noncommercial.
17. In the early years of broadcasting, the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)
was an example of a(n) ______.
A. early commercial media conglomerate
B. profitable media company
C. state monopoly broadcast system
D. foreign-owned broadcast system
Croteau, Media/Society, 6e
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Answer Location: Regulation in Western Democracies
18. Conservatives often support regulations that ______.
A. limit the concentration of media ownership
B. discourage “free market” competition
C. restrict media content on moral grounds
D. provide government subsidies to large media companies
19. The Fairness Doctrine required that broadcasters address public issues of
concern to the community and ______.
A. provided opportunity for the presentation of contrasting points of view
B. limited the amount of commercial time on children’s television
C. limited the number of radio or television stations that could be owned by one
company
D. banned harmful advertising such as tobacco
20. Which is true about the Fairness Doctrine?
A. It was introduced during the early years of the Clinton presidency.
B. is still in effect
C. applies to radio, television, and cable companies
D. It was repealed during the Reagan presidency.
21. Motion picture ratings, television content ratings, and “explicit lyric” CD warning
labels are examples of ______.
A. government regulation of the media
B. consumer influence over the media
C. industry self-regulation
D. media convergence
22. In the United States, ______ is outlawed.
A. spam material
B. obscene material
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C. pornography
D. erotica
23. Pornographic material is illegal to ______.
A. own
B. produce
C. sell to minors
D. watch
24. In recent years, the U.S. military has considered information to be “sensitive,”
and thus subject to censorship, if it ______.
A. is critical of the military’s performance
B. could endanger U.S. troops or negatively affect troop morale
C. discusses still-active conflicts
D. mentions casualty figures
25. The top three countries in the Reporters Without Borders 2013 Press Freedom
Index were all except ______.
A. Norway
B. Sweden
C. Finland
D. Netherlands
26. Supporters of press freedoms and increased media diversity often call for ______.
A. Some regulations, namely, those that benefit the industry.
B. More debate on media regulation in order for all groups to come together on an
agreement on what types of regulation the government should implement.
C. separation of religious morality from the media
D. Regulations that protect the interests of the public against the influence of the
powerful media industry.
27. The U.S. legislative system protects the freedom of press by ______.
A. treating the licensing of press as a form of illegal suppression of media by the
government
B. opposed taxing the press
C. restricted criminal libel suits
D. all of these
28. All governments develop some policies aimed on the regulation of media and
controlling the media because ______.
A. it influences people’s day–to-day lives
B. government officials don’t want people to feel trapped
C. media has an important role in social and political cultures
D. the government can then keep tabs on its citizens
29. In ______, the Local Community Radio Act was signed in to law.
A. January 2010
B. January 2011
C. July 2010
D. July 2011
30. Why would the FCC limit the amount of radio stations a single company can own
in the early 1990s?
A. to prevent potential monopolistic power of a media conglomerate
B. to create more air waves for the FCC’s own competing interests
C. It was a result of the Cold War as a final attempt to combat the potential for
communism in the United States.
D. So that listeners will have a better variety of tunes.
31. Why would the media industry (art, music, advertisement, etc.) want government
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A. Copyright protects ideas, facts, and how they are expressed.
B. The media industry wants copyright to stop P2P sites.
C. Legal Fees from the Copyright violations help to keep the economy circulating, no
matter how miniscule.
D. Copyright gives the for-profit media industry the ability to function and protect
media owners.
32. ______ is a nonprofit organization that offers free legal tools to protect the use of
creative work while maximizing the amount of material that is available for free and
legal sharing, use, repurposing, and remixing.
A. Creative Commons
B. Copyright
C. FCC
D. Fin-Syn
33. What is fin-syn?
A. Rules that allow networks to air syndicated programming they had a financial
stake in.
B. a self-organizing group of people with common interests
C. financial interest and syndication rules
D. financial syndicate
34. The call for media regulation ______.
A. comes from both liberals and conservatives
B. differs based on political orientation
C. is demanded by the media industry only when it benefits the media industry.
D. all of these
35. The process whereby an organization monitors its own adherence to legal,
ethical, or safety standards, rather than have an outside, independent agency such
as a third party entity monitor and enforce those standards ______.
Croteau, Media/Society, 6e
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B. industry self-regulation
C. MPAA
D. regulating for morality
37. To ward off government regulation, the MPAA in 1968 collaborated with theater
owners and film distributors to develop a rating system that filmmakers would adopt
voluntarily. This is an example of ______.
A. the fairness doctrine
B. checks and balances
C. industry self-regulation
D. copyright
1. Embedded journalism refers to citizens’ participatory reporting of government
affairs.
2. The “Fin–Syn” (financial interest and syndication) rules limited major television
networks’ ability to produce their own in-house programs.
3. The 1996 Telecommunications Act facilitated concentration of media companies.
4. The United States generally has more media regulations than Europe.
5. Sexually explicit materials involving children are illegal in the United States.
6. The Fair Trade Commission (FTC) regulates U.S. interstate and international
communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable.
7. Conservatives generally favor deregulation of media based on free market
principles.
8. Major telecommunication companies such as Comcast and Time Warner
generally favor Net Neutrality.
9. The 1949 Fairness Doctrine required media companies to pay a fair amount of
copyright fees to independent artists.
10. It is important to consider the political environment in which different sources of
media operate to better understand those sources.
1. “Similar to the study of violence in other media, some studies have found playing
such games desensitizes players to real-world violence and can increase aggressive
behavior (Bartholow, Sestir, & Davis, 2005; Carnagey, Anderson, & Bushman, 2007),
but other researchers argue that the concern is overstated (Ferguson, 2007; Kutner, &
Olson, 2008).” Which side do you agree with? Do you think this material should be
regulated?
Ans: Varies.
Answer Location: Left and Right: Diversity versus Property Rights
2. The only type of regulation and management of the media through government law
seems to be endorsed by the media industry when it benefits the industry; do you
agree?
Croteau, Media/Society, 6e
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A. If yes, why do you agree? Is this just another example of businesses trying to
survive by getting the most protection as possible without consequence or is this
greed? Could it be both? Explain your answer.
B. If no, why do you disagree?
Ans: Varies.
Answer Location: Competing Interests and the Regulation Debate
3. What constitutes the “national interest?” Do you believe this varies cross-culturally
(within continents, countries, states, counties, etc.)? Does political affiliation have a
role?
Ans: Varies.
Answer Location: The “National Interests”: Military Censorship
4. “What constitutes the “national interest” is a debatable topic, but governments
sometimes regulate media to protect or advance what they define as the national
interest.” How does the government regulating media to advance national interest make
you feel?
A. If trapped, strange, manipulated, and so on. Why? Does this information make
the idea of “checking your news sources” feel more important? How? Do you
think the regulation of the national interest could be manipulated based on the
political party that currently has a president voted into the White House? Explain
your answer, and how you know it.
B. If indifferent, why? Do you not believe this is important information? Do you think
the regulation of the national interest could be manipulated based on the political
party that currently has a president voted into the White House? Explain your
answer, and how you know it.
Ans: Varies.
Answer Location: The “National Interests”: Military Censorship
5. What are the major arguments supporting strict government media regulations?
What philosophies/ideologies support such regulations? What are the major
arguments against regulations? What philosophies/ideologies are behind fewer
government regulations?
Ans: Varies.
Answer Location: Regulating Content
7. What is “net neutrality?” Define the concept and provide major arguments for and
against it.
Ans: Varies.
Answer Location: Net Neutrality
Croteau, Media/Society, 6e
SAGE Publishing, 2019
8. Explain the differences between indecent material, pornography, and obscene
material. Which are legal? What regulations apply to different categories?
Ans: Varies.
Answer Location: Morality: Obscene Materials
9. Government often controls and manages the flow of information during war times.
Provide some examples of such control, particularly on journalists’ war coverage.
Ans: Varies.
Answer Location: The “National Interests”: Military Censorship
10. Explain the idea of “Creative Commons License.” What is it and how does it
compare to the traditional copyright law?
Ans: Varies.
Answer Location: Copyright and Intellectual Property