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Instructor Resource
Graber, Mass Media and American Politics 10e
CQ Press, 2018
Chapter 8: Media Coverage of Congress and
the Courts
Test Bank
Multiple Choice
1. The only time Supreme Court justices typically receive substantial media coverage is
during ______.
A. their first few days on the bench
B. their election campaigns
C. the hearings conducted before their appointment
D. during their book tours
2. Which major branch of government gets the most coverage from mainstream media?
A. executive
B. legislative
C. judicial
D. No majority as coverage is mostly equivalent.
True/False
1. One’s amount of policy work, or legislative effort, is a major determinant of Congress
members’ national news coverage.
2. Congress gets close to the same amount of coverage as the president, but only if you
count coverage of individual legislators in addition to the institution.
3. That Congress is a body of lawmakers makes it less appealing for coverage.
4. Presidential coverage in national news is partly driven by the fact that the executive
office is supposed to represent the entire country, while legislators serve individual
districts or states.
5. Even local newspapers and local television news ignore members of Congress.
6. House members tend to get more coverage than senators.
7. Most members of Congress avoid the use of social media like Facebook and Twitter.
8. The relationship between members of Congress and the press is much friendlier and less
interdependent and cautious than between the press and president.
9. The courts tend to get far less press coverage but court coverage is typically of much
higher quality.
10. Judges and justices remain completely unaffected by media coverage and public
opinion.
Short Answer
1. What is a possible upside of receiving less coverage, as in the apparent case of the
judiciary?
2. How has the broader trend of declining resources of newsrooms impacted coverage of
the courts?
3. What is the CSI effect?
4. What are the court-related factors that make covering the Supreme Court difficult for
journalists? How do the constraints of journalism compound these difficulties?
