Chapter 14: Media Economics and the Global Marketplace
True/False
1. Indirect payments usually come from advertisers.
2. A monopoly exists when a small number of firms control an industry, either nationally or
locally.
3. Because media products are ethereal pieces of software, large conglomerates have no necessary
4. In an oligopoly, just a few firms dominate an industry.
5. The television network Fox is owned by News Corp.
6. The purpose of antitrust laws is to encourage diversity and competition in the marketplace.
7. Most media monopolies today operate at the local, not the global, level.
8. Because today’s flexible economy demands fast product development, smaller media
companies have an advantage over their larger competitors.
9. To lower costs, many manufactures of media equipment like televisions, VCRs, and computers
have exported work overseas to take advantage of cheaper labor.
10. The government trend toward deregulation was actually begun during the Carter administration.
11. News Corp.’s purchase of MySpace was a tremendous success.
12. To circumvent U.S. antitrust laws, most media companies diversify among different product
lines, thus never completely dominating an industry.
13. Most citizens of developed countries have a wide range of media products available to them, but
have little say in which media are created and circulated.
14. Media powerhouses push for more government regulation to control their competition.
15. Synergy typically refers to the promotion and sale of different versions of a media product
across the various subsidiaries of a media conglomerate.
16. As media corporations have grown larger, they also have been able to manage public debate
about their increasing power.
17. The era of downsizing coincided with an increase in workers who belong to labor unions.
18. Public debates about the structure and ownership of the mass media are encouraged by media
owners, who consider such discussion to be in their best interests.
19. Services like Netflix and Hulu Plus have helped increase the profits of cable television
companies.
Multiple Choice
Note: The correct answer is asterisked.
20. The United States has been accused of cultural imperialism because
21. Limited competition describes the following situation:
22. Media that rely primarily on direct payment to collect revenues include
23. The transition to an information economy was characterized by
24. The trend of downsizing
25. Today’s flexible media system, in which new products are constantly rushed to the marketplace,
favors
26. In 2006, Disney CEO Robert Iger merged the company with
27. The billion-dollar mergers and takeovers that swept the mass media since the 1990s were
possible because of
28. Government deregulation and corporate strategy are leading to a mass media industry controlled
by
29. Because of antitrust laws, most media monopolies today operate on a(n) __________ level.
30. In our market economy, consumers have __________, but not very much control over the types
of products that they might actually want.
31. Our society has been reluctant to debate the inequalities inherent in mass media ownership and
has gradually collapsed the critical distinctions between
32. The significant tendencies in major mainstream media today are toward
33. What type of advantage promotes ownership patterns among the different media forms in which
several media subsidiaries under one corporate umbrella work to develop versions of a similar
product?
34. What does it mean when we say that media corporations “exercise hegemony” in our society?
35. Cultural imperialism is
36. How has globalization affected American media companies?
A. They have a smaller market share because so few people in the world speak English
Fill in the Blank
37. This corporation owns the ABC network: _____________________.
38. ___________________ is the phenomenon of American media, fashion, and food dominating
the global market and shaping the cultures and identities of other nations.
39. Sometimes called monopolistic competition, ________________ competition refers to a market
with many producers and sellers but only a few differentiable products within a particular
40. In a(n) ________________, society’s least powerful members are persuaded to accept the
values defined by its most powerful members.
Matching
Match the phrase with term from the textbook.
A. Lifted most restrictions on media ownership
B. Grassroots organization that monitors media companies
C. Helped enable the emergence of transnational media corporations
D. Responsible for breaking up AT&T’s monoply
41. National Conference for Media Reform
42. U.S. Justice Department
43. North American Free Trade Agreement
44. 1996 Telecommunications Act
Essay
45. Describe three good examples of synergy.
46. Describe three negative effects of media conglomeration.
47. Name and describe the trend for governments to take a decreasing role in monitoring the
structure and content of media (as well as other industries).
48. Why do some critics charge that concentration of media ownership by large conglomerates is
antidemocratic?
49. Name one argument for and one argument against the spread of global media.
50. Explain why U.S. media are globally dominant and give examples.
51. Explain the significance of the transition to an information economy.
52. Describe the importance of the 1996 Telecommunications Act.
53. What are the three basic structures of today’s mass media industries, and how do they differ?
54.How have media mergers changed the economics of mass media?
55. What is the role of synergy in the current climate of media mergers?
56. What are the differences between freedom of consumer choice and consumer control?
57. Does the concentration of media ownership limit the number of voices in the marketplace? Do
we need rules limiting media ownership? Why or why not?