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Student name:__________
TRUE/FALSE – Write ‘T’ if the statement is true and ‘F’ if the statement is false.
1) The FCC’s rules about broadcast indecency do not apply to satellite radio content.
⊚ true
⊚ false
2) The maximum FCC fine for an indecency regulation violation is $100,000.
⊚ true
⊚ false
3) A station that broadcasts without holding a valid FCC license is known as a pirate radio
station.
⊚ true
⊚ false
4) The gap between those who have access to information and technology such as
broadband service and those who either don‘t or who have restricted access is known as the
digital divide.
⊚ true
⊚ false
MULTIPLE CHOICE – Choose the one alternative that best completes the statement or
answers the question.
5) How many commissioners are there at the FCC?
A) five
B) seven
C) nine
D) ten
6) In 2012, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in FCC v. Fox Television Stations that
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A) the FCC’s current rules regarding broadcast indecency violate the First Amendment.
B) the FCC failed to give broadcasters sufficient notice about changes in its indecency
rules.
C) both A and B are correct.
D) neither A nor B is correct.
7) On a national basis, a single entity may own television stations reaching up to what
maximum percentage of the national TV viewing audience?
A) 25 percent
B) 28 percent
C) 39 percent
D) 50 percent
8) Which one of the following is NOT one of the three traditional policy objectives of the
FCC that is supposed to serve the public interest?
A) efficiency
B) localism
C) competition
D) diversity
9) Television stations are licensed by the FCC for how many years?
A) 3
B) 5
C) 7
D) 8
10) Which of the following areas of broadcast programming is regulated most heavily?
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A) children’s programming
B) sports programming
C) news programming
D) infomercials
11) The candidate access rule requires broadcasters to give
A) all candidates for all public offices a reasonable opportunity to buy broadcast time at
radio and television stations.
B) all candidates for public office an equal opportunity to appear on a radio or television
station.
C) all candidates for federal office a reasonable opportunity to buy time on radio and
television stations.
D) all candidates for federal office an equal opportunity to appear on radio and
television stations.
12) In 2004, the FCC concluded that U2 singer Bono’s acceptance speech during the Golden
Globe Awards program made the NBC broadcast of that program
A) indecent.
B) obscene.
C) both indecent and obscene.
D) indecent and profane.
13) The FCC’s safe-harbor zone for when indecent content may be broadcast on television
without facing legal action from the FCC is from
A) 10:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m.
B) 11:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m.
C) midnight to 6:00 a.m.
D) midnight to 8:00 a.m.
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14) Under Section 315 of the Communications Act, the term “equal opportunity” means
A) equal time.
B) equal facilities.
C) comparable costs.
D) all of the answers are correct.
15) To fall within the FCC’s definition of indecency, the content must relate to which of the
following?
A) nudity or prurient interests
B) sexual or violent images and dialog
C) sex, sexual violence, or sexual humiliation
D) sexual or excretory activities or organs
16) Which one of the following is NOT one of the three principal factors that the FCC often
considers to determine the patent offensiveness of content in its indecency cases?
A) whether the speech in question appeals to a prurient interest in sex
B) whether the speech in question was graphic or explicit
C) whether the speech in question is used to shock, titillate, or pander
D) whether the speech in question was repeated or dwelled upon
FILL IN THE BLANK. Write the word or phrase that best completes each statement or
answers the question.
17) PICON stands for _____.
18) The notion that there are a finite number of frequencies on which to broadcast and, in
turn, that there are more people who want to broadcast than there are available frequencies is
known as _____.
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19) The FCC in 2008 adopted rules that allow sophisticated new wireless and mobile devices
to operate without a license on previously unused portions of the broadcast television spectrum
known as _____.
20) In 2012, new rules took effect that require commercials to have the same average _____
as the television programs they accompany, either before, during, or after the programs.
SHORT ANSWER. Write the word or phrase that best completes each statement or
answers the question.
21) Explain why then-candidate Donald Trump’s appearance as host on NBC’s Saturday
Night Live in November 2015 meant that his rival Republican candidates for the presidential
nomination could then request airtime on NBC also.
22) Briefly describe the legal controversy involving the service called “Aereo,” including
what Aereo was, how it worked, who objected to it, and why the U.S. Supreme Court ruled
against Aereo in 2014.
23) Identify the four types of TV or radio appearances by a candidate for political office that
are not governed by the equal opportunity rule.
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24) FCC commissioners often differ about what rules or restrictions should be in place and on
what serving the “public interest” means. What motivates those disagreements, and how have
those disagreements influenced FCC policies in recent years?
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Answer Key
Test name: chapter 16
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