Hanson, Mass Communication, 7e
SAGE Publishing, 2019
Chapter 1: Living in a Media World: An Introduction to Mass
Communication
Test Bank
Multiple Choice
1. What is “fake news?”
A. exaggerated news that is presented in a satirical form
B. news that is false because of either error or deliberate fabrication
C. news that a media critic doesn’t like
D. all of these
2. News is likely to break on ______.
A. social media
B. broadcast television
C. cable news
D. newspapers
3. Twitter is a part of a growing type of online media known as which of the following?
A. file sharing
B. social media
C. SMCR
D. pre-media networking
4. ______ is a mass communication channel.
A. E-mail
B. The Web
C. A cell phone
Hanson, Mass Communication, 7e
SAGE Publishing, 2019
D. A fax
5. Mass communication is an example of which type of one-on-many communication?
A. one receiver to many senders
B. one sender to many receivers
C. one receiver with many messages
D. one sender with many messages
6. A message being sent through the media must be ______ before it can be
transmitted.
A. encoded
B. decoded
C. channeled
D. reprocessed
7. In a television news broadcast, the sender would be which of the following?
A. the news anchor
B. the large media company that owns the station
C. the sources the anchor is interviewing
D. all of these
8. Which of the following was the world’s first major communication network?
A. a gossip chain
B. early newspapers
C. the telegraph
D. the Roman Catholic Church
Hanson, Mass Communication, 7e
SAGE Publishing, 2019
9. Which communication technology was first experimented with in the 1960s and
1970s?
A. printing
B. radio
C. television
D. computer networks
10. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, the yellow ribbon was a symbol for which of the
following causes?
A. remembering the U.S. embassy hostages in Iran
B. supporting the U.S. troops in the war on terror
C. promoting AIDS awareness
D. promoting breast cancer awareness
11. ______ has an average weekly audience of approximately 14 million.
A. The Rush Limbaugh Show
B. CNN
C. Fox News
D. The Daily Kos
12. The book Seduction of the Innocent was about the dangers of which of the following
types of media?
A. online pornography
B. crime and horror comic books
C. violent movies
Hanson, Mass Communication, 7e
SAGE Publishing, 2019
D. indecent rap videos
13. The DC Comics movie Wonder Woman was the first modern superhero movie to
______.
A. earn more than $400 million
B. feature a character created during the World War II era
C. be directed by and star a woman
D. lose half of its cost of production because of terrible box office
14. One major change in society brought about by the prevalence of smartphones and
other mobile devices is that ______.
A. online media exists everywhere we go
B. young people rarely talk directly to each other
C. even during times of disaster, such as hurricanes, people have a reliable form of
communication
D. wealthy adults are the most likely to use a smartphone as their exclusive way to
access the Internet
15. A face-to-face conversation that Jasmine has with Christina would be called which
of the following types of communication?
A. intrapersonal communication
B. interpersonal communication
C. group communication
D. mass communication
16. An e-mail that you send to your mother telling her you could really use some
homemade cookies would be called which of the following types of communication?
A. intrapersonal communication
B. interpersonal communication
C. group communication
D. mass communication
17. Luis has just woken up. He debates within his own head whether he would rather
sleep in or attend his early morning class. Luis has been using which of the following
types of communication?
A. intrapersonal communication
B. interpersonal communication
C. group communication
D. mass communication
18. Felicia is attending a concert in a coffee house. She is engaging in which of the
following types of communication?
A. intrapersonal communication
B. interpersonal communication
C. group communication
D. mass communication
19. Jamal is reading a novel by John Green. He is engaging in which of the following
types of communication?
A. intrapersonal communication
B. interpersonal communication
C. group communication
D. mass communication
20. Andy is watching an episode of the animated series Bob’s Burgers streaming on the
Internet. He is engaging in which of the following types of communication?
A. intrapersonal communication
B. interpersonal communication
C. group communication
D. mass communication
21. In a television news broadcast, the receiver would be which of the following?
A. the news anchor
B. the large media company that owns the station
C. the sources the anchor is interviewing
D. a family having dinner while the television news program is on
22. The ______ model of mass communication looks at the process of mass
communication by considering each of the elements of how a mass media message is
sent and received.
A. transmission
B. ritual
C. publicity
D. reception
23. The ______ model of mass communication looks at how audience members use the
mass media to create a shared experience.
A. transmission
B. ritual
C. publicity
D. reception
24. The ______ model of mass communication looks at how media messages are used
to draw attention to an individual or issue.
A. transmission
B. ritual
C. publicity
D. reception
25. The ______ model of mass communication looks at how audience members derive
and create meaning out of media content.
A. transmission
B. ritual
C. publicity
D. reception
26. What was the first medium to allow ideas to easily move beyond the place where
they were initially created?
A. books
B. radio
C. television
D. the Internet
27. Which of the following is the medium that emphasizes the interchangeability of the
sender and receiver?
A. books
B. radio
C. television
Hanson, Mass Communication, 7e
SAGE Publishing, 2019
D. the Internet
28. An audience member’s skills at decoding the intellectual meaning of an argument
presented in a newspaper editorial involve the ______ dimension of media literacy.
A. cognitive
B. emotional
C. aesthetic
D. moral
29. An audience member’s skills at decoding the meaning of the menacing music in a
horror movie involve the ______ dimension of media literacy.
A. cognitive
B. emotional
C. aesthetic
D. moral
30. An audience member’s skills at decoding the underlying message of an action show
that force is the proper solution to all problems involve the ______ dimension of media
literacy.
A. cognitive
B. emotional
C. aesthetic
D. moral
31. An audience member’s skills at decoding the artistic success of a new novel involve
the ______ dimension of media literacy.
Hanson, Mass Communication, 7e
SAGE Publishing, 2019
A. cognitive
B. emotional
C. aesthetic
D. moral
True/False
1. Sponsors of the 2018 Super Bowl paid approximately $5 million for a 30-s television
commercial.
2. Danielle Corsetto’s Web comic Girls With Slingshots has been widely criticized for its
stereotypical portrayal of people with disabilities.
3. Following Hurricane Maria’s destruction in Puerto Rico, approximately 90% of the
island was without mobile phone service.
4. Intrapersonal communication is communication that you do with two or more people.
5. Interpersonal communication is communication that you do with yourself within your
own head.
6. Group communication involves an unequal number of senders and receivers.
7. Mass communication and the mass media are really the same thing.
8. The SMCR model is also known as the transmission model.
9. According to media scholar James Potter, media messages have consistent
meanings to all receivers.
10. Different media channels can give messages different meanings.
11. An example of semantic noise would be when static keeps you from understanding
a message on the radio.
12. An example of mechanical noise would be when static keeps you from
understanding a message on the radio.
13. Media scholar Neil Postman argues that a major effect of television is that it turns
serious subjects into entertainment.
14. The telegraph was the first electronic form of communication.
15. Consumers with low levels of media literacy assume the media have large, obvious,
and generally negative effects on the public at large.
16. One problem with studying the mass media is that all-new problems pop up every
time a new medium comes along; it’s useless to look to the past for explanations.
17. The media industry is so varied that it is difficult to make broad generalizations to
describe it at all levels from local to national.
18. Critics saw the 2017 movie version of Wonder Woman as significant because it
featured actresses formerly known for playing princesses as warriors.
19. The secret “All media are social” only applies to media in the 21st century. Before
then media weren’t social.
20. Young people streaming their video game play on Twitch can have substantially
larger audiences than programming on major cable television networks.
21. It is useful to make generalizations about the media industry as a whole.
22. When the cast of the popular TV show Glee performed a version of the musical The
Rocky Horror Show, producers received extensive criticism for maintaining all the gay
themes of the play.
Hanson, Mass Communication, 7e
SAGE Publishing, 2019
Essay
1. Define communication.
2. Define mass communication.
3. What is the difference between mass communication and the mass media?
4. List each of the four elements of the SMCR model.
5. What is a heterogeneous audience?
6. What does Neil Postman mean when he says television is “amusing us to death?”
7. How did the telegraph differ from earlier forms of communication?
8. In a brief essay, explain how you should process news of a tragedy like a mass
shooting that is breaking on social media.
9. In a brief essay, explain the evolution of the concept of “fake news.” Make sure your
essay includes at least three of the meanings of fake news.
10. In a brief essay, explain, with examples, how a social networking site such as
Facebook or Twitter includes multiple levels of communication.
11. Define and provide an example of each of the following models of mass
communication: ritual, publicity, and reception.
12. In a brief essay, explain James Potter’s four major dimensions of media literacy and
how people with higher levels of media literacy differ from those of lower media literacy.
13. Name and provide an example of three of the Seven Secrets.
14. In a brief essay, explain what kind of bias Fox News and CNN have in common that
led to the misreporting of the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2012 decision about the Affordable
Care Act (or Obamacare).