Chapter 01: Mass Media Literacy
Key: Answer, Page, Type, Learning Objective, Level
Type
A=Applied
C=Conceptual
F=Factual
Level
(1)=Easy; (2)=Moderate; (3)=Difficult
LO=Learning Objective
SG=Used in Study Guide
p=page
Chapter 01: Mass Media Literacy
Multiple Choice Single Select
1) According to the media research firm Nielsen, _________ is the top media activity for the
majority of Americans.
a) television
b) radio
c) smartphone
d) DVD/Blu Ray
2) Mass media has become so integrated into people’s lives that _________ is common.
a) mainstreaming
b) media multitasking
c) writing letters
d) niche casting
3) On most days, the most-listened-to item in morning newscasts is
a) sports.
b) consumer news.
c) crime news.
d) the weather.
4) Newspaper, radio, television, and magazine companies cannot survive unless they
a) deliver an audience to advertisers.
b) provide the latest news.
c) offer low subscription rates.
d) serve the government.
5) The type of communication that occurs between two individuals, either by themselves or in
a small group, is _________ communication.
a) mediated
b) meta-
c) interpersonal
d) symbiotic
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6) An executive participating in a business meeting is engaged in _________ communication.
a) group
b) industrial
c) intrapersonal
d) mediated
7) In order for something to be categorized as group communication, the audience must
a) consist of more than 10 people.
b) not be able to provide immediate feedback.
c) be more than one person and all be within earshot.
d) be a homogeneous group.
8) Mass communication involves sending a message to a great number of people who
a) have paid or otherwise prepared to receive the message.
b) are together in the same location so they can receive the message.
c) are in widely separated locations.
d) have common interests that make them a viable target audience.
9) One characteristic that distinguishes mass communication from interpersonal and group
communication is the
a) content of the message.
b) lack of immediate feedback.
c) ability of the receiver of the message to understand it.
d) length of the message.
10) Which of the following social media traits is NOT shared with earlier, traditional mass
media?
a) They reach millions of people in diverse locations.
b) They inform, persuade, amuse, and enlighten users.
c) They enable interactive dialogue among their users.
d) They bring in millions of dollars of revenue for their owners.
11) Unlike production for industrial media, the production of content for social media
a) requires specialized skills, equipment, and training.
b) is primarily done by paid professional staff members.
c) is highly complicated, time consuming, and expensive.
d) uses readily accessible and affordable software tools.
12) The mass media were almost entirely word-centric for hundreds of years until
a) libraries began using the Dewey Decimal System to categorize books.
b) it became technologically possible to duplicate and distribute images.
c) visual images became accepted as a form of communication as well as art.
d) motion pictures were invented and accepted as a mass medium.
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13) The term visual literacy, which is now part of the broader concept of media literacy, became
popular with scholars
a) trying to explain the importance of prehistoric cave paintings discovered in France.
b) around 1850 in response to the invention and development of photography.
c) about 1900 after motion pictures began to add movement to visual images.
d) in the 1960s when the education projects coordinator for Kodak wrote about it.
14) Media literacy involves
a) having access to all forms of media.
b) knowledge about mass media and the application of critical thinking.
c) your financial stake in the media landscape.
d) the ability to read media textbooks.
15) Media literacy involves all of the following EXCEPT
a) not confusing messages and messengers.
b) understanding the limitations and possibilities of various media platforms.
c) having a clear framework for the history and traditions of media.
d) appropriately balancing the costs and benefits of various media messages.
16) If Jill walks through a mall and notices the background music playing through the
loudspeakers, she is demonstrating
a) consumer intelligence.
b) a sophisticated shopping strategy.
c) media literacy.
d) in-depth knowledge of the music industry.
17) Most of our media exposure is through
a) the media products we purchase.
b) an unconscious level.
c) billboards.
d) the experience of other senses.
18) Someone who condemns a reporter for supporting a politician because she quotes that
politician in a news story has
a) effectively demonstrated their media literacy.
b) subconsciously revealed that they support the politician.
c) fallen into the error of judgment addressed in the cliché about shooting the messenger.
d) not adequately considered the editor’s role in telling the reporter what to report.
19) One of the traditions of U.S. journalism implied in the Constitution is that the mass media
should report news and
a) be inexpensive enough for consumers to afford.
b) offer space so advertisers can reach their potential customers.
c) provide politicians with a venue to speak uncensored to the citizenry.
d) serve as a watchdog of government on behalf of the people.
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20) One of the four purposeful functions of mass communication is to
a) inform.
b) initiate.
c) instigate.
d) irritate.
21) One of the four purposeful functions of mass communication is to
a) patronize.
b) persuade.
c) promote.
d) publicize.
22) One of the four purposeful functions of mass communication is to
a) entertain.
b) examine.
c) extol.
d) emulate.
23) One of the four purposeful functions of mass communication is to
a) encapsulate.
b) energize.
c) enlighten.
d) envision.
24) The most visible form of information delivered by mass media is
a) personal opinion.
b) news.
c) advertising messages.
d) television listings.
25) The most obvious form of mass media intended to persuade is
a) advertising.
b) books.
c) newspapers.
d) television.
26) English thinker John Milton advocated exposure to competing ideas as the best way to
discover truth in a concept he termed the
a) information-persuasion dichotomy.
b) marketplace of ideas.
c) information revelation function.
d) media market.