Chapter 12: Mass Media and Governance
Chapter 12: Mass Media and Governance
Multiple Choice Single Select
1) What is known as the fourth estate of government?
a) the judiciary
b) the executive branch
c) the legislative branch
d) the press
2) Who first coined the phrase “Fourth Estate” in the mid-1700s in England?
a) Edmund Burke
b) King George III
c) Lord Liverpool
d) Thomas Attwood
3) Another name for the “Fourth Estate” when referring to the media is the fourth
a) leg.
b) stool.
c) division.
d) branch
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4) The U.S. government, during its early formation, saw the role of the press as
a) informers.
b) watchdogs.
c) evangelists.
d) vipers.
5) The concept of the press as a skeptical and critical monitor of government is called the
a) new media role.
b) watchdog role.
c) strategic mission.
d) New Partisanship.
6) Which of the following requires that stations must allow competing political candidates to
advertise under the same conditions?
a) fairness doctrine
b) framing law
c) equal time rule
d) media rule
7) The equal time rule mandates that broadcasters
a) provide air time for the opposition party to immediately respond to a political message
such as the State of the Union.
b) grant non-profit advertisers the same amount of airtime as given to corporate advertisers.
c) must provide the same amount of coverage to all sides of a political issue.
d) charge a flat, across-the-board rate for all political advertisers so they can be assured of
equal ad access.
8) Why did Congress establish the equal-time rule?
a) To guarantee reply time during elections.
b) To preserve the two-party system.
c) To guarantee debate among political candidates.
d) To ensure that people using the limited number of broadcast channels would be even-
handed.
9) The former government requirement that stations air all sides of public issues was the
a) equal time rule.
b) C-Span rule.
c) fairness doctrine.
d) framing doctrine.
10) The fairness doctrine was abandoned because
a) it was found to be unconstitutional.
b) it was giving communists a chance to infiltrate U.S. broadcasting.
c) the public could find lots of diversity in the growing number of stations.
d) authoritarian views had become more widely accepted.
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11) Radio station owner Don Burden lost his license because he
a) favored some political candidates over others.
b) promoted certain products on-air.
c) used his stations to promote the Communist Party.
d) was sued for labor law violations.
12) The U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in the Tornillo case
a) said the First Amendment was less applicable to print media than to broadcast media.
b) established rules mandating equal time for candidates.
c) blocked attack ads in print media.
d) said First Amendment protections apply more directly to print media than to broadcast
media.
13) Newspapers that were considered dissident in Chicago and Ohio were shut down during
what war?
a) Vietnam
b) World War I
c) Civil War
d) World War II
14) Why is the Internet virtually unregulated in terms of political content?
a) It is an international network.
b) It is moderated by outside vendors.
c) It self-regulates with social media.
d) It controls its content with unions.
15) What inhibits Internet political content?
a) government fees
b) federal law
c) website filters
d) civil suits between individuals on issues like libel and invasion of privacy
16) Which of the following is supposed to shape what we think about, but should not shape how
we think about it?
a) a television political commentator
b) a high school or college
c) media news coverage
d) a Wall Street stock analyst
17) Scholars Maxwell McCombs and Don Shaw are best known for their pioneering work
focusing on
a) news conflict.
b) agenda-setting.
c) visual communication.
d) news scheduling.
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18) Agenda-setting is the process by which the media
a) establish the course of a political argument.
b) tell people what to think.
c) arrange political stories in a particular order for broadcast.
d) tell people what to think about.
19) News coverage of such issues as civil rights, Watergate, and White House scandals
demonstrate that news coverage
a) by and large calls on people to take a position.
b) is against government.
c) doesn’t cause change directly but serves as a catalyst to start discussions.
d) is informative but has little impact beyond the events covered.
20) What is the CNN Effect?
a) news organizations going to 24-hour formats
b) more brief headline stories
c) the power of television to interest people in faraway issues
d) Atlanta replacing Washington as the nation’s news capital
21) What is the term for the ability of television, through emotion-raising video, to elevate
distant issues on the domestic public agenda?
a) CNN Effect
b) framing
c) agenda-setting
d) sound-bite effect
22) When media coverage shapes how people see issues, this is called
a) framing.
b) homogeneity.
c) conflict.
d) status conferral.
23) Which of the following best summarizes framing?
a) Framing is a term that is only applied to issues related to politics or government.
b) Only political candidates frame issues.
c) Politicians deliberately frame issues while news reporters inadvertently frame them by
deciding what to report.
d) Framing is a conscious activity by politicians but is never done by competent news
reporters.
24) In a study of the CBS Evening News, what percentage of the opening news stories featured
the president?
a) 10
b) 25
c) 60
d) 90
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25) Why is conflict such an exciting subject for media coverage?
a) The language that describes conflict is usually more expressive and active.
b) It often illustrates the great issues by which society is defining and redefining values.
c) Conflict is often bloody.
d) Their responses to conflict help media outlets differentiate themselves from competitors.
26) Journalists learn early in their careers that conflict
a) is not worth covering.
b) is comfortable and usually fun for everybody involved.
c) rarely occurs and hardly is an everyday event.
d) illustrates the issues by which society defines values.
27) What happens when the news media treat politics like a horse race?
a) People place bets on the outcome.
b) Substantive issues are underplayed.
c) It becomes easier to track lesser-known candidates.
d) Reporters use racing and equine metaphors and slang.
28) The actual voice of a figure in the news, usually sandwiched in a correspondent’s report, is
called a(n)
a) talking head.
b) announcement.
c) voice-over.
d) sound bite.
29) How long is a candidate’s sound bite in most of today’s broadcast news stories?
a) 2–5 seconds
b) 10 seconds or less
c) 15–20 seconds
d) 30 seconds up to a one minute maximum
30) Because sound bites have shortened over the years, political candidates have learned how to
a) offer catchy, clever comments.
b) expand on their issues.
c) talk at a rapid pace.
d) avoid the news media.
31) Presidential candidates have learned to bypass the news media with less filtered exposure to
voters through events such as
a) news blackouts.
b) news secretaries.
c) news briefings.
d) Oprah show appearances.
32) One of the simplest ways government officials manipulate the news is deciding when to
release it. President Teddy Roosevelt, for instance, tried to make most of his news
announcements on
a) any day there wasn’t a major sporting event that might attract more attention than his
story.
b) Fridays because people have more time to spend reading newspapers on the weekend.
c) Saturdays so all the details of his story could be included in the jumbo-sized Sunday
papers.
d) Sundays because Monday papers are short of news and would give his story lots of
attention.
33) All of the following are ways government officials can try to manipulate news coverage
EXCEPT
a) news blackouts.
b) news leaks.
c) timing of announcements.
d) trial releases.
34) Government officials try to shape news coverage with all of the following EXCEPT
a) press conferences.
b) stonewalling.
c) shilling.
d) trial balloons.
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35) When there is a deliberate leak of a potential policy to test public response, it’s called
a) public relations.
b) putting a toe in the water.
c) a trial balloon.
d) a framed response.
36) A deliberate disclosure of confidential or classified information by someone who wants to
advance the public interest is called a
a) hole in the stonewall.
b) personal agenda.
c) break.
d) leak.
37) To refuse to answer questions, sometimes refusing even to meet with reporters, is called
a) stonewalling.
b) a spiral of silence.
c) bad public relations.
d) closing down.
38) In a news blackout,
a) the government shuts down the news media to control the spread of information.
b) officials avoid watching or reading news to ensure minimal outside influence.
c) excess information is given to “blow the fuse” of the media and thus keep issues in the
dark.
d) no statements are issued and no media questions are answered.
39) Jon Favreau is best known for
a) his investigative news reports of President Bush.
b) being a speechwriter for President Obama.
c) being the campaign manager for President Obama.
d) his television reports on CNN.
40) A president needs speech-writers like Jon Favreau for all of the following reasons EXCEPT
a) crafting messages the president is comfortable delivering and that resonate with
audiences.
b) even an effective speech-writing president doesn’t have time to write dozens of speeches
a week.
c) to develop quality messages that don’t rely on trickery with words to get attention.
d) to put words in the president’s mouth for routine occasions the president doesn’t have
time to think about.
41) What is the name for a photogenic, staged event created to attract media attention?
a) photo opp
b) clip-op
c) PR-event
d) news-maker
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42) A staged event that lacks substance and is used to attract media attention is
a) illegal.
b) lobbying.
c) a news-maker.
d) a pseudo-event.
43) How long does the campaign cycle tend to last?
a) around 1 year
b) around 6 months
c) around 18 months
d) around 2 years
44) A reporter wants to give a broad perspective of a presidential candidate’s campaign for
office. Which strategy should be used?
a) Piece together pieces from campaign headquarters.
b) Be a “boy on the bus” and follow the campaign.
c) Analyze the results from various polls.
d) Follow social media trends on the candidate.
45) Why do so many news agencies contract with independent polling companies?
a) cost
b) impartiality
c) accuracy
d) impact
46) A reporter is criticized for not pushing the issues during the coverage of a recent political
campaign. Which is likely the situation that sparked the criticism?
a) There was no bouncing of ideas of one candidate off of another.
b) There was no background information provided.
c) There was a clear agenda pushing the interview.
d) There was too much interpretation on the part of the reporter.
47) What does it mean when a reporter is criticized for inside coverage?
a) A reporter doesn’t dive deeply into a campaign’s machinery.
b) A reporter represents a clear bias.
c) A reporter neglects to provide any information.
d) A reporter is obviously a plant from another candidate’s party.
48) Which of the following is a key difference between campaign managers and campaign
chairs?
a) Campaign managers are public figures, while campaign chairs work behind the scenes.
b) Campaign managers handle the fundraising, while campaign chairs handle the media.
c) Campaign managers decide political strategy, while campaign chairs handle election
crises.
d) Campaign managers are elected officials, while campaign chairs are internally chosen.
49) A political candidate who decides to hold a news conference in front of a busy building is
engaging in which media tactic?
a) packing the gallery
b) shielding from reporters
c) controlling the hecklers
d) handling the press
50) According to Paul Lazarsfeld, how should political candidates campaign?
a) through television ads
b) through opinion-leader endorsements
c) through newspaper editorials
d) through social media buzz
51) Which scenario is an example of the Digital Divide?
a) A politician running for office sends 20 times more tweets than her rival.
b) A politician forgets to advertise to the elderly who are not using digital media.
c) A politician only relies on social media to spread the word about his campaign.
d) A politician fundraises among those who own the mass media.