Hanson, Mass Communication, 7e
SAGE Publishing, 2019
Chapter 5: Magazines: The Power of Words and Images
Test Bank
Multiple Choice
1. When Shirley Jackson’s short story “The Lottery” was published in The New Yorker
back in 1948, ______.
A. it was received largely with indifference
B. the story generated the largest number of letters to the editor in the history of the
magazine
C. it didn’t become popular until a major motion picture was based on it
D. the author went on to win the Nobel Prize for literature
2. The popular short story “Cat Person” by Kristen Roupenian published in The New
Yorker could be seen best as an example of which of the Seven Secrets?
A. Secret 2—There are no mainstream media.
B. Secret 3—Everything from the margin moves to the center.
C. Secret 5—All media are social.
D. Secret 6—Online media are mobile media.
3. ______ is best known for his/her photography for Life and Fortune magazines.
A. Mathew Brady
B. Annie Leibovitz
C. Richard Avedon
D. Margaret Bourke-White
4. Which of the following was the first truly national magazine with a large circulation
published in the United States?
A. Atlantic Monthly
B. New Republic
C. The New Yorker
D. The Saturday Evening Post
5. ______ was a pioneer in photojournalism with her/his photos of the Civil War.
A. Mathew Brady
B. Annie Leibovitz
C. Richard Avedon
D. Margaret Bourke-White
6. The Postal Act of 1879 did which of the following?
A. It banned the mailing of pornographic images.
B. It substantially raised the cost of mailing magazines across the country.
C. It made it possible to inexpensively mail magazines across the country.
D. You can’t fool me; there was no Postal Act of 1879.
7. Magazines that are targeted at specific industries and carry ads for people who are in
that business are known as which of the following?
A. trade magazines
B. muckraking magazines
C. literary and commentary magazines
D. FBL magazines
8. The most popular category for new magazines in 2017/2018 was ______.
A. Fashion/Beauty
B. Crafts/Games/Hobbies
C. Food
D. Fishing and Hunting
9. Magazines such as Harper’s, the Atlantic, and the National Review are known as
which of the following?
A. trade magazines
B. muckraking magazines
C. literary and commentary magazines
D. FBL magazines
10. Who was the target of a major investigative journalism series written by Ida M.
Tarbell for McClure’s magazine in the early 1900s?
A. John D. Rockefeller
B. Mark Twain
C. William F. Buckley
D. William Gates
11. Helen Gurley Brown was the long-time editor of which of the following?
A. Time magazine
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B. Cosmopolitan
C. Godey’s Lady’s Book
D. Ladies’ Home Journal
12. ______ largely created the idea of the modern woman’s magazine as editor of
Godey’s Lady’s Book.
A. Bonnie Fuller
B. Rosie O’Donnell
C. Sarah Josepha Hale
D. Helen Gurley Brown
13. Over its first 50 years, Sports Illustrated featured ______ African American women
on the cover of their famous swimsuit issue.
A. 0
B. 2
C. 8
D. 15
14. Magazines such as Cosmopolitan, Glamour, and Vogue are known as which of the
following?
A. trade magazines
B. muckraking magazines
C. literary and commentary magazines
D. FBL magazines
15. Which of the following magazines featured the risqué pinup art of Alberto Vargas
and George Petty?
A. Playboy
B. Maxim
C. Harper’s
D. Esquire
16. Men’s Health magazine is most like ______.
A. other men’s magazines like Playboy or Esquire
B. a women’s lifestyle magazine
C. trade magazines for people in the fitness industry
D. literary/commentary magazines such as The Atlantic or New Republic
17. Which of the following is the biggest circulating magazine in the United States?
A. ESPN The Magazine
B. AARP
C. Oprah
D. National Geographic
18. Advertising designed to look like editorial content in a magazine is known as
______.
A. church and state advertising
B. social advertising
C. native advertising
D. cooperative advertising
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19. Annie Leibovitz’s photos of actress Lena Dunham for Vogue magazine were
controversial because ______.
A. many of the images had Dunham nude in them
B. Dunham was wearing off-the-shelf clothing rather than designer clothing in them
C. Dunham was made to look much thinner and fit than she is in real life
D. backgrounds were changed and multiple photos were combined into a single image
20. Which of the following best describes Mathew Brady’s greatest contribution to
photojournalism?
A. the great photos that he took
B. the invention of color photography
C. the idea that photos could be transmitted via satellite
D. the idea that photos could be documents that preserve history
21. Magazine circulation grew in the 19th century because of which of the following?
A. the growth of the middle class
B. the growth of literacy
C. the growing number of companies wanting to advertise consumer products
D. all of these
22. The National Review is a magazine that is trying to appeal to which of the following
audiences?
A. people interested in in-depth movie reviews
B. the “inner guy”
C. intellectuals interested in conservative political ideas
D. readers interested in contemporary short fiction
23. Most modern women’s magazines can trace their success back to which of the
following?
A. The Crisis
B. Godey’s Lady’s Book
C. Better Homes and Gardens
D. Family Circle
24. The magazine McCall’s (renamed Rosie) quit publishing in 2002 after which of the
following occurrences?
A. political infighting between the publisher and the editor
B. losing one half of its subscription base
C. losing one third of its advertising pages
D. you can’t fool me; Rosie is still successfully publishing every month
25. In November 2017, the Time, Inc. family of magazines was purchased by ______.
A. Hearst Publishing
B. Random House
C. Iowa magazine publisher Meredith Corp.
D. Bertelsmann
26. Anok Yai didn’t think she could become a model because ______.
A. she is larger than the typical fashion model
B. she looked emaciated like a heroin addict might
C. she has been an outspoken critic of the fashion industry
D. she had only seen light-skinned Black women as models
27. Dove’s Campaign for Real Beauty advertisements have been credited with ______.
A. discouraging women from using too many beauty products
B. encouraging women to lose weight
C. publicizing organic beauty aids
D. building acceptance in the public for alternative images of beauty
28. Which of the following is not one of Dick Stolley’s rules for magazine covers?
A. Young is better than old.
B. Pretty is better than ugly.
C. New is better than well-known.
D. Nothing is better than a dead celebrity.
29. Anok Yai, an immigrant of Sudanese heritage, became a prominent model after
______.
A. she was seen in the background of a People magazine cover
B. after her roommate convinced her to go to an open audition
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C. she won “America’s Next Top Model”
D. a photo of her on social media went viral
30. Sports Illustrated surprised readers in 2016 by running ______ on the cover of their
controversial annual swimsuit issue.
A. a transgender woman
B. an Asian American woman
C. a plus-sized woman
D. Olympic star swimmer Michael Phelps
31. The Atlantic became profitable recently for the first time in many decades because
the publisher ______.
A. started charging for access to all of their websites
B. ruthlessly cut the size of their staff and the cost of production
C. adopted a “digital first” strategy
D. all of these
True/False
1. Benjamin Franklin published the first photos ever in a magazine.
2. A halftone is a process for reproducing a photograph on a printed page.
3. As of 2016, there were approximately 7,216 consumer magazines in the United
States.
4. Popular Science, National Geographic, and Good Housekeeping are examples of
consumer magazines.
5. Trade magazines are also known as business-to-business magazines.
6. The magazine The New Yorker has been declining rapidly in recent years because
the publisher refuses to put the publication online or deliver it in a digital format.
7. Harper’s and The Atlantic Monthly were known for printing very short articles with lots
of photos about gadgets, beer, and cars.
8. The Crisis, founded by W. E. B. Du Bois, is a politically conservative magazine
designed to support the concerns of Fortune 500 companies.
9. Margaret Bourke-White became famous as a photographer for Harper’s magazine.
10. When Henry Luce created Time magazine, he wanted it to be as “balanced, fair,
and objective” as possible.
11. FBL magazines target people who are football fans.
12. Playboy magazine rebounded from its declining circulation by discontinuing photos
of nude women, thus giving it more respectability.
13. Nina Agdal got dropped from a magazine cover story because she was seen as
being too thin to be healthy.
14. Magazines run relatively “tame” cover lines to keep from offending potential readers.
15. The most successful magazines today appeal to a wide audience.
16. Magazines today are trying to reach narrower, more targeted audiences than ever
before.
17. Owners of tablet computers, like the Apple iPad, tend to read fewer paper
magazines than do nonowners of tablets.
18. Magazines resist using social media to promote both the editorial content and the
advertising content of their publications.
Essay
1. What is a magazine?
2. Name at least two of the three major sources of magazine income.
3. What is the primary difference between trade and consumer magazines?
4. What does the term muckraking mean in relation to magazine journalism?
5. What was Henry Luce best known for?
6. What magazine gave women their first opportunity to publish articles under their own
names?
7. What do ESPN The Magazine, People, and Forbes all have in common?
8. Why did Anok Yai doubt she could become a prominent fashion model?
9. List two of Dick Stolley’s rules for successful magazine covers.
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10. List two of Leara Rhodes’ characteristics of successful magazines.
11. How has photojournalism both changed and stayed the same since its birth during
the U.S. Civil War?
12. In a brief essay, describe what magazines have had to do in order to make the
transition into having a digital presence that is at least as important as their print edition.
13. You have been asked to put together a cover for a magazine targeted at students at
your university. What (or who) are you going to put on the cover, and why?
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14. In a brief essay, explain how the popular short story “Cat Person” by Kristen
Roupenian published in The New Yorker could be seen as a prime example of Secret 5
—All media are social.