CHAPTER 6
TEST ITEMS
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Multiple-Choice Questions
1. Which of the following statements about commercial broadcast stations is false?
a. They are licensed by the federal government to serve a specific community.
2. The head of a station’s technical functions is the
d. program director.
e. program manager.
3. The department that prepares daily program logs and maintains a list of commercial openings in the
schedule is known as the __________ department.
a. available
b. continuity
4. Which of the following most closely describes the traditional fee structure when an affiliate s station
airs programs from one of the Big Three networks?
d. The network pays a fee to O&O stations only.
e. No payments are made, but both the network and the stations retain revenue earned from the sale
of commercial time.
5. The compensation provided by broadcast television networks to their affiliate stations accounts for
approximately __________ percent of their gross revenues.
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6. The principal source of a cable system’s revenue comes from
e. splitting advertising revenues with stations they retransmit.
7. Vertical integration is an established and successful pattern of operation primarily in
a. independent television station operations.
b. the motion picture industry.
8. In 1988 the FCC reinstated this rule that requires cable systems carrying superstation programming to
delete programming that duplicated local station syndicated shows.
d. Multiplexing
e. PTAR rules
d. use special advertiser supported PPV networks the cable company provides.
e. cannot take advantage of multiplexing.
10. The largest advertising medium in terms of total volume is
a. direct mail.
11. Which of the following is an advantage of broadcast advertising?
a. The transient nature of advertising.
12. When Goodyear buys time on various television stations in ten markets in the Midwest, this kind of
advertising is known as
a. local.
b. network.
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13. Announcements that call attention to future programs of networks or stations are called
a. commercials.
b. IDs.
14. The statistic used to compare the relative cost of advertising on various stations and other media is the
a. GRP.
b. TRP.
15. The advantage of using CPM is that it
d. allows for spot packaging for preferred advertisers.
e. allows advertisers to divide station time into specific dayparts.
16. When a station exchanges commercial time for advertiser goods and services, such as a truck for the
news department, this is called a
a. per inquiry.
17. When an advertiser does not pay for advertising time but only for the number of items sold in direct
response to a commercial, this is called a
d. trade deal.
e. barter deal.
18. People who sell time in the national market and function as an extension of a station’s own sales staff
are called
a. customer service representatives.
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19. A __________ is evidence that a commercial aired according to contract.
a. computer tracker
20. Advertising agencies do all of the following for clients EXCEPT
a. conduct research.
21. Program-length commercials not aimed at children are
a. banned from radio, television, and cable.
22. Under-the-table payoffs by recording company representatives to disc jockeys for putting their music
on the air is called
a. clipping.
23. The term “tiering” in cable refers to
e. providing basic service only.
24. Those working in __________ typically earn the highest income at broadcast stations.
a. programming
25. In terms of the number of jobs available, which of these categories seems most promising for
applicants trying to begin a career in broadcasting?
a. Acting
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26. Broadcasting majors would be well advised to consider job opportunities in
a. animation.
b. daytime soap operas.
27. When digital television comes into widespread use, capital outlay will be the greatest for
a. broadcast networks.
28. Preoccupation with profit and loss statements to the exclusion of all else is called
a. trafficking mentality.
True/False Questions
1. All broadcast stations and cable systems are local in the sense that each is licensed or franchised to
5. While major television stations may serve an entire metropolitan area, most large cities are divided
7. Ownership links with related businesses such as program production, distribution and delivery are
9. Superstations serve specific markets and yet they also reach hundreds of other markets throughout the
12. The variable affecting the price of broadcast time that has the greatest overall effect on advertising
13. Typically stations divide their time into specific dayparts with different prices for each, and these
14. All regional and national advertisers and most large local advertisers deal with media through
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15. The sponsor identification rule, Section 317 of the Communications Act, was designed to prevent
19. The 1992 Cable Act’s anti-buythrough provision prohibits cable operators from requiring subscribers
20. According to the NAB, in the late 1990s, radio general managers earned slightly more than their
Essay Questions
1. Describe the organization of commercial broadcast television stations.
2. What is a network’s relationship with its affiliates?
3. How does the concept “vertical integration” apply to the media?
4. How do monetary resources influence the electronic media’s structure, services, and operations?
5. Describe economic conditions affecting the sales and prices of media outlets and program services.
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