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Indicate the answer choice that best completes the statement or answers the question.
1. Sasha watches television, checks out her friend’s Facebook pages, and texts her best friends at the same time.
What term would your text use to describe Sasha’s behavior?
a.
media multitasking
b.
media converging
c.
techno-tasking
d.
narrowcasting
2. True or false? Children are more likely to imitate behavior that is fantasy, as opposed to realistic.
a.
True
b.
False
3. Which is the government able to do?
a.
Restrict the language aired on prime-time cable programs.
b.
Require cable channels to air adult-oriented content at times when children won’t be watching.
c.
Fine cable channels that display nudity in their programs.
d.
Require broadcast channels to censor indecent content, even in live broadcasts.
4. True or false? The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has the authority to regulate all television
content.
a.
True
b.
False
5. Which theory explains why a person who watches a lot of crime shows, like CSI or Law and Order, may
begin to believe that violent crime is more common than it really is?
a.
cultivation theory
b.
media convergence theory
c.
social cognitive theory
d.
third-person effect
6. True or false? Most kids and teens spend nearly nine hours per day devoted to entertainment media, including
television, movies, Internet, music, and other media sources.
a.
True
b.
False
7. True or false? The average adult spends over 10 hours per day consuming media.
a.
True
b.
False
8. Individuals and groups that have the power to control the creation and distribution of information and
entertainment are referred to as:
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a.
executives.
b.
gatekeepers.
c.
journalists.
d.
producers.
9. Which theory explains the following scenario? Your little brother is a huge fan of WWE wrestling. After he
and his friends watch several matches, you observe them beginning to act out their own wrestling matches,
shouting at one another and jumping off the couch trying to pin one another.
a.
media convergence
b.
social cognitive theory
c.
expression effects
d.
cultivation theory
10. True or false? Advances in communication technologies are blurring the lines between traditional mass
media and more interpersonal forms of communication.
a.
True
b.
False
11. Following the devastating tsunami in Japan, Chizu, a Japanese graduate student attending school in the
United States, found herself glued to the television and sometimes unable to sleep, fearing she would miss
important information. We would refer to her state as:
a.
information overload.
b.
media dependence.
c.
media convergence.
d.
television addiction.
12. True or false? Most people believe that negative media influences, such as exposure to biased messages,
have a greater effect on other people than on themselves.
a.
True
b.
False
13. Media convergence may be a good thing in that a greater variety of voices are contributing to the public
conversation about various ideas and subjects. Society benefits when more of these voices are included in the
public dialogue. These statements reflect which concept?
a.
low culture
b.
marketplace of ideas
c.
self-censorship
d.
framing
14. True or false? Media coverage of issues may set the agenda for what topics we discuss, how we discuss
them, and even how we behave in response to them (for example, in our behavioral choices, purchasing, and
even voting).
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a.
True
b.
False
15. True or false? Despite its reputation for low culture, television has produced more sophisticated
programming with greater narrative complexity over the last couple of decades.
a.
True
b.
False
16. True or false? Mediated communication technologies like blogs and Twitter may be reducing the agenda-
setting power of traditional gatekeepers like television networks and news organizations.
a.
True
b.
False
17. True or false? The amount of time Americans spend devoted to media has changed very little over the last
20 years.
a.
True
b.
False
18. True or false? We produce mass media messages when we text message our friends or change our Facebook
status.
a.
True
b.
False
19. True or false? Media convergence has enabled a greater variety of voices to participate in the marketplace of
ideas.
a.
True
b.
False
20. True or false? Snapchat stories are an example of user-generated content.
a.
True
b.
False
21. True or false? The diversity of perspectives presented in the media today appears to have made media bias
irrelevant because most people are exposed to a greater variety of perspectives on most issues.
a.
True
b.
False
22. Even though the principle of free speech fosters a marketplace of ideas, American courts have allowed a few
restrictions on First Amendment freedoms, such as limitations on:
a.
citizen journalists.
b.
media literacy.
c.
indecency.
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d.
gatekeepers.
23. True or false? The First Amendment prevents the government from regulating television content.
a.
True
b.
False
24. True or false? Whereas the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has the authority to regulate
broadcast television networks, cable and satellite networks often self-censor in order to avoid offending viewers
and advertisers.
A) True
C) 20. True or false? Whereas the Federal Communications Commission (FC has the authority to regulate
broadcast television networks, cable and satellite networks often self-censor in order to avoid offending viewers
and advertisers.
a.
True
b.
False
c.
20. True or false? Whereas the Federal Communications Commission (FC has the authority to
regulate broadcast television networks, cable and satellite networks often self-censor in order to
avoid offending viewers and advertisers.
A) True
B) False
25. True or false? Increasingly, diverse media outlets and digital channels make it easier than ever to engage in
preference-based reinforcement.
a.
True
b.
False
26. Which focuses on the way we make media choices in order to satisfy our needs and goals?
a.
social cognitive theory
b.
cultivation theory
c.
uses and gratifications perspective
d.
narrative complexity
27. True or false? Regarding mass media, 80 to 90 percent of mass media revenue is generated by only about 10
to 20 percent of the media products made.
a.
True
b.
False
28. The merging of traditional mass communication with digital computing and telecommunication
technologies is called:
a.
media expansion.
b.
media pervasion.
c.
media convergence.
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d.
media multitasking.
29. Which is TRUE of mass communication before the advent of the Internet and digital communication
devices?
a.
Audiences for mass communication were relatively small.
b.
Mass media messages were communicated with limited feedback.
c.
Nonprofessional communicators served as the source of mass communication.
d.
Mass media messages were much more pervasive.
30. True or false? Despite the reputation the media have for being biased, research actually indicates that news
media today are no more biased or politically partisan than they were in the 1980s.
a.
True
b.
False
31. True or false? Media multitasking may exacerbate the problem of information overload, making it difficult
for people to sort through and make sense of media content.
a.
True
b.
False
32. Entertainment that appeals to most people’s baser instincts, typified by lurid, sensational images and news
stories charged with sex, violence, scandal, and abuse, is referred to as:
a.
reality television.
b.
low culture.
c.
narrowcasting.
d.
mind candy.
33. True or false? Cable television is subject to government regulation because it transmits its content over
public cable networks.
a.
True
b.
False
34. Describe three of the five skills the textbook offers for how to become a more mindful and media literate
consumer.
35. What is the difference between mediated communication and mass media?
36. Provide a brief example of a time when you have engaged in media multitasking
and elaborate on how that multitasking influences the ways you interact with media.
37. Describe the two ways that media companies minimize risk when developing programming.
38. Should we be concerned about media bias? Synthesizing concepts and theories from throughout this
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chapter, justify your answer.
39. Provide an example of a television program you think embodies narrative complexity.
40. How might social cognitive theory explain how media content affects people’s behavior?
41. Discuss an example of user-generated content. How does that content affect its creator and its audience?
42. In what ways do “traditional media” and the pervasive “converged” media differ? Do you believe that the
traditional media are still powerful? Why or why not?
43. Explain what is meant by preference-based reinforcement, and provide an example.
44. Research cited in your text indicates that most teens and young adults interact with media for more than nine
hours each day, and that media multitasking may mean they are exposed to even more media messages. Based
on your own observation, do you believe this estimate is accurate? How do your own media habits compare to
that statistic?
45. Television is often characterized and criticized as low culture. Do you think this is a fair assessment? Is it
fair to disregard the cultural importance of television because much of it appeals to our base needs? Why or
why not?
46. What do we mean when we say that the business of the media relies on exponentiality?
47. Explain the uses and gratifications perspective as an effect of mass media.
48. Why is television criticized for its promotion of low culture?
49. In your own words, briefly explain why the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regulates
broadcast television networks but not satellite and cable television networks.
50. Why would a television network engage in self-censorship?
51. The uses and gratifications perspective argues that we choose which media to access based on our needs and
goals. Reflecting on your own media habits, discuss the way you use various media (Internet, television, music,
film, etc.) to meet your own needs and goals. Provide specific examples to illustrate your answer.
52. Using the textbook to justify your answer, what do you think hinders participation in the digital world?
53. Why is exponentiality and achieving financial success in media such a challenge?
54. Your sister and her husband are discussing what television programming is appropriate for your five-year-
old niece. Based on what you read in this chapter, what information would you share with them about the
potential negative and positive effects of media messages on children, as well as regulation of the content on
television?
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