In experiments, subjects are picked for each group through ______, which simply
means that each subject has an equal chance of being placed in either group.
A) random assignment
B) hypotheses
C) control groups
D) scientific method
E) surveys
The high price of such consumer products as designer jeans and breakfast cereal can be
attributed primarily to ______.
A) the cost of raw materials
B) manufacturing costs
C) distribution expenses
D) advertising
E) a dramatic improvement in quality of materials and manufacturing
Students who quote and cite a copyrighted source in a term paper for class are
technically violating the law.
A) True
B) False
The Japanese developed audiotape after World War II.
A) True
B) False
In 1912, federal law outlawed the transportation of boxing movies across state linesnot
because they were violent, but because there had been a black heavyweight boxing
champion since 1908.
A) True
B) False
One key difference between content analysis and textual analysis is the greater
emphasis on counting, measurement, and reliability in content analysis.
A) True
B) False
Which of the following statements about Google is false?
A) Google makes most of its money by generating original content.
B) Google is an example of a successful digital age media company.
C) Google is used to locate both “new” and “old” media content.
D) Google makes most of its money by selling advertising.
E) Google has expanded far beyond being a search engine by offering e-mail, mapping,
and numerous other services.
Penny press newspapers, such as the New York Sun, ______.
A) favored human-interest stories
B) relied on subsidies from political parties
C) catered to upper-class readers
D) were sold exclusively by subscription
E) kept newspapers mostly focused on upper-class sections of society
According to the textbook, which of the following is not a potential problem for a
democratic society posed by the practice of modern public relations?
A) There is often little knowledge of behind-the-scenes public relations efforts.
B) Coverage gained through public relations efforts can get unwarranted credibility as
news as opposed to identifiable advertising.
C) Spin doctors can reshape a politician’s image until it bears little resemblance to
reality.
D) Debate over key policy issues, such as going to war, can become exercises in public
manipulation instead of public information.
E) There is a growing effort by major news organizations to carefully fact-check
political advertising and expose lies and half-truths.
Rating refers to the percentage of households watching a given show out of all
households watching television at a given moment in time.
A) True
B) False
For each number under General Questions, fill in a letter.
A. Kinetoscope
B. Iconoscope
C. Electronic television
D. The Jazz Singer
E. CBS news anchor
F. Twenty-One
G. Birth of a Nation
H. Shaft
I. Oldboy
J. Lost in Translation
K. DBS
Vladimir Zworykin
After completing its first five television episodes, an independently produced TV
program no longer requires deficit financing to fund its production.
A) True
B) False
Which of the following developments has contributed to the overall decline in
newspaper readership over most of the last century?
A) Increase in the number of working women
B) The availability of newspapers on the Internet
C) Competition from television
D) Greater competition from suburban weeklies
E) All of the options are correct.
Time Warner’s cable channels can be considered a form of high-tech vertical
integration.
A) True
B) False
A communication satellite that is in geosynchronous orbit circles the earth at the same
speed at which the earth revolves on its axis.
A) True
B) False
Hypertext inventor Tim Berners-Lee published an article in 2001 that introduced the
idea of the _______.
A) World Wide Web
B) voice recognition assistant
C) Semantic Web
D) ISP
E) smartphone
Which of the following was an early brand name in the United States?
A) Eastman Kodak
B) Levi Strauss
C) Quaker Oats
D) Campbell Soup
E) All of the options are correct.
Before the 1830s, there was little need for advertising in America because there were
few goods available for sale and virtually no consumer market.
A) True
B) False
Which of the following did not result from hiring television news consultants?
A) Local news directors purchased national prepackaged formats.
B) Local news put its issues-oriented reporting at the forefront, often starting newscasts
with those stories.
C) A culture of “if it bleeds, it leads” developed in the industry.
D) Everything from music to opening graphics developed a similar look across the
country.
E) Standards of appearance for news anchors became even more rigid.
What has been the defining feature of public debate regarding radio as a natural
resource?
A) Broadcasting companies are eager for questions on their financial arrangements.
B) Public debate is vigorous and intense over the role of radio.
C) There is little public debate over the issue.
D) Record companies want to encourage debate in order to create the best environment
for artists to grow on the airwaves.
E) All of the options are correct.
The acceptance of the dominant values in a culture by those who are subordinate to
those who hold economic power describes ______.
A) consolidation
B) democracy
C) hegemony
D) specialization
E) synergy
The term muckraker _____.
A) was coined by President Theodore Roosevelt because he was angry with negative
reporting
B) described investigative reporters who only wrote about American institutions in a
positive light
C) was seen as an insult by leading investigative reporters
D) described reporters who wanted to write in the simplistic and conventional style of
newspaper journalism
E) None of the above options is correct.
Which statement best describes the current state of the public relations industry?
A) There are over 7,000 public relations firms in the United States alone.
B) There are thousands of corporate, government, and nonprofit organizations that have
their own PR departments.
C) A good deal of the money and power in the PR field flows through a handful of
major multinational holding companies that often own several PR agencies.
D) Most independent public relations firms operate on a local or regional level.
E) All of the options are correct.
Companies often hold plant tours and open houses to convince their local communities
that they are good citizens.
A) True
B) False
Daily newspaper circulation numbers ______.
A) have declined but these declines show some signs of being offset by increases in
online readership
B) continue to grow in terms of actual paper subscriptions in the United States
C) continue to decline in places like Asia, Africa, and South America
D) continue to grow, but newspapers are still operating in the red
E) All of the options are correct.
Which of the following is the best way to erase the losses of deficit financing for a TV
show?
A) Selling the program into rerun, or off-network, syndication
B) Selling national and local advertising spots
C) Selling the program to individual affiliates
D) Renting the program to the networks
E) Time shifting
The idea of the public sphere, defined as a space for critical public debate, was first
advanced by American media critic Walter Lippmann.
A) True
B) False
Ad agencies rarely use irritation advertising to sell products because people hate it and
it doesn’t work.
A) True
B) False
People often choose to expose themselves only to media outlets that express their
views. What is this called?
A) The uses and gratifications model
B) Selective exposure and retention
C) The hypodermic-needle model
D) The marketing research model
E) The propaganda analysis model
Which of the following is an aspect of postmodern culture?
A) The idea that populist themes devalue the notion of “art”
B) Acknowledging paradoxes such as having both a nostalgia for the past and an
appetite for new technology
C) Never mixing fact with fiction, preferring only to ‘stick to the facts”
D) Believing that rational thought is the answer to every social problem
E) All of the options are correct.
The Radio Corporation of America bought which of the following companies?
A) British Marconi
B) American Marconi
C) AT&T
D) Westinghouse
E) WNBC
Three major players dominate the video game console business: ______.
A) Sega, Sony, and Nintendo
B) Nintendo, Sega, and Activision
C) Atari, Sony, and Blizzard
D) Microsoft, Sony, and Activision
E) Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft
Cookies are files that allow a Web site owner to chart the computer user’s movements
within the Web site and collect other information about the user.
A) True
B) False
Synergy typically refers to the promotion and sale of different versions of a media
product across the various subsidiaries of a media conglomerate.
A) True
B) False