Practice questions for Midterm 2

1. Compared to Hollywood movies, independent movies are generally:

a) cheaper to produce

b) shorter

c) boring

d) unpopular

e) produced in foreign countries

2. According to Gloria Steinem (Sex, Lies and Advertising), advertisers have always been a problem for Ms. magazine because:

  1. advertisers had preconceived notions of the types of products women would buy
  2. Ms. readers seldom bought cars or electronic equipment, so there was no point in running ads for these products in the magazine.
  3. some advertisers insisted on using inappropriate images and words in their ads.
  4. "Ms." readers did not want to see any advertisements in the magazine.
  5. a and c

 

3. What is the purpose of putting a "cliffhanger" part way through a television show?

a) To keep an audience watching beyond the first 30 seconds

b) To keep an audience watching the commercial that follows

c) To ensure the audience will watch the show that follows

d) To ensure the audience will watch next week's show

e) To give the audience a break to use the bathroom or get a snack

 

4. Four separate months of the year are important in setting advertising rates for the networks. What do networks call those months?

a) Flow.

b) Sweeps.

c) Shares.

d) Counters.

e) Blocks.

5. Why did the networks cancel the shows Murder She Wrote and Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman?

a) They were popular, but just among older people.

b) They were popular, but just among poor people.

c) They were popular, but advertisers didn't like the depressing topics.

d) They were popular, but advertisers didn't like the emphasis on minorities.

e) They weren't popular.

6. According to a New York Times article (reading packet), why did the NAACP buy stock in the networks?

a. To have a voice at board meetings.

b. To move the networks into more racially diverse communities.

c. To have its own television program.

d. To eliminate stereotyping.

e. None of the above

7. According to Espinosa (The Rich Tapestry of Hispanic America . . . ), while the Hispanic population has grown in the U.S., Hispanic representation on television:

  1. Has disappeared.
  2. Has decreased.
  3. Has kept pace with the growth of the Hispanic population.
  4. Has increased.
  5. None of the above

8. In 1998, CBS replaced Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman with Martial Law in the

Saturday night time slot. Even though Martial Law continues to draw fewer

viewers, the change was considered a success. Why?

  1. CBS earned a reputation for airing programs which appeal to a racially and ethnically diverse audience.
  2. Advertisers were reluctant to associate their products with Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman because of Jane Seymour's outspoken political stance against sweatshop labor practices.
  3. Martial Law attracts young men which increases advertising rates and, ultimately, network revenues.
  4. The network orchestrated a successful merchandising tie-in campaign for Martial Law, a feat that was all but impossible with Dr. Quinn.
  5. Martial Law is cheaper to produce, so even though it draws fewer viewers and fewer advertisers, it still saves money for the network.

9. If you opened a restaurant, you are subject to newspaper reviews of your establishment because:

  1. reviews are mandated by the FDA.
  2. reviews are necessary for the health department to do its job
  3. it is required by restaurant trade association regulations.
  4. restaurants are public places.
  5. restaurants frequently have this written into their leasing contracts.

10. In The Socialization of Reporters (chapter 2 in Do the Media Govern?), which of the following is suggested by Cannon as a reason why reporters are compelled to write?

  1. the desire to make a social impact
  2. curiosity
  3. to hone their skills so they can move into public relations or political speech writing
  4. the need for artistic expression
  5. both a and b

11. According to lecture, interest groups are successful at influencing news content by:

  1. sending out press releases
  2. providing VNRs
  3. sometimes conducting research, and releasing the findings in press notices
  4. having a clear message about their goals
  5. all of the above

12. In Sound Bite News: Television Coverage of Elections (chapter 9 from Do the Media Govern?), Hallin suggests that press coverage is central to shaping presidential campaigns. He also says that the media have changed from earlier days in terms of style and content. According to Hallin, the nature of the changes could best be described as:

  1. Derogatory
  2. Complex
  3. Belligerent
  4. Insignificant
  5. Simple

13. According to Auletta (Three Blind Mice, chapter 11 in Do the Media Govern?), a major reason for the rise of tabloid news is:

  1. reporters enjoyed digging up scandals
  2. TV news executives were unaware of the change until it was too late to stop it.
  3. The industry copied Murdoch’s "sex and sizzle" style.
  4. it allowed news programs to become independent from advertisers.
  5. viewers were bored and more craved excitement

14. Bennett (Cracking the News Code) suggests that journalism mimics the powers of the U.S. as established in the Constitution. If this is true, which of the following can we assume:

  1. Mutual dependence between reporters and government officials.
  2. The media accurately reflect the realities of government.
  3. Today's media are above the law.
  4. Journalists should be elected just like public servants.
  5. Social problems are be best solved by the media.

15. As used in lecture, "CPT" stands for:

  1. Consumer Protection Trends
  2. Concerned Parents of Television
  3. Cost Per Thousand
  4. Crass Programming on Television
  5. Costs Per Television

16. How does Bennett (Cracking the News Code) reconcile his notion of a passive press with one that is the world's most free and independent?

  1. TV makes us well-informed and able to understand politics.
  2. We may have to turn to a system that imposes strict censorship to help reporters be less passive
  3. These conditions may be the product of social and economic forces we do not yet fully understand
  4. Journalists have abdicated their role as "cultural storytellers"
  5. Part of the problem lies in an onerous tax code that discourages good reporting

17. According to Bales (Talking Back, Ernie Pyle Style), Ernie Pyle, as a pioneer of public journalism, advocated a style we might summarize as being:

  1. more interested in sex and sizzle than arcane policy issues
  2. strongly in favor of being objective and unbiased and not using "I" in reporting
  3. media professionals making key decisions about what people need to know.
  4. based on writing originally developed in TV dramas
  5. more personal, populist and one that "real" people can appreciate

 

18. According to Hallin (Sound Bite News: Television Coverage of Elections), which of the following have contributed to the changes in the coverage of political campaigns:

  1. Journalists have become less adversarial to candidates.
  2. Advertisers prefer to avoid political news.
  3. The credibility of politicians was weakened by Vietnam and Watergate.
  4. Journalism schools began to take a hard-line approach to news reporting.
  5. Journalists realized that if change didn't happen voluntarily, the government would legislate it.

Answers

1. a

2. e

3. b

4. b

5. a

6. a

7. b

8. c

9. d

10. e

11. e

12. b

13. e

14. a

15. c

16. c

17. e.

18. c.