Professor Joseph Turow
Communication 130: Mass Media & Society
Exam 1, Fall 2007

I: Multiple Choice:  Please mark the letter of the most correct answer in the right column next to the question. – 2 points each

1. Which of the following statements is NOT true?

a. Government regulation and financial support from business are crucial to shaping different patterns of production, distribution, and exhibition. 
b. New media do not change the relationships that exist among older media.
c. Audience segmentation lies at the heart of contemporary media industries.
d. Mass media present ideas through primary genres.    

2. The Hutchins Commission

            a. advocated a libertarian model of the press.

            b. expressed concern that the news media needed to exercise more social responsibility.

            c. was used successfully by Henry Luce to justify his magazines’ power.

            d. suggested that news magazines focus on more national and international rather than local stories.

 

3. According to Vivian, what is the primary difference between the U.S. and European concepts of news?

a) The U.S. model is more open to “soft news” while the European model is more strictly grounded in “hard news” coverage.

b) The European model is more open to “soft news” while the U.S. model is more strictly grounded in “hard news” coverage.

c) The U.S. model emphasizes objectivity while the European model is more openly partisan.

d) The European model emphasizes objectivity while the U.S. model is more openly partisan.

 

4. Which of the following associations of researchers and communication models are correct?

 

a. Harold Lasswell – Narrative model

b. Claude Shannon and Warren Weaver – Basic communication model

c. Thomas Bohn – Concentric circle model

d. These are all correct.

 

5. If you were to use the Potter’s Box model to take a stance on an ethical issue, you would NOT consider:

a. Values

b. Situation

c. Utility

d. Loyalties

 

 

 

 

 6. Which of the following companies considers itself the most global?

a. Disney        

b. Comcast

c. News Corp

d. Hearst

 

7.  Aggressive Stimulation theory presumes:

a.  Violence in real-life promotes violence in the media.
b.  Violence depicted in media encourages violence in real life.

c.   Violent individuals promote violence in others.

  1. Violent media portrayals weaken human desire to commit violence.

 

8. What is meant by “yellow journalism”?

a. a period in newspapers from the American Revolution to the 1830’s characterized by intense partisanship.

b. a 20th century form of newspapers characterized by objectivity and neutrality.

c. an early 1800’s form of newspaper characterized by mass advertising and geared to mass audiences.

d. a late 1800’s form of newspaper characterized by sensationalism.

 

9. Which of the following came LAST?

a.       The steam-powered press

b.      The penny press

c.       Jacksonian Democracy

d.      The growth of beats or departments in news companies

 

10. Which of the following came LAST?

a.       Godey’s Ladies Book

b.      The mass circulation magazine

c.       The US Civil War

d.      The beginning of the advertising industry

 

11. What is an example of corporate synergy?

a. A company licenses its intellectual property to another company to create additional revenue

b)  A company expands its reach into new global markets

c)  A company CEO mandates that two divisions work together to create a book and movie deal.

d)  All of the above

 

 

 

 

 

 

12. The Telecommunications Act of 1996 drastically changed the ownership situation of what media industry?

a.       radio

b.      television

c.       the internet

d.      IPTV

e.       All of the above

 

13. Howard Beal’s rant from the movie Network was echoed in last year’s Studio 60 television series and this year’s movie Michael Clayton.   This reflects the idea

a.       That writers often reuse their material across media boundaries.

b.      That writers are aware of the history of genre in which they work.

c.       That casting directors choose actors for similar roles.

d.      That producers often use their material across media boundaries.

 

14. In what century did Johannes Gutenberg produce his printing press?

            a. The 13th century

            b. The 14th century

            c. The 15th century

            d. The 16th century

 

15. Which of the following is most correct about media conglomerates?

a. Some companies, such as Vivendi, Time Warner and Viacom, have had second thoughts about their benefits.

b. Jean-Marie Messier of the EU Commission wants to restrain them.

c. Financial journalists have been egging some CEOs toward conglomeration even while they hesitate.

d. All of the above

 

16. For the accuracy of probability sampling, which factor below is NOT important?

a. sample selection

b. margin of error

c. confidence level

d. question sequencing

 

17.  “He talks back to Jay Leno while watching the Tonight Show!”  This activity is an example of

            a. Cultivation

            b. Parasocial interaction

            c. Third person effect

            d. Two-step flow

 

 

 

 

 

 

PART II:  Short Answers:  Please answer the following 17 questions briefly.  4 points each, except where  indicated

18. Briefly list three considerations relevant to determining whether or not something qualifies as “Fair Use.”

 

19. List two activities of the FCC.

 

20. What medium did George Gerbner study when he referred to the “mean-world syndrome”?  What did he mean by that phrase?

 

21. What do we mean when we say media can function as social currency?  (2 points)

 

22. How does Joseph Dominick define mass communication?  List one reason why he would OR would not consider MySpace mass communication.

 

23. Describe two ways in which government officials try to manipulate news content.

 

24. Give an example of a conflict of interest that a journalist might face as a result of her duty to her employer? 

 

25. Define media fractionalization and identify one way that media companies are responding to it.

 

26.  Note two concerns that critics have of media conglomeration.

 

27.  Name a media conglomerate and two of its subsidiary companies.

 

28.  Give 2 reasons that the 18-49 age group has been a key target for packaged good companies.

29. Historically, why did US newspapers get drawn to the idea of objective reporting?

 

30. Name 2 classes of speech or writing that may not be protected by the First Amendment.

 

31.When it comes to the internet, what is the difference between the digital divide and the knowledge gap?

 

32. Give two examples of the way journalists implement strategies of objectivity.

33. Explain this statement:  “She published a book for the trade market via a vanity press.”

 

34. Give two reasons researchers gave that some people panicked upon hearing War of the Worlds on CBS radio in 1938.