MULTIPLE CHOICE.   

1)  One of the four media functions is to

A) inform    B) initiate    C) instigate    D) evaluate    E) irritate 

2)  How do mass media bind communities together?

A) denying people the information they need at election time 

B) distorting reality to disgust the audience 

C) creating common experiences among audience members 

D) manipulating audiences to accept the big lie 

E) focusing on segment audiences within the population 

3)  Photographic media include

A) billboards   B) advertising on restaurant napkins   C) the web    D) movies    E) corporate logos on ball-point pens 

4)  On a hot-cool continuum, which requires the most of message recipients? 

A) radio       B) books      C) radio soap operas         D) television soap operas        E) music videos 

5)  Which mass medium combines text, audio and both still and moving visuals in a global network?

A) film       B) over-air television         C) Vivendi          D) the web           E) cable television 

6)  Which is an elitist perspective?

A) Above all else, media should give people what they want. 

B) People can be trusted to determine media content through marketplace dynamics. 

C) Media success can only be measured by the size of the audience. 

D) Quality, not economics, should drive the media.

E) The media should avoid cultural and intellectual leadership. 

7)  The mass media inform through

A) news stories and advertisements  B) demassification C) recorded music D) conglomeration E) globalization  

8)  Which distinguishes most newspapers from books and many other print media?

A) long shelf life     B) regularity      C) nil credibility     D) more commitment to public service than to profits

9)  Which is the most obvious mass media message for persuasion?

A) a photograph  B) a television reality show  C) a corporate news release D) a news article E) an advertisement 

10)  What is the process of compressing, storing and transmitting data electronically?

A) integration    B) amplitude modulation    C) digitization     D) configuration     E) frequency modulation 

11)  Which serves the mass media's information function?

A) music videos    B) newspaper comics   C) television sitcoms   D) whodunit mystery novels    E) weather forecasts 

12)  Demassification has contributed to the growth of 

A) U.S. family size to 5.6  

B) broadcast networks that offer programs of wide appeal

C) alternative media for narrow genres in the mass audience

D) SAT scores among college applicants

E) general-interest magazines 

13)  Book publishers make their profit almost entirely from 

A) philanthropic donations  B) tax deductions  C) advertising D) juggling the company books   E) readers

14)  What is the primary goal of most U.S. mass media? 

A) electing Republicans  B) making profits C) providing a forum to exchange ideas D) entertaining people 

15)  Elitists favor mass media that 

A) excel commercially B) seek the largest possible audience C) cater to marketplace economics D) improve society

16)  A hot medium sends messages  

A) to the audience by way of equipment that heats up

B) that serve as background noise

C) without requiring much audience involvement

D) passively

E) that require a high degree of thinking

17)  Chemical media include

A) billboards  B) skywriting  C) movies  D) advertising on restaurant napkins E) corporate logos on ball-point pens 

18)  What process is at work when a conglomerate urges its movie studio and television network into joint projects?

A) restrictive rivalry  B) synergy  C) convenient conglomeration D) fractured partnership E) incestuous integration 

19)  Which of the following mediums was among the first to demassify in the 1950s?

A) magazines  B) broadcast television  C) cable television   D) radio   E) newspapers 

20)  Most mass media conglomerates promote

A) profits to the exclusion of ideologies 

B) truth above all else

C) ideologies to the exclusion of profits

D) thinly veiled political messages

E) well-concealed political messages

21)  Which of the following represents an advantage of conglomeration, such as in chain newspapers?

A) reduced operational costs  B) increased diversity of messages C) economic stability D) product uniformity

22)  Mass production of the written word was possible with technology devised by

A) Bertrand Russell.   B) Allen Neuharth.   C) Johannes Gutenberg.   D) Guglielmo Marconi.   E) Sumner Redstone. 

23)  Mass-produced books changed human history by

A) ending assembly lines that produced books 

B) giving ancient Chinese a communication advantage

C) keeping scribists gainfully employed

D) accelerating the exchange of ideas

E) preserving the art of calligraphy

24)  What would impress an elitist about a book?

A) literary quality B) a provocative cover C) a catchy title  E) how photogenic the author comes across on television  

25)  Which of the following magazines is not available at newsstands, yet leads the nation in circulation growth?

A) Penthouse   B) AARP The Magazine   C) Mad   D) Esquire  E) Playboy

26)  What best describes a national daily in the United States?

A) the word national in its name

B) hometown editions 

C) being edited exclusively for a national audience

D) a consent decree from Congress to publish

E) a national edition spun off from a hometown product

27)  Most “shoppers” offer mostly

A) muckraking.  B) advertising.   C) news and entertainment.    D) Pulitzer Prize journalism.    E) editorial comment.

28)  Which could be considered an alternative newspaper?

A) Washington Post   B) USA Today   C) L.A. Weekly   D) New York Times    E) USWest Dex 

29)  Which is generally true of U.S. newspapers?

A) Newspapers generally offer more depth in local news than television

B) Sunday newspapers are being shut down

C) The number of afternoon newspapers is growing

D) Newspapers no longer rely on advertising revenue

E) Newspapers have regained glitz from television

30)  Which is true about most U.S. daily newspaper circulation?

A) Young people are more avid readers than their parents

B) It is stagnant or falling

C) Circulation probably will re-double in the coming 10 years

D) Afternoon newspapers are expected to flourish

E) Most dailies have moved to free distribution

31)  Which is a national newspaper?

A) Chicago Tribune  B) Miami Herald  C) Washington Times  D) Los Angeles Times  E) Wall Street Journal

32)  Where would you most likely find the most in-depth news?

A) television     B) newspapers      C) radio       D) billboards      E) Hollywood movies

33)  Which age group has the lowest percentage of daily newspaper readers?

A) 25-36    B) 65 & older    C) 37-54     D) 55-64    E) 18-24

34)  Magazines reach special interest readers with

A) black-and-white photos rather than color B) personality profiles C) narrowly focused content D) more frequent issues.

35)  What has spurred newspaper chain ownership?

A) profit enhancement  B) newsprint shortages C) economic survival D) government subsidies  E) veterinary science

36)  Elitists praise music that

A) moves in new artistic directions  B) wins platinum records C) wallows in sentimentalism  E) delights shareholders 

37) Which most clearly serves the mass media's information function?

A) Mad magazine, newspaper comics and Comedy Central 

B) stock market tables, weather reports and baseball box scores 

C) romance novels, video games and racy movies  

D) television sitcoms, quiz shows and voyeur reality shows 

E) shock jocks and music videos 

38) How do mass media bind communities together?

A) manipulating audiences to accept the big lie 

B) distorting reality to disgust the audience 

C) creating common experiences among audience members 

D) denying people the information they need at election time 

E) focusing on segment audiences within the population 

39) Which mass medium combines text, audio, still and moving visuals in a global network?

A) The web    B) Vivendi     C) Tower Records   D) cable television    E) over-air television 

40) When does feedback occur in mass communication?

A) at every step of the process      B) immediately        C) after a decent interval          D) when a recipient responds  

41) Which is the most obvious mass media message for persuasion?

A) a television reality show   B) an advertisement   C) a news article  D) a corporate news release   E) a photograph 

42) The mass media inform through

A) demassification  B) news stories and advertisements  C) conglomeration  D) globalization   E) recorded music

43) Name the thing that distinguishes most newspapers from books and many other print media?

A)  long shelf life   B) distribution costs   C) commitment to public service over profit   D) nil credibility  E) regularity 

44) What are the mass media's three technological foundations?

A) books, magazines, newspapers B) print, electronic, chemical B) Radio-TV, recordings D) Television, radio, movies 

45) A hot medium sends messages

A) to the audience by way of equipment that heats up

B) that require a high degree of thinking

C) passively  

D) without requiring much audience involvement

E) that serve as background noise

46) What principle is at work when a television network cancels a program because it slips in the ratings?

A) aggressive integrity   B) economic imperative   C) asserting standards   D) standardized prestige   E) quality control 

47) Most mass media conglomerates like the Tribune Co. operate on

A) truth above all else

B) thinly veiled political messages  

C) ideologies to the exclusion of product and profits 

D) profit to the exclusion of product and ideologies  

E) well-concealed political messages

48) Hot Rod and Motor Trend magazines have

A) avoided media conglomeration B) demassified C) avoided globalization D) fended off  demassification

49) Mass-produced books changed human history by

A) giving ancient Chinese a communication advantage 

B) keeping scribists gainfully employed

C) preserving the art of calligraphy

D) ending assembly lines that produced books  

E) accelerating the exchange of ideas

50 Which would be a populist measure of magazine success?

A) awards for excellent articles B) intelligence of readers C) number of think pieces D) number of advertising pages

51) Besides being timely, to be considered a newspaper, a publication must be

A) published periodically  B) owned by a major corporation C) located on a stock market D) printed on a broadsheet

52) Which of the following pays most of the bills at a newspaper?

A) food section B) home delivery C) editorial page D) street sales E) advertising – both classified and display

53) A free-lance magazine writer

A) can make a good living, as most do

B) must develop good clientele and reputations to survive

C) receives the majority of his assignments from solicited requests

D) Derives most of his income from textbooks

54) What is the major reason the paperback book industry prospers?

A) its ability to lure production companies into making first run movies from books

B) its distribution system

C) word of mouth subscriptions

D) the books are cheap to produce and generate a high profit margin

55) A book or magazine called a “regional publication” is

a)      sold in specific geographic regions or locales

b)      appeals only to folks from that region

c)      usually concentrates the majority of its copy on issues in that region

d)      all of the above.

56) Which of the following does not constitute mass communications?

a)      student in class reading a book written by the professor

b)      persons watching a news show on TV

c)      workers listening to the radio

d)      student reading the school paper

e)      medical students attending a seminar

57) A film producer who cuts a scene from the original script of a movie can be considered a

a)      homophile    b)audiophile   c)   gatekeeper   d) sender    e) receiver

58) A city official speaks to 450 V.I.P. at a private luncheon. This does not constitute mass communication because

a)      the speech was an impersonal message

b)      the event was not open to the public

c)      no mass medium was used to transit the message

d)      this event would constitute mass communication

e)      none of the above

59) A flier printed by a politician and dropped on your doorstep is an example of what?

a) mass communication

b) the gate-keeping experience because it was edited for a specific cause

c) private communication because it was intended for a specific audience

d) demassification

60) Email could be considered

a) mass communication because the internet is available to everyone

b) not mass communication

c) a private experience not for the masses

d) personal and for use only between parties involved

61) The internet is

a)  not considered mass communication because individuals use it

b)  does not reach large numbers of people and, thus, cannot be mass communication

c)  is mass communication just by its shear power of definition

d)  operates in a vacuum outside mass communication

62) Newspaper circulation in this country

a)   is at an all-time high   b)continues to plummet    c) is flat    d) none of the above

63) One of the dangers of corporate chain newspapers is

a) owners put profits over product

b) they increase the public’s ability to get news from other sources

c) buyers have to subscribe to get the product

d) all of the above

64) Of the four types of newspaper organizational control types, which one is most likely to be run by a union of workers?

a) The president and publisher type

b) General manager type

c) Owner operator type

d) The employee ownership and control type

65) Public literacy laws in the late 19^th century led to

a) readers craving materials

b) a need for more text books to educate students

c) with more literacy, came more writers

d) all of the above

True/False – 

66. The term “gatekeepers” refers only to editors who screen the news and not to producers, publishers, commentators, reporters and the like.

67. Gatekeepers have tremendous power in the mass media.

68. Our mass communication networks have become so big, individuals cannot exercise selectivity.

69. Mass communication must be instantaneous, reaching large numbers of people simultaneously.

70. Accelerating technology affects all aspects of mass communications.

71. Gate-keeping is a limiting factor on the availability of information.

72. Mass audiences area fickle.

73. The electric light encouraged literacy and led to increased mass media specialization.

74. As literacy increased, so did the popularity of books, magazines and newspapers.

75. Media growth has accelerated to the point where it is becoming hard to keep up.

76. Mass communicators learn immediately if their message has reached a target.

77. So pervasive have mass media become there’s no longer a need for people to have personal experiences.

78. Being critical consumers of mass media means having a balance of information that includes more than a single source of news.

79. All mass communication is free from powers of economic restraint like the need for advertising revenue.

80. A gate-keeping chain is established when more than one person, or “gatekeeper,” processes the same news story with a limited amount of feedback from others.

81.  Mass communicators are never sure of the size of their audience.

82. Communication through Mass Media is a cerebral event - it forces the brain to work.

83.. The majority of advances in technology took place between World War I and World War II.

84. The Associated Press was formed by the United States government under the Lincoln Administration to see that the North was supplied with battle information during the Civil War.

85. A.P. is widely credited with developing the “inverted pyramid” style of reporting.

86. The inverted pyramid style of reporting was developed during World War I so Life Magazine could meet its photo deadline more affectively.

87. In the late 1800s newspaper publishers found they were dealing with two distinct audiences.

88. The advent of T.V. forced newspapers into more in-depth reporting of news.

89. Growing suburban areas in the U.S. have generally been strongholds for morning newspapers.

90.  P.M. papers continue to grow as this country’s best source of spot news.

91. A.M. and P.M. newspapers generally appeal to the same audiences.

92. A well-edited daily newspaper beats electronic media with superior “spot reporting.”

96. Even today, Americans like to read books more than they do newspapers.

94. About half of all books published each year are textbooks.

95. The majority of magazines sold in this country are purchased through subscriptions.

96. Freelance magazine and book writing is very lucrative.

97. Television was not a factor in the decline of magazine readership after World War II.

98. The ad-to-copy ratio for magazines is higher than it is for newspapers.

99. Books have the ability to offer narrow themes to readers and still be considered “mass media.”

100. The average shelf-life of today’s paperback book is about a month.

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