Deck 2: Convergence and the Reshaping of Mass Communication

Question 1

When brands are part of and essential to a piece of media content,proponents of this practice say it isn't a commercial,it is

A) niche marketing.
B) subgroup marketing.
C) synergy.
D) brand entertainment.

Answer 1

D

Question 2

The ownership of several major U.S.media corporations by foreign companies is an example of

A) concentration of media ownership.
B) globalization of media.
C) audience fragmentation.
D) erosion of distinctions among media.

Answer 2

B

Question 3

The owndership of 90% of the media in the U.S.by only six companies is known as

A) concentration of media ownership.
B) globalization of media.
C) audience fragmentation.
D) erosion of distinctions among media.

Answer 3

A

Question 4

The means of delivering a specific piece of media content is referred to as a

A) medium.
B) subtechnology.
C) platform.
D) message carrier.

Question 5

Audiences consuming content at a time predetermined by the producer and distributor is known as

A) niche programming.
B) schedule-making.
C) media multitasking.
D) appointment consumption.

Question 6

The ability to access any content,anytime,anywhere describes

A) narrowcasting.
B) subgroup marketing.
C) synergy.
D) consumption-on-demand.

Question 7

In the fraction of selection formula,the cost of a babysitter when you want to go to the movies is part of the

A) expectation of reward.
B) reason not to go.
C) effort required.
D) benefit.

Question 8

The integration,for a fee,of specific branded products into media content is

A) narrowcasting.
B) in-content marketing.
C) product placement.
D) message corruption.

Question 9

The strategy of tailoring media content to specific audiences possessing characteristics of interest to specific advertisers is

A) narrowcasting or niche marketing.
B) subgroup marketing.
C) synergy.
D) message concentration.

Question 10

The simultaneous consumption of many different kinds of media is known as.

A) media multitasking.
B) multidimensional consumption.
C) synergy.
D) cross-platform interdiction.

Question 11

Increasing the amount of advertising and mixing commercial and noncommercial content is known as

A) audience fragmentation
B) hypercommericalism.
C) convergence.
D) globalization.

Question 12

When a media company has content that it can use across a number of its different holdings,this is

A) narrowcasting or niche marketing.
B) subgroup marketing.
C) synergy.
D) message concentration.

Question 13

The fraction of selection theory was developed by

A) Harold Lasswell.
B) Wilbur Schramm.
C) James Carey.
D) Frank Lloyd Wright.

Question 14

The explanation of how individuals make media and content choices based on expectation of reward and effort required is the

A) fraction of selection.
B) media-use model.
C) synergy-to-effort equation.
D) cost-benefit ratio.

Question 15

Electronic sell-through is

A) the decreased value ofa company's stock.
B) the buying of digital download movies.
C) the simultaneous release of a movie in theaters, video on demand, and online.
D) a Web-only television show.

Question 16

Software for mobile digital devices is called

A) a webisode.
B) Wi-Fi.
C) an app.
D) brand entertainment.

Question 17

Audiences for specific media content becoming smaller and more defined is known as

A) concentration of media ownership.
B) globalization of media.
C) audience fragmentation.
D) erosion of distinctions among media.

Question 18

Groups of people,or audiences,bound by little more than an interest in a given form of media content are

A) bounded cultures.
B) content subcultures.
C) synergy.
D) taste publics.

Question 19

The availability of USA Today in the form ofa newspaper,an iPad app,and a webpage is an example of

A) concentration of media ownership.
B) globalization of media.
C) audience fragmentation.
D) erosion of distinctions among media.

Question 20

The concentration of control of the media industries into ever-smaller numbers of companies is

A) synergy.
B) technological determinism.
C) ritual bonding.
D) oligopoly.

Question 21

How are the distinctions among traditional media being eroded?

Question 22

Supporters point to economies-of-scale in their defense of media concentration.

Question 23

What is audience fragmentation?

Question 24

What is a platform?

Question 25

What is convergence?

Question 26

There has been a huge decrease in newsroom jobs.

Question 27

The fact that people increasingly have no preference for where they access their media content suggests that they are becoming

A) lazy.
B) content-neutral.
C) media literate.
D) platform agnostic.

Question 28

Can you describe recent changes in audience size for movies,recorded music,network television,DVD,radio,newspapers,and videogames?

Question 29

What are product placement and branded content?

Question 30

How would you describe contemporary levels of overall media consumption?

Question 31

The general decline in revenues for the traditional media can be traced to overall declines in media consumption.

Question 32

What is hypercommercialism?

Question 33

What is media multitasking?

Question 34

What is globalization?

Question 35

Convergence refers to the collecting,or converging,of many media companies into a few large corporations.

Question 36

Many cable channels-for example,Nickelodeon and A&E-prosper through their ability to deliver demographically narrow audiences to advertisers.

Question 37

As a result of the changing process of mass communication,specifically,the Internet,the audience has become the source in many instances.

Question 38

Despite what is happening to the other traditional forms of mass media,radio listenership,especially among young people,continues to grow.

Question 39

Differentiate between concentration of media ownership and conglomeration.

Question 40

What are economies of scale and oligopoly? How are they related?

Question 41

What elements are fueling today's rampant media convergence?

Question 42

Do you find product placement and branded content as troublesome as do its critics? Why or why not? Are you sympathetic to those writers who want to be paid extra for inserting "commercials" into their scripts? Why or why not?

Question 43

What are the five major trends currently reshaping the mass communication process? How does each promise to do so?

Question 44

Critics of concentration of media ownership and conglomeration argue that they are a threat to democracy.What is the thrust of their concern? Do you share it? Why or why not?

Question 45

Many industry insiders attribute the recent fall-off in audiences for movies,recorded music,network television,DVD,radio,newspapers,and videogames to changes in technology;people are finding new ways to access content.And while this is certainly true to a degree,others say that in this age of concentrated and hypercommercialized media,audiences are simply being turned off.Would you agree with the critics? Why? Can you give examples from your own media consumption?

Question 46

What are the two major concerns of globalization's critics? Do you feel that concern? Why or why not?

Question 47

Differentiate between appointment consumption and consumption-on-demand.

Question 48

When asked which devices American teens use daily,76% said they use their cellphones every day and 72% watch television every day,but only 38% use a desktop computer and only 36% use an iPod or other music player.Would you say you use devices with multiple uses more often than devices with singular uses? What do you think this says about the effects of conversion on American culture?

Question 49

Differentiate between notions of content producers,audiences,messages,and feedback in the traditional view of the mass communication process and the more contemporary understandings of these elements of the process.

Question 50

Where NBC executive Bob Wright warns,"You can't fight technology," Advertising Age's Scott Donaton cautions,"A cell phone isn't a TV." What is the concern behind each comment? Is one more correct than the other? With whom would you side in a debate,and why?