Deck 13: The Media

Question 1

What is the Fourth Estate?

A) The internet
B) Fox News
C) The site of the first television studio
D) The media
E) The location of the Watergate building.

Answer 1

D
Explanation: This is because the media claim to be guardians of US democracy and argue for equal status with the political and judicial branches of government.

Question 2

What is the concept of ""prior restraint"" concerned with?

A) Self-censorship
B) Seeking approval to publish something
C) Stopping another newspaper from reprinting your news stories
D) Authorities not being allowed to prevent publication
E) Being ordered by a court not to publish something

Answer 2

D
Explanation: The First Amendment of the Bill of Rights prevents the government from infringing press freedoms.

Question 3

What is "yellow journalism"?

A) Publishing sensational news stories
B) Being afraid to publish the full truth about an event
C) Libelling a well-known politician
D) Being afraid to attack a popular figure
E) Attacking someone who cannot possibly defend themselves

Answer 3

A
Explanation: The term originated in the competition between publishing magnates William Randolph Hearst and Joseph Pulitzer during the late 19th-century rush for bigger circulation figures and profits.

Question 4

In what circumstances might court injunctions be used to prevent publication of news stories?

A) If they libelled the president
B) If they attacked court decisions
C) If they attacked the policies of friendly nations
D) If an article criticized the conduct of a war
E) If the material jeopardized national security

Question 5

What were the "Pentagon Papers"?

A) US defence plans against nuclear attack
B) US plans to invade Iraq
C) US plans to invade Afghanistan
D) US classified defence papers about the Vietnam War
E) The president's private papers

Question 6

Which of these US magazines have the highest sales?

A) Newsweek
B) Time
C) AARP Magazine and Bulletin
D) US News and World Report
E) New Yorker

Question 7

Who appoints the members of the Federal Communications Commission?

A) The Chief Justice
B) The President
C) The speaker of the House
D) The Senate majority Leader
E) The president of the American Society of News Editors

Question 8

Which of these is not an independent production company?

A) American Broadcasting Company
B) National Broadcasting Company
C) Columbia Broadcasting Service
D) New York State Broadcasters Association
E) Fox Broadcasting Company

Question 9

What are the key characteristics of the Public Broadcasting Service set up under the Public Broadcasting Act of 1967?

A) It is advertising free
B) It is funded by the federal government
C) It is funded by subscribers
D) It is funded by the private television networks
E) It is funded by Microsoft

Question 10

How many TV owners subscribe to cable TV in the US?

A) Nearly all
B) About half
C) A third
D) A quarter
E) Almost none

Question 11

How is cable TV funded?

A) By the independent production companies
B) By the Federal Communications Commission
C) Advertising
D) Subscriber fees
E) By the private television stations

Question 12

What percentage of the population does radio reach on a given day?

A) 50 percent
B) 60 percent
C) 70 percent
D) 80 percent
E) 90 percent

Question 13

Which news outlet is most trusted - presumably on grounds of its accuracy - by users?

A) Fox News
B) CNN
C) The New York Times
D) NPR
E) Google News

Question 14

Should the freedom of the American news media be curtailed?

Question 15

Analyze the contemporary significance of American newspapers in terms of their historical development and the influence of alternative media.

Question 16

What is "fake news," and how did President Trump use "fake news" rhetoric to serve his own political and personal ends? What is the role of alternative media in propagating "fake news"? What can and should be done about it in light of constitutionally guaranteed freedom of the press and freedom of speech?

Question 17

Was the Washington Post exposé of the Watergate scandal the high point of investigative newspaper journalism or have there been other, more recent cases in which investigative journalism has excelled?