Deck 2: Media Literacy in the Digital Age

Question 1

Jamal critically analyzes media content by considering its particular presentation, its underlying political or social messages, and its media ownership or regulation. Jamal demonstrates __________.

A) multimodality
B) media literacy
C) cognitive complexity
D) media hegemony

Answer 1

B

Question 2

__________ relies on the notion that we classify, organize, and interpret things into certain schema to simplify the complex.

A) Media framing
B) Media grammar
C) Echo effects
D) Branding

Answer 2

A

Question 3

A leading theorist in contemporary semiotics and the father of linguistics, __________ identified the dual nature of signs.

A) René Magritte
B) Gertrude Stein
C) Ferdinand de Saussure
D) James Potter

Answer 3

C

Question 4

__________ combine certain elements of books and newspapers in their media grammar.

A) Films
B) Advertorials
C) TV shows
D) Magazines

Question 5

The main concern in the early days of film in the 1920s was the medium's depiction of __________.

A) sex, violence, and lawlessness
B) adultery
C) smoking and drinking
D) politics

Question 6

Radio and recorded music have their own grammar, one that is based solely on __________.

A) listeners
B) rhythms
C) sound
D) multiple audio tracks

Question 7

The underlying media grammar of specific categories or genres makes it easier to __________.

A) market and promote artists
B) listen to the radio in the car
C) sing along to popular songs
D) allow private radio stations to stay on the air

Question 8

__________ is generally either underlined or otherwise set apart typographically or graphically from nonlinked text.

A) Coding
B) Window wrap
C) Hypertext
D) An actuality

Question 9

If much of the media we consume comes from a handful of large conglomerates, it raises questions about the role of media __________, how information may be skewed toward a particular viewpoint that influences our views of politics, society, or culture.

A) grammar
B) overload
C) literacy
D) bias

Question 10

What has research revealed about media bias and media effects?

A) Audiences can be quite active in interpreting and using media.
B) The public is largely passive and accepts unquestioningly the media it consumes.
C) News coverage is fair and balanced.
D) Media bias occurs only in news stories.

Question 11

__________ is/are one of the few traditional mass-communication formats to include frequent interaction between media producers or hosts and the audience.

A) Reality TV
B) Talk Radio
C) Magazines
D) TV sitcoms

Question 12

New efficiencies of creating and delivering content in a digital, networked environment are emerging throughout the world. Long-held, highly profitable business models based on __________ are less viable nowadays.

A) multimedia platforms
B) analog technology
C) media convergence
D) media interactivity

Question 13

What does Magritte's famous "This is not a pipe" painting tell us?

A) A painting of an object is more important than the object itself.
B) Surrealism determines reality.
C) A semiotic sign is a physical reality.
D) A representation of a thing is not the thing itself.

Question 14

One of the conventions of interviewing in both the field and the studio is that the reporter instructs the interview partner to __________.

A) stay quiet and listen
B) promote his/her own point-of-view
C) never look directly into the camera
D) avoid stating personal views

Question 15

__________ has several advantages over the Internet in many developing countries, providing an easy and relatively cheap way to communicate.

A) Radio
B) Mobile telephony
C) Landline telephony
D) Cable

Question 16

Edited audio clips from interviews with people are known as __________.

A) actualities
B) laugh tracks
C) voice-overs
D) framing

Question 17

Each medium of mass communication presents its messages uniquely according to a set of underlying rules that can also be described as __________.

A) codes and conventions
B) the signifier and the signified
C) media grammar
D) critical thinking

Question 18

The shift from point-and-click interactions with a mouse to touchscreen swipes and "pinches" that help manipulate content makes us aware that __________.

A) there is nothing "natural" about how we use media today
B) information today can be accessed at record speed, compared to fifty years ago
C) Google glasses will soon replace manual manipulation of the screen
D) voice activation could accelerate the user interface even more

Question 19

Which of the following devices is associated with TV sitcoms?

A) Actualities
B) Laugh tracks
C) Voice-overs
D) Echo effects

Question 20

Four audio techniques that impact the media grammar of radio and recorded music are __________.

A) audio sweetening, sound dissolves, capturing, and control
B) song manipulation, multiple recording, tracking, and rhythm access
C) volume changes, multiple audio tracks, sound effects, and voice-overs
D) mood manipulation, capturing, conforming, and interaction

Question 21

Media scholar __________ has written several books that show how corporate media have adversely affected the quality of communications content we receive and how media companies have lobbied the government to further their own corporate interests.

A) Todd Gitlin
B) Robert McChesney
C) George Lakoff
D) Stuart Hall

Question 22

Media businesses have been among the most profitable of any industry, with profit margins typically around __________ on an annual basis.

A) 5 percent
B) 10 percent
C) 15 percent
D) 20 percent

Question 23

A particular health condition runs in Gina's family. In an effort to educate herself on this issue, she consults multiple research and news sites on the Internet in addition to soliciting advice on social media, research that leaves her feeling overwhelmed and confused. Gina is dealing with __________.

A) cognitive fatigue
B) posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
C) media paralysis
D) information overload

Question 24

Media critics have argued that media monopolies and conglomerates contribute to which problem?

A) Suppression of mainstream views
B) Unethical reporting
C) Less diversity of media voices
D) Fewer media jobs for members of minority groups

Question 25

Despite living in a relatively large American city, Garrett can purchase only one daily newspaper published in his location, and the cable channels he watches belong to a monopoly. Similarly, his favorite commercial radio stations are part of national ownership groups. This marketplace, in which media ownership and diversity is severely limited, is known as a(n) __________.

A) media oligopoly
B) corporate convergence
C) economic empire
D) business oligarchy

Question 26

Nine diversified global media giants dominate the media worldwide. These corporations are international ___________.

A) media management moguls
B) studio giants
C) conglomerates
D) media manipulators

Question 27

The media oligopoly of the leading nine media giants is not the only threat to the diversity of opinion and information. An additional threat is about fifty ___________ that operate on a national or international level and generate more than $1 billion of business each year.

A) local media distributors
B) block booking systems
C) telecommunications subsidiaries
D) second-tier media companies

Question 28

The concentration of media ownership and consolidation of media companies in the United States and globally has serious repercussions for our __________.

A) politics, society, and culture
B) telecommunications subscription rates
C) mobile phone use
D) reliance on telecommunications infrastructure

Question 29

Daytime talk shows may actually help diversify opinions and make controversial topics more acceptable. Transgender youth and domestic violence are among the formerly taboo items discussed on talk shows, increasing the visibility of such topics in __________.

A) transnational societies
B) the critical convergence of media
C) our popular culture landscape
D) our telecommunications fabric

Question 30

Terri's friends on social media all share her views on politics and religion. Even when these opinions are in the minority, Terri is convinced her position reflects the opinion of the majority because of __________.

A) echo effects
B) media grammar
C) media bias
D) information overload

Question 31

Deciding whether a news story is a descriptive article or an evaluative piece that provides editorial opinion is related to which guideline for developing media literacy?

A) Consider the source of the media
B) Determine the purpose of the media content
C) Question the media ecosystem
D) Examine framing of media content

Question 32

Advertising's major role in __________ has drawn criticism from advocacy groups around the country, who have turned to social media as a platform to voice dissent.

A) advocating for social rights
B) stimulating the economy
C) propagating certain stereotypes
D) mimicking the shopping behavior of the 1 percent

Question 33

For a term paper, Kelly is analyzing how word choice and selection of interview sources influenced local news in the 2016 election. Kelly is studying __________.

A) media framing
B) echo effects
C) media grammar
D) cultural stereotyping

Question 34

Media enterprises can reduce costs and increase profit by becoming larger and reaching a larger market with their content due to __________, the decrease in unit manufacturing cost that results from mass production.

A) behavioral targeting
B) economy of scale
C) branding
D) correlation

Question 35

__________ is the study of signs and symbols.

A) Media literacy
B) Hypertext
C) Media grammar
D) Semiotics

Question 36

Much like signs and symbols, __________ appear natural and go largely unquestioned.

A) genres
B) voice-overs
C) frames
D) actualities

Question 37

Which country declared that reports of torture of political opponents were fake news?

A) China
B) Iraq
C) Somalia
D) Syria

Question 38

Asking yourself how you would feel if the group with whom you identify was portrayed in a particular way allows you to __________.

A) consider the source of the media
B) identify the purpose of the media content
C) challenge media stereotypes
D) make the media

Question 39

Which of the following countries has been a leader in media-literacy education?

A) Italy
B) United States
C) Russia
D) Canada

Question 40

The physical dimensions of a book, the artwork on its jacket, and the size and style of the typeface are all part of its media _________.

A) grammar
B) literacy
C) interactivity
D) ecology

Question 41

Camera angles, lighting, distance between the subject and interviewer, sound, and intercut scenes all contribute to our perception of the news as _________.

A) subjective
B) objective
C) descriptive
D) evaluative

Question 42

Alarm about the effects of media on children dates back to _________.

A) ancient Greece
B) the Middle Ages
C) the eighteenth century
D) the nineteenth century

Question 43

Media businesses are businesses just like any other. If they fail to make a profit, they are also doing a disservice to _________.

A) their clients
B) the top 1 percent
C) the government that collects their taxes
D) their private owners or shareholders

Question 44

Which of the following assertions about fake news is accurate?

A) It always intends to deceive.
B) It circulates slowly.
C) It has been around since at least the nineteenth century, when William Jennings Bryan complained bitterly about it.
D) It is usually well written.

Question 45

In semiotic theory, the signified is _________.

A) the form
B) what the form represents
C) the sign
D) the interpretant

Question 46

In many developing countries, technology is not easily accessible because of _________.

A) rural telecommunications decay
B) a widespread lack of media literacy skills
C) autocratic government control
D) inadequate phone lines, inconsistent electric power, and irregular Internet service

Question 47

Telecommunications mergers and acquisitions in the billions of dollars have built a ____________ in the United States, a group of independent businesses that collaborate to regulate the production, pricing, and marketing of goods.

A) media empire
B) communications cartel
C) partisan press
D) media coercion company

Question 48

Professional journalism has a strong culture of what used to be called "objectivity" but is now referred to as ____________.

A) checks and balances
B) fairness and balance
C) truth-building
D) subjectivity

Question 49

An unseen announcer or narrator talking while other activity takes place, either on radio or during a television scene, is known as a(n) _________.

A) sound effect
B) echo effect
C) voice-over
D) media frame

Question 50

Which scholar coined the phrase "the medium is the message"?

A) Umberto Eco
B) Ben Bagdikian
C) Robert McChesney
D) Marshall McLuhan

Question 51

Explain why media literacy is a critical skill in today's society, and give one example of an activity that can increase your media literacy.

Question 52

Identify two ways in which frames are similar to signs and symbols in semiotics.

Question 53

Describe a significant change over the years in the media grammar of newspapers, and explain why this is the case.

Question 54

What does the media-literacy guideline "make the media" entail?

Question 55

Why do critics of the American corporate media system argue that media companies are not like other companies, and what do they propose as a solution?

Question 56

Commercial forces shape the content of media every day at the local, national, and international levels. What are the implications of commercial media?

Question 57

Explain how media literacy helps enhance cultural understanding in society.

Question 58

Media critics and journalists have complained that news in the print media is "packaged." What do they mean when they talk about the packaging of information for the consumer?

Question 59

Explain media critic Ben H. Bagdikian's theories about concentrated media ownership and what research in his book New Media Monopoly reveals.

Question 60

What are some problems with online information, and what can be done to address these concerns?