Deck 15: How Storytelling Connects to Larger Forces

Question 1

The hypodermic needle theory is an example of the powerful-sender model in communications theory.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

In general, people glean the same general meaning from a message if that message is written or produced skillfully; that is, they will interpret the message in the way it was intended.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

Economic forces can refer not only to money, but also to resources such as national forests, oil reserves or a highly skilled workforce.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

Powerful-reader theories suggest that people use the media in conscious and deliberate ways, rather than being controlled by powerful senders.

Question 5

Which of the following best describes how a journalist's story might be affected by the historical moment?

A) A journalist with a sense of history knows that what appears to be inevitable or natural may be neither.
B) An awareness of the historical moment can help journalists articulate in their work how current conditions are grounded in the past.
C) An awareness of the historical moment can help journalists recognize that claims that a trend or event never happened before may not be true.
D) All of the above

Question 6

Please a.) define the term "powerful-sender model" and b.) describe a major weakness of that model

Question 7

How would powerful-reader theories describe the news audience?

Question 8

The chapter gave five examples of "forces behind the scenes": cultural, societal, political, economic and historical. Please a.) describe two of these and b.) provide an example to illustrate how each one might influence news coverage.