Deck 5: Communication and Mass Media

Question 1

The Mayan Calendar, which has survived hundreds of years, is best characterized as which of the following types of media?

A) print-based media
B) symbol-based media
C) space-biased media
D) time-biased media

Answer 1

D

Question 2

After the September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States, movies made in the Western world showed a substantial rise in villains from Iraq and Afghanistan. According to the text, what would be one of the primary reasons behind the increase in the number of these movie characters?

A) The circumstances altered mediated social understandings, requiring updated antagonists.
B) The movies present stories that support the new dominant political ideology.
C) The movies educate the public about Iraq and Afghanistan.
D) The movies provide emotional violence, reducing violent tendencies in people affected by 9/11.

Answer 2

B

Question 3

According to the text, which of the following is used to define the unidirectional flow of communication?

A) interactive media
B) streamlining media
C) targeted media
D) mass media

Answer 3

D

Question 4

An anthropologist in the Yucatan peninsula discovers an ancient Mayan temple, the sides of which are adorned by complex hieroglyphs documenting aspects of the Mayan people's lives. What kind of media are hieroglyphs?

A) print-based media
B) symbol-based media
C) space-biased media
D) time-biased media

Question 5

Which theorist conceptualized a distinction between time-biased and space-biased media?

A) Marshall McLuhan
B) Harold Innis
C) Karl Marx
D) Theodor Adorno

Question 6

According to the text, what does a critical perspective on the media attempt to demonstrate?

A) It asserts that multimedia outlets reproduce local community values and interests.
B) It asserts that a monopolized media reproduces the dominant ideology's ideas, values, and norms.
C) It asserts that ownership and control of the media is becoming decentralized.
D) It focuses on current trends and values in society to help construct the media's content.

Question 7

According to the text, which of the following media consumption patterns is most popular?

A) television viewing
B) reading the daily news
C) surfing the Internet
D) listening to the radio

Question 8

Nazi Germany was the first totalitarian state to use radio as a propaganda tool. Which of the following best characterizes this use of media?

A) language-based
B) symbol-based
C) space-biased
D) time-biased

Question 9

When Craig is in sitting in his living room in Toronto, Jane in her living room in Winnipeg, and Tina in her bedroom in Vancouver, all watching CTV National News at 11 p.m., what form of media are they subjecting themselves to?

A) interactive media
B) streamlining media
C) targeted media
D) mass media

Question 10

Which theoretical approach is associated with the idea that the media are part of a culture industry that functions to create mass deception?

A) anarchist
B) postmodern
C) functionalist
D) critical

Question 11

Which of the following is a critical assertion about the media derived from orthodox Marxism?

A) The media serves the economic interests of the dominant class.
B) The media attempts to suspend bias and be objective.
C) The media simply reflects common societal interests.
D) The media's news is not filtered nor interpreted but merely reported.

Question 12

According to Marshall McLuhan, in which of the following ways did printing change our sense perceptions?

A) It reinforced and supported oral and verbal communication traditions.
B) It fostered a more auditory-oriented/listening culture.
C) It resulted in more face-to-face communication styles.
D) It changed perceptions of the world to linear, cause-and-effect views.

Question 13

Jeff watched a show on television last night about the relationship between religion and violence in Western society. He is now convinced that the solution to reduce violence will be found through religious teachings, although he personally has not been to church in 10 years. According to the text, what was likely the main contributing factor that explains why Jeff's opinion was swayed so profoundly?

A) The show reflected a dominant ideology.
B) The show presented an unbiased report.
C) The show used hegemonic testimony.
D) The show was critically acclaimed.

Question 14

When people play video games, they are transmitting and receiving messages. The flow of messages between the device and the user is best characterized by which of the following terms?

A) streamlined media
B) interactive media
C) targeted media
D) communication media

Question 15

According to the text, which of the following statements most accurately depicts current media consumption practices?

A) People are consuming lots of news.
B) Fewer people are keeping up with news than in the past.
C) Radio consumption has been affected more than television consumption by new technologies such as the Internet.
D) Television watching has been declining steadily because of the fitness craze.

Question 16

According to Marshall McLuhan and his followers, in which of the following ways does television, as compared to print, affect culture?

A) Television replaced radio and print.
B) Television is more socially inclusive than print.
C) Television is more socially destructive than print.
D) Television is more popular than print.

Question 17

Society has been described as having "amnesia" when it comes to understanding the long-term impacts of breaking news stories. For instance, most people support and encourage charities created from global tragedies such as the earthquake in Haiti; however, the impact of such tragedies is quickly forgotten. Which form of communication is used to describe the short-term media messages that hit global headlines but lose importance shortly after?

A) print-based media
B) symbol-based media
C) space-biased media
D) time-biased media

Question 18

A media analyst warns that the "media conglomerate" is selectively contributing to hysteria about global warming because the focus is only on stories that allege man-made carbon emissions are the problem. The analyst further states that there are plenty of opposing opinions from credible scientists that don't get airtime. He concludes that we are being deceived with an unbalanced, media-selected view. Which theoretical perspective has informed this critic's observations?

A) functional
B) anarchist
C) postmodern
D) critical

Question 19

When British songwriter Adele became known worldwide, the world was brought together through her shared meanings and understandings of heartbreak and dating relationships. Which of the following terms best characterizes the sharing of information and cultural understandings of life experiences?

A) interaction
B) sharing
C) targeting
D) communication

Question 20

According to the text, Facebook, MySpace and Twitter are examples of which of the following forms of media?

A) interactive media
B) streamlined media
C) targeted media
D) communication media

Question 21

According to the text, which of the following has the most influence on the production of ideas, beliefs, values, and norms in society?

A) monopolization
B) dominant ideology
C) hegemony
D) foreign media content

Question 22

In North America, where predominant media messages are supportive of capitalism, consumer society, and the growth of the free-market economy, these messages help maintain the status quo. What do these media messages represent?

A) progress and democracy
B) the dominant ideology
C) the status hierarchy
D) commercials and advertisements

Question 23

The pilot for a new television show included a character that helped a teenager obtain an abortion. Since a major shareholder on the television network's board of directors was antiabortion, the show was not purchased. According to the text, what sociological approach could be used to analyze the influence of the shareholder?

A) multimedia chains
B) vertical integration
C) critical hegemony
D) political economy

Question 24

According to a critical perspective, which of the following contributed to the homogenization of news in the print media?

A) competitive media
B) media monopolization
C) competitive television
D) consumer tastes

Question 25

What is the term used when the media and other cultural institutions represent only dominant interests, values, and understandings?

A) socialization
B) hegemony
C) persuasion
D) education

Question 26

What is one critique or negative consequence of the consolidation of media properties?

A) narrowcasting-fragmentation of programming to specialty or niches
B) globalization-a boy in Mumbai listening to Mustang Sally on his MP3 player
C) making the media less open and diverse in terms of ideas and cultural products
D) sharing critical information/news around the world almost instantaneously

Question 27

The Internet has provided the ability to "self-produce" news and music, with freedom from broadcasting and publishing controls. This shift in how news and music is produced has the potential to assist in overcoming which of the following?

A) socialization
B) hegemony
C) persuasion
D) education

Question 28

Which of the following terms describes an imbalance of trade in cultural products, such as the concern about American television shows on Canadian airwaves?

A) free trade
B) airwave hijacking
C) media monopolization
D) cultural imperialism

Question 29

According to the text, why does Canadian television drama often lack a distinctly Canadian character?

A) Canadians lack a strong and distinct national identity.
B) Our tastes are North American, not Canadian, by nature.
C) Producers create programs appealing to all nationalities.
D) Programs are produced to attract advertisers and revenue.

Question 30

Despite the fact that the majority of Canadians support same-sex marriage, and Canada is legislatively tolerant of homosexual (gay) and lesbian relationships through the Charter of Rights and Human Rights legislation, the media still portrays a predominantly heterosexual world. Which of the following terms describes why the media portrays heterosexual relations as normal sexual relations?

A) hegemony
B) socialization
C) persuasive broadcasting
D) social broadcasting

Question 31

What kind of business structure is represented by owning both a major league sports team and a cable channel outlet that broadcasts the team's games?

A) vertical integration
B) horizontal consolidation
C) horizontal integration
D) multilevel merger

Question 32

In a recent newscast, bankers on Wall Street were interviewed.The common sentiment among the bankers was that capitalism is the best way to organize a society's economy. Based on what you have learned about the political economy of media, which of the following best characterizes the intent behind this newscast?

A) It intended to promote progress and democracy.
B) It intended to convey the dominant ideology.
C) It intended to reinforce the status hierarchy.
D) It intended to represent all economic positions equally.

Question 33

A Canadian entrepreneur started a small publishing company that grew over the years. Eventually the publishing company bought up other publishers, newspaper chains, radio and television outlets, and a network of cellular services, becoming a Canadian corporate giant. How would you classify this company's trajectory?

A) vertical integration
B) corporate concentration
C) corporate compression
D) horizontal integration

Question 34

Which type of programming has been the focus of worries about the influence of American media on Canadian values and national identity?

A) entertainment news
B) drama shows
C) comedy shows
D) educational programming

Question 35

A print media tycoon built his newspaper empire by going from one to 500 newspapers, and along the way he leased crown forest land, bought pulp and paper companies that supplied his newsprint, and bought trucking companies to deliver his papers. Which of the following business models did he use?

A) a vertically integrated business model
B) a horizontally integrated business model
C) a multitiered business model
D) a cross-industry monopoly business model

Question 36

What is the "propaganda model," according to Herman and Chomsky's analysis of the media?

A) The media is an open forum where diversity of opinion is prevalent.
B) The media serves at the beck-and-call of the viewers' interests.
C) The media are not controlled by any specific socioeconomic interest.
D) The media filters content to reduce or eliminate subversive views.

Question 37

Which concept refers to the integration of previously separate communications technologies, such as print, telephone, computers, television, and radio?

A) concentration
B) conglomeration
C) compression
D) convergence

Question 38

When Stephen Harper put forth the C-10 Omnibus Crime Bill, its mandate was to enforce new criminal offences that would result in harsher prison sentencing for longer periods of time. Resorting to enforcement of harsher sentences for young offenders has allowed policymakers to neglect crime reduction avenues that benefit the common good of all within communities. Which of the following best represents how Bill C-10 upholds the class interests of the powerful ruling elite?

A) the monopolization of crime
B) the dominant ideology
C) the status hierarchy
D) the crime media content

Question 39

"Americans have taken over our airwaves. There is a lot of talent in Canada that is being ignored. Canada should ban American content and focus on Canadian programming." According to the text, who would be likely to make this statement?

A) a Canadian advertiser
B) a Canadian nationalist
C) a Canadian actor
D) a Canadian television viewer

Question 40

Which of the following approaches to the study of mass media focuses on the ownership and control of economic resources?

A) media economics
B) political economy
C) cultural studies
D) critical ethnography

Question 41

The prime minister of Canada calls a federal general election and is subsequently interviewed by the leading network news anchors. What term best categorizes the kind of news source the prime minister represents?

A) original news source
B) extraordinary news source
C) official news source
D) expert news source

Question 42

Canada lives in the shadow of a media giant, the United States of America, and consequently our society is inundated with books, magazines, television, cinema, and Internet content that is American based. The sheer volume of this content greatly exceeds our cultural products. What term is used to characterize this situation?

A) cultural secession
B) cultural hijacking
C) cultural imperialism
D) cultural tsunami

Question 43

A Japanese girl is sipping on a can of Coke and reading a US Weekly magazine. She is considering plastic surgery to change her eyes because she wants to look more like the girls in US Weekly magazine. Which of the following best characterizes this situation?

A) media conglomeration
B) corporate culturalism
C) cultural penetration
D) cultural imperialism

Question 44

According to the text, what do ordinary news sources do?

A) speak objectively and in an unbiased way
B) deliver messages on behalf of an organization
C) counterbalance bias of mainstream media
D) personalize the harmful effects of bad news

Question 45

In the analysis of news sources, which category do corporate executives typically fall into?

A) official sources
B) secondary sources
C) oppositional sources
D) alternative sources

Question 46

In January 1991, when Americans led an attack on Iraqi forces during the first Persian Gulf War, CNN was the only television network that had people in Baghdad who reported as the bombing on the city began. This event brought CNN legitimacy and popularity because it provided a news value that other networks could not. What news value did this provide for viewers?

A) immediacy
B) representation
C) accuracy
D) proximity

Question 47

In a picture, there is a group of people divided by a long, narrow red carpet. Walking down the carpet is a woman in a white dress and a man in a tuxedo. What sociological term best explains why most Canadians would interpret this picture as a wedding?

A) religion
B) ideology
C) hegemony
D) framing

Question 48

In Bangladesh, the overwhelming majority of movies come from India's Bollywood film production industry. What term best identifies the movie viewing content available in Bangladesh?

A) media conglomeration
B) corporate culturalism
C) cultural penetration
D) cultural imperialism

Question 49

A news team interviewed Jason, a homeless man living on the streets of Toronto. According to the text, why would they interview Jason rather than focus the news report on statistics or causes of homelessness in the city?

A) Focus on an individual draws a bigger audience.
B) Focus on an individual can make people more aware of the issue.
C) Focus on an individual makes the issue more concrete and familiar.
D) Focus on an individual attracts advertising dollars.

Question 50

According to the text, which of the following best describes the hierarchy of access to the media?

A) It is access by ordinary people on the street-often portrayed in reality television.
B) It is politicians having first access, followed by private-sector officials if they need it.
C) It is first access by alternative social justice agencies and nonprofit groups.
D) It is news anchors, program hosts, advertisers, and media executives who have first access.

Question 51

What term best characterizes how diverse media programming allows individuals to personally construct understandings and identities?

A) representation
B) vertical integration
C) framing
D) anachronism

Question 52

Consider the following headlines: "If anyone's insulted the voters, it's Mayor Rob Ford" and "Toronto Mayor vows to fight tooth and nail to keep job." According to sociologists, these headlines are examples of which one of the following terms?

A) misrepresentation
B) integration
C) framing
D) anachronism

Question 53

An advertiser is having problems buying advertising time on television because there are now so many channels to choose from, each with its own audience demographics. According to the text, this abundance of choice is in part due to what postmodern view of society?

A) Societies are becoming more homogeneous.
B) Societies are becoming more fragmented.
C) Societies are becoming overly predictable.
D) Societies are becoming overexposed.

Question 54

A teary-eyed victim of an apartment fire is being interviewed by a television journalist while standing on the street in her pyjamas as the apartment block burns in the background. According to the text, which term best categorizes this news source?

A) eyewitness news source
B) ordinary news source
C) victim-of-events news source
D) shocking news source

Question 55

During a newscast about an ongoing transportation strike, Fred, a union representative, is interviewed. He explains why the union ceased negotiations and walked out on strike. What role does Fred play in the newscast?

A) He is an official news source.
B) He is an ordinary news source.
C) He is an alternative news source.
D) He is a personalized news source.

Question 56

A roaming television journalist called a "storm-chaser" reports live from a roadside ditch as a tornado passes by. According to the text, why do journalists value this kind of reporting?

A) It is real news.
B) It has news value.
C) It is dramatic.
D) It embodies danger.

Question 57

According to Randall Collins, Canadian culture is beyond Americanization for which of the following reasons?

A) Because of globalization, national identity is becoming a thing of the past.
B) Canada has a strong national identity and a thriving media it exports abroad.
C) Canadian media watchdogs encourage media content from other countries.
D) International standards ensure removal of barriers for foreign media.

Question 58

When two journalists have compelling news stories, the editor must decide which article to put more emphasis on within the newspaper. An editor will most likely choose an article based on the timing, writing skill of the journalist, and compelling narrative to present events and issues. According to the text, what term best describes the newsworthiness of a media report?

A) dominant values
B) symbolic values
C) news values
D) personal values

Question 59

According to the text, which of the following is considered a "news value"?

A) depersonalization
B) historicity
C) subjectivity
D) extraordinariness

Question 60

Which aspect of media coverage has especially frequent "personalization" of the news?

A) science news coverage
B) political news coverage
C) sports news coverage
D) business news coverage

Question 61

Billy is 15 years old, and he watches a lot of television, especially cop shows and gory movies. He also spends a lot of time playing first-person shooter games online. Although Billy lives in a safe area, he carries a knife just to feel safe. According to cultivation analysis, which of the following helps to understand Billy's knife carrying?

A) the violence delusion
B) mean world syndrome
C) screen-time paranoia
D) mean streets syndrome

Question 62

Which of the following is a general conclusion reached by laboratory experimenters on the effects of television violence?

A) It affects only people already violent or violence-prone.
B) It does not simulate real-life violence and is unreliable.
C) It affects people at a subliminal and unconscious level.
D) It affects people independent of intervening factors.

Question 63

Olivia believes that women should not be on the street alone after dark because they will likely be raped or killed. She draws this conclusion based on all of the police dramas she watches on television. What sociological term would Gerbner and his colleagues use to explain her fear?

A) imagined fear syndrome
B) mediated fear syndrome
C) street violence syndrome
D) mean world syndrome

Question 64

Two groups of boys between the ages of 10 and 15 watched two hours of television and then played for an hour. One group watched violent television shows while the other group watched nonviolent shows. The results indicated that the boys who watched the violence would hit each other twice as often during the playtime as those who watched the nonviolent shows. What is one shortcoming of this type of experiment?

A) Creating an artificial social environment does not produce accurate results.
B) If the boys lose interest in the violent shows, they will not be influenced as intended.
C) It's in a boy's nature to hit another boy during play.
D) Other factors may lead to the violence during play.

Question 65

According to the text, which of the following reasons accounts for the decline of TV as the symbolic central point or "hearth" of the household?

A) Families are just too busy to watch TV.
B) TV is more dispersed within the household.
C) People are getting rid of their televisions.
D) People are spending more time getting fit.

Question 66

Sandra's guilty pleasure is watching her favourite soap opera every afternoon. After the show is over, she calls Rebecca to discuss what happened that day. According to the text, why might she routinely discuss the show with her friend?

A) Without discussion, complicated plots can cause confusion.
B) Conversation adds a social aspect to her watching.
C) Discussion adds legitimacy to watching the show.
D) Advertisers encourage ongoing interpretation.

Question 67

In the text, what does the acronym CMC stand for?

A) computer-mediated construction
B) computer-mediated communication
C) computer-mediated conversation
D) computer-mediated calling

Question 68

According to Morley's study of British TV viewing, what was the most important factor accounting for differences in TV viewing?

A) the viewing time
B) the program type
C) the viewer's age
D) the viewer's gender

Question 69

What is a consequence of media violence, according to social learning theory?

A) Media violence has no impact on aggression in children.
B) Media teaches children scripts about how and when to behave aggressively.
C) Media effects of violence are offset by prosocial family socialization.
D) Media effects on violence are inconclusive in most social research.

Question 70

A researcher conducts an analysis of people's television viewing habits and their perceptions of the world. She concludes that people who watch more television have a greater fear of being victimized by criminals. What of the following best characterizes the researcher's interpretation?

A) survey analysis
B) perception analysis
C) cultivation analysis
D) self-analysis

Question 71

Allan, a 23-year-old male, is already prone to violence toward his wife. He is also aggressive and combative in the local bar scene. When he sits down to watch TV he likes to watch shows with violent content. If Allan were to be included in some research on the effect of television on violent behaviour, what term would be applied to his violent tendencies?

A) He has a violence-prone personality.
B) He is a privately and publicly violent person.
C) He is bidirectionally violent.
D) He has dual violent tendencies.

Question 72

An eight-year-old boy grows up in a home where his father demonstrates ethnic intolerance. One day, while watching TV, the boy's father yells at a man on the television, "Why don't you go back home where you belong?!" The next day the boy sees a schoolmate of the same ethnic background and repeats what he heard his father say. Which theory predicts this kind of behaviour from the boy?

A) observational theory
B) technological theory
C) critical theory
D) social learning theory

Question 73

A viewer sends a video she captured of a hurricane touching down on the East Coast to a local news station. According to the text, what type of news source is this considered?

A) original news source
B) ordinary news source
C) official news source
D) expert news source

Question 74

Ivana almost never uses the phone because she prefers using email to send messages. What is the common term sociologists use for this kind of interaction?

A) computer mediation
B) computer -mediated socialization
C) computer -mediated conversation
D) computer -mediated communication

Question 75

What is the term for the approach to media effects that was pioneered by George Gerbner and his associates?

A) ideology model
B) cultivation analysis
C) hegemony model
D) propaganda analysis

Question 76

According to the text, which of the following statements reflects the concept of a digital divide?

A) Use of CMC is unrelated to general social stratification.
B) The developing world produces the majority of Internet content.
C) People with higher education are more likely to be online.
D) Today, social class has no bearing on who is online.

Question 77

According to the text, what is the nature of the interaction between television and its audience?

A) Television delivers what audiences want or it goes off the air.
B) Television watchers are at the mercy of the shows' producers.
C) Audiences filter, interpret, and often challenge what they view.
D) Audiences are simply passive recipients of what they view.

Question 78

What did Morley conclude with respect to the patterns of television viewing of men and women in the United Kingdom?

A) Housebound/homemaking women watched television to avoid housework.
B) Women were reluctant to admit they talked about their viewing with friends.
C) Television plays a greater role in overall sociability for men than for women.
D) Women were more likely than men to watch in a preplanned way.

Question 79

After watching years of Criminal Minds episodes, Julie believes it would be a good idea to carry mace in her purse when she leaves her home to ensure her safety. Which of the following types of analysis would offer the best explanation for Julia's behaviour?

A) crime analysis
B) cultivation analysis
C) violent analysis
D) propaganda analysis

Question 80

George Gerbner and his associates developed their theory of media effects through the analysis of which of the following types of mediums?

A) Internet/cell phones
B) television/video games
C) newspapers/magazines
D) movie rentals/music