Deck 11: Regulation of Electronic Media

Question 1

A two-step process for broadcast license renewal challenges was mandated by:

A)RKO General v.FCC.
B)Metro Broadcasting v.FCC.
C)the 1996 Telecommunications Act.
D)Yale v.FCC.
E)Turner Broadcasting v.FCC.

Answer 1

C

Question 2

The FCC issued long-awaited guidelines on broadcast indecency in 2001.In these new rules,the FCC declared that:

A)indecency is no longer prohibited on the airwaves.
B)indecency is only prohibited at night.
C)indecency is prohibited only on networks,not independent stations.
D)indecency is prohibited on the airwaves except late at night.
E)only obscenity is prohibited on the airwaves,never indecency.

Answer 2

D

Question 3

The FCC now decides who will receive new licenses by:

A)holding comparative hearings.
B)holding lotteries.
C)conducting auctions.
D)flipping a coin.
E)awarding the license to the first person or company to file an application.

Answer 3

C

Question 4

The FCC's women's preference in broadcast licensing was overturned in the case of:

A)Metro Broadcasting v.FCC.
B)Lamprecht v.FCC.
C)Bechtel v.FCC.
D)RKO General v.FCC.
E)FCC v.League of Women Voters.

Question 5

The Equal Time provision of the 1934 Communications Act (Section 315)applies to:

A)anyone or any issue that is commented upon in an editorial,news program,documentary,or advertisement.
B)anyone or any issue commented upon in a news program only.
C)anyone or any issue that is commented upon in non-news programs.
D)opposing political candidates only.
E)all of these.

Question 6

In the Broadcast Decency Enforcement Act,Congress did which of the following:

A)doubled indecency fines.
B)increased indecency fines to about ten times their previous levels.
C)banned indecency on cable and satellite television and radio.
D)banned indecency only on cable television.
E)ordered the FCC to reconsider many of its recent indecency fines.

Question 7

How would you compare the Supreme Court's 1969 Red Lion Broadcasting v.FCC and 1984 FCC v.League of Women Voters decisions?

A)they both said the same thing.
B)Red Lion overturned the Fairness Doctrine while League of Women Voters upheld it.
C)Red Lion upheld the Fairness Doctrine while League of Women Voters overturned it.
D)Red Lion upheld the Fairness Doctrine while League of Women Voters raised questions about its constitutionality.
E)neither case said anything about either the First Amendment or the Fairness Doctrine.

Question 8

The FCC's replacement EEO rules were overturned in a 2001 decision:

A)Turner Broadcasting v.FCC.
B)Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod v.FCC.
C)Capital Cities Cable v.Crisp.
D)U.S.v.Playboy Entertainment.
E)MD/DC/DE Broadcasters Association v.FCC.

Question 9

In 1981,a federal court affirmed the FCC's decision to take away a Boston television station's license because of wrongdoing by the licensee and its parent company.The case:

A)WCBS v.FCC.
B)RKO General v.FCC.
C)KHJ v.FCC.
D)Yale Broadcasting v.FCC.
E)none of these.

Question 10

The basic rationale for heavier government regulation of broadcasting than of the print media is that:

A)radio and television are entertainment and have no First Amendment protection.
B)the propaganda potential of the electronic media is so great that more protection is needed.
C)broadcasters are given the exclusive use of a scarce resource (the radio spectrum)and must use it "in the public interest,convenience and necessity."
D)broadcast advertising is too pervasive and persuasive to be left unregulated.
E)the broadcast media are more technically complex and need more government assistance to maintain good technical standards.

Question 11

The FCC's original EEO rules were overturned by a federal appellate court in the 1998 case of:

A)Turner Broadcasting v.FCC.
B)Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod v.FCC.
C)Capital Cities Cable v.Crisp.
D)U.S.v.Playboy Entertainment.
E)MD/DC/DE Broadcasters Association v.FCC.

Question 12

The lowest unit charge rule applies to:

A)issue advertising.
B)product advertising.
C)ads for ballot propositions.
D)ads by political candidates during campaign periods.
E)all of these.

Question 13

In its landmark Red Lion Broadcasting v.FCC decision in 1969,the Supreme Court:

A)upheld the Fairness Doctrine and the Personal Attack Rule.
B)overturned the Fairness Doctrine and the Personal Attack Rule.
C)upheld the FCC's EEO rules.
D)overturned the FCC's EEO rules.
E)overturned an FCC decision to cancel a broadcaster's license.

Question 14

The case referred to in the previous question was later overturned by the Supreme Court in the case of:

A)Metro Broadcasting v.FCC.
B)Adarand Constructors v.Peña.
C)Bechtel v.FCC.
D)FCC v.League of Women Voters.
E)Central Florida Enterprises v.FCC.

Question 15

The Supreme Court ruled in Arkansas Educational Television Commission v.Forbes that:

A)politicians are entitled to free airtime.
B)politicians are not entitled to free airtime.
C)even public broadcasters may carry debates featuring only the major candidates.
D)public broadcasters must include all candidates in debates.
E)Arkansas stations had to cover candidates other than Bill Clinton.

Question 16

Suppose Orson Welles' classic "War of the Worlds" radio broadcast were aired today--and the public responded as it did in 1938.What would the program's legal status be?

A)it would be completely legal.
B)it would violate an act of Congress.
C)it would violate an FCC regulation.
D)it would violate state laws governing broadcast content.
E)it would violate international agreements.

Question 17

The FCC's minority preferences in broadcast licensing were upheld by the Supreme Court in the 1990 case of:

A)Metro Broadcasting v.FCC.
B)Adarand Constructors v.Peña.
C)Bechtel v.FCC.
D)FCC v.League of Women Voters.
E)Central Florida Enterprises v.FCC.

Question 18

The Supreme Court once held that the FCC can punish broadcasters for airing indecent programming during daytime hours even if the material is not legally obscene.The case:

A)Wilkinson v.Jones.
B)Pacifica Foundation v.FCC.
C)Red Lion Broadcasting v.FCC.
D)League of Women Voters v.FCC.
E)Capital Cities Cable v.Crisp.

Question 19

In 2009,the Supreme Court upheld the FCC's crackdown on spontaneous expletives uttered during live broadcasts in the case of:

A)Pacifica Foundation v.FCC.
B)FCC v.Fox Television Stations.
C)Sinclair Broadcast Group v.FCC.
D)Action for Children's Television v.FCC.
E)Valley Broadcasting v.U.S.

Question 20

Ever since radio broadcasting began,one of the major complications in making AM radio channel assignments has been the fact that AM signals travel long distances-but only at night,not in the daytime.This phenomenon is caused by:

A)satellites.
B)large mirrors erected by scientists to study the upper atmosphere.
C)skywave propagation.
D)solar flares.
E)aurora borealis.

Question 21

Cable systems are usually required to black out syndicated programs on distant stations that they carry when a local station has the exclusive right to air the program.This is required by:

A)the must-carry rules.
B)the Financial Interest and Syndication Rule.
C)the Syndicated Exclusivity Rule.
D)the 1984 Cable Communications Policy Act.
E)Section 312(a)(7).

Question 22

The Supreme Court examined what FCC policy in the 2012 FCC v.Fox Television case?

A)Cable fees.
B)Satellite must-carry rules.
C)Indecency on broadcast television.
D)Presidential debates.
E)Commercial advertising on broadcast.

Question 23

The Satellite TV Home Viewers Act,approved in 1999,allows satellite TV providers to:

A)carry cable network programming.
B)carry local TV stations within their service areas.
C)offer non-local broadcast network feeds to all subscribers.
D)offer New York and Los Angeles TV stations to all subscribers.
E)install large dish antennas without the permission of landlords or local governments.

Question 24

What act(s)dealing with online activities was limited by the Ninth Circuit in U.S.v.Nosal?

A)the Communications Act.
B)the Telecommunications Act.
C)the Net Neutrality Act.
D)the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act.
E)All of these.

Question 25

In the Radio Television News Directors Assn.V.FCC decision,a federal appellate court:

A)upheld the Personal Attack Rule.
B)overturned the Personal Attack Rule.
C)ordered the FCC to exempt broadcast journalists from the FCC's equal employment opportunity (EEO)rules.
D)ordered broadcast journalists to obey the new EEO rules.
E)required broadcast journalists to give equal airtime to all political candidates.

Question 26

The amount of advertising in children's television programs is limited by:

A)an presidential executive order.
B)a rule of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).
C)the Children's Television Act of 1990 and FCC regulations adopted under the act.
D)the 1996 Telecommunications Act.
E)none of these--no such restriction exists.

Question 27

Net neutrality means that:

A)all traffic that passes through the Internet should be treated equally.
B)laws passed about Internet content must be content-neutral.
C)the Internet must be regulated by all countries equally.
D)copyright laws will apply online.
E)none of the above.

Question 28

In Greater New Orleans Broadcasting Association v.U.S. ,the Supreme Court:

A)upheld the ban on broadcast indecency.
B)upheld the ban on broadcast advertising of casino gambling.
C)overturned the ban on casino gambling ads.
D)upheld the FCC's equal employment opportunity (EEO)rules.
E)overturned the FCC's EEO rules.

Question 29

Cable systems are required to scramble adult programming and provide additional signal blocking devices to those who request them.This is mandated by:

A)the must-carry rules.
B)the Financial Interest and Syndication Rule.
C)the Syndicated Exclusivity Rule.
D)the 1984 Cable Communications Policy Act.
E)the 1996 Telecommunications Act.

Question 30

In 2014 the Supreme Court said that the retransmission via privately-rented antennae of "free" over-the-air broadcasts over the Internet was indeed an infringing "performance" of that content in what case?

A)U.S.v.Playboy Entertainment.
B)FCC v.Fox Television.
C)Greater New Orleans Broadcasting Association v.U.S.
D)ABC,Inc.v.Aereo,Inc. .
E)U.S.v.Nosal.

Question 31

The D.C.Circuit said in 2010 that the FCC had no authority to regulate net neutrality issues in the case of:

A)FCC v.League of Women Voters.
B)National Cable Television Assn.v.FCC.
C)Turner Broadcasting v.FCC.
D)Comcast Corp.v.FCC.
E)FCC v.Pacifica.

Question 32

The Cable Television Consumer Protection and Competition Act of 1992 ("the 1992 Cable Act")included which of these provisions?

A)it allowed local governments to regulate cable subscription fees where there was no effective competition.
B)it allowed broadcasters to charge cable systems for carrying their signals,with cable operators free to drop the station instead of paying ("retransmission consent").
C)it allowed broadcasters to require cable systems in their area to carry their signals,but without payment ("must-carry").
D)it called for cable rate rollbacks in many areas.
E)all of these.

Question 33

Cities were told by the Supreme Court that they cannot refuse to allow a second cable system to "overbuild" an area if the infrastructure can support two systems.That happened in:

A)City of Los Angeles v.Preferred Communications.
B)National Cable Television Assn.v.FCC.
C)Turner Broadcasting v.FCC.
D)Capital Cities Cable v.Crisp.
E)U.S.v.Southwestern Cable Co.

Question 34

How much "educational and informational" children's programming must commercial television stations carry under current FCC rules?

A)none--only PBS stations must air educational programs for children.
B)one hour every day.
C)three hours per week.
D)five hours every month.
E)all stations must carry programs for children,but there is no requirement that they be "educational and informational."

Question 35

In U.S.v.Playboy Entertainment,a 2000 decision,the Supreme Court held that:

A)adult programming may be banned from over-the-air television except late at night.
B)cable systems may air scrambled adult programming during the day in spite of the "signal bleed" problem.
C)adult programming is legal on over-the-air television at all hours of the day.
D)cable systems may not air scrambled adult programming except late at night.
E)this case had nothing to do with adult programming.

Question 36

In City of Arlington v.FCC,the Supreme Court in 2013 established that agencies' interpretations of _________ should be deferred to the agencies themselves - a move that could be important for net neutrality.

A)their internal rules and procedures.
B)their notices of inquiry.
C)the Congressional Record.
D)their commissioners.
E)their jurisdictions.

Question 37

The television industry was directed to develop a rating system for TV programs,and manufacturers were directed to include the so-called "V-chip" in most new TV receivers,by:

A)a presidential executive order.
B)a rule of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).
C)the Children's Television Act of 1990.
D)the 1996 Telecommunications Act.
E)none of these--no such requirement exists.

Question 38

In Brown v.Entertainment Merchants Association in 2011,the Supreme Court said that a law regulating the sale or rental of what by children was unconstitutional?

A)Pornography.
B)Violent video games.
C)Violent movies.
D)Music containing profanity.
E)none of the above.

Question 39

The cable must-carry rule was upheld by the Supreme Court in:

A)City of Los Angeles v.Preferred Communications.
B)National Cable Television Assn.v.FCC.
C)Turner Broadcasting v.FCC.
D)Capital Cities Cable v.Crisp.
E)U.S.v.Southwestern Cable Co.